Top Law Schools

What are my chances? Taking first LSAT in June but consistently testing in mid-upper 150s on my practice tests.

Keep practicing. Any school that lets you in with those types of numbers isn't worth attending.

You have plenty of time to work on your lsat score, but obviously not on your GPA. Is there a regional school in your state offering really low tuition? Midwest has some affordable and very accessible law schools, but only if you are a resident. Think about where you would like to be. If you need to move, do it at least one year in advance to become a resident.
University of Montana has resident tuition of 12k a year, and the school has a good reputation in the region. The downside is that only about 86-90% of graduates find employment in the first 8 months post graduation and median salary is abouy 50k a year. On the upside, your job (if you get one) won't be too stressful and you will have enough time to enjoy exploring a rather beautiful state.
Penn State is a good option on the East coast. Try to bring your lsat score up to 158-159 and you might even get a nice scholarship.
Whatever you do, try not to go too deep into debt.

If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

threelayerpsych wrote:If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

LOL No.

GFox345 wrote:

threelayerpsych wrote:If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

LOL No.

You're the second person that's quoted me on this.

I'm really only going off of my acceptance experience during my law school admissions cycle a few years ago.

I applied to 22 laws schools - ranging from T20 to unranked - because I thought I wouldn't have gotten in anywhere. I got into every single one. Every. Single. One. I applied with only slightly better criteria than this person. My only "soft" was a decent addendum explaining my GPA.

When chancing OP, maybe saying "competitive" was a stretch; however, people like this DO get accepted in T50.

Edit: Have things really changed that much in a short few years?

threelayerpsych wrote:

GFox345 wrote:

threelayerpsych wrote:If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

LOL No.

You're the second person that's quoted me on this.

I'm really only going off of my acceptance experience during my law school admissions cycle a few years ago.

I applied to 22 laws schools - ranging from T20 to unranked - because I thought I wouldn't have gotten in anywhere. I got into every single one. Every. Single. One. I applied with only slightly better criteria than this person. My only "soft" was a decent addendum explaining my GPA.

When chancing OP, maybe saying "competitive" was a stretch; however, people like this DO get accepted in T50.

Edit: Have things really changed that much in a short few years?

Yes, things have changed. Law school applications and lsat scores are drastically up compared to even 2 years ago. The trump bump is real. Also the employment stats are getting worse. Summer associate classes are down 25% in total size the past two years. Over 40% of law school graduates cannot find a single legal job (including being a paralegal).

So yes, things have changed.

threelayerpsych wrote:

GFox345 wrote:

threelayerpsych wrote:If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

LOL No.

You're the second person that's quoted me on this.

I'm really only going off of my acceptance experience during my law school admissions cycle a few years ago.

I applied to 22 laws schools - ranging from T20 to unranked - because I thought I wouldn't have gotten in anywhere. I got into every single one. Every. Single. One. I applied with only slightly better criteria than this person. My only "soft" was a decent addendum explaining my GPA.

When chancing OP, maybe saying "competitive" was a stretch; however, people like this DO get accepted in T50.

Edit: Have things really changed that much in a short few years?

Several people have called you out for this advice and advice you've given on other threads because it is just wrong. I sincerely congratulate you on out-performing your numbers, but that does not change the fact that the vast majority of applicants won't. What you're doing is like winning the lottery and telling others to invest in lottery tickets because it turned out to be worth it in your unique case. Your personal anecdote does not outweigh the years of evidence to the contrary. Going into the Law School application cycle with a poor GPA and a barely above-average LSAT score is a recipe for disaster. It is irresponsible to encourage prospective applicants to do it, even if you dodged a bullet yourself.

GFox345 wrote:

threelayerpsych wrote:

GFox345 wrote:

threelayerpsych wrote:If you can explain your GPA in your essays that indicates your GPA is not a result of just laziness - did you have some kind of incident, depression, famuily matter, or you realized one day you had to work on your grades, etc. - your LSAT only needs to be a minimum of 160 to be competitive for Top 50 schools.

LOL No.

You're the second person that's quoted me on this.

I'm really only going off of my acceptance experience during my law school admissions cycle a few years ago.

I applied to 22 laws schools - ranging from T20 to unranked - because I thought I wouldn't have gotten in anywhere. I got into every single one. Every. Single. One. I applied with only slightly better criteria than this person. My only "soft" was a decent addendum explaining my GPA.

When chancing OP, maybe saying "competitive" was a stretch; however, people like this DO get accepted in T50.

Edit: Have things really changed that much in a short few years?

Several people have called you out for this advice and advice you've given on other threads because it is just wrong. I sincerely congratulate you on out-performing your numbers, but that does not change the fact that the vast majority of applicants won't. What you're doing is like winning the lottery and telling others to invest in lottery tickets because it turned out to be worth it in your unique case. Your personal anecdote does not outweigh the years of evidence to the contrary. Going into the Law School application cycle with a poor GPA and a barely above-average LSAT score is a recipe for disaster. It is irresponsible to encourage prospective applicants to do it, even if you dodged a bullet yourself.

I actually appreciate you and sparkytrainer for not only educating me but also pointing out that my case is an anomaly. It’s important for 0Ls to have managed expectations. I would never want anyone to have unrealistic expectations based on my advice. Glad this will serve as an example of winning the lottery and that the lottery doesn’t happen to everyone.