Looking for info/suggestions following disappointing LSAT score

Graduate School Law School
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<p>First-time poster here, though I've lurked! No law background or knowledge, making me a poor resource for my d. She received her LSAT score (160) last night, and was shaken up about it. I'd love to know what I'm talking about when I'm trying to provide emotional support.</p>

<p>She's at a top 20 USNews school. 3.85 GPA, double humanities major. Good leadership positions on campus; a couple of nice summer internships in the government field. Until last night, she was hoping for a top law school (T14, I think? sorry not to know the lingo). She tells me that a top school will now be impossible, so she'll have to adjust her career plans. She had hoped to work on Capitol Hill.</p>

<p>FWIW, the score was 5 points lower than her cold score and 8-9 points lower than her results after taking some online prep course (don't know which). Her SATs were 1500-plus, with several 800 SAT IIs. We're really surprised that her score wasn't higher. She didn't think she'd done that badly, or that she'd psyched herself out about it.</p>

<p>So - my questions. Is it really impossible now for her to be admitted to a big name law school? Is it really not realistic to make a career in the federal government without a big name law degree? Is it true that this score must be submitted with her law school apps (i.e., no score choice option)? Would it really not be worth her while to retake, because some schools don't look at a second score and other schools average it with the first? She'll be involved in some important conference during the next test administration, and she says the test date after that isn't considered for the schools she's interested in.</p>

<p>She isn't the type to give up, and she'll pick herself up again after processing this info. But she is also hugely practical, and I can see her deciding that she really isn't cut out for a legal career in government based on this score. This seems like it might be an extreme viewpoint?</p>

<p>She did have some schools on her list where she'd still have a 50 percent chance or so based on her current GPA/LSAT. She was hoping these would be safeties at the time she made up the list, and now they're reaches or maybe high match schools. Her original plans were to apply to some fellowships and service programs, also applying this year to law schools but maybe deferring admission for 1-2 years. Now her confidence is shaken about her other prospects, too.</p>

<p>Any wisdom out there? Thanks for your input -</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Unfortunately, she is correct that her chances of getting into a high ranked law school (top 14 or top 25) are low (not necessarily impossible, since she has a very high GPA, but consider the chances to be very low). The LSAT is extremely important for admission making up 50% to 70% of everything that is considered for admission by law schools. Retaking does not necessarily help. Some law schools consider only highest LSAT (and more keep heading that way) but many, including a lot of your top schools either average your LSAT scores if multiple tests or consider the fact that one is lower than the other, i.e., if you do worse the second time it can hurt you, and you cannot hide the scores -- it is impossible because most of your application materials go through the LSAC which then submits them to law schools and it is the organization that controls the LSAT test and puts all your scores in your file.</p></li>
<li><p>However, her grades and scores give a her a very good chance of being admitted to 80% or more of the law schools in the US. Not sure what you mean by federal government, Capitol Hill aspirations. But reality is that huge numbers of lawyers (vast majority) who work for federal agencies don't come from top 25 schools. In fact, many of them are not even top graduates from lower level schools.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>I'm sorry to hear that your daughter was disappointed with her score. 160 is good (many people would LOVE to get it) but based on her GPA and practice tests, I can see why she's sad.</p>

<p>My first thought is that she'd be a great candidate for re-taking the LSAT, based on SATs and practice LSATs. She is right that there is no score choice option. However, fewer and fewer schools are averaging multiple tests (now that US news doesn't average for their rankings), so going up even a few points could make a big difference. Since she was considering doing fellowships or something for a year or two anyway, it wouldn't be such a big deal to apply next year (also, with the economy this bad, she may find herself with a lot more competition this year). She should also check the pdf of her score sheet very carefully to make sure there wasn't a grading error.</p>

<p>I don't know enough about government work to say how easy or hard it would be to find a job from a school ranked below the top 14. But I do agree that it would be very hard for her to be admitted to a T14 school with a 160 LSAT score. According to this site Boston</a> College Law School Locator 25-75 - Boston College, five of the top 14 schools have 25th percentile LSAT scores of 169 or higher. The T14 schools with the lowest 25th/75th percentile LSAT rankings were UCLA and Berkeley; even there, a 163 was the 25th percentile. And many of the students who had LSAT scores below the 25th percentile probably had something remarkable about them--extensive work experience, the ability to add to the ethnic diversity of the school, parents who are big donors, etc. </p>

<p>If your daughter has the money, she could always apply to a few schools and see what the results are, applying again after retaking the LSAT if she's unhappy with where she gets in.</p>

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<p>Thank you both - I appreciate the info and encouragement. drusba, your point that many lawyers in federal agencies don't necessarily come from top schools is a nice picker-upper. I know she doesn't want to run for office (ever), but I'm not sure exactly what kind of position she does have in mind.</p>

<p>It sounds as if she should give more thought to re-taking if there is a trend toward looking at the top score. She mentioned today that her practice scores had been in the 170 range, so she really doesn't know what happened. So far all she's received is the email of the score. As you suggest, stacy, I'm sure she'll check the report carefully when she gets it. But errors probably are very rare - she's a realist and isn't wasting any hope on that.</p>

<p>Good point about additional competition due to the faltering economy. I never realized that law school admissions were so unforgiving. In fact, I was happy never to even think about them until last night. :) Thanks for any additional ideas you folks may have.</p>

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<p>Honestly, T14 is overrated anyway. They are all fantastic schools, but so are most in the Top 25. The only thing they really have an advantage with is recruitment into Big Law, and it sounds like your daughter is not interested in that anyway (like me).</p>

<p>I am a big proponent of retaking. So long as she is confident she will do better, there is really no way that it will hurt her. Even if the schools don't take just her higher score (as many are moving toward) the average will still be higher. And if she really can push it up to above a 168, I know Columbia will look at only the higher score with an 8 point spread like that. I just retook in October myself and got a 169 up from a 164, so I would say it is not a bad idea.</p>

<p>Remember as well, law schools love real world experience. Taking a year or two off after graduation or getting a job is actually helpful for getting into a good law school, provided you spend that year doing something. I would agree about going ahead and applying to a few schools, but if she doesn't get in to one she really wants to go to, I wouldn't settle for one she only kinda wants to attend. Take a year off, retake, do something important (I am applying to the Peace Corp right now myself) and reapply in a year or two. Every lawyer and law professor I have talked to has told me about the same thing.</p>

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<p>If it's any consolation my sister was a Northwestern undergraduate. She got a 162 on the LSAT but had a 3.87 GPA and managed to get into University of Pennsylvania Law School. Nothing is impossible =)</p>