3.6/146 Forum

[union410]

My wife just took a prep course with Kaplan and found out her score is 146. Does anyone think she will be able to get into Lewis and Clark with this score? She has a double major in accounting and business and is a minority. Should she take another course and re-take the LSAT? Any help would be appreciated.

[glitter178]

My wife just took a prep course with Kaplan and found out her score is 146. Does anyone think she will be able to get into Lewis and Clark with this score? She has a double major in accounting and business and is a minority. Should she take another course and re-take the LSAT? Any help would be appreciated.

she absolutely absolutely MUST retake the LSAT. her score is not good, and it means bad things for her re law school prospects, the debt she will incur, and future employment prospects.

[union410]

Well she will be only applying to Lewis and Clark because we cannot leave the area. If she can't get in there she will have to postpone law school.

[twert]

depends what type of minority she is.
last year a urm got in with a 151 and a much worse gpa than your wife, the year before a urm got in with a 148 and a worse gpa than your wife. Its hard to say, but a 146 is pretty low.

[twert]

isn't willamette in portland? she'd have a better shot there

[glitter178]

Well she will be only applying to Lewis and Clark because we cannot leave the area. If she can't get in there she will have to postpone law school.

then retaking and scoring better means the possibility of scholarship money.

[ResolutePear]

Well she will be only applying to Lewis and Clark because we cannot leave the area. If she can't get in there she will have to postpone law school.

then retaking and scoring better means the possibility of scholarship money.

This.

You can easily pull up 10 points, more with practice and picking up the Powerscore Bibles.

[union410]

We've heard that Willamette is not a good law school. I don't want her to go to a school and then struggle finding a job right afterwards. I think she will just retake the test and hope for a better score. Any advice for that? She will not do the Kaplan course again.

[ResolutePear]

Well she will be only applying to Lewis and Clark because we cannot leave the area. If she can't get in there she will have to postpone law school.

then retaking and scoring better means the possibility of scholarship money.

This.

You can easily pull up 10 points, more with practice and picking up the Powerscore Bibles.

[calilaw]

We've heard that Willamette is not a good law school. I don't want her to go to a school and then struggle finding a job right afterwards. I think she will just retake the test and hope for a better score. Any advice for that? She will not do the Kaplan course again.

She shouldn't retake without a lot more practice. Retaking and "hoping" for a better score is a terrible idea. She should pick a score she wants and then try to score several points higher than that on timed practice tests, and she shouldn't retake until she's confident that she can score within a certain range.

Not retaking the Kaplan course is a good idea. She should instead focus on repetitive practice on her own time, with test prep books like the Bibles and timed practice with past LSATs.

[union410]

Wow, thank you for all of the help. So applying with these numbers is a bad idea?

[ResolutePear]

Wow, thank you for all of the help. So applying with these numbers is a bad idea?

Just to put it into perspective, and with all due respect:

A 146 puts her around the 30th percentile. A hamster can Christmas-tree the test and get a better score.

It's definitely an issue with practice and technique. The Bibles and past LSATs will teach her these things.

[union410]

If she applied and gets denied, will it hurt her for next year if she re-applies?

[BlueDiamond]

If she applied and gets denied, will it hurt her for next year if she re-applies?

I don't see any point in doing that.. just retake and apply next cycle.. she will be much happier and in a lot less debt if she can do better

[ResolutePear]

If she applied and gets denied, will it hurt her for next year if she re-applies?

I don't see any point in doing that.. just retake and apply next cycle.. she will be much happier and in a lot less debt if she can do better

Yeah, even with getting in-

it makes no sense if you can get a scholarship and/or into a better school. It just doesn't make sense.. especially if she's working.

[NorCalBruin]

If she applied and gets denied, will it hurt her for next year if she re-applies?

This is hard to say and it depends on the school.

That said... if she applies and gets denied, but does nothing to improve her application (namely retaking the LSAT), then she will almost certainly get denied again. However, if she applies, gets denied, but then retakes and improves her LSAT score--her past rejection will probably not be a factor into their new admission decision.

I would advise your wife to retake the LSAT. Virtually everyone with a score below 150 can improve their score significantly with the right amount of studying and the right kind of studying. Given enough improvement, she might even get a scholarship. I would probably advise against Willamette though... and Lewis & Clark places much better in Portland.

[MattThiessen]

Wow, thank you for all of the help. So applying with these numbers is a bad idea?

Just to put it into perspective, and with all due respect:

A 146 puts her around the 30th percentile. A hamster can Christmas-tree the test and get a better score.
It's definitely an issue with practice and technique. The Bibles and past LSATs will teach her these things.

Apparently, Hamster's are pretty smart. I just tried to Christmas tree the October '96 LSAT and I got a 124. FAIL!

OP, I say it can't hurt to apply. It will cost you maybe $50 (or however much the app fee is), so it can't do much harm.

Either way, your wife would be better off with a higher score. If she pulled a significantly higher score she may even get some good scholarships. I will +1 to purchasing the bibles and taking TONS of timed practice LSAT's.

[sneakpreview]

I'm a Willamette 1L. If you want my unfiltered thoughts on the school/subject, send me a private message.

[ResolutePear]

I'm a Willamette 1L. If you want my unfiltered thoughts on the school/subject, send me a private message.

I don't know what you're trying to sell - but it sounds like a mighty good spirit. I'll buy 2.

[FuManChusco]

We've heard that Willamette is not a good law school. I don't want her to go to a school and then struggle finding a job right afterwards.

Uhhhh, probably shouldn't go to L&C then.

[sneakpreview]

I'm a Willamette 1L. If you want my unfiltered thoughts on the school/subject, send me a private message.

I don't know what you're trying to sell - but it sounds like a mighty good spirit. I'll buy 2.

Just trying to help people out. I can give a candid good/bad perspective.