lsat, transferring, my story

Thought I would share my story, if it's helpful to anyone, of how I navigated the LSAT and transferred into Georgetown.

I took the LSAT in Nov 2022 and scored a 158. I retook the LSAT in Jan 2023 and got a 163. Everything is relative, but at the time I was really disappointed (I hoped to break 170.)

I applied to law school but regularly debated delaying and reapplying the following year with higher scores. I applied and got a number of offers, including Davis, and got amazing scholarships from UC Hastings (UC Law SF), Brooklyn U, and a full ride at Seattle U. I took the advice of 7Sagers and was able to negotiate up these amazing scholarship offers. I, ultimately, accepted the offer at UC Hastings where I now pay 1/4 tuition. I knew in my heart that I'd be a better law student than a logic game player. I could have delayed another year, been a year older, and still not gotten the 170. I chose to start school.

How'd it go? I really enjoy law school. Seriously, I do. And I did pretty well in my classes (I ended approx. 30-40/400 students) despite a vicious curve. I also made great friends, worked really hard, and learned a lot. Despite the scare tactics, you don't need a 4.0 to transfer. My GPA was enough to transfer into Georgetown Law.

UC Law SF is interesting. Happy to speak with folks about it. The curve and conditional scholarships make it a very competitive place. The professors have been excellent, but the community is lacking. One of the biggest bummers for me is that in this fascinating, polarizing, confusing time in the law, you'd never know it from my school's events. Very few speakers or symposiums -- makes you feel like you're in a bubble, not the academic heart of it all. The new law building (333) is beautiful though and SF is an amazing city.

As I see it, I was able to secure two great options: a generous scholly at UC Law SF or a discounted Georgetown diploma (basically, 1 year "free"). So if you can't get your LSAT score where you want it, there still is hope that you can get where you want to go. I really think, in retrospect, there is value in just going. It's always possible you'll love your non-T14 school and also possible you'll hate law school so figuring that out sooner is helpful. I also think there is a misconception that transferring is really hard/impossible.

All of that is to say, I remember the panic and futility of not being able to get my score where I wanted it. Don't forget your "score" is not your identity, and it doesn't fully predict how well you'll do at law school or where you'll end up.