Top Law Schools

Hello all!

I took my LSAT this December, and scored pretty low for my standards. I am very young, only nineteen, and will get my bachelors this may. I have applied to UB, University of Richmond, Syracuse, Albany and George Mason, and hope to get into one of these. I understand that my LSAT is not up to par with my GPA, but I feel I have a lot to offer. Last semester, my GPA was a 3.78. I am a History major and Spanish minor. I work many hours per week and so it was tremendously hard for me to even pay for the LSAT, as I pay for college and everything else by myself while taking 18 credit hours a semester. I am just looking for some advice on a few things:

1.) Is my age a deterrent, a bonus, or an indifferent factor for my application?
2.) Does anyone with similar numbers have advice or information as to where they got accepted?
3.) Any advice for polishing my application package?

Thanks guys!!

Retake after you graduate. You have a manageable GPA. Do yourself a favor and don't be an idiot by going to a law school who will accept this LSAT score.

You are young enough that taking a year or two off to study and retake shouldn't be a problem at all.

Thanks for the advice. I have been contemplating taking a year off to gain work experience and retake the LSAT. IF I don't get into oe of these schools I will definitely take that approach. Thank You!!

You will get into schools because they are desperate scams. Retake, unconditionally.

Retake. This is what you're looking at right now if you were to apply: http://myLSN.info/6w08hs. Law school wouldn't make sense with the schools you'd get into and the debt you'd incur.

If you score even in the low 160s, look at how much better of a cycle you'd have: http://myLSN.info/7lohj0.

You're young. You've got plenty of time. RETAKE.

You can get at least 160 by taking a year off and utilizing the tools on this forum / take a class from testmasters or someone. Don't go to a school that would take a 149.

Forget the LSAT, you're 19. Go live your life. Come back in 5 years.

The best thing that you can do now would be to retake the LSAT, like everyone here is suggesting. If you'd like, feel free to see where you get accepted and what your final options are, but don't decide on anything before taking into account all relevant information (total cost of attendance, employment information through lawschooltransparency, what your loan repayment structure would look like and what type of job you'd need to be able to repay it.) I think you'll find that any school to accept your numbers now will place you at the bottom of an incredibly up-hill battle. You will be stacking the odds against yourself, and there is absolutely no reason to settle for that.

That said, I'll try to address your specific questions best I can. I don't believe your age itself would be a deterrent to law school admissions, though it seems adcoms look favorably on several years of work experience. You say that you are working through school, which is good, but taking a year or two off after graduation to gain some full-time work experience and solidify your LSAT score will not only make you more marketable to law schools, but to employers thereafter.

The best place to look for similar situations would be http://mylsn.info/6w08hs, where PRgrad posted.

You can post on this forum and ask people to take a look at your personal statement, if you'd like to have it reviewed. Other than that, just make sure all the information is correct.

Any school that would accept you with those numbers is essentially a scam that will likely ruin you financially. The only intelligent thing to do here is study hard and retake.

For the love of all that is holy, do not shackle yourself to 150K in debt for the next 20 years at those school options when you aren't even old enough to order a beer. JFC.

Look, you're young and obviously school has been a breeze for you so far, but 200K in debt is not a joke. Law schools are not going to turn you away- if you can sign your name on the dotted line to get government loan funds they will take you, and how you do after that is none of their concern. Those schools are terrible options without a significant discount.

By the way, even if you do boost your LSAT soon, do not go to law school now. Go get some work experience, travel, and live life for a few years. The folks doing legal hiring are not desperately seeking 22/23-year-olds who have never worked a day in their post-undergrad lives. You will be at a significant disadvantage relative to your peers even coming from a good school when it comes to getting a job.

Why would anyone who scored below the median of LSAT takers think that they should go to law school? Do you know what happens to people who score this poorly on the MCAT? They sure as hell aren't doctors.

ndirish2010 wrote:Why would anyone who scored below the median of LSAT takers think that they should go to law school? Do you know what happens to people who score this poorly on the MCAT? They sure as hell aren't doctors.

+1

You need to retake. Take a few years off, make sure law school is what you want to do, and then retake. Do not go anywhere with a 3.55/149. They're all shit schools.

Your young age will definitely be a deterrent.

Man, when I was OP's age, I was just thinking about girls, not legal documents.

ndirish2010 wrote:Why would anyone who scored below the median of LSAT takers think that they should go to law school? Do you know what happens to people who score this poorly on the MCAT? They sure as hell aren't doctors.

Good point. To get into the very worst medical schools in the country you need at least a 3.5/50th percentile MCAT or 3.0/75th percent percentile MCAT.

Going to Law School at a lower standard than this just because there are schools that will accept you is money down the drain.

john7234797 wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:Why would anyone who scored below the median of LSAT takers think that they should go to law school? Do you know what happens to people who score this poorly on the MCAT? They sure as hell aren't doctors.

Good point. To get into the very worst medical schools in the country you need at least a 3.5/50th percentile MCAT or 3.0/75th percent percentile MCAT.

Going to Law School at a lower standard than this just because there are schools that will accept you is money down the drain.

Naw it is way harder than that. Average MCAT is 24 (not sure abt median but it can't be significantly higher) and if not URM, you need at least a 28 if not a 30 to get interviews from US med schools. That is when coupled with at least a 3.5 science GPA. My sister had a 35 (95th percentile) plus 3.5 science GPA/3.7 overall GPA from HYP and barely snuck in to medical school. Law school admissions are a total joke in comparison....people w sub-3.0s and/or sub-150s regularly admitted...you have to actively try to be rejected by all law schools, and we should expect it to get worse w dropping apps. I seem to remember Barry's median LSAT was down three points to 146 last cycle...what a treat to anticipate what it will be next year. No chance that the administrators will look at the situation and realize it is time to close up.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but, RETAKE.


Take a year off, study like your life depends on it. Research the different LSAT publishers and find out which one is right for you. Use this and other forums to help guide your study. But for Jesus' sake retake the LSAT. If you know anything about the economy, legal job market, and debt management, you will not go to any of the schools you mentioned. Only if you get a full ride and want to hang a shingle.... which I doubt you do.

Don't go to law school until you can (legally) drink away the inevitable sorrow that is going to ensue by earning a degree from any of these schools.

I'm 19 too. But srs, listen to these guys. Taking some time off, retaking and scoring in the 160's will save you a lifetime of regret. You're better than Cooley.

I think we can give up on this one. She didn't like what she heard, so she's mindlessly retreated into the special-snowflake self-affirmation cocoon (probably aided and abetted by at least one boomer idiot and perhaps the typical worthless pre-law advisor): http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p6417515.

Rank idiocy. But better someone who knows the risks and put the financial gun in their mouth anyways than someone who didn't have a clue.