Hi everyone!
I just got my august lsat score back (152). Some background: This was my 3rd attempt. 1st attempt was a 142 and 2nd was a 145 so not a bad jump but not entirely satisfied. I have a 3.28 LSAC GPA, 3.78 Masters GPA, 5 years experience as a senior paralegal, strong LORs from a grad professor, a shareholder, and senior associate that are my direct bosses. I graduated undergrad about 4ish years ago so im nontraditional. Im the main breadwinner of my family, have 3 kids.
Im on the fence of going into a 4th attempt and hoping to get into the high 150's low 160's by November so i can apply for this coming cycle or just apply with my 152. Im based in Florida and am looking to get into a part time program as i cant really afford to quit my job. I'm looking at Barry, Nova, Stetson, and FIU's part time programs, with FIU and Stetson being my top choices but im open to whoever accepts me tbh.
Could my other soft factors (masters gpa, work experience, strong LORs, non traditional) possibly make up for my numbers? or is this a reach and i should put in 120% into studying again and retest in November? any advice is welcome! TIA!
1 comments
honestly, props to you for broadening your passion and doing something as hard as the LSAT/law school on top of everything else! That is no easy feat! (I'm struggling just as a recent grad who is lost lol)
With your stats, LORs, work experience, and given the fact that (I'm assuming) you've been out of school for some time (meaning your soft skills would be taken into consideration a LITTLE more than the grades you got in undergrad), getting your application in anytime before Thanksgiving break is still considered "early," so no need to worry about that.
The option of early decision-ing for your top choice school is also a good idea, as that can somewhat give your application a "boost" as well as a potential scholarship (depending on the school --> I would check out each school's ABA Standard 509 Information Report that lists out admissions metrics (LSAT/GPA medians), tuition and living costs, financial aid and conditional scholarships, enrollment data, attrition, and faculty numbers to name a few.
Long story short, there are many options available to you and no "one" path is the right path. (cliche i know) but one thing to note is if early decisioning is something you'd consider, you have to get all the required documents submitted by the deadline (which for most schools is Nov 15 (which is not enough time to retest in November)).
Again, this is a huge commitment (both financially, mentally, and time wise; even though it's "only" 3 years) so give yourself grace and know that law school isn't going anywhere and it'll always be there for when you are ready! Good luck and you got this!