Crush my T14 dreams softly: 3.8/162 Forum

[photobooth]

Hi all,

Like many of you, I just got my June 2011 scores back and want to know my chances to any of the T14 schools.

I graduated Honors with a 3.8 from UC Berkeley (majored in International Political Economy). Studied abroad for a year in Hong Kong (where I also took some LLM courses and went on a couple of study tours). Now I'm a paralegal at a large law firm.

I'm trying to decide whether to apply with my 3.8/162 numbers or to take the LSAT a second time (while still applying pretty early this fall). I'm a bit hesitant in taking the test again because of the risk of getting a lower score.

Please let me know what you think about my chances in getting into a T14 and whether or not I should retake.

Thanks!!

[Real Madrid]

Are you a URM? If not, you pretty much do not have a chance of getting into a T14. Getting lower than a 162 probably will not hurt you at all at any school that you would currently be able to get into, so what do you have to lose by retaking?

[Tiago Splitter]

Seriously, no risk in re-taking. Go for it. You have a great chance at the T-14 with a bit better performance in October.

[shoeshine]

urm?

[3ThrowAway99]

retake

[photobooth]

I read a lot about URM... what does that actually stand for?

I went through hell working full-time and taking test prep courses at night... but alright, a few more months of hard work for a better shot is worth it. but doesn't that mean i'll be applying later, which is bad?

just for consideration though, what good schools would take a 3.8/162?

[Real Madrid]

Under-represented minority.

You'll be in at some T1 schools between 30 and 50, but you'll probably be paying sticker or near it at most of them.

If you take in October and have everything ready to go by the time you get your score back, you'll still be one of the earlier applicants.

[photobooth]

Definitely not a URM. Asian female -- I think that's pretty common.

I guess from what ppl are saying here, better to retake than settle.

[Real Madrid]

I guess from what ppl are saying here, better to retake than settle.

It's totally up to you. I've taken the LSAT 3 times and may even take it one more time since I have one cancel. The way I look at it, it's better to look back and know you tried everything than to sit around ten years from now wondering "What if?".

[bhan87]

Definitely not a URM. Asian female -- I think that's pretty common.

I guess from what ppl are saying here, better to retake than settle.

True advice 99.9% of the time. The other .1% of people love having unnecessary debt.

Your GPA is great (it'll only hold you out of HYS at most). A 170+ will get you into schools on an order of magnitude better than you would get by settling now (173ish will get you at least one of CCN for instance). Especially since you've only taken the LSAT once, you'd have to be insane not to give it at least one more shot. If you're dead serious about getting into a top school, you should take out 3-4 months to dedicate to studying. Get the Powerscore Bibles and a set of practice tests from cambridgelsat.com and drill the concepts with lots of review. The LSAT Prep section has lots of great advice for study plans and review methods. If self-study just isn't working, you can also consider taking a course Testmasters / Powerscore / Blueprint. I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Blueprint's course (Started with a 160, which is around with your range, and eventually scored a 172 on test day)

[Tiago Splitter]

I guess from what ppl are saying here, better to retake than settle.

It's totally up to you. I've taken the LSAT 3 times and may even take it one more time since I have one cancel. The way I look at it, it's better to look back and know you tried everything than to sit around ten years from now wondering "What if?".

+1

I nearly enrolled in a school ranked in the 60's this year, but decided to re-take this Spring and am so glad I did. I know I would have always wondered what if if I never gave the LSAT one more shot.

[photobooth]

Thanks so much all of you!

I was against retaking it, but I'd hate to look back and think "what if." That is a really great motivator. If you really want something, you got to give it your all, right?

Thing is I'm not sure if I can go through another test prep night course. I took TestMasters, which was amazing, but way too exhausting while working full-time. I guess I'll hit the books myself first and see if I can force myself to let go of some cash for a weekend course.

[maxpower430]

just wanted to chime in as someone who worked full time and did the self-study thing. if you think you can stay disciplined, i really think taking a course is not a great idea. i followed lsatblog's daily study schedule, and supplemented it with manhattan lsat books, and i really think i would have burned out if i had taken a class b/c of the time commitment to class itself, along with all the drilling/pts etc. you need to make the most of your time, since you don't have as much of it and there isn't a lot that you'd get in a class that you wouldn't get from the bibles/manhattan

[TheZoid]

Just my two cents that you retake it. Plenty of room for improvement. I got a 158 my first try, and 168 the second time, so give the studying a good effort and do your best. It will be a totally different cycle for you with five or six extra points