I'm a nontrad applying to a state school whos median GPA is 3.67 and median LSAT is 157. My GPA is 3.96 and my current highest official score was from August, and it was 158. I think my personal statement is good, I have 4 years of professional experience in a law-adjacent field, and I have 2 really good recommenders.
The problem with my LSAT score is that I've been PTing reeeeeally inconsistently. If I do a few short drills, I rarely miss any questions. Like hardly ever. But as soon as I sit down for the full thing, it's like my brain just won't work. The mental fatigue is BAD. Also, I work two jobs, so I don't get to study as much as I want. The PT test before my last was a 167, and then today I took another and got a 159. I'm taking October and I'm freaking the freak out.
I would really love to not have any student loans if possible. Is this realistic, even for a lower-ranked state school? And before anyone tells me to wait until next cycle, that doesn't make sense for our family, so it's now or never. Maybe I've been listening to the tiktok and reddit warriors too much (lol) but I genuinely just don't know how much my LSAT is going to pull down my other stats.
2 comments
Ok, so you’re really talking about a few things here but let’s not bury the lede here - you’re saying that you’re above both the most recent medians for the school that you’re targeting AND you have a good resume. Just from this thumbnail info, you’re already in a really good spot. I’d encourage you to frame the October LSAT as a bonus round. Your goal here is to bump that score up a bit more just to up your scholarship.
But regarding your question about not taking out any more student loans, that’s going to really depend. Does this target school offer full tuition scholarships? And even if they do, do you have enough financial support from elsewhere so that you don’t need loans for living expenses? Those are the two big variables. But either way, remember that you can just do your best. You’re very set to apply this year, you’re at/above the most recent medians, so just do what you can!
Good luck!
Thank you for the perspective Jacob!! Definitely feeling better about this now. It's so hard in a sea full of people who are striving for the T14 to get perspective on what a situation like mine looks like. So thank you!!
The school does offer full tuition!! Really hoping I can get a hold of that. Hahaha.