Self-study
I am a 27 year old father of 3 with special needs children. I major in Computer science, am in my junior year as a full time student, and currently have a 3.28 GPA (I expect to graduate with a 3.5). I work 19 hours a week in my university's I.T. department as a network technician. Ive worked in the past as a crane operator, bank teller, and Helpdesk Tech. Right now, I am intending to take the June 6th LSAT to make the early application cycle, with hopes of attending Harvard (I know that's a stretch). Before any studying, I scored a 146 on my first PT. I am studying exclusively through 7Sage and don't intend to PT/drill again until at least finishing the core curriculum. My target score is a 176, and I will retest if I am not at least in the 170's.
Am I going about this the wrong way? is Harvard an unrealistic super reach for me? Is 25 hours of studying a week even close to enough? All I read online indicates a score in the 170's requires a minimum (usually more) of 6 months of intensive study...
any opinions would be greatly appreciated, the more honest, the better...
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14 comments
Hi Michael. I’m not planning on going to Harvard, but am in a similar boat as you. Probably going to be a splitter with a lower gpa, and high lsat. I’ve been worried about where I stand, but everyone I have talked to has been encouraging. I’m doing my best to show a strong upward trend and am going to write an addendum with documented reasons. I was able to secure what I think will be strong letters of recommendation. I’m working on personal statement. There is more to an application than just gpa, and schools look at people holistically. I’m not applying to Harvard, but I am applying to reach schools. Yes, Harvard is a reach school, but I say go for it.
Definitely not an unrealistic super reach for you at all. While I agree with the notion that you should also have some other schools in mind to apply to, there's nothing wrong with shooting for the stars. While I'm not aiming for Harvard Law myself, I strongly suggest approaching your studies carefully; if you watch basketball, right before Kyrie Irving tore his ACL, he was averaging a lot of minutes per game (I think he was leading the league during the 2024-25 season). My point being is that if you overdo it during your studies, you will find yourself going backwards due to burn out (take it from me: a guy who used to take one PT a day and didn't find it helpful at all). Start off with like 1-3 hours of focused study a day, finish the core curriculum, and then get right down to drilling to find out where you're struggling. LSATLab on YouTube has a lot of good videos for LR and RC that I've found very useful for helping me break into the high 160s, so I definitely recommend giving them a try.
All in all, I really do think scoring in the 170s is in the books for you, as well as Harvard Law. I will not say it will be easy, but as long as you focus on the process itself and be willing to even crawl your way past the finish line, I think you'll stand a very good chance.
"Greatness is not meant for a few chosen people. It's meant for those who persistently pursue their dreams every day and make that choice when they wake up." - Kyrie Irving
A couple of thoughts:
Harvard will have its pick of people, but it’s not uncommon people with STEM majors get in with a GPA below the school’s average. That being said, your LSAT will be key.
I’m going to take a guess that your GPA is also low due to external factors that you can and should use your addendum to explain.
I think it’s perfectly fine to aim for Harvard if it will motivate you to try your hardest to get a certain LSAT score, but keep in mind you have other options. A lot of the comments saying with your GPA to aim for T50s I think are low balling you: if you get a good LSAT score and can get that 3.5, I don’t see why why a T30 is out of reach.
Also there’s nothing wrong with a T50 if your aim is patent law. I briefly dated a patent lawyer that made great money in mid law (now is at a boutique law firm). He went to a T40 and was a materials engineer. Worked on a very high profile case too!
You have full life so treat the test like it’s your favorite hobby. You’re not someone in their early 20s with 0 responsibilities so don’t try to act like it. I’m in my 30s and have 0 kids, but I work full time as a manager at my job and help take care of my parents. I’ve been out of school for almost 10 years and just had to accept that the LSAT will come before the gym some days, but not before my demanding job.
Figure out ways to integrate your life with studying. Hilariously I gave up dating for most of the time I’ve been studying (I get easily distracted), but currently found someone who likes going on study dates at the library (he’s also programmer so maybe I have a soft spot for your post right now). If your local library has a good event coming up, that could be an extra carve out time to study somewhere while your family is nearby!
Excuse some of my poor phrasing this morning; a lil sleepy still.
Just go for it! A lot of comments sound very discouraging, but it’s not impossible. AI is helpful as a personal tutor to boost points. If it doesn’t work, I would consider hiring a tutor. And I’ve seen people who only spent 3 months to get a high score, but they spent about 50 hours per week. So I would also consider extending the prep timeline to the fall.
For people who graduated many years from college with various experience, GPA could be compensated by HIGH LSAT scores. So, if you hit 174/175+, at the end of the day, even if it’s not Harvard, you might still have a high chance of getting into a very good school with high scholarship. So if you aim for Harvard, and work hard for Harvard, you really have nothing to lose here! Good luck!
I guess I would just ask why it is you're focusing on Harvard? I always see people shoot for schools like that when there are way better schools for their life, location, and career path. You can still make as much money as a lawyer from a lesser-known school while you enjoy programs that have special clinics/focuses that best suit your interests and give out more scholarships too, but that's really only if you don't simply focus on the name of school. You have to allow yourself to believe there are other schools out there that are better/just as good for you than just Harvard. Harvard may be regarded as a top law school generally, but that in no way means they have the best programs/resources in every type of law. This is especially true if you're thinking of going into tech. The law school admissions process is already stressful enough especially being that you're a family man, don't bog yourself down even more by adding extra stress for something that may not even be worth it in the end. I would focus on schools that will help support you most in your area of law not just ones that are widely known. Good luck with all your endeavors though, and tell the kiddies I say hi! :) Edit: Also if this sounds in any way passive aggressive I did not mean for it to at all!! Wishing you the best!
I often get worried too, having similar goals but a much worse gpa than yours. I have a buddy in law school at UPenn that I often vent to when I get worried about admissions and he tells me two main things. First, is that no matter what the admission predictor tells you, it is people that admit you into law school, not machines. Secondly, and most importantly, is that there are many factors moving forward that you cannot control, but the one factor that you can control is your LSAT score. Focus on that and the rest will move into place as it needs to.
Use https://lsd.law/ to browse school profiles that match your stats. At Harvard, with a 3.5 GPA and 176, 2.6% of the users on LSD.law were accepted into Harvard University.
With your stats, I'd probably target schools between T30 and T100. After you've identified schools that are a good fit for your stats, use Hey Future Lawyer's ROI calculator to estimate the debt load you'd take on at each school, the salary you'd earn after graduation, and the time it would take to pay off your law school debt.
I've been studying for 2.5 months. I'm also a parent. I study 1-2 hours every night, take a practice test every weekend, and review wrong answers. I've gone from a 154 (diagnostic) to a 165 (my personal best practice test). I plan to take the LSAT at least twice before fall applications. 25 hours a week is more than I have been doing, but keep in mind that you will need a solid plan for who is going to care for the kids in the evening while you study. I definitely feel like my progress is slower than someone without young kids.
If you're going to go through with this, you need to go to a school that practically guarantees you'll be able to pay down your debt (could be $200K+) and take care of your family. I'm thinking that you'll need to start at a minimum of $125 in order to do that which may not even be comfortable. You probably really want $150+. That means top schools, basically T30 or better. With your GPA, you'll need a 165 to have a real chance.
I see you as being several steps down a very dark and very long path. I highly recommend you abandon whatever insanity possessed you to pursue this, and focus on your family. Those kids need you more than they need you to go to law school for 3 years and then work 80+ hours a week through the prime of your life and their foundational years. Ya, maybe they'll get to go to a good school and enjoy some summer vacations. But you can give them those things without going to law school. You're a father first, and everything else second.
You could stay on the IT route. Double down on your skills. Work from home even. If you have the ability to do all this LSAT stuff, you can most definitely move up in CompSci fields. Work on your skills as hard as you work on the LSAT. You could, alternatively, go back to manual labor. Mechanics, plumbers, welders—these people live comfortably with a high level of autonomy.