162 LSAT / 3.7 GPA Forum

[Chrissy1018]

About me:

- Took the LSAT twice. cancelled the first time and got a 162 on the second. don't feel comfortable retaking.
- Graduated Stony Brook University in 3 years 3.7 GPA
- Double majored in Psychology and Political Science
- Worked as a Resident Assistant for a year and a half
- Worked as a Student Assistant for 2 years
- Vice President of Club Lacrosse Team
- 80 Hours of Volunteer work
- Independent research with a professor
- Member of phi alpha delta
- Member of a women's activist club
- Have been working at a small law firm in Brooklyn as a legal assistant for almost two years

Still pending from Fordham, Georgetown, Boston University, Columbia and Cornell

My top choice right now is Fordham. What are my chances at these schools / are scholarships even a possibility?

Thanks for all the help!

EDIT: Live in NYC and want to practice in Entertainment Law

[rwhyAn]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

[hairbear7]

I agree with the above poster

[GFox345]

Retake.

[cbbinnyc]

I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking...

Retake.

Also, I'm guessing that you applied late in the cycle, since you still haven't heard from anywhere (including Fordham where you should probably be an easy admit). That's going to hurt you, probably with admissions chances, and definitely with money. Even with your current numbers you have a shot at some money from Fordham and/or BU, but probably not this late in the cycle. Retake in June and apply on day one. Failing that, retake in October and get apps ready so you will go complete as soon as that score is out.

ETA: Saw your other post, see that you have full rides to Cardozo and St Johns, so I guess you have heard back from some places. Doesn't change the advice.

[Chrissy1018]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

Thanks for the reply, I already spent over a year trying to study and a couple thousand of dollars. I've already seen so many practice tests and questions that I wouldn't know If I were actually learning or just remembering the correct answers. I've gone through two different prep courses. i took blueprint twice and another course once. I don't know what else to study from. I was going between 158 - 168 on my practice tests

I figured in at Fordham but am worried about the scholarship. I am hoping for around 20K-30K but don't know if that is realistic

[Chrissy1018]

I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking...

Retake.

Also, I'm guessing that you applied late in the cycle, since you still haven't heard from anywhere (including Fordham where you should probably be an easy admit). That's going to hurt you, probably with admissions chances, and definitely with money. Even with your current numbers you have a shot at some money from Fordham and/or BU, but probably not this late in the cycle. Retake in June and apply on day one. Failing that, retake in October and get apps ready so you will go complete as soon as that score is out.

I applied to fordham on February 24. I've heard from everyone that they take about two months to inform applications of their decisions

[RaceJudicata]

Fordham prediction on $ --> 10k max (from experience w/ similar stats)

[mist4bison]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

Thanks for the reply, I already spent over a year trying to study and a couple thousand of dollars. I've already seen so many practice tests and questions that I wouldn't know If I were actually learning or just remembering the correct answers. I've gone through two different prep courses. i took blueprint twice and another course once. I don't know what else to study from. I was going between 158 - 168 on my practice tests

I figured in at Fordham but am worried about the scholarship. I am hoping for around 20K-30K but don't know if that is realistic

Honestly, it's probably how you're studying, not what materials you're using. If you had that big of a range for PT scores, then you clearly weren't scoring consistently and I'm guessing didn't blind review any tests? I would guarantee that if you went over to the LSAT forum and spent an hour or so browsing various study methods, you'd likely find one you haven't tried before.

You have a pretty good GPA, but the LSAT isn't getting you anywhere. Don't settle.

[cbbinnyc]

I applied to fordham on February 24. I've heard from everyone that they take about two months to inform applications of their decisions

That may be true, and you will probably get an acceptance. That's very late in the cycle, though, so I wouldn't expect money. Even if you do get money, it won't be much ($20-30k is almost negligible with high tuition and NYC CoL), and you could probably get more if you applied early.

It sounds like you did a lot of prep for the LSAT, but that's not a reason not to retake. It just means you need to examine the prep you did and do something differently. You have a third retake left, virtually no school is going to care about anything but your highest score, so there is basically no downside. Don't drop more money on classes, self-study using the materials you have. Many people have improved their scores by reusing old materials. It doesn't matter if you are "remembering" the old questions (which you probably aren't ... you certainly don't remember 70+ tests worth of questions), you are still learning to be fluent in "LSAT".

[rwhyAn]

I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking...

Retake.

Also, I'm guessing that you applied late in the cycle, since you still haven't heard from anywhere (including Fordham where you should probably be an easy admit). That's going to hurt you, probably with admissions chances, and definitely with money. Even with your current numbers you have a shot at some money from Fordham and/or BU, but probably not this late in the cycle. Retake in June and apply on day one. Failing that, retake in October and get apps ready so you will go complete as soon as that score is out.

ETA: Saw your other post, see that you have full rides to Cardozo and St Johns, so I guess you have heard back from some places. Doesn't change the advice.

Seeing that you have full rides to Cardozo and St. John's, why not them? Those would be much better options than Fordham or BU at sticker.

[BigZuck]

Check out www.mylsn.info for chances

[Chrissy1018]

I applied to fordham on February 24. I've heard from everyone that they take about two months to inform applications of their decisions

That may be true, and you will probably get an acceptance. That's very late in the cycle, though, so I wouldn't expect money. Even if you do get money, it won't be much ($20-30k is almost negligible with high tuition and NYC CoL), and you could probably get more if you applied early.

It sounds like you did a lot of prep for the LSAT, but that's not a reason not to retake. It just means you need to examine the prep you did and do something differently. You have a third retake left, virtually no school is going to care about anything but your highest score, so there is basically no downside. Don't drop more money on classes, self-study using the materials you have. Many people have improved their scores by reusing old materials. It doesn't matter if you are "remembering" the old questions (which you probably aren't ... you certainly don't remember 70+ tests worth of questions), you are still learning to be fluent in "LSAT".

I'm only about an hour train ride from Fordham and would be living with my parent's. The COL in NY doesn't affect me too much so I would be ok with the 20-30 k in scholarship

[Chrissy1018]

I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking...

Retake.

Also, I'm guessing that you applied late in the cycle, since you still haven't heard from anywhere (including Fordham where you should probably be an easy admit). That's going to hurt you, probably with admissions chances, and definitely with money. Even with your current numbers you have a shot at some money from Fordham and/or BU, but probably not this late in the cycle. Retake in June and apply on day one. Failing that, retake in October and get apps ready so you will go complete as soon as that score is out.

ETA: Saw your other post, see that you have full rides to Cardozo and St Johns, so I guess you have heard back from some places. Doesn't change the advice.

Seeing that you have full rides to Cardozo and St. John's, why not them? Those would be much better options than Fordham or BU at sticker.

I haven't seen the greatest reviews on these schools. Essentially having to be top 10-15% of the class to have a chance at big law type jobs. i want to work in the entertainment industry and IDk how these schools fare with sending students there

[BigZuck]

Simply not going to law school has to be an option that you strongly consider taking. These schools don't align with your career aspirations and are too expensive and you're saying you can't get better options, so that points to straight up not going. And that's totally fine, nothing wrong with that.

[Chrissy1018]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

Thanks for the reply, I already spent over a year trying to study and a couple thousand of dollars. I've already seen so many practice tests and questions that I wouldn't know If I were actually learning or just remembering the correct answers. I've gone through two different prep courses. i took blueprint twice and another course once. I don't know what else to study from. I was going between 158 - 168 on my practice tests

I figured in at Fordham but am worried about the scholarship. I am hoping for around 20K-30K but don't know if that is realistic

Honestly, it's probably how you're studying, not what materials you're using. If you had that big of a range for PT scores, then you clearly weren't scoring consistently and I'm guessing didn't blind review any tests? I would guarantee that if you went over to the LSAT forum and spent an hour or so browsing various study methods, you'd likely find one you haven't tried before.

You have a pretty good GPA, but the LSAT isn't getting you anywhere. Don't settle.

It was honestly hard for me to study. I work full time and don't want to give up what I do have now if I were to bomb the real test and then have to reapply all over again

[Chrissy1018]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

Thanks for the reply, I already spent over a year trying to study and a couple thousand of dollars. I've already seen so many practice tests and questions that I wouldn't know If I were actually learning or just remembering the correct answers. I've gone through two different prep courses. i took blueprint twice and another course once. I don't know what else to study from. I was going between 158 - 168 on my practice tests

I figured in at Fordham but am worried about the scholarship. I am hoping for around 20K-30K but don't know if that is realistic

Honestly, it's probably how you're studying, not what materials you're using. If you had that big of a range for PT scores, then you clearly weren't scoring consistently and I'm guessing didn't blind review any tests? I would guarantee that if you went over to the LSAT forum and spent an hour or so browsing various study methods, you'd likely find one you haven't tried before.

You have a pretty good GPA, but the LSAT isn't getting you anywhere. Don't settle.

It was honestly hard for me to study. I work full time and don't want to give up what I do have now if I were to bomb the real test and then have to reapply all over again

[Chrissy1018]

Simply not going to law school has to be an option that you strongly consider taking. These schools don't align with your career aspirations and are too expensive and you're saying you can't get better options, so that points to straight up not going. And that's totally fine, nothing wrong with that.

Hey are you saying that cardozo or St. John's won't be good for entertainment law?

[GFox345]

You know the correct answer, retake. I don't understand how anyone is "uncomfortable" retaking, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. In at Fordham, WL at BU, and out everywhere else. Expect to pay sticker. You're doing yourself a real disservice by not retaking. A couple hundred bucks more and some extra hours studying could mean tens of thousands of dollars. Paying sticker at any of the schools you are likely to get into is simply not worth it.

Thanks for the reply, I already spent over a year trying to study and a couple thousand of dollars. I've already seen so many practice tests and questions that I wouldn't know If I were actually learning or just remembering the correct answers. I've gone through two different prep courses. i took blueprint twice and another course once. I don't know what else to study from. I was going between 158 - 168 on my practice tests

I figured in at Fordham but am worried about the scholarship. I am hoping for around 20K-30K but don't know if that is realistic

Honestly, it's probably how you're studying, not what materials you're using. If you had that big of a range for PT scores, then you clearly weren't scoring consistently and I'm guessing didn't blind review any tests? I would guarantee that if you went over to the LSAT forum and spent an hour or so browsing various study methods, you'd likely find one you haven't tried before.

You have a pretty good GPA, but the LSAT isn't getting you anywhere. Don't settle.

It was honestly hard for me to study. I work full time and don't want to give up what I do have now if I were to bomb the real test and then have to reapply all over again

I can say from personal experience that studying for the LSAT is totally possible while you are working full-time. You can set aside 10-15 hours a week if it matters enough to you. I know how much it sucks - believe me. I took 2 PTs every Saturday for 15 weeks and drilled LG for at least an hour on week days until I got it. Seriously reconsider your position on retaking. Getting a handful of extra questions right on this test could literally change your life. The time that you invest into the LSAT will be paid back to you many times over.

[cbbinnyc]

Simply not going to law school has to be an option that you strongly consider taking. These schools don't align with your career aspirations and are too expensive and you're saying you can't get better options, so that points to straight up not going. And that's totally fine, nothing wrong with that.

Hey are you saying that cardozo or St. John's won't be good for entertainment law?

If you want a decent shot at entertainment law, you probably need to go to go to a T14 (and even then you'll probably need connections). Take a look at bios for people who are big-time entertainment lawyers and general counsel at movie studios and record labels and such. They all went to Harvard, Columbia, NYU, etc. Maybe the one exception here is UCLA - they seem to have a lot of grads doing entertainment work in LA. That's not to say it's impossible to go to Cardozo/St Johns/Fordham and do entertainment law. I'm sure you can dig around and find grads of those schools who are doing the work you want to do. But your chances aren't great.

[Chrissy1018]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the help!.

I live in Brooklyn and I just want to stay and go to school in NY. Entertainment and IP are the goals then real estate. I've applied to schools outside of NY just as back ups. But want to practice and continue to live in NY.

Any thoughts on this with my stats would be helpful as well. I don't know if i necessarily have to go to NYU or Columbia to do well here. I will work my ass off to make sure that I am in top percents of my class. And I've seen Partners At Law firms come from Cardozo, St. John's and Fordham.

[Effingham]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the help!.

I live in Brooklyn and I just want to stay and go to school in NY. Entertainment and IP are the goals then real estate. I've applied to schools outside of NY just as back ups. But want to practice and continue to live in NY.

Any thoughts on this with my stats would be helpful as well. I don't know if i necessarily have to go to NYU or Columbia to do well here. I will work my ass off to make sure that I am in top percents of my class. And I've seen partners at law firms come from Cardozo, St. John's and Fordham.

Your post has been so badly beaten to death it hurts to read...we do not have the same opportunities as the boomers and early gen-xers. hard work does not equal success in law school. you do have to go to NYU to get some semblance of entertainment law in NY, and even that is extremely iffy. Also, you cannot practice IP law without a legitimate sciences undergraduate degree (see eligibility for the patent bar). Finally, I don't know how one gets into real estate law, but I am pretty sure it's through the biglaw real estate practice groups and boutiques, both of which do not hire from the schools you are considering to any extent that it is worth basing a decision on.

[Chrissy1018]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the help!.

I live in Brooklyn and I just want to stay and go to school in NY. Entertainment and IP are the goals then real estate. I've applied to schools outside of NY just as back ups. But want to practice and continue to live in NY.

Any thoughts on this with my stats would be helpful as well. I don't know if i necessarily have to go to NYU or Columbia to do well here. I will work my ass off to make sure that I am in top percents of my class. And I've seen partners at law firms come from Cardozo, St. John's and Fordham.

Your post has been so badly beaten to death it hurts to read...we do not have the same opportunities as the boomers and early gen-xers. hard work does not equal success in law school. you do have to go to NYU to get some semblance of entertainment law, and even that is extremely iffy. Also, you cannot practice IP law without a legitimate sciences undergraduate degree (see eligibility for the patent bar).

haha I know. not fun to read at all. I wouldn't really focus on patent law. I've been told that doing the copyright/trademark side of IP is entirely possible without a science background. That was coming from Cardozo students.

[Foghornleghorn]

I wouldn't really focus on patent law. I've been told that doing the copyright/trademark side of IP is entirely possible without a science background. That was coming from Cardozo students.

Lol. Just lol.

[Effingham]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the help!.

I live in Brooklyn and I just want to stay and go to school in NY. Entertainment and IP are the goals then real estate. I've applied to schools outside of NY just as back ups. But want to practice and continue to live in NY.

Any thoughts on this with my stats would be helpful as well. I don't know if i necessarily have to go to NYU or Columbia to do well here. I will work my ass off to make sure that I am in top percents of my class. And I've seen partners at law firms come from Cardozo, St. John's and Fordham.

Your post has been so badly beaten to death it hurts to read...we do not have the same opportunities as the boomers and early gen-xers. hard work does not equal success in law school. you do have to go to NYU to get some semblance of entertainment law, and even that is extremely iffy. Also, you cannot practice IP law without a legitimate sciences undergraduate degree (see eligibility for the patent bar).

haha I know. not fun to read at all. I wouldn't really focus on patent law. I've been told that doing the copyright/trademark side of IP is entirely possible without a science background. That was coming from Cardozo students.

It's painful to read because you have endless opportunities with that GPA, but you need a bit of a reality-check with this LSAT thing. I just hope that your reality-check doesn't come in the form of unemployment and three wasted years plus a pile of debt. The decisions you make now really will affect you later in life, these aren't all just imaginary numbers. Those three years you are forsaking are the equivalent of roughly $150,000 (before tax) in positive wealth that you could be earning, and that isn't even considering the debt you will incur during the entire process.

I didn't figure out the LSAT until my third try. I was the guy who was going to go K-JD, but I couldn't because the situation didn't make sense. Waiting and working for a better score, though very painful at the time, was the single best decision I have ever made. Trust the people on this board, no one else is getting anything out of telling you to wait.