Advice?

[Applegate27282]

Hi everyone, 

I think I am pretty conflicted right now. I thought I always wanted to be a lawyer and go to law school but now I’m not sure. I wrote the LSAT in June and did not do good… it was pretty discouraging. I told myself I wasn’t going to write it again but I am still pondering the idea. Now I don’t know if I even want to be a lawyer and if it’s worth it. Although I may just be thinking this way due to doing poorly on the LSAT. I also loved having a plan of what I was going to do and now feel so lost and disappointed in myself. 

Any advice or suggestions for a conflicted person thinking about their future would be great!

[Jaggers]

What do you mean by "be a lawyer"? What kind of job are you thinking of?

[Applegate27282]

1 hour ago, Jaggers said:

What do you mean by "be a lawyer"? What kind of job are you thinking of?

I was thinking of a crown criminal attorney or something in that realm 

[СлаваУкраїні]

Do you feel comfortable sharing your LSAT score (as well as your GPA)? Any advice someone here gives you about your potential options will be more accurate, useful and helpful if they have an idea of what you mean by doing poorly on the LSAT. Are we talking about a truly abysmal score, or merely somewhat below average?

EDIT: Just checked your post history. Do you still have those same stats you reported on June 2, or is the LSAT you wrote in June a new score?

Edited July 24, 2022 by СлаваУкраїні

[Applegate27282]

8 hours ago, СлаваУкраїні said:

Do you feel comfortable sharing your LSAT score (as well as your GPA)? Any advice someone here gives you about your potential options will be more accurate, useful and helpful if they have an idea of what you mean by doing poorly on the LSAT. Are we talking about a truly abysmal score, or merely somewhat below average?

EDIT: Just checked your post history. Do you still have those same stats you reported on June 2, or is the LSAT you wrote in June a new score?

Hi, 

 

So I froze up when I wrote the June LSAT and got a 147. My worst score (even on practice exams). My highest practice test was a 156 so I was very disappointed with these results. I got a lot of test anxiety the day of. 

[СлаваУкраїні]

So the good news is that most law schools take your highest LSAT (although a few like U of A average them), so you’re not hurt too much by getting a lower score. But a 3.4/152 is pretty low for law school. I would definitely consider retaking the LSAT and studying hard. Also, how does your GPA break down? Some schools take your last two years, some take your best two years, some let you drop a certain number of your worst courses, etc. Would stuff like that bring your GPA up in any significant way?

Overall, I don’t think it’s impossible for you to get into law school, but with your current stats I’d say it’s unlikely (sorry to be a downer). I think it’s good that you’re thinking about whether you truly want to do this, and it definitely wouldn’t hurt to consider alternate paths for yourself.

[erin otoole]

I wrote the LSAT twice, I was PTing 159-162ish, first time I completely froze like you and got a 147 funny enough. We both know its a terrible score, but you can do better, as evidenced by your PTs. Emotions run high when scores are released I get it man, don't make any rash or quick decisions. 

My second go around went much better nerves were more relaxed I realized that a couple hundred bucks and a Saturday afternoon lost wasn't going to make or break my life.  My recommendation is take a week or two off, close this forum and the LSAT Discord chats and attack the test again. During my second write I got up to my practice scores scores.

[Applegate27282]

24 minutes ago, СлаваУкраїні said:

So the good news is that most law schools take your highest LSAT (although a few like U of A average them), so you’re not hurt too much by getting a lower score. But a 3.4/152 is pretty low for law school. I would definitely consider retaking the LSAT and studying hard. Also, how does your GPA break down? Some schools take your last two years, some take your best two years, some let you drop a certain number of your worst courses, etc. Would stuff like that bring your GPA up in any significant way?

Overall, I don’t think it’s impossible for you to get into law school, but with your current stats I’d say it’s unlikely (sorry to be a downer). I think it’s good that you’re thinking about whether you truly want to do this, and it definitely wouldn’t hurt to consider alternate paths for yourself.

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate the honestly! 
 

I think that the schools taking certain classes or best two years etc. would bring up my GPA, although I haven’t actually calculated by how much. Also it may be worth mentioning that I cancelled my June 2022 LSAT score. Not sure if that makes a difference. 

24 minutes ago, erin otoole said:

I wrote the LSAT twice, I was PTing 159-162ish, first time I completely froze like you and got a 147 funny enough. We both know its a terrible score, but you can do better, as evidenced by your PTs. Emotions run high when scores are released I get it man, don't make any rash or quick decisions. 

My second go around went much better nerves were more relaxed I realized that a couple hundred bucks and a Saturday afternoon lost wasn't going to make or break my life.  My recommendation is take a week or two off, close this forum and the LSAT Discord chats and attack the test again. During my second write I got up to my practice scores scores.

Thank you for this, it’s nice to hear someone had a situation similar to mine. I think I for sure was running high on emotions and also wasn’t going into the LSAT in a great mental health state. I appreciate your recommendations and am going to take some time to think. 

[hiccups]

How long did you study the LSAT for? 

[Applegate27282]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:55 PM, hiccups said:

How long did you study the LSAT for? 

About over two months while also working full time. 

[hiccups]

14 hours ago, Applegate27282 said:

About over two months while also working full time. 

That's not a lot of time! I think it's too early to feel defeated. People often spend months studying full time. I spent 6 weeks studying and my score got higher almost every day. It was towards my 4th -6th month that there was no longer a signficant change to my score (my mentality also changed by then due to other circumstances and I was no longer concentrating).

In the first 1-3 weeks of my study, I studied part time and worked part time. I found work very distracting and I could not properly consume the materials. Once I quit my part time job and started studying full time, it was much more efficient. 

Of course everyones study habits are diferent. But, if you only studied 2 months while working full time, in my opinion it's too early to get to the conclusion that you can't get a higher score. Good luck!

Edited August 5, 2022 by hiccups

[Applegate27282]

1 hour ago, hiccups said:

That's not a lot of time! I think it's too early to feel defeated. People often spend months studying full time. I spent 6 weeks studying and my score got higher almost every day. It was towards my 4th -6th month that there was no longer a signficant change to my score (my mentality also changed by then due to other circumstances and I was no longer concentrating).

In the first 1-3 weeks of my study, I studied part time and worked part time. I found work very distracting and I could not properly consume the materials. Once I quit my part time job and started studying full time, it was much more efficient. 

Of course everyones study habits are diferent. But, if you only studied 2 months while working full time, in my opinion it's too early to get to the conclusion that you can't get a higher score. Good luck!

Thank you! I figured if I am going to tackle the LSAT again it will have to be when I’m not working full time… it was far too distracting and too much pressure. 

[ZukoJD]

I’m not sure what resource you were using for LSAT study but I’m going to plug 7Sage in here. It’s an absolutely phenomenal site and it’s fairly affordable. 

They say their users increase on average 11 points from baseline. I see you said your 147 was your worst score ever-this is actually quite positive. Assuming you’re an average LSATer (and based on the fact you’ve already scored mid 150s with moderate study I think you are at least average) I would say high 150s to low 160s is very attainable. 
 

If law school is your dream don’t give up on it just yet. Even a 3.4 and a 160 has a fair chance at admission to a Canadian school. 

Edited August 5, 2022 by ZukoJD

[capitalttruth]

HarvardReady. I personally used 7Sage, Manhattan Prep, and PowerScore. I didn't start really understanding the material until Yoni from HarvardReady started to tutor me. IMO he's an LSAT wizard.

[cjs]

34 minutes ago, capitalttruth said:

HarvardReady. I personally used 7Sage, Manhattan Prep, and PowerScore. I didn't start really understanding the material until Yoni from HarvardReady started to tutor me. IMO he's an LSAT wizard.

Seconding this! Yoni is so helpful and explains concepts incredibly well.  I improved significantly after taking his course.  

Edited August 5, 2022 by cjs

[VitalGiraffe]

On 7/24/2022 at 11:43 AM, СлаваУкраїні said:

most law schools take your highest LSAT (although a few like U of A average them)

U of A now uses the highest score. McGill is now the standalone school that averages for admissions purposes.

[tiktok]

Some schools are holistic. I would rewrite and apply nonetheless of the score,  but with tempered expectations if it's lower than 157-160. In 2021, someone with a 147 got into McGill: https://www.mcgill.ca/law/bcl-jd/admissions-guide/eligibility

I don't know what kind of experiences that person has, but it just goes to say that it's not impossible. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by tiktok

[Notworthy]

13 minutes ago, VitalGiraffe said:

U of A now uses the highest score. McGill is now the standalone school that averages for admissions purposes.

It should be noted U of A has commented they don’t know if they will continue this approach. They wrote “we are CURRENTLY using the highest LSAT score”. I spoke with admissions and they said they are unsure if this will be a continued practice.