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Hello, needing some advice! I am at a loss for what to do, I am scoring around a 155 currently which is average for the schools I want to attend. However, with the cost of law schools currently and the job market, I have read it's not really worth it to attend unless you can get a pretty large scholarship. Most scholarship receipts score in the 170s. I am taking the June LSAT and am thinking of just postponing. I just graduated with my bachelor's in marketing and am also applying to business related jobs. I am wondering if I should just take my time studying to ensure I at least get close to a 170 or is it worth it to go into debt? Any advice on what to do? Tia!
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@mhmyers - Just something else for you to consider!
You mentioned a few things that I'm not sure are connected together:
You're scoring around a 155 which is the median (not the average) for the schools you'd like to attend.
But you think most scholarship recipients are scoring in the 170s.
Here's what I want to make sure you're clear on - are you sure that the schools you're targeting with mid-150 LSAT medians are only giving scholarships to folks in the 170s? Because as a former director of admissions and fin aid AND someone who tracks this kind of stuff, I'm not sure that's accurate. Most schools use their scholarship models to incentive attendance for folks at-and-above their medians. For example, it would be crazy if a school was shooting for a 160 median but only gave scholarships to students who scored a 165+. Why? Because they don't need 166's and 167's to hit that 160 target; they need 160's and 161's and 162's (and a small helping of 165+'s).
So my recommendation is to check out websites like this page on our site and lawschooldata to see where your target law schools started offering scholarships. Pay attention to both the LSAT and GPA. Find folks who have similar stats to yours. What happened with them? Were they admitted or not? And if admitted, what scholarships did they get? Would those kind of financial aid awards be good enough for you to feel confident attending law school?
I hope that helps!
@JacobBaska Thank you!
@JacobBaska I am not sure of the median needed, but I am trying to get maximum scholarship. The website you provided will help me a lot, thank you!
@JacobBaska On the tracker, when it shows someone has received a scholarship is that amount typically per year or per semester?
@APBookninja It's actually a third option - the TOTAL award over three years. I just pulled up UVA for example and saw a few folks who were listing awards of $90k and $45k. I would assume by default that the former is "$30k annually for three years" and the latter is "$15k annually for three years."
People sometimes list their annual awards. You can tell because the giveaways are 1) it's a number that isn't divisible by three (fin aid folks like to give even awards for three years...) and 2) if the award doesn't seem to be in line with other folks in the same statistical range (eg, everyone else with these stats is listing $135,000 but this person lists $45,000 - my guess is that they ALSO got a total award of $135k, but they just listed the single year amount).
(And PS - sorry for missing this reply question over the weekend!)
@JacobBaska that's okay, thanks for your reply! I did not even consider it being the full amount overall. But that does make sense, especially with the larger amounts I was seeing.
Hi! I am in the same position as you are. I have been scoring between 150-154. However, all the schools that I want to go to have a medium of 170+ and I don't think I would be able to reach that score in just a few days. So, I have decided to postpone my LSAT till October (which is the last LSAT for international students). People say that it is best to take the exam when you are PTing around your goal score since test environment could impact your score.
@j_w180 Yes, I am thinking of rescheduling as well. You got this!
Please postpone! Do not take the June LSAT!
@valpal Why do you think I should postpone?
@mhmyers I believe you can get in the 170s if you study more, and you still have time until the 2027 application window. I would at least postpone until August, and consider having to take September & October for backup! Why not study more? I don't think it's worth going into debt when you have months until application window
@valpal Very true! I have just postponed before, and it makes me feel down that I still haven't taken it yet.
@mhmyers same. I misused my chances and now I only have 1 shot left with taking the test. I don't want you to be in the same position if you can help it! You have plenty of time, just keep it consistent so you don't lose momentum with your progress