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Question from 7Sager about the admissions impact from having another degree

studentservicestudentservice Alum Member Administrator Moderator Student Services
in Law School Admissions 1421 karma

Hey guys, we're posting on behalf of a 7Sager. They're wondering the following:

I purchased the Ultimate Package when I completed the LSAT in 2016, but pursued a masters instead. I am now applying to law schools, but do not know what impact having another degree would have on my application. I scored 157 on the LSAT and graduated with a 3.4 from Boston College. But I scored high on the GRE (99th writing, 95th verbal and 75th percentile in math) and graduated in the top quartile of my masters program at University College London. I also authored an Initiative to the Citizens of Washington State.

I did my MSc in Transportation and City Planning, and I am centering my law studies on land use and environmental law, too. I imagine there is some benefit to showing such dedication to a specific area of focus?

Any advice guys?

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Comments

  • akistotleakistotle Member ⭐ 🍌🍌
    9382 karma

    Hi 7Sager,

    While "soft factors" such as your master's degree do matter, your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA are "hard factors," which are the most important factors in the admissions process.

    I do believe there are some benefits to showing your dedication to a specific area, but you should focus on studying for the LSAT and improving your score.

    I see that you have a high GRE score. Things will change over the next years, but the LSAT currently holds way more weight than the GRE. If a candidate has both GRE and LSAT scores, only the LSAT score gets reported (according to Spivey Consulting's tweet). Again, this might change in the future, but the GRE can't offset a low LSAT as of now.

  • Seeking PerfectionSeeking Perfection Alum Member
    4428 karma

    @studentservice said:
    Hey guys, we're posting on behalf of a 7Sager. They're wondering the following:

    I purchased the Ultimate Package when I completed the LSAT in 2016, but pursued a masters instead. I am now applying to law schools, but do not know what impact having another degree would have on my application. I scored 157 on the LSAT and graduated with a 3.4 from Boston College. But I scored high on the GRE (99th writing, 95th verbal and 75th percentile in math) and graduated in the top quartile of my masters program at University College London. I also authored an Initiative to the Citizens of Washington State.

    I did my MSc in Transportation and City Planning, and I am centering my law studies on land use and environmental law, too. I imagine there is some benefit to showing such dedication to a specific area of focus?

    Any advice guys?

    How much had you studied for the LSAT for your initial take?

    Even though @akistotle is probably mostly right about the LSAT being used when both tests are sent, I would still send that GRE score to schools which accept the GRE.

    Similarly your Masters GPA is probably a nice soft and evidence you could succeed in law school, but undergraduate GPA is what schools have to report and consequently what is used by US News to rank them. So mainly they are going to evaluate you like any other 3.4 157 since the USNews ranking does not care about grade deflation, your Masters GPA, or probably your GRE score(since you also have an LSAT).

    The dedication and clear focus could help you craft a narrative that cuts across your application for why you want to go to law school. That certainly has value. But, it too is a soft factor which doesn't directly influence the school's rank and therefore will be treated as less important.

    Law schools primarily care about LSAT and UGPA. Your undergrad GPA is locked in. So you need to get a LSAT score which reflects on you as well as your GRE and Masters do.

    If you didn't foolproof logic games to the point where you missed -1 or -0 there is room for improvement using 7sage there. Almost everyone can get to -1 or -0 on games eventually using foolproofing. It is also a lot of people's weakest section to start with. Once you have done that LR is probably next easiest to improve followed by reading comprehension. However, people have definitely succeeded at dramatically improving all three sections using both the 7 sage curriculum and the support offered on the 7 sage discussion boards.

  • cstrobelcstrobel Alum Member
    edited February 2018 228 karma

    Going off what @akistotle and @"Seeking Perfection" wrote, I asked 9 of the T14 representatives about things related to a graduate degree at an LSAC forum (I'm finishing a PhD and wanted to see how not to look like a perpetual life student lol). They told me with some uniformity that they don't care much about a degree itself, they're too common among applicants. Unless you won the degree (i.e. Rhodes), you need to emphasize the utility that the degree got you. Research experiences, any work with publications, etc. The rep from Northwestern mentioned that if you did a Master's thesis, for example, it shows that you had an extended commitment to something difficult, which if worth talking about in a statement.
    So it aspects of a grad degree can be an intriguing soft, they care overwhelmingly more about what you did with it.
    Hope that helps :)

  • AllezAllez21AllezAllez21 Member Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    1917 karma

    Good advice above.

    One clarification: while a high GRE score is a nice indication of your book smarts, schools are required to report your LSAT. That means that a good GRE can't really negate a lower LSAT. At the end of the day, because LSAT scores are used to calculate rankings and must be reported, that's what matters. The new acceptance of GRE scores is helpful for those who have never taken the LSAT, not really for those who have taken both tests.

    Still, for the person asking the question, your GRE score shows you have high LSAT potential, you just need to implement the effective 7Sage study methods and you will get there.

  • trevor47trevor47 Alum Member
    5 karma

    Thank you very much @akistotle @"Seeking Perfection" and @cstrobel for the feedback, it really helped.

    It looks like I may get to study for the LSAT once more. If there's a silver lining, logic games was my worst section. My score suffered a lot when I decided to prioritize getting into a good masters program. At least, by the sounds of it, I have good soft factors. I was hoping doing really well in my master's (I coauthored a paper and did a thesis, too) could help a bit more than it sounds.

  • Seeking PerfectionSeeking Perfection Alum Member
    4428 karma

    @trevorreed283 said:
    Thank you very much @akistotle @"Seeking Perfection" and @cstrobel for the feedback, it really helped.

    It looks like I may get to study for the LSAT once more. If there's a silver lining, logic games was my worst section. My score suffered a lot when I decided to prioritize getting into a good masters program. At least, by the sounds of it, I have good soft factors. I was hoping doing really well in my master's (I coauthored a paper and did a thesis, too) could help a bit more than it sounds.

    Those are definitely good softs, they just don't matter asmuch as the LSAC GPA and LSAT.

    Logic games being your weakness is definitely a silver lining! It's a common one, but it makes the path to improving your score so much clearer. Happy foolproofing!

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