Hello! I am just looking for some advice, reassurance, or a reality check about my chances of getting into law school. In early June I took a diagnostic with 0 lsat prep and scored a 152. I have been studying for roughly one month now and had a plan to test in September and October, to get applications in prior to thanksgiving. My study plan has been going well and I am up to date. My goal score is 165+ and my cumulative undergrad GPA is a measly 2.51! Since college I have been working as a contract analyst in a national finance firm for 2 years. Working in a law related setting and working directly with lawyers and legal analysts had really driven my interest in studying law. My undergrad degree is from Drake and I would love to continue my education there.
With my stats, how realistic is this goal?
Does it help in law admissions when applying to a law school from which you graduated in their undergrad program?
Is the "Thanksgiving cutoff" a real thing or should I focus on getting the highest score possible, even if that is a later test date?
Thank you for any input you may provide!
6 comments
Happy to chime in with the admissions perspective!
Drake's most recent medians (per the ABA) were a 156 and 3.67. Given your undergrad GPA, your strategy here is to be an "LSAT splitter." What that means is a high LSAT and a low GPA. Thankfully, you're already close with your 152 diagnostic from a month ago!
There's no magic number to aim for on the LSAT in order to balance out your GPA. Honestly, I would see how you do in September and then asses things from there. For example, what if you're PTing around the low 160s and get a 163? On a purely statistical level, it would be reasonable to submit an application at that point.
Back to your GPA, I'd encourage you to submit an addenda for your grades if there were any extenuating circumstances that led to lower marks. For example, if someone's grades are low because they had a health issue during one year or if they were balancing school with working 40 hours a week. In those cases, it's worth explaining that!
Regarding timeline, I would politely disagree with MJ's comment that every month you wait is worth an LSAT point. That's not how admissions officers are approaching things. Rather, they're reading apps on a rolling basis. Once they start really reviewing apps in mid-to-late October (which is when the schedule of law fairs dies down), they'll start making decisions. It's better to be at the front of their review queue rather than the back of the queue. However, I'll admit that this is much more important for the highest ranked schools (let's just say the top 30 in the US News rankings). It's not as huge of a deal for local schools like Drake. But the basic message I'd offer is - yes, you can be competitive based on your resume and projected LSAT but just don't drag your feet on submitting your apps.
@JacobBaska Hi Jacob,
Thanks for jumping in with the admissions perspective! This is extremely helpful and definitely helps to take some of the pressure off the September test date for me. I really appreciate the advice on the GPA addendum as well, I have been finding many different opinions on addendums through online research. It's also great to have some clarity on the timeline of admissions compared to what MJ suggested. My goal is to be in that first review group, so I'll aim to have my application ready by October rather than holding off for another test. I will likely still register for the October test as that registration closes prior to the September test.
I do have a couple additional questions if you have the time to answer them:
Do admissions teams look at splitters differently if they have a few years of corporate work experience versus coming straight out of undergrad?
Would signing up for an October test date be a good move or would you wait for the September results to come out and then sign up for the November test date if a higher score is needed? (Would taking PTs to create a reasonable expectation also help answer this question?)
Thank you for your assistance here!
@HopefulSplitter 1) Honestly, admissions officers don't look at any statistical category (LSAT splitters, GPA splitters, etc) differently because of work experience. You're conflating two different parts of the review process - the applicant's academic record and their non-academic record. Regardless of the profile, someone either has to be a) strong across both aspects of their app, or, b) be in a position where their strengths in one area override their weaknesses in other areas.
2) This is a pretty subjective and personal call! Go with whichever path you feel fits your prep best. But I'll throw it out there for you that you can register today for the October LSAT and then you would have until August 27th to change your test date for free. Meaning, register today, see how things go, and make this call in a few weeks. That's not as good as being able to see your September LSAT score and then making the call, but you'll at least be on the cusp of the September LSAT and should have a pretty good sense of how you're feeling.
@JacobBaska Thank you for the thoughtful response!
Every month in the cycle you wait after september os roughly equal to 1 lsat point, after Thanksgiving the bigger hit you take is with scholarship offers. (Atleast this is what ive heard and seen in the analytics.)
To give you my take id need to know how far through the core curriculum you already are/if ur done how much drilling have you completed. And how many hours per week are you going to be studying.
Realistically with a 152 blind diagnostic a 165+ should be no problem with hard work and dedication. For reference I started with a 158 and after 6 weeks of the core curriculum I just took my two PTs and scored a 165 and then 169.
You definitely have the potential for a great score so why rush? Do you have to apply this cycle?
Note that all this is just my semi informed opinion as someone relatively new but absolutely obsessed with the process so take it with a huge grain of salt.
@MJ thank you for the detailed response! I would really like to apply this cycle, I don’t believe waiting another year would fit well with my 5 year plan. I have finished the foundations curriculum and am starting in on the LR section. I have about 15-25 hours per week to dedicate to studying, depending on varying work hours. I have completed several small sessions of drilling, Adding to a few hours. I intend to take another PT this weekend to give myself a better idea of where I am at since finishing the foundations. Thank you!!