Do law schools even look at your personal statement if lsat score too low?

lsat 1101

Hi, does anyone know for sure whether law schools even read your personal statement after seeing that your lsat score is not in their desired range?

zgottlie

Personally speaking, I believe they do. I just finished law school myself, and honestly if it hadn't been for my supplemental materials, I don't know that I would have had the same opportunity. Work hard on all of your materials, even if you're not over the moon with your LSAT score.

lsat 1101

First of all congratulations!! Thank you so much for your response, it gives me hope. If you don't mind my asking, had you also submitted an addendum for your score or any other subject?

lsat 1101

Also, after having been through law school now, do you truly agree that the lsat is the right indicator for success in law school?

spitzy11

@"lsat 1101" said:
Also, after having been through law school now, do you truly agree that the lsat is the right indicator for success in law school?

I am not in law school yet but do work at a law firm and have spoken to many attorneys regarding this, so thought I'd chime in. Every single attorney I have ever spoken to regarding this question has said it is absolutely not an indicator for your success as an attorney or student in law school. Some say it's more so an attempt to try and weed out the students who are not willing to work as hard as needed in order to excel at the LSAT.

Alex

@"lsat 1101" said:
Hi, does anyone know for sure whether law schools even read your personal statement after seeing that your lsat score is not in their desired range?

Yes, many schools (if not every school) claims to read every application they get, regardless of scores such as LSAT and GPA.

username

A better question would probably be whether or not that statistically matters. They probably do read it, as a matter of professionalism and course, but I think you'd have to have a pretty killer PS to make up for being more than a few points below their LSAT/GPA 25%. That being said, people from outside that range do make it in, so they must be reading at least some of them.

Alex

@username said:
A better question would probably be whether or not that statistically matters. They probably do read it, as a matter of professionalism and course, but I think you'd have to have a pretty killer PS to make up for being more than a few points below their LSAT/GPA 25%. That being said, people from outside that range do make it in, so they must be reading at least some of them.

Many people get in below school's 25th%tile. And you don't necessarily need a killer PS to make up for it. Besides, your PS should be killer regardless! Things like URM status, killer softs, and, of course, a great personal statement, are all ways to help get admitted when below a schools numbers.

lsat 1101

thank you very much spitzy for chiming in! interesting they all said that! I worked at a law firm too, I only had administrative responsibilities but watching the lawyer everyday I thought, I can do that too, i'd enjoy that. I can definitely see where the logical reasoning portion of lsat is important to understand, i'm not as strong with logic games yet but don't feel that that would be a big issue in the real world as a lawyer

lsat 1101

that's a good point username, thanks for your reply

lsat 1101

alex thank you, well said, and it helped me see things in a new way

Alex

@"lsat 1101" said:
alex thank you, well said, and it helped me see things in a new way

No problem! A lot of people tend to has misperceptions about what exactly the %tiles represent. Glad to be of some help!

Kill the LSAT and write a kick-butt PS/DS and polish up your resume -- you'll have a fine cycle

username

@"Alex Divine" Not really my point at all... obviously people get in below the 25% mark... which is why it's the 25% mark.... having an amazing personal statement, in isolation, is not going to convince a school to let you in. It just doesn't statistically bear out. It may be the thing that edges you out over similar or even numerically more qualified applicants, but come on.

Alex

@username said:
@"Alex Divine" Not really my point at all... obviously people get in below the 25% mark... which is why it's the 25% mark.... having an amazing personal statement, in isolation, is not going to convince a school to let you in. It just doesn't statistically bear out. It may be the thing that edges you out over similar or even numerically more qualified applicants, but come on.

I'm not understanding what your point is?

For example, URMs make a up a large number of the 25%-tile at many of the top schools. And there are other statistical variables you are not considering. Also, where did I say an amazing PS would convince a school to let you in? What I did say was that, "things like URM status, killer softs, and, of course, a great personal statement, are all ways to help get admitted when below a schools numbers."

zgottlie

First, thank you very much! And to answer your question, yes I definitely submitted an addendum explaining my first quarter in college (I was a computer science major at the time, wow was that wrong for me), and why I took the LSAT three times (yes I really wanted to go to law school and do it right). To answer your second question, no I don't feel the LSAT was a good indicator of your success in law school, at all. To give you an idea, I scored low on the LSAT, even on the third try, but it was my highest. And when I say low, by LSAC's indicator, I had a 0-25% chance of getting into the law school I got into. To give you further insight, I was in the top 26 of my class right off the bat, and no I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't finish with those statistics, mainly attributable to how busy you get in school, work, and life during the process with your second/third year. You have to treat getting into law school like your full time job. Make calls, attend networking events (but don't be the overly eager beaver, leave a good impression), and really convince the people behind the admissions desk that YOU want to be their next selection. Even if you make the over the top cut for their admissions, do what you came to do, get into the school that you want. Treat it like a job. One law school admission, even if you score a 145 and don't feel like you stand a chance, is better than no law school admission. Do your thing, work it. If anybody has specific questions about law school, you can feel free to ask me for my email via comments and I'd be happy to provide.