Top Law Schools

Hello everyone! I graduated from one of the University of California campuses in 2009 and since then have been working. My cumulative gpa in college was a 3.83, I studied abroad my senior year, I am a member of Phi Beta Kappa, graduated Cum Laude, and received highest honors in my major. I am an African American female with a slight learning disability. I will have solid recommendations and have a diverse array of work experience both in and out of college. However, I could not receive extended testing time for the LSAT, despite my disability, and my average score is 145. I am taking the test this month. What are my chances of getting into a top 100 school and receiving some financial aid if I apply for the 2012-2013 school year? Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Law school predictor and means/medians will give you as good of an idea as anyone here is going to give you.

Honestly, with your solid GPA you could probably get into a top 100 school as it is.

However, if you can score even 10 points higher, you have a very good shot at a top 20-30. Around what score are you currently practicing?

law4vus wrote:Honestly, with your solid GPA you could probably get into a top 100 school as it is.

However, if you can score even 10 points higher, you have a very good shot at a top 20-30. Around what score are you currently practicing?

This. Your GPA is phenomenal, and an LSAT in the 150's would go a long way to put you into the T1 range.

I'm unfamiliar with LSAC's policy on testing accommodations, is there any way they'd allow you extra time on the LSAT?

Do you have any specific information about why you weren't able to get extra time, despite your disability? Maybe you need more documentation from a doctor? In any case, I'd definitely pursue every avenue available to get extra time, if I were you. As it is, I see you having a decent shot at schools in the 80-100 range, but if you could get your score up to even 155, you'd be looking at top 50, if not top 30.

Thank you all so much for your feedback. It's really helped me calm down a bit! The reason why the LSAC won't give me extra time is because my documentation was created about 8 years ago when I was in high school and they want documentation within the last 3-5 years (5 years if your over 21 and the testing took place at age 21 or older). In order to do that I'd have to go through a long process to get tested again which is not only expensive, but hard to pursue outside of an academic environment.

What do you mean, "hard to pursue outside of an academic environment?" If time is a factor, which I'm practically certain that it is, getting re-tested is worth it.

GET THE TIME YOU NEED. how ever much extra effort/time/etc it takes to get the accommodation you need, IT IS WORTH IT. your gpa is too high to waste:)

if OP wants to get in this cycle it is too late to fight for the accommodation. do you best on saturday and please let us know how it goes. i'm rooting for you! if it doesn't go your way, cancel and start the process to get accommodations for another test then apply next cycle. please don't waste that sexy gpa!

A lot of you are right. Next year I should try to get retested and really search for a Psy D. who can do it. My initial thought was that after 3 months my score would rise significantly since I've been studying a lot. However, since I am still getting around 145 and the test is on Saturday, do you all think it's possible to raise my score to the 150 range and what tips do you have to doing so?

Aiming For the Top wrote:A lot of you are right. Next year I should try to get retested and really search for a Psy D. who can do it. My initial thought was that after 3 months my score would rise significantly since I've been studying a lot. However, since I am still getting around 145 and the test is on Saturday, do you all think it's possible to raise my score to the 150 range and what tips do you have to doing so?

i think for you, since it seems to be a matter or having time, you should concentrate on getting every question you get to CORRECT! you can honestly miss a lot of answers and get a 150. So, take your time and get questions correct, at five minutes fill the rest in with your favorite letter. BUT>>>> if you are not dead set on applying this cycle, withdraw from the test and do what you gotta do to get your accommodations for June test and apply for the next cycle.

Seriously, consider waiting a cycle. Withdraw from the December test, get the accommodation you deserve, and then get the score you can earn. Don't waste your gpa on something that's so fixable!

Aiming For the Top wrote:A lot of you are right. Next year I should try to get retested and really search for a Psy D. who can do it. My initial thought was that after 3 months my score would rise significantly since I've been studying a lot. However, since I am still getting around 145 and the test is on Saturday, do you all think it's possible to raise my score to the 150 range and what tips do you have to doing so?

Why does it have to be a PsyD who tests you? Couldn't any psychologist/psychiatrist (with either a PhD or a PsyD) test you? (Don't mean to be an asshole about it, I'm just genuinely curious)

Well when I first took the test in high school 8 years ago (my high school was the one who set up the test for me and even paid for it) they chose a Psy. D to test me. I assume that I should work with a Psy. D because since my school set up everything, those are the only people that I really know can do it. However, my knowledge about how to go about getting re-tested is pretty limited so I don't really know if any other people can do it or where to start looking.

Aiming For the Top wrote:Well when I first took the test in high school 8 years ago (my high school was the one who set up the test for me and even paid for it) they chose a Psy. D to test me. I assume that I should work with a Psy. D because since my school set up everything, those are the only people that I really know can do it. However, my knowledge about how to go about getting re-tested is pretty limited so I don't really know if any other people can do it or where to start looking.

Aaah, I see. As far as I know (girlfriend is going to grad school for psychology (a PhD program)), a person with a PhD in psych can also do testing like that--and FWIW, it's more common/easier to find psychologists with PhDs than it is to find psychologists with PsyDs, just because PhDs are more common. :3

vpintz wrote:

Aiming For the Top wrote:Well when I first took the test in high school 8 years ago (my high school was the one who set up the test for me and even paid for it) they chose a Psy. D to test me. I assume that I should work with a Psy. D because since my school set up everything, those are the only people that I really know can do it. However, my knowledge about how to go about getting re-tested is pretty limited so I don't really know if any other people can do it or where to start looking.

Aaah, I see. As far as I know (girlfriend is going to grad school for psychology (a PhD program)), a person with a PhD in psych can also do testing like that--and FWIW, it's more common/easier to find psychologists with PhDs than it is to find psychologists with PsyDs, just because PhDs are more common. :3

Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard to find a PhD who can test you (I guess depending on what disability you have though). Schools often have a handful of psychologists who they go to for these kinds of things, so maybe that's why they had a PsyD do it?

I don't think this is true in your situation.

I think that admissions would notice a descrepancy between your high GPA and low LSAT.

Did you perform poorly on your SATs too? I ask because noting this in your Academic Addendum may help to show that standardized tests may not be the best predictor of your academic performance.

If you live close to a law school that you are interested in attending, I would suggest that you make time to chat with the admissions officers there to ask for their opinion.

Good luck!

Mce252 wrote:Law school predictor and means/medians will give you as good of an idea as anyone here is going to give you.

Thank you Cute Carmel for your advice. I'm definitely going to write an addendum explaining my situation and hope for the best. Plus I hear that the LSAC are REALLY strict about extended testing time and they judge it on a case by case basis. They've even been sued a couple of times because they haven't been fair to students who need extra time. I've come too far not to apply this year so whatever happens I'm mentally prepared!

good posts!

See if your school disability services office can hook you up with a cheep re-eval? Also I would study a lot with the powerscore books. I too have a learning disability and they helped me a lot.

A good PS about this may open doors too... But you would need to cast a WIDE net.