154 Lsat + 3.65 Gpa = ???

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hoping someone out there has got a bit of advice for me. I just took the Sept LSAT and got my score back - 154. My cumulative GPA is a 3.65 with that being the result of a significant uptrend since my freshman year. I have some legal experience, typically summer intern at a coprorate law firm, and then a full time semester internship at the district attorney's office. </p>

<p>I'm wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what kind of schools I should be considering given the above information and whether or not I should consider retaking the test. I did moderate preparation for the test -- scored anywhere from a 150 to 164 on practice tests.</p>

<p>What is the "best" school I should realistically have a chance of getting in to?</p>

2

<p>1.) How many practice LSATs did you take under test conditions? Timed, full sections, etc. What was the average and standard deviation?</p>

<p>2.) Depends heavily on factors you haven't told us, like race and your home state.</p>

<p>3.) Depends on your eventual goals. What do you want to do with your law degree?</p>

3

<p>If you are a senior and considering law school for this year, "time's a wastin'!" You have one month left before the December LSATs. If you can do some serious preparation for the December test, take it. If you are from Tennessee consider applying to UT-Knoxville Law School. It places well in Nashville. If not from Tennessee my more general advice is to be sure to apply to your state's law schools where you have a shot at getting in. Take a look at the GPA/LSAT probability of admission calculator on lsac.org. Also, look at Law School Numbers website for applicants with comparable credentials like your own. And get cracking on that Personal Statement!</p>

4

<p>If you've hit 164 in practice, why not practice some more and take it again? Taking it twice is pretty common these days.</p>

5

<p>The maximum score ever achieved is not a good marker for your most-likely-score-upon-retake. I do not necessarily recommend a retake based on that possibility.</p>

<p>If you often hit as high as 164, then by all means. But if you were normally around 154 and once managed a 164, then that might not be worth pursuing.</p>

6

<p>3.65GPA + 154 LSAT = bad school & bad job.</p>

7

<p>Mr. Payne - surely you jest?</p>

8

<p>SAT's might also be a good indicator of your test-taking ability in general. If you were around a 1060, a 154 sounds about right.</p>

9

<p>Go to <a href="http://www.lsac.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.lsac.org&lt;/a>. and use the little gizmo that allows you to search for law schools by UGPA and LSAT. It will give you better advice than any of us can. (Remember that for public law schools that weigh state residence, you need to adjust a bit up or down depending on whether you are a state resident.)</p>

<p>This link may work: <a href="http://officialguide.lsac.org/UGPASearch/Search3.aspx?SidString=%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://officialguide.lsac.org/UGPASearch/Search3.aspx?SidString=&lt;/a>
If it doesn't, click on the Official Guide to ABA-Accredited Law Schools (or a title close to that) and go from there.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
Mr. Payne - surely you jest?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nope. I'm here to be objective, not give compliments. A 154 LSAT will get you into a crummy school and a crummy law job. I'd reckon going to law school would be a very bad financial decision.</p>

11

<p>Those stats look familer... I got the same LSAT, and my GPA was slightly higher. If you want to apply now you'll have some luck with some T2 schools, and will have pretty good luck with T3 schools. I'm going to Texas Tech, a T3 school so I've got no hope for a job after school. I'm at this point just trying to get the law degree and then go get a job at Walmart. :rolleyes:</p>

12

<p>so you want to be a lawyer for walmart? if you know you're not going to be a lawyer, then why waste the time and money in law school?</p>

<p>if you take the LSAT twice, they'll just average your score.</p>

13

<p>Don't go to law school unless your parents are paying and you'd be happy graduating with a low-paying job relatively close to the school you go to.</p>

14

<p>First sarcasm appears lost on this board...</p>

<p>Second they don't average LSAT scores anymore.</p>

<p>Third it's critically important to look and see what market a school feeds regardless of it's rank! One of the things I did before accepting Texas Tech was look at it's plac ein the market. Texas is a big state with a lot of the school centered arond Houston. Tech grads do pretty well in Dallas, which is a decent saized city. The other school I had looked at was right down the street from Ohio State. I decided against that one because from all my research, there wasn't much of a market there.</p>

15

<p>Mr.Payne,
If you consider SMU a bad law school, then I guess you are right.
But I happen to think it is one of the top law schools, and I was accepted with a LSAT of 154. Don’t try to unjustly disappoint a potential student.</p>

16

<p>^^^ why would you bump a 3 year old thread? Also, if you consider SMU one of the top law schools, in this economy, you are delusional.</p>

17

<p>Agreed with Patriot.</p>

18

<p>Neither of you obviously know anything about SMU Law…if you did you wouldn’t say what you are saying…if you want to live and practice in Dallas it’s a great choice…placement “in this economy” has been stellar.</p>

19

<p>eadad, did you notice how your qualifier proved my point? thanks for that.</p>