Stuck at a Crossroads

JD_step1

Abit of housekeeping: I am going into my fourth year of undergrad this fall and will be applying to Canadian Law Schools; mainly Ontario. My success in the first two years of undergrad (2.8-3.0 OLSAS GPA Calculator) were negatively influenced by marital issues in the home stemming from my father’s mental health (depression). I was also clinically diagnosed with ADHD in September 2017 and have been medicated since. This past year I was able to pull through do the best with the cards i’ve been delt to achieve an 85% avg or 3.85 GPA, which is anticipated to increase this coming year. This will give me 2 bad years and 2 better/good years of undergrad which i’m hoping some schools can look past due to the circumstances.

LSAT: I am currently registered for the July 2018 test and have been studying for the last two months on an average of 20 hours per week (Powerscore trilogy). I am also working 40 hours a week which makes it somewhat difficult to balance studying, family life, and maintaining friendships and the relationship I have with my girlfriend. I am starting to get overwhelmed due to my fully simulated and timed 4 section PT’s which produce results in the 150-153 range. BR usually brings me up to the low 160’s, however I have only done a handful of tests. I feel that I will not be ready for test day which I hope to score a165 (very ambitious for my current state). I am considering postponing until September but I also want to have adequate time to do my personal statements, gather LOR’s, and complete my application. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:)

ebalde1234

Hey - your current score and your target score have quite a gap and you should expect to do on or a bit below what you are currently pting. A few point increases maybe be possible (2 and a half weeks away ) from the July exam . That being said I think it’s best to be realistic ( not trying to come off as rude ) . You have a lot going on and are working so I imagine you would be immensely stressed . You should definitely plan to retake if you aren’t hitting near your target score. Br in that range tells me you have the skill set to get to your target. Best of luck

samantha.ashley92

The more stressed you are the days before/day of the LSAT, the worse you are going to do on exam day. So I would suggest doing whatever you can do to alleviate some stress-- whether it's delaying the LSAT or taking more time on the other parts of your applications. If it were me, I'd delay the LSAT. If you look at this website (below), it'll give you the likelihood of getting into the schools you're looking at. It seems like you really need a score in the low-mid 160's to make up for your GPA, unless you're also applying to schools outside of Ontario. It's crazy that there are such few schools to choose from! I think that's why they're all competitive. Good luck!

http://lsutil.azurewebsites.net/Prediction2016

JD_step1

I’m definitely on the same page as you guys, thank you!

Padawan

Read the LG Advice thread and the Postpone thread to help you decide. It helped me.