delete. Forum

[pianochickahh]

delete.

[hephaestus]

You have to retake again, and you have to figure out what is going so wrong on the LSAT. It may be in your best interest to hire a private tutor or take a course, even if it means waiting a year. An LSAT in the 160s will let you do great things with that GPA.

[objection_your_honor]

You have a great shot at every law school in the country with the right LSAT score. Sit this cycle out and study hard for the June 2014 LSAT. Aim for 170+.

Don't apply with current stats.

[TheSpanishMain]

First of all, it's going to be very hard to predict what a cycle woud look like for you, since there are probably few, if any, people with similiar numbers. FWIW, I don't think Mason would go for it. I don't think any school worth going to is going to take a 149. I'm not trying to be harsh, just trying to be realistic.

I have to ask, what happened on the LSAT? Where did you go to college? Assuming you didn't go to some online degree mill that gave you a 4.0 just for paying the tuition, you're clearly not dumb. What do you think is holding you back on the LSAT?

Bottom line: do not try to go to law school this year. I'm not necessarily saying give up forever, but going right now would be a bad move.

You have a great shot at every law school in the country with the right LSAT score. Sit this cycle out and study hard for the June 2014 LSAT. Aim for 170+.

Two 140's suggest that 170 just isn't in the cards, but even breaking into the low 160s would yield much, much better prospects.

[pianochickahh]

delete.

[hephaestus]

I'm a native in a different language, but I don't think that is what happened. I sincerely don't know what happened. I don't understand how everyone on here has a 165+ score. My highest on a prep test was 153. :/ I'm just not good at the LSAT.

I go to George Washington.

How did you prepare for the LSAT?

[pianochickahh]

I'm a native in a different language, but I don't think that is what happened. I sincerely don't know what happened. I don't understand how everyone on here has a 165+ score. My highest on a prep test was 153. :/ I'm just not good at the LSAT.

I go to George Washington.

How did you prepare for the LSAT?

I took a Testmasters Prep Course for the June 2013. Got a 149. Didn't prep for the October one because I was so bummed out and got a 145. I'm just horrible at the LSAT :/ I have EVERYTHING else going for me, except for that. I have a killer resume, I'm a junior olympian, i speak two other languages, I have killer grades.. everything is there except for the LSAT :/ Will I seriously not get in ANYWHERE with it? :/

[hephaestus]

You will not get into anywhere worth going. Maybe you should try another course (like Blue Print). There must be some systemic issue with the way you take the LSAT. The test is learnable, and your mistakes are fixable. You just need to figure out where it is going wrong.

[pianochickahh]

delete.

[objection_your_honor]

You will not get into anywhere worth going. Maybe you should try another course (like Blue Print). There must be some systemic issue with the way you take the LSAT. The test is learnable, and your mistakes are fixable. You just need to figure out where it is going wrong.

:/ I took a weekend Powerscore class. I can't afford anymore of these classes. Especially since I keep getting these 140s scores. I almost feel like people are lying. There is no way that everyone is getting 165+'s. That is 90th percentile! That's ridiculous

The LSAT is not a test you can give a weekend's worth of prep to. Many people on this forum study for 6+ months. I studied off and on for 1.5 years because of my work schedule, taking it a total of three times.

Check out the LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum. Read some guides on how to effectively self-study, and come up with a long term study plan.

[06162014123]

.

[hephaestus]

Fine, if you can't afford a class then do this:
Buy the Manhattan books that individually cover RC, LR and LG. Then work through the books carefully. Then take all the LSAT practice tests that are available (which are also available for sale). You will notice results.

[pianochickahh]

delete.

[logical seasoning]

Some motivation-- I started my prep at a 145. I swore to myself that I would make the LSAT my bitch, even if it is the last thing I do. I got a job that barely covered my needs and took 1 1/2 years to study for this test. I scored a 167 this October, which is shit on this site, but with my 3.8 GPA I will most likely get in somewhere worth going.

If you really want to be a lawyer you must overcome this hurdle and at least break 160

[TheSpanishMain]

You will not get into anywhere worth going. Maybe you should try another course (like Blue Print). There must be some systemic issue with the way you take the LSAT. The test is learnable, and your mistakes are fixable. You just need to figure out where it is going wrong.

:/ I took a weekend Powerscore class. I can't afford anymore of these classes. Especially since I keep getting these 140s scores. I almost feel like people are lying. There is no way that everyone is getting 165+'s. That is 90th percentile! That's ridiculous

Who says you need a class? More people have success, I think, in just drilling on their own. Get old tests, take them, figure out where your weaknesses are and then put in some time.

Unfair or not, the LSAT is absolutely critical. It can absolutely mean the difference between a successful career and unemployment. You absolutely must devote more than a weekend to it. Think more like 6 months.

I'm going to hope and pray that I can get into my top choice and never have to take the LSAT again!

I think you're missing the point. If you really want to go to Mason, jack up that LSAT score and go with a fat scholarship. You should absolutely not go now. To borrow a commonly used illustration, if someone offered you a hundred thousand dollars to study for six months, would you take it? Of course you would.

[PepperJack]

The comedic thing is OP would help any law school's ranking. However at its extreme the LSAT is a test of aptitude. If you can't extract a conclusion from an argument or draw inferences you will struggle in law school. As much as people disparage the law school scam no tier 1 will so blatantly take advantage of a student. If you can get a 4.04 at any college you can succeed. If you struggle to break a 150 you almost certainly will not succeed in law.

[PepperJack]

Also, I think UG grades in many classes are how you present yourself. I got an A in a class in college I never read for because I drank with the TA, and listened to his problems with women. I got C pluses in other classes because I disagreed with the professors views. Some people have more tact than me and got all A's with similar incompetence. This tact is valueless in law school.

[jbagelboy]

I don't think law school is right for you. There are other degrees that could give you a pathway into what people think the "law" is - policy, government agencies, financial institutions and consulting firms, patent offices, legislation, ect. With those grades from GWU you could work for the state department, at Bain making $75K, with a think tank, at the fed reserve (if you have an econ/math background), do TFA, go to HKS for a policy masters, work at Deutschbank in Hong Kong, get a Ph.D in legal philosophy from Yale and become a professor... Why law school? Do you really, really want to be an attorney?

Many highly intelligent people with college GPA's lower than 3.6 are locked out of most prestigious careers, so they go into law because it affords them a "second chance" or a "clean slate" to that upper echelon (you can get into nearly all law schools with a 3.6, surprisingly, but basically none with a 150 LSAT). You don't need this. You aren't locked out, employers will love your credentials, your multiple languages, everything you've pointed to as strong softs. They are highly regarded in most professions, but have little significance in law school admissions. How can you know that you need law school?

It would be a tremendously erroneous choice from an ROI perspective for you to attend any law school you might get into. You have zero economic incentive to do so, and I'm hard pressed to see why you'd have an emotional or cognitive incentive here either. You should outline for yourself exactly what you hope to gain from law school, and do some basic ROI computations using % employed FT JD-req at schools with 150-155 medians, 3 yrs lost income, and your current earning potential in almost any other career track. I think you'll find an extremely narrow selection of circumstances in which getting a JD would truly benefit YOU, and none with your current options.

[PepperJack]

The important thing is that OP does not spend any more money or time for LSAT prep and starts right away. Who would prioritize an extra 150k a yr 5 years from now when they could save a thousand dollars now. It's much easier to finish number one in your class than it is to study two hours a day for the LSAT. Nobody is weighing the value of reality television watching in their analysis. Will a 170 really help OP more than knowing about Tila Tequila's dating life?

I don't think law school is right for you. There are other degrees that could give you a pathway into what people think the "law" is - policy, government agencies, financial institutions and consulting firms, patent offices, legislation, ect. With those grades from GWU you could work for the state department, at Bain making $75K, with a think tank, at the fed reserve (if you have an econ/math background), do TFA, go to HKS for a policy masters, work at Deutschbank in Hong Kong, get a Ph.D in legal philosophy from Yale and become a professor... Why law school? Do you really, really want to be an attorney?

Many highly intelligent people with college GPA's lower than 3.6 are locked out of most prestigious careers, so they go into law because it affords them a "second chance" or a "clean slate" to that upper echelon (you can get into nearly all law schools with a 3.6, surprisingly, but basically none with a 150 LSAT). You don't need this. You aren't locked out, employers will love your credentials, your multiple languages, everything you've pointed to as strong softs. They are highly regarded in most professions, but have little significance in law school admissions. How can you know that you need law school?

It would be a tremendously erroneous choice from an ROI perspective for you to attend any law school you might get into. You have zero economic incentive to do so, and I'm hard pressed to see why you'd have an emotional or cognitive incentive here either. You should outline for yourself exactly what you hope to gain from law school, and do some basic ROI computations using % employed FT JD-req at schools with 150-155 medians, 3 yrs lost income, and your current earning potential in almost any other career track. I think you'll find an extremely narrow selection of circumstances in which getting a JD would truly benefit YOU, and none with your current options.

[hcrimson2014]

I will never understand how people can have perfect or near-perfect GPAs from US universities and then bomb the LSAT.

There are more than 2000 accredited US degree granting institutions and I know some with median GPA at the high 3.9's. Edit, I did not mean that this is OP's case, I know some intelligent people that just doesn't fit with LSAT.

[pianochickahh]

What does "OP" mean?

[jbagelboy]

What does "OP" mean?

original post

person who created the thread

[splitcity]

I will never understand how people can have perfect or near-perfect GPAs from US universities and then bomb the LSAT.

It's why the lsat is weighed so heavily and why people that say it shouldn't be are full of shit.

[PepperJack]

It sounds like the OP needs to stop resenting people who outperformed her on the LSAT or accuse them of dishonesty, and instead focus that anger at learning how they outperformed her so she can put a stop into it on the next one.

The purpose of the LSAT is to predict law school performance. While it's not great at it, it's better than all other possible outlets that can be measured (GPA, gender, adversity, creativity). Also, people on this forum seem to underestimate the fact that the LSAT has any statistical correlation with 1L grades at all given 90% of each class is within 5 LSAT points. It does better at predicting the performance of extremes. A 2.5 160 would get very solid vegas odds at outperforming OP at any school she wound up at with the 149.

[wtrc]

I will never understand how people can have perfect or near-perfect GPAs from US universities and then bomb the LSAT.

There are more than 2000 accredited US degree granting institutions and I know some with median GPA at the high 3.9's. Edit, I did not mean that this is OP's case, I know some intelligent people that just doesn't fit with LSAT.

Median at the high 3.9's? Wow.