Chances; cGPA: 3.80, L2: 3.93, B3: 3.89

[profanebrain]

Hey all! I'm a bit of a nontraditional applicant, so it's been hard to figure out my chances just from looking at numbers alone. Some notes:

* Haven't taken my LSAT yet, which probably just makes this a guessing game, but it'll be helpful to know what [realistic] score I should be aiming for. I haven't found LR or RC to be very challenging from the practice tests I've done, but games will need a bit of work. I purchased access to 7sage to help me through this and will be testing in September. 
* As the title states, undergrad GPAs: cGPA: 3.80, L2: 3.93, B3: 3.89. I graduated five years ago. 

Possible softs? I tried my best to figure out what the heck a softs "tier" is, but I don't think any of these are "tier 1" since I didn't cure cancer or anything. 
* Did my undergrad in the states and won a state university-wide award that went to 180 students out of the 400,000+ in the system. Also won the top award for a graduating senior in my major that is awarded based on a combination of academics, leadership, and service. 
* Mastered out of a STEM PhD with a 3.30 graduate GPA. I've heard mixed responses about whether this will help or hurt me. A big reason why I dropped out is because I was in an accident that rendered me disabled, and I'm very much on the fence as to whether that's something I'd like to disclose on apps. 
* Eight+ years of experience working in STEM research labs, which got me three peer-reviewed publications and several conference presentations. These numbers and experiences obviously don't matter much for law school, but I was going to use this to sell my analytic and oral/written communication skills. 
* Tons of service and leadership experience. Student leadership roles in a few clubs & honor societies on campus; student leadership/committee roles in three scientific organizations (two international, one national); coordinated a STEM outreach program for K-12 students in the GTA for two years; associate editor of a peer-reviewed journal. 
* Interned at a health/medical advocacy non-profit organization & advocated on both Capitol and Parliament Hill multiple times for federal research funding. 
* First-generation university student (first in my family to even graduate from high school) who grew up in poverty. Not a URM. 

Dream school is Osgoode, followed by UofT. Would consider Western and Queen's but not sure if I want to venture much further out of the GTA than that. I don't know much about TMU (formerly Ryerson) since it's so new, but would also consider it based on location alone. 

I know that my GPA and softs are strong, but I guess my main question is: what's the lowest I can score on the LSAT and still have a chance at any or all of these schools? Realistically trying for mid-160s, but what would happen if I scored a 160, or even a 150 or 155? How much should I be stressing about this exam over the next four months? 

Thanks in advance. 😀

[Moms_Spaghetti]

I think mid-upper 600's is where you want to be if you're hoping for Osgoode of UofT. Lower scores do get students in, but you want to be a competitive applicant going in if those schools are the goal. Osgoode and UofT (along with UBC) are some of the harder/ more competitive schools to get into so you need to set yourself up to be applying above the minimum (or even median) admissions. This is not to scare you, but it's just better to be prepared ahead of time. You also need to consider that most people need more that one LSAT sitting ... even though diagnostic tests are great, there really is nothing like the real thing. Especially the online proctored thing. If you're taking the September, be prepared to take the next one too. If you get the score you want - great - If you dont, at least you're ready to retry. I ABSOLUTELY would disclose the accident on your personal statement and probably apply discretionary too. There are a lot of people who poo-poo the access categories, but if your disability affects you then there are avenues for you in the admission and student experience (a disability can be an obstacle but it should not be a barrier) . If the school doesnt know about it then you dont have an opportunity to explain it.