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LSAT v. Law School Dilemma

The36thChamberThe36thChamber Member
in General 78 karma
I took the LSAT this past October and scored a 159. In retrospect, I made just about every rookie mistake in the book: gave myself about 2 1/2 months to study total and two months of that was with 7Sage, set an unrealistic study schedule given my work hours, was usually low on sleep, boozed a couple times, took four practice tests total before the test, didn't finish the curriculum, rushed through BR...

When I got my score (159) I was livid, and I immediately registered for the December LSAT. I had known even on test day that I underperformed, so when my score validated that I became hell-bent on scoring higher. However, for reasons I'll explain below, I'm considering just keeping the 159 and applying.

The 159 is good enough to get me into a law school near home/work. (The school's 75th percentile LSAT score is 154.) I know it's not a strong school (according to LSAT scores), but my boss got his JD there and he's encouraged me to apply for next fall. He's been fairly successful in his law career, and he has expressed a willingness to bring me into his practice if I graduate/pass the bar, and to help out where he can in the process of applying to/attending school. It's an attractive offer.

But at the same time, I still want to retake. I'm worried about attending a lower-ranked school for the purpose of fast-tracking myself into law school, only to see my boss change his circumstances (for example, abandon his solo firm for another gig) and leave me with a degree from a school with a so-so reputation, fending for myself.

What makes this a little more complicated is that I'm almost positive I can score a good deal higher on the LSAT with some hard work. The four tests I took before October I scored:

161 (skipped BR)
159 (176 BR)
156 (159 BR--my first tour of burnout city)
164 (169 BR)

After October, I walked away from the LSAT completely. Following a month break, here are my newest PT scores:

167 (BR 176)
170 (BR 180)

I know these last two could be flukes, but I've also felt like the test made more sense to me as I was taking it each time and in BR. I intend to take a few more PT's in the coming weeks to see if I fall back to down to where I was pre-October. If the most recent scores are flukes, I'll probably retake in December (for scholarship money) and apply for next fall at the school near me regardless of my scores. If I actually feel that I can continue to improve at any rate (I realize 170 on up is slow going for most people), then I'll postpone the retake until June or next October.

The difficulty with the latter is I have to tell my boss that I'm delaying school a year (he's generally impatient, so the thought alone would bother him a bit). He's talked to me a number of times about my attending his alma mater next fall and my eventual move into the firm as a lawyer, and if I give myself time to study and score higher it will be obvious that I'm doing so in order to attend a better school (which will obviously affect the plans for my track toward firm employment).

So, I guess I'm looking for a few people in the 7Sage community to weigh in on this. Given the above, do I take the 159 and apply, or do I cancel December and retake later so that I have the opportunity to score higher, attend a better school, and leave myself a few more options after law school?

My apologies for the post length and thanks in advance.
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Comments

  • nye8870nye8870 Alum ⭐
    1749 karma
    I'd say: tell your boss you just feel strongly about posting the best score that you are capable of and are uncomfortable going into law school with a sub par score that could haunt you the rest of your life/career. You could tell him that his alma mater school is still your number one option but you would also like to see if you could get a large scholarship for the lion's share of your tuition. That sounds like just the sound reasoning he'd like to see coming from a budding (dare I say) partner?
  • AlejandroAlejandro Member Inactive ⭐
    2424 karma
    wtf?? Study hard and retake the LSAT man. You would be doing yourself a HUGE disservice if you didn't. Do it for the kids!!
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    I would retake the LSAT if I were you.
    There is no harm in retaking, applying with the intent of having your December score looked at, and seeing who accepts you.
  • poohbearpoohbear Alum Member
    496 karma
    I say retake/delay! Your boss isn't the one who's going to be living your life-- you need to do what's best for you. Look at all the potential possibilities that you might be missing out on if you don't give this your all. On top of that, like you said yourself, there's no guarantee that your boss is going to stick to his firm forever! So even if it might make you uncomfortable to have that talk with your boss now, you need to do what will be the best for you in terms of setting yourself up for success. You have the potential, now take it and run with it!
  • tanes256tanes256 Alum Member
    2573 karma
    Wow! Are you kidding? You should definitely retake. It looks like you're capable of scoring above 159. I love your boss, but is he going to pay your tuition? Probably not. You can still go to that school if you choose, but why pay for it if you don't have to? A higher score could possibly get you a scholarship. If he gets upset about you retaking or thinking that you're applying to another school, oh well!! Seriously, do you really care? I'm sure he'll get over it and if he gets pissy and decides to pass on you because you chose another school, so what? With the higher score your chances are better of getting into a more reputable school and also receiving scholarship money. This is a no brainer.
  • kaytheehkaytheeh Member
    132 karma
    i'm assuming you've already paid for the Dec Lsat ? Which means you can't get a refund as of prob now, def retake it, you paid for it already and chances are, you WILL do better. Do what you gotta do, its YOUR score. IMHO
  • ttranc83ttranc83 Alum Member
    98 karma
    Go for the latter, which is what you truly desire and that is a higher score. Always follow your heart/passion. Sorry if it sounds flowery, but it's truth! Really, do what you WANT!
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    The December LSAT represents only opportunity, so go for it. Either tell your boss nothing, the truth, or what he needs to hear, depending on the circumstances and his temperament. It's your life, so take control.
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