If one has a 3.5 undergrad GPA and a 159 LSAT, is it worth attending law schools at this level?
It is worth you studying for the LSAT and try to break 165, which would put you in a better position to apply to law school
Here are some germane data points: An LSAT score of 151 is approximately the average among everyone who takes the test. Further, according to statistics from the Law School Admission Council—the organization that administers the LSAT—scores higher than those in the 60th percentile correlate with a low risk of failing to eventually pass a bar exam. Scores ranking from the 60th to the 40th percentile, by contrast, correlate with a moderate but rapidly increasing risk of failure. Scores below the 40th percentile correlate with a high risk of failure, and scores below the 25th percentile correlate with an extreme risk of failure, to the point where it is quite unlikely that someone with an LSAT score below 145 will ever pass a bar exam.
You are around the 70-75th percentile which means, you should have no problem passing the bar. That said, the more crucial question is what type of school do you aspire to attend? For some, their state university is just fine (of course that is also relevant to the regional job market and prospects.) But for others, who aspire to say “big law”, federal clerkships or academia, well, I would say you are much better off with a school in the top 14. Your score places you smack in the middle, and thus you will probably be at a middle tier school.
By way of specific example, here is sample of schools, with a gpa higher than your own (3.9), but the same lsat score–see: http://lawschoolnumbers.com/gpa-3.9/lsat-159
Not if you have to take out big loans.
With the plan to study now for a couple months, I expect the LSAT score to improve to 163 - 167…
Is there a correlation with the ACT. I earned a 31 on the ACT. Thanks again for everyones advice
Study hard–real hard with classes if necessary. Again, by way of data points on this, the average increase of taking the LSAT a 2nd time is little under 3 points.
Thx - took it cold turkey the first time
Hope someone can provide a correlation with the ACT. Although I scored a 31, I scored a 36 and 32 on the reading and english sections……
@ccooke935: If a 159 is your cold score, you should be able to get into the 170s. Don’t stop until you do. Then come back here.
Take a Kaplan (or similar) test prep class and get your score way up and you’ll be ok.
But how many people who took the LSAT more than once took it cold the first time?
Maybe those who saw the greatest improvements took it cold the first time… in which case it could happen that they would get 170 on the real thing but that would take, on average, 3-4 months of studying to achieve that increase from a cold LSAT in the high 150s.
A 31 means you have the ability to score in the high 160’s (at least)…
If you do get a score in the high 160s (think 167-168 will do the trick), you may consider applying ED to WUSTL; whereas ED, or RD even, at T14 schools may prove to be prohibitively expensive with a LSAT in the high-160s (ED at NWU instead if you somehow get 170+, in which case your scholarship will be 150k for all 3 years), WUSTL ED admits are awarded full-rides although, in a law school context, a full-ride excludes living expenses.
However, ED at WUSTL is a rather new thing and, as such, is unproven. TLS claims that people with a 166 on the LSAT had full-rides through ED at WUSTL; I hope that you are willing to practice in the Midwest if you do take that minimal-debt option.