3.86 and 162 Forum

[Porcupus]

Looking for mostly a full ride, a few schools in my range and 1 or 2 pushes. thanks in advance

[Nate895]

Do those of us who messed up our GPA a favor and retake the LSAT after studying like mad so you can go to a T6, maybe even HYS if you do well. That's a lot easier than fixing even a year of a B-average (I'm trying the best I can to fix two years of a B-average; I hate math and GPA calculations more than ever).

[Porcupus]

I studied for five months for the LSAT. Frankly, I'm burned out and will not retake it.

[law4vus]

I studied for five months for the LSAT. Frankly, I'm burned out and will not retake it.

If the LSAT burned you out, how do you think law school is going to be?

It's a heck of a lot easier to increase your LSAT score by 5-7 points and get a T14 than it is to bust your butt to be top 5% at a lesser school for the same opportunities. How did you study? If you can point out some holes in your prep, you may be able to figure out how to increase your score by a lot.

It's worth the extra time and a year off if necessary, because it will improve your prospects in the long run.

[Nate895]

I studied for five months for the LSAT. Frankly, I'm burned out and will not retake it.

I'm just kicking myself for not being in your shoes, since I could have been if I didn't laze off during my community college years. I totally get being burnt out, but I'd seriously take law4vus's advice into consideration. Law school certainly isn't going to be a cakewalk, especially if you want/need to be at the top of your class.

[bobbyh1919]

Definitely agree with the idea that if you feel burnt out from 5 months of studying for the LSAT, you might not like 3 years of law school and a lifetime of being an attorney. It really depends what you were PT'ing at, but if you were in anyway disappointed with the 162, you should definitely buckle down for 2 months of LSAT studying for the chance to turn a low T1 acceptance into a T-14 acceptance.

[Porcupus]

I studied for five months for the LSAT. Frankly, I'm burned out and will not retake it.

If the LSAT burned you out, how do you think law school is going to be?

It's a heck of a lot easier to increase your LSAT score by 5-7 points and get a T14 than it is to bust your butt to be top 5% at a lesser school for the same opportunities. How did you study? If you can point out some holes in your prep, you may be able to figure out how to increase your score by a lot.

It's worth the extra time and a year off if necessary, because it will improve your prospects in the long run.

I was PTing anywhere between 161 and 169. I took a month and a half long course from powerscore to learn the basics. My first practice test was a 151 and I steadily improved before plateauing and slightly dropping at the end, hence the "burnout". I took anywhere from 2-3 practice tests a week for four months. I really don't feel like sinking 180k into Cornell or whatever because the law market is dead and gone. I plan on doing JAG for the Marine corps, and they don't really care where you go to school. How could I possibly improve my score anyway other than random luck of happening to score better on a certain test?

[bobbyh1919]

I think you burned out because that's way too many practice tests a week, at least in my opinion. I did one per week and just focused on doing timed sections the rest of the week, making sure to look at whatever I struggled with on the previous test.

Also, an 8 point PT range is pretty big, and at least the books I've read will tell you that you haven't really hit your stride until you're consistently testing within a 4-5 point range.

You can do great things with a retake, but if you choose not to, you might have to go pretty far down the rankings to grab a full ride from someone. A 5 point increase would open so many more doors though. Best of luck with whatever you do.