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Is it worth it to attend law school with a 160 LSAT score?

SeattlesBestSeattlesBest Alum Member
in General 165 karma
I got a 160 on the September LSAT. I was PTing at 160-163 range, so it’s about what I expected to get.
My one and only dream school is/was Univeristy of Washington, Seattle that has the median LSAT of 164. Benefits of attending UW are in-state tuition, familiarity with the environment (I went to undergraduate there), and the fact that it’s the most renowned law school in the Pacific NW.
I feel so out of shape due to the 3 week break and I feel like I do not have enough strength/motivation left of me to study further for the December retake and get that median 164.. I’m registered for it though…
Is it worth it to go to law school with a 160 LSAT score, presumably paying out-out-state tuition at a 40-50th law school? Should I go to 111th law school in my region with some scholarships? Can I even get a job securely with that option?
If it helps I have a decent GPA of 3.75 and I’m not a URM.
It’s just so damn stressful to even think about getting back to studying at this point..... I simply despise the LSAT right now.. But if you guys suggest that retaking is truly a more valuable option, I will probably try.. Only 40ish days left until the December test.. OMG…. HELP ME PLEASE..
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Comments

  • danielznelsondanielznelson Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    4181 karma
    Yes! It's absolutely worth going with that score. And it's a GOOD score. Retake if you think you can do better - as in, it's better than a 50/50 chance that you'll score higher.
  • jknaufjknauf Alum Member
    1741 karma
    Hi @SeattlesBest ,

    It's unfortunate you didn't score where you wanted! The problem with your question though is no one can truly answer it for you. Only you can decide whats best for you. If your dream is to become a lawyer, then do it, no matter the circumstances. You're only on this earth for a short amount of time so always pursue what you want. Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise.

    If you are worried about the financial repercussions of law school then take the cheapest route available. If you're true dream is to go to your target school, and you don't think you'll be accepted with the LSAT you have, or you won't be awarded the scholarship you know you deserve, then retake.

    A 40-50th law school is still a tier 1 law school. 100+ is tier 3. I know some VERY successful lawyers and judges who have went to tier 3 law schools. Just because you go to a lower tier school doesn't mean you won't be a renown attorney or that you won't have the successful career. It does mean the trajectory of your career may be more challenging and you won't have the same opportunities as a Yale graduate.

    Only YOU know which choice is right for you. Only YOU can know how much time you want to put into the LSAT.

    Best wishes my friend, good luck on with whichever choice you make. I know you'll make the right one.
  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma
    I'd muster up some motivation and retake. If you are capable of such a good GPA you are smart and hard working enough to score in the high 160s. With a 165+ you'd have a good chance at places like UCLA/Berkeley. I'm not sure if you're interested in those place, but it's a thought!

    Another option is sitting out a cycle and retaking when you are fresh and re-motivated. Sounds like you're pretty burned out with the LSAT. There's really no rush and gaining some work experience and prepping for a higher LSAT in the meantime is a win-win.

    Also, in regards to your question about employability:
    I'd avoid University of Washington, Seattle law school. 64% of graduated found legal jobs 9 months according to their ABA disclosures. When choosing a law school always check out their employment prospects. You'd be graduating with a slightly better than coin flip's chance at a legal job and close to $200,000 in debt (not considering scholarships) If you do go, at least try to get an LSAT that will net you a nice scholarship. Even still, I would rethink schools where the employment prospects are so bleak.
  • alex.e92alex.e92 Alum Member
    239 karma
    I know I kind of evangelize about ABA data on this forum.. but I would really recommend leveraging this website:

    http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/

    If, for example, you want to work in biglaw (500+ employees) and you see that last year school X sent 5/100 graduates to a biglaw job then you can estimate that in order to get that job as a graduate from that school, you would likely need to be in the top 5% of your class. This can be very helpful in deciding how to approach debt and assess risk. If you're paying full price for a 5% chance of getting the job you want and/or a 50% chance of getting a job at all then it wouldn't be worth it. Conversely, if you see that a lower ranked school has plenty of graduates working in small firms/public interest/personal injury and a high overall employment rate then it could be worth it if that's what you want to do.

    Just my two cents. Best of luck!
  • dennisgerrarddennisgerrard Member
    1644 karma
    Wow. I now live in Bellevue and am preparing for LSAT. I work as paralegal for OPT. Seattle is a great city ( I lived for about 4 months). I would say UW is a good choice if you got scholarship. However, if you failed within 170s, TRY Top 14. My boss said it would make huge difference if you enrolled in a T14 located in a big city( NY, San Francisco).

    I wonder which stage you are in on the application journey.
  • combsnicombsni Free Trial Member
    652 karma
    Look, you can get in somewhere with a 3.0 and 155. If you are active in networking and meet as many alumni as you can, there's no doubt in my mind that you can be a successful lawyer
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