I got in, but there is a catch

Comments

• 6 Likes

  ninamatryoshka Member

  March 2021 edited March 2021 438 karma

  Lots of other questions to consider, some include:
  Do you know much about this school? Is it in a location that you want to study in and potentially later work in? Have you visited? Will the opportunity to go there still be available if you do take the LSAT? Are you in a rush to go to law school? How long have you been studying for the LSAT to get to the 160s? What other schools would take you for your current score range? Do you prefer any of them over this school?
• 2 Likes

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  March 2021 2054 karma

  I think @ninamatryoshka hit most of the important points here. Also, there are a number of top fifty schools for whom a 163 is their median score. I just did a quick look here and it looks like Wake Forest, William and Mary, Wisconsin, UC Davis, North Carolina, Colorado, Washington and Lee, and Arizona all have a 163 as their median score. Some top 50 programs I see here have as low as a 161 as their median. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Washington, Pepperdine, OSU, FSU, Utah, Maryland, and Baylor are all top 50 programs with a median below 163. With that said, it seems like this might be last years data, so things could have changed a bit, but I would think that you could get in next year somewhere in the top 50 without enormous improvement to your LSAT. North Carolina is a top 30 school, ranked 27th this year and, having lived there, is a more powerful degree locally than even NC T14 program Duke, which is much more DC/NY focused.

  At the end of the day, if your answers to Nina's questions don't indicate to you that you would be happy with THAT particular top 50 school I would say wait and take the LSAT and apply next year to get into a program that you really feel is a good fit for your goals.
• 3 Likes

  WinningHere Member

  March 2021 417 karma

  Hi is this an ABA accredited school or a localized state bar accredited school, like in Californnia?
• 1 Like

  happy_omelet Member

  March 2021 edited March 2021 24 karma

  If cost isn't a relevant discussion here (I'm assuming that means that you'd be able to attend this school totally debt-free), then I think your career ambitions are something to consider.

  If I were you, I'd take a really close look at the school's employment data to see if the school has a solid track record of placing graduates into:
  A. the region you want to work in &
  B. the type of legal job you want to have.

  If the answer is no to either of those, then I would definitely consider taking the LSAT and applying to other schools next cycle that may be a better fit.
• arnisya97 Alum Member

  March 2021 139 karma

  Hi, I second @happy_omelet. My foremost consideration would also be the school's employment data.

  But also, if you are completely averse to taking the LSAT, have you considered using a GRE score to apply to law schools? All my friends who went the GRE route said they found it a lot easier than the LSAT. And since you don't have an official LSAT score on record, you wouldn't get the side-eye from admissions officers for using a GRE score.

  I just think a good GRE score might give you more options than this one school that doesn't require an LSAT exemption.

  Also, just a reminder, if by any chance you have a demonstrated history of scoring 'lower' on standardized tests, or if you have any personal situation that contributes to lower scores on standardized tests, you can explain this in an addendum.