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Hello TLS,

I was just hoping to inquire about where you would recommend I apply with:
- a 166 LSAT
- 3.64 Industrial Engineering undergrad gpa from T50 engineering school

I'm looking to attend the best school I can get into - scholarships are not a main concern. I have relatively few "softs" (lots of volunteer work).

I look forward to receiving some suggestions, thanks for your thoughts.

With your numbers, the "best school you can get into" might not be the school you should go to. Law schools place regionally. Where do you live. What do you want to do.


That said, the advice is likely going to be that you should retake for a 170+. You're an engineer. You can do better than a 166.

North wrote:With your numbers, the "best school you can get into" might not be the school you should go to. Law schools place regionally. Where do you live. What do you want to do.


That said, the advice is likely going to be that you should retake for a 170+. You're an engineer. You can do better than a 166.

I'm looking into patent law. I've read that the west and east coasts are where the most patents are processed. I'm not picky about the region, personally. The calculators haven't painted the clearest picture and in some cases (LSAC vs. law school predictor) they seem to contradict each other with regard to the schools within my range.

I'd like to go to a 15-20 school. I was hoping to gauge my chances of getting into one of them.

You should still retake for scholarship money.

North wrote:You should still retake for scholarship money.

Jeez...

I mean, why wouldn't you? With your current numbers, you'll just be scraping into the arbitrarily selected set of schools you're targeting. You will likely receive little to no scholarship money from them, and you'll be shut out of the T14. If you retake, you could go to one of your target schools for free and have the option of attending a T14 on a partial scholarship. If you take the full ride, you will have saved yourself somewhere around $100,000 (plus interest if you're taking out loans) to study for and take a 4 hour test. Seriously. Why wouldn't you put that work in with such an obvious and substantial return on your investment. I'm sure you're proud o the 166 -- most people don't get a score near that -- but you have to see that it would be a very poor decision to not retake.

Just because you're an IP guy doesn't mean you can come anywhere close to counting on desirable post-grad employment out of Vandy or USC.

North wrote:I mean, why wouldn't you? With your current numbers, you'll just be scraping into the arbitrarily selected set of schools you're targeting. You will likely receive little to no scholarship money from them, and you'll be shut out of the T14. If you retake, you could go to one of your target schools for free and have the option of attending a T14 on a partial scholarship. If you take the full ride, you will have saved yourself somewhere around $100,000 (plus interest if you're taking out loans) to study for and take a 4 hour test. Seriously. Why wouldn't you put that work in with such an obvious and substantial return on your investment. I'm sure you're proud o the 166 -- most people don't get a score near that -- but you have to see that it would be a very poor decision to not retake.

Just because you're an IP guy doesn't mean you can come anywhere close to counting on desirable post-grad employment out of Vandy or USC.

Super convincing post. 166 is pretty much purgatory.

bamanative wrote:Super convincing post. 166 is pretty much purgatory.

Are you being sarcastic?

If sarcastic: Lol, okay bro good luck.

If not: Back when I applied, I had a 168 and a 3.35 and was in a very similar position. It was a sucky decision to have to make because a 168 is great by almost everyone's standards but TLS, and I almost cancelled the retake I had registered for several times. I ended up deciding to go through with it and buckled down with Noodley's study plan. It was a good investment.

Not retaking and leaving money on the table is almost always an objectively bad decision.

You probably need to start getting picky about region. That really matters. I assume based on what you said that you're not from either coast?

The schools ranked 15-20 aren't interchangeable, and just sneaking into one (or all) of them isn't a major coup.

What kind of firm do you envision working at?