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Really looking for advice (Poll included)
korokyahaha
Yearly Member
I could write a novel about my LSAT journey, but I’ll do my best to keep it concise. I’ve taken this test 4 times over the span of over a year. A continuation of my last post,
https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/18534/how-to-overcome-lsat-panic-anxiety
I was diagnosed by both my GP and specialist with severe anxiety and panic attacks that become prevalent especially during the LSAT administration. I followed their instructions, took beta-blockers and perhaps most importantly changed my mindset about the exam. I think a main contributor to my anxiety was the fear of disappointing my family and even worse not getting accepted to law school. My November 2018 take (3rd go), was a 154 and although almost 20 points below by PT’s was enough to get me into law school. This mindset for my January 2019 take (4th go) was to tell myself no matter how I did today, I could go to law school. The good news was I had near ZERO anxiety for the administration and it felt so liberating. It truly felt like it was the first real take of mine. The bad news was that the room I was placed in my unbearably hot. It was so hot that the proctors opted to take turns stepping out because it was just that bad. Worse for me I wore just a sweatshirt (because winter) and I had to sit in that swamp for 2 sections until they could find us another room. I ended up scoring a 164 which is a fantastic score but I was still upset by the fact that I’m sure most of my points were lost in the first two sections and if it wasn’t for that, I would be near close to my PT score.
So I took what I got and applied to several target schools along with the few now safety schools I had applied to in November.
Now sitting here with what looks to be a disappointing cycle, I’m unsure where to turn. Before dealing with this LSAT roller-coaster, I always wanted to go to Harvard. Unfortunately, that was just not going to happen so I sent an application to BC and got waitlisted. My best offer is currently from Temple with a 2/3rd scholarship with in-state tuition. Temple is a great law school however I personally did not see myself going there. In a perfect world I would want to move and practice up north but I don’t think Temple could make that a possibility.
Anyways since I’ve been on this journey for so long my family keeps asking me when I’m going to law school. My whole family expected me to take it once in December of 2017, apply for the upcoming cycle, and enter law school in the fall of 2018. Even with score of 141 on that December take, my grandparents insisted I go to anyone that accepted me and they would cover the cost. My family keeps saying “it’s not where you go as long as you pass the bar in the end”. It’s just hard to break their mindset that a lot of schools even with decent bar pass rates still have mediocre employment outcomes for their students. This of course is only one variable to consider when making a huge decision like law school but my family is all of the mindset of “just go so you can get a law job asap”. Since of taken that LSAT 4 times already, they keep telling me I’m wasting my life away and they are questioning if I even want to go to law school. The worst part is that my grandparents are willing to pay my entire law school bill no matter where it is. While I’m thankful I have that option open to me, I would only be comfortable taking that for a school like Harvard. With what I know I can do, I can get into some great schools with some good money and I don’t need anyone to pay for what they don’t need to. When I first brought up the subject of delaying yet another cycle, everyone was furious with me. Even though they have somewhat lightened up to the fact law school might not happen for me this year, they still are heavily persuading me to go this cycle.
So I believe I’m left with 3 options.
1) Accepting Temples 2/3rd scholarship offer and entering law school Fall 2019
2) Delaying law school until Fall 2020 and applying with the score I have now. Based on lawschoolnumbers and the like, I will have a much more favorable outcome scholarship and acceptance wise to the schools I’ve applied to this February.
3) Retaking the LSAT once more in June and aim for that 170+ score I know I can get and shoot for T-14 (Harvard) and a secure BC offer for Fall 2020
I left out a lot of the drama but I can't stress enough how much my family just want me to go this cycle.
- What should I do?54 votes
- Accept Temples 2/3rds scholarship offer and enter law school Fall 201914.81%
- Delay law school until Fall 2020 and applying with the score I have now5.56%
- Retake the LSAT once more in June and aim for a 170+ score79.63%
Comments
Hi @lawschoolsplits I really resonate with you because my family is the same and still acts that way too. I've only taken the LSAT once in June of 2017 and scored in the 8th percentile and since then, I've passed many hurdles and it hasn't been easy. I've since then registered for three exams because of my parents and here's a rundown of what would end up happening the day before : I would get cold feet because I knew deep inside I wasn't ready, I knew it was very unlikely I would hit my goal score on test day which resulted in me canceling the exam. My parents also want me to "just finish it" and apply. "Just go to law school. It doesn't matter what school you go to." They don't understand the legal market today and ultimately, I've learned, they don't understand how important the LSAT is and how this exam works. I completely understand where you are coming from.
I'm telling you all this because I'm really glad I did not settle for less than what I know I'm capable of. I'm so glad that I did not apply last cycle because I know I probably would've scored below average. I know that I would have been unhappy. I made the decision for my future to keep studying the LSAT and to keep at it to reach my goal. My advice to you is retake and aim for June or July. Also, good news about July is that you can cancel after you see your test score. It seems like you are hesitant about Temple. Listen to your heart and don't let other people, even people who love you and want the best for you, dictate your future. Trust me, you do not want to look back and regret not studying more. If you can financially continue studying, then why not. Also, if you want some advice on BC feel free to message me, I could give you a rundown of 1L year because my bf is currently here and I've learned a lot thru him.
YOU CAN DO THIS! IT'S YOUR FUTURE I believe in you!
In this beautiful thing we call "life" people are always going to tell you what to do and how you should be living "your" life. But, at the end of the day, you have to trust your gut and do what "you" feel is best. From what I've gathered about you from your posts, you've worked extremely hard to achieve your most recent score of 164. With that score, it makes me wonder, why would you put in so much work and not reap the reward? So, if the only pressure you feel weighing heavy on you is your family's input, I would say, hold off until next year's cycle. Yes, your family might question your decision once again by holding off, but if you apply early next cycle, you'd be in a much better position to get offers to your liking. Either way, I wish you good luck and congrats on your acceptance to Temple!
Thanks so much for the responses. I was already leaning towards waiting another cycle as I am working a stable job and the experience and money should help with law school
If you have scored 170+ on PT's and believe you can achieve that score then go get that 170+.
Hang in there, brother. I'm on the same boat as you. Aim for T14 and achieve your dream.
I would always recommend retaking. However, for your next take, you definitely need to diversify the places you take your PTs in. I think a major reason people generally underperform their PTs is because they take them in perfect conditions and quiet areas. Try practicing in hot and loud areas to make sure sure not throws you off test day. In general , uncomfortable areas are best practice.
I can understand your predicatiment with your family. I'm first gen and family don't speak English so I had some difficulty at first explaining differences in law schools and employment. It helped them understand when I showed them numbers instead. Maybe the links below will help illustrate for your family why you're better served in retaking and reapplying.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/comments/8aecqr/2017_aba_employment_reports/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=comment_header
https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/comments/b4jll8/a_curmudgeonly_psa_you_can_in_fact_retake_and/
None of the options listed, unless you think you’re going to have some issue with the digital administration (I believe it’s mandatory starting in the fall, though). As I see it, June is not enough time to really nail the test. It sounds like you’ve been taking and retaking rather successively. You should spend a bit more time for your next administration really mastering the test before you go back in. One reason is to get a score that eclipses 164 by a significant amount (3 or more points). Another reason is that retakes, I imagine (and have heard), start looking curious at 5 and above. So you’ll really want to make your next test or two (if you decide to take still another) count for your next cycle. If something’s going to look odd, let the increased oddness be outweighed by a score improvement that’s worth your trouble.
Obviously, I’ve presupposed that the other options are not the ones to take given what you’ve said. It sounds like you want to go to a school with guaranteed employment outcomes (and some slice of prestige), and this means that good regionals may not be the best options for you. There’s a lot to say about this, but if you don’t feel comfortable in such a position then it’s too soon to settle for comfort. After all, you really haven’t been at this (LSATing, appying) for that long—though, I’m sure your parents/family think otherwise. There are trade-offs but it sounds like your long term plans point in the direction of playing the long game.