Need help with chances, extreme reverse splitter Forum

[20130414]

Hello all--

I wanted to see if anyone could chance me on the following schools:

3.95 LSDAS, 151 LSAT. Will graduate this spring near the top of my class from a top 75 public university. Great EC's, Work Experience, and 2 strong LOR's.

UC-Irvine
Pepperdine
Loyola
U San Francisco
Pacific
Santa Clara
U San Diego
Hastings

I know that the most common answer that everyone will respond with is to re-take, but that is not an option this school year. Perhaps I will sit out a cycle next year and retake, but I'm looking for legitimate responses to my odds of acceptance to any of these schools for this cycle. Thank you.

[gaud]

DO NOT go to law school with your numbers. Sit out and retake. Please. Do it for yourself. That GPA is stud and you should reward your hard work. None of those schools have employment numbers to justify attending.

I sat out a year for a retake and maintain it was the single best decision I ever made.

[goldenflash19]

Retake so you can get into Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, or USC. As of now, you'll be paying far too much for schools with bad job prospects.

[Jaytray]

Out at Irvine and Hastings, probably in at the rest but who cares because you are retaking anyway. Right? Please tell me I'm right.

FWIW I applied to most of all these schools, found TLS and LST and saw the light, retook and sat out a cycle and I couldn't be happier with my decision so far. I'm old as dirt and am willing to put off for a year, no reason why you can't find something to do for a year and better your situation. Or maybe even retake in December and send off apps then if you score high enough. Don't sell yourself short.

[gaud]

Out at Irvine and Hastings, probably in at the rest but who cares because you are retaking anyway. Right? Please tell me I'm right.

FWIW I applied to most of all these schools, found TLS and LST and saw the light, retook and sat out a cycle and I couldn't be happier with my decision so far. I'm old as dirt and am willing to put off for a year, no reason why you can't find something to do for a year and better your situation. Or maybe even retake in December and send off apps then if you score high enough. Don't sell yourself short.

this is something worth noting. OP, if you are serious about having a legal career, why wouldn't you strive to put yourself in a position to have the best possible chances at a successful one. If you ask me (and I'm sure many other posters on TLS), a year off is a small price to pay for what would be a much, much better shot at a successful career.

[The Platypus]

3.95 LSDAS, 151 LSAT.

How does anyone get a 151 LSAT with that kinda GPA? My cold diagnostic was better.

And how does anyone get a 151 with that kinda GPA and REFUSE TO RETAKE?!

Flame alert.

[20130414]

I had been PT'ing in the low 160's but just fell apart on test day. I only studied for 2.5 weeks.

[Ruxin1]

I had been PT'ing in the low 160's but just fell apart on test day. I only studied for 2.5 weeks.

Turn that into 3 months and take december

[Nova]

Not retaking would be a really bad decision.

[rinkrat19]

I refuse to believe that anyone capable of getting a 4.1 is dumb enough to refuse to retake.

[lilhugsy24]

Flame or you're just a dumbass because you're wasting that GPA.

Edit: lol stupid phone.

[gaud]

or you're jut a dumbass

I'm sure it was an honest mistake, but

[20130414]

I'm not an idiot, I completely understand the rationale and merit for a re-take. It's the completely logical thing to do. But my course load+internship this year will not dictate that kind of time/commitment to study.

That, coupled with personal reasons, are why I merely wanted to see what my chances were at the schools I listed at the top for this upcoming cycle. If anyone would chance me for those schools, it'd be greatly appreciated.

[Bgibbs]

Out at Irvine and Hastings, probably in at the rest but who cares because you are retaking anyway. Right? Please tell me I'm right.

You were chanced. No one is going to take the time to go further in depth because we're trying to help you avoid a potential mountain of debt that you may never be able to repay. Your course/internship load will not stop you from being able to study effectively. Keep the test fresh throughout the school year by reading strategy books and drilling some sections. Then, once summer hits, study hard for an October retake. Get a 170, enjoy HYS.

[top30man]

Retake so you can get into Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, or USC. As of now, you'll be paying far too much for schools with bad job prospects.

[gaud]

Out at Irvine and Hastings, probably in at the rest but who cares because you are retaking anyway. Right? Please tell me I'm right.

You were chanced. No one is going to take the time to go further in depth because we're trying to help you avoid a potential mountain of debt that you may never be able to repay. Your course/internship load will not stop you from being able to study effectively. Keep the test fresh throughout the school year by reading strategy books and drilling some sections. Then, once summer hits, study hard for an October retake. Get a 170, enjoy HYS.

+1. OP, check out lawschooltransparency.com and check out the employment stats from the schools you're interested in. compare those to schools you could get into with a better score and your already stellar GPA. better schools will even give you mad scholarship money to attend with a good score.

[lilhugsy24]

I'm not an idiot

Oh really?? You're willing to give up a chance for a full scholly at much better schools or HYS, for sticker at much worse schools? Seems smart. Retake in June or October 2013 and apply next cycle if you're too busy to study properly right now. Don't waste that GPA.

[Ixiion]

I'm not an idiot, I completely understand the rationale and merit for a re-take. It's the completely logical thing to do. But my course load+internship this year will not dictate that kind of time/commitment to study.

That, coupled with personal reasons, are why I merely wanted to see what my chances were at the schools I listed at the top for this upcoming cycle. If anyone would chance me for those schools, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Seriously. I'm taking a full 18cr load, and two of those courses also have lab classes. On W, I'm in class from 10am until 10pm. I also have a job/internship that I go to every moment I'm not in school. I have more than enough personal/financial reasons not to take a year off - let's just say I don't think I'd be able to live if I took a year off, or I'd have to beg relatives in the freaking Middle East to take me in and feed me.

And yet, with that GPA, I'd risk it. Here I am, in a very similar situation, and yet I'm studying my ass off. I'm currently PTing at 171 and that's not good enough. If you want to know why, look at this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... nteractive
PS: This is from the ABA.

The likelihood of you getting a decent job (from those schools you listed) anywhere near good enough to pay off law school debts and any other debts you may incur, AND be able to live at least without worrying what you're going to eat the next week, is extremely slim. The legal market is a total wreck. Even if I knew your chances to those schools, I wouldn't give them to you. I don't want to be a part of anything that enables you to attend a school that's not in T20. Your GPA deserves better, your 3-4 years of hard work in UG deserves better.

Study your ass off like I am doing. It sucks, you really have to understand time management, which I don't, so I'm struggling a lot right now. But DO IT ANYWAY. And take the test in December, then apply. If you start now, you'll have 3 months to study intermittently, and you should easily improve your scores to the 160s, maybe 170+. I don't know anyone on this forum that will help you be lazy. I'm sorry to say that, but it's doable, so not doing it is just dumb in the sense that you're throwing away your future. Or, if it's TRULY impossible for you to study enough in the next 3 months (which it's not, but whatever), then take a year off. Study for June 2013. MAYBE, by some miracle, the economy will be better by the time you graduate. But we shouldn't be risking our futures by depending on miracles.

tl;dr: retake.

[lovejopd]

I have a better GPA than you but you really should retake...those who have a high GPA should not throw bright future out the window because of learnable test...

[wtrc]

I'm not an idiot, I completely understand the rationale and merit for a re-take. It's the completely logical thing to do. But my course load+internship this year will not dictate that kind of time/commitment to study.

That, coupled with personal reasons, are why I merely wanted to see what my chances were at the schools I listed at the top for this upcoming cycle. If anyone would chance me for those schools, it'd be greatly appreciated.

TLS can be super harsh, but everyone means well (well, most people ). Dmgoor, retaking the LSAT in your case is worth possibly literally millions of dollars (150K in scholarships+ much better school+ much better job). Take a year off and dedicate it to study and a job (if needed for $$ reasons). The cost-benefit analysis is off the charts, probably tilted towards the benefits more than anything else in life. I took a year off and am considering a second year off as well, since I have a job and don't want to rush. My first instinct, once I was a senior in college, was to take my LSAT score and apply to law school, whether or not I was happy with the score. I'm soso happy that I changed my mind there.

Unless you know exactly what you will do with a law degree (family firm, etc.), and unless you have the money to pay sticker at a school without any problem at all, you need to retake. 151 is 50th percentile, but 3.95 is like 99th percentile. That's too extreme to ignore...

[top30man]

I'm not an idiot, I completely understand the rationale and merit for a re-take. It's the completely logical thing to do. But my course load+internship this year will not dictate that kind of time/commitment to study.

That, coupled with personal reasons, are why I merely wanted to see what my chances were at the schools I listed at the top for this upcoming cycle. If anyone would chance me for those schools, it'd be greatly appreciated.

I worked full time and went to school full time while I prepped last year. You can do it. If not, you need to wait a year.

[T14hoping]

I'm not an idiot, I completely understand the rationale and merit for a re-take. It's the completely logical thing to do. But my course load+internship this year will not dictate that kind of time/commitment to study.

That, coupled with personal reasons, are why I merely wanted to see what my chances were at the schools I listed at the top for this upcoming cycle. If anyone would chance me for those schools, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Are you a senior?

If so, I'm in the same boat (though I haven't sat for an LSAT yet, and don't plan to until after graduation). Sit it out. Focus on your GPA/internships/whatever and take the LSAT after you graduate. You can find some kind of employment or whatnot in the interim and focus your attention on getting a 170+ (or at least 160+), which could, as one poster said, potentially be worth millions of dollars over your career.

Seriously, don't waste that GPA.

[nickb285]

.

[francesfarmer]

I would sell a testicle for a 3.95. Throwing away that GPA on a school that would take you with a 151 just so that you can go a year earlier is ridiculously short-sighted.

</piling on>

+1,000,000

[lovejopd]

I would sell a testicle for a 3.95. Throwing away that GPA on a school that would take you with a 151 just so that you can go a year earlier is ridiculously short-sighted.

</piling on>

I saw tons of people on TLS say that they would trade their organs such as a testicle, kidney, etc for an extremely high gpa(3.95+)