Chance me: 3.947 GPA, 159 LSAT Forum

[isabeld]

Chance me for Northeastern University, University of Wisconsin, and CUNY:

GPA: 3.947
LSAT: 159
Straight from undergrad at small liberal arts college, no gap years
College extracurriculars: vice president of student council, president of Asian cultural organization, lead organizer for a nonprofit centered around equal access to education, writer for university newspaper
Work experience: community advisor/resident assistant during sophomore, junior, and senior year; worked in DEI office throughout sophomore, junior, and senior year; summer/seasonal work as a secretary and janitor

[Dcc617]

Take a year or two off of school, work, and retake. Your gpa is too high to apply with that lsat.

[nixy]

I agree with the above. Even if you’re committed to going to law school straight out of undergrad (I think taking time off is best, but that’s your decision), you have time to study and retake and chances are good with that GPA that you have the ability to improve. Every point higher will open up more options for you.

Also, Northeastern, Wisconson, and CUNY is an odd group of schools. If you’re looking at schools outside the small group of top elite schools, you’re best going to school where you want to practice. I suppose you could legitimately be equally willing to practice in Boston, Wisconsin, or NYC, of course, but in case you’re picking these schools based on ranking, or specialized programs, you’re much better off looking at employment statistics (including opportunities in the jobs you’re interested in), cost, and location in relation to where you want to practice.

[Serjatclaw]

Retake, retake, retake the LSAT. If you can break into the 170s you could access some much higher ranked schools, and the schools you listed will probably give you full rides.

Regardless of how you decide to change your testing strategy, I would suggest holding off on taking the most recently dated practice tests until you get the hang of your routine and see gradual improvement. The latest tests are going to provide some of the most accurate reflections of your current scoring, so it's not a great idea to use up all off them in the first months of studying. That's not to say that the older tests aren't useful, they just aren't the best reflections of how the test is now.

Also, I'm going to reiterate what others have said and ask that you try to narrow your school picks to a specific region that you would want to practice in: it won't be helpful if you go to school in Wisconsin and then end up wanting to practice law in New York or something.