Civil litigation or any kind of litigation. I was an athlete growing up and I see this as a way to continue to compete and perform at a high level.
Hope this lifts you're spirits. I took my first LSAT Sept. 2009 and got a 148. Flash forward to June 2017 I got a 159. Retook it in Sept. 2017 and got a 167.
Don't quit. It's just a test and it does not define the success or failure of your legal career. Great lawyers and careers are built from the lowest of beginnings. I think of it like the NFL draft, plenty of Tom Brady's are not getting picked until very late, i.e. less than stellar LSAT scores, and plenty of JeMarcus Russells are killing it. It is your body of work that matters in the end.
I think the their system is struggling because I can't access several of my applications either to different schools. Kind of annoying!
I'm a non traditional applicant too. I would try for employers, if not look for someone that is very reputable in your community or reach out to a leader in a group that you maybe volunteered with etc. I think raising kids and overall life experience are probably enough of an LOR that they won't care about your "real LOR's". Remember that it's other adults that are going to be judging you and they will understand that your experience is quite different than a 22 year old undergrad. However, if you are looking at top tier schools I would try my best to meet the requirements.
Just read the app requirements for several schools and see that many suggest, including top schools, if you've been out of school for more than several years to "find someone who can speak on your academic potential and ability to perform in the legal profession." It doesnt have to be a prof or employer necessarily.
I've been self employed for 6 years. I've noticed some schools want LOR's from employers. Should I get them from my old employers. They would willingly write them but im 6 years or more out and seems kind of pointless? Also lol at getting them from professors I'm 15 years out of college. I have a federal judge and several lawyers that have offered to write LORS for me. Will this suffice considering my circumstances?
I was really disappointed with my june score. Test day nerves got the best of me and I ended up scoring well below my average. In order to prepare for sept. I did all my practice at 30 minutes or less. This included prep tests and reading comp. When I took the sept. test it all felt so easy and my score was right on my average. I think this is a great way to practice. If you can hit the scores you want at a faster speed test day will feel like a breeze.
Just want to say thanks for all the advice and I'm currently trying to incorporate lots of it already.
Thanks guys! Already looking at LSN and it's raised my hopes of getting good money to a decent school.
Hi all,
I'm an older applicant, I will be 33 when I enter 1l, that is looking to attend the highest ranked law school possible and but also doesn't want to pay full sticker price because of my age/ less time to pay off debt. My stats are 3.1 GPA with a 167, I was also a D1 athlete at school that was very competitive in my sport/ I was all conference and led my team in a couple years in our most important stat, what kind of doors will this open for me and where can I apply to get good scholarship offers without the school being lower tier? I visited UW madison this weekend and met with an admissions counselor who said I would have a very high probability of receiving some aid there. This really surprised me because looking at their 25th/75th percentiles for GPA and LSAT I thought I was very weak in regards to my GPA. Also, was I too blunt in just asking the admissions officer if a scholarship was possible? After leaving the meeting I thought that may have been a blunder but in the business I'm currently in being blunt and assertive are good attributes. I'm old and lack some of the support you younger folks have so a little guidance on what should be schools that are reaches or lay-ups for my stats would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!
Hey guys,
I just signed up for 7sage but I've been studying for the june lsat for about 3 months now, around 10-15 hours a week. I've gone from low 150's high 140's starting out to averaging 163 over my last 4 preptests. My question is what do you guys continue to work on as your scores improve? I signed up for 7sage for the test analytics and as a way to get a new twist on areas of the test I struggle at the most. Any ideas on how to "max myself out"? I'm currently working on my weakest areas which are LR assumption questions and flaw questions.
What I'm doing right now is trying to go through old preptests I've taken and ace individual timed sections, 35 for LR and RC but 30 for LG, taking at least one test a week. I've taken close to 20 tests. I have yet to actually ace anything but I do -1 to -2 on LG and RC a fair amount but can't seem to crack around -5 on LR. The more tests I take the more I realize you can struggle in 1 section with a -5 but if you can 0 or -2 a couple sections it is huge for high scores.
Hopefully, this isn't to incoherent. I just really want a 170 score and want to spend my remaining 5 months getting as prepped as possible.
It's a nuanced answer. Both paths have their advantages and disadvantages.
I think a perfect example is the NFL. Fifty percent of the players in the NFL come from top D1 programs. These players have put in the work from junior high all the way through to the NFL. In high school and college their resumes and abilities were top of their class and they were noticed by scouts etc. These would be you T14 law grads. The other half had very different paths to the NFL but in the end they got there. Most of the time their stories are about overcoming hardship or out working their competition. They did, however, get to the NFL by doing something different than the thousands of other players that were not D1 talent. You can't go to Loyola New Orleans law school and graduate with a 2.5 and expect to run to the top of the ladder. You have to find a way to achieve at your highest level and get noticed.
Perfect example, I know a Chicago grad that makes 120k a year ten years out of school and I know a Cumberland law grad that is working in civil litigation 10 years out and making +1mm a year in an area where 100k is rich.
Your career is an accumulation of your work. Where you go to law school does not define you, it is where you end up and what you do over your entire career. I am older and I've seen this over and over again in life. If you work hard and continue to try to make improvements in your field, sport, hobby, or career you will rise to the top. It is the lazy and entitled that wallow in the misery of lost opportunities and resentment.
Also, I read an article/ blog that talked about how given the LSAT curve and the total number of high scorers the top 8 schools will accept most people with a 175 or higher score. They have to do it in order to keep their median numbers high for their rankings.
Just got into Texas today with a 167 and a 3.12. A 174 is a lock for $$$ outside t14 and almost a lock to get into most t14's with some money.
You have no reason to worry.
Finally going to know if I got a 180 or a 181. It all comes down to if I got the bonus question right.
@ said:
Per Dave Killoran on twitter, some staff are in the LSAC office today.
This is fake news. Contradicts the covfefe machine.
I can confirm from my sources at the pentagon the scores wont be out until tomorrow. Intel is based on their covfefe machine.
I worked for ten years at several different positions/ jobs and was an accomplished student athlete. I got that all down on one page. Anything that is a time waster, like a long resume, will most likely hurt more than help.