Other factors that could get me into a better law school?

rohamnaderi

So I took the LSAT in October and underperformed terribly, let's say in the 145-150 range, and I plan on retaking the test in December. On my PT's, I'm still not at where I want to be but I don't really want to, nor have the option to, really wait another full cycle before applying.

Also, I was an engineering major at UCI and graduated with a not so stellar GPA. However, at my current job, I'm gaining lots of experience--ranging from project management to quality control, another neat thing is I'm filing for a trademark to get my company's name and logo registered on the USPTO website << this is fantastic because I want to go to law school for Intellectual Property.

Now my question is, given my relatively lower gpa and not so stellar LSAT score (hoping to crush it this time around but knowing the LSAT, ya know...), what would you guys say are my chances of getting into a school with a pretty solid IP program?

Questions, comments, advice highly appreciated.

Pacifico

Depending on what you mean by not so stellar GPA you have pretty much no shot at a good school with an LSAT like that. Even if you are a URM you're going to need something to give the school to mitigate one or both of your numbers and I'm not seeing it here. The good news is you don't necessarily need to go to a school with a good IP program. Being an engineer is half the battle when it comes to landing IP gigs because it is much easier if a lawyer already speaks the language and the greater the depth of knowledge the better.

There are few good reasons not to take time off to get the score you need. You didn't list any actual ones here so I wonder how legit that is because I advise people all the time that say that and then after having a conversation they understand the ramifications of rushing in with a shitty score and they almost always sit out a year. With a sub 150 LSAT and I'm assuming sub 3.0 GPA you are looking mostly at unranked law schools and maybe a handful of sub 100s if you're an URM. Most unranked law schools should not exist and by and large are not worth attending. Furthermore, you would likely be paying to go to those schools which is insanity.

So just know what you're getting into. Either take the time to get a 165+ or go to a shitty law school. Those are pretty much your options. And of course there are still people who go to shitty law schools that end up being great lawyers, but they are usually few and far between and if you can set yourself up better then why not do so?

rohamnaderi

Thank you for your help @Pacifico that's definitely going to help me make some major life choices this weekend haha...and I mean in terms of LSAT :P

Meeeetch

Why is it considered 165 or bust? Granted thats ideal but the numbers do not make sense, 165 is about 90 something percentile. Im no mathematician but im guessing a bulk of students are in the 154-160 range.

rohamnaderi

@Meeeetch my gpa was around a 2.3-2.4, so a 165+ would be, I would say minimum, to get a semi-competitive application for the upper echelon of schools.

Pacifico

Garbage GPA means you need a legit LSAT... If you have a 4.0 then you can get away with a lower LSAT score. What I wrote above is what is called "targeted advice".