I need advice

[MitchyMarns]

So unfortunately here’s my story. 

I graduated this past year with a cgpa of 3.51, and a L2 of 3.84. I had all A grades in my final 3 years, minus 3 B+, so a L3 of a 3.80 as well. iv been practicing for the last for almost 3 months. my PT ranged from 160-166, with my lowest being a 160, a couple months ago. I wrote the november Lsat and scored a 136… My father was diagnosed with cancer the night before my lsat. obviously panicked set in, and i underperformed. After Discussing this with my father and mother, they convinced me to write it as their was nothing wrong with trying, so i agreed. I felt somewhat confident, however the stress of the diagnosis lingered into test and i received the score of a 136. I hadn’t purchased the Preview as i didn’t think i would need it, i guess in hindsight thats what i should have done. Anyways, i decided its best, to go get my masters as my masters was something iv always wanted to obtain. I understand masters degrees aren’t considered in the admission process, rather then a “soft” which is fine, as i believe i have pretty steady grades otherwise. I’m going to take the next year to study for the lsat, to obviously get in the 160s, however i am scared shitless that no matter what i score, admissions will see a 136 and say fuck no. I need advice, other then studying for the lsat, is anything else i could do to bolster my application. I have pretty good soft factors (full time job in university, 2 fulltime jobs during my last couple years as covid caused a disturbance for myself financially, i have volunteering experience, along with working at a law firm currently). any advice is helpful

[Renerik]

11 minutes ago, MitchyMarns said:

however i am scared shitless that no matter what i score, admissions will see a 136 and say fuck no.

Generally, schools only care about your highest LSAT score. McGill and UCalgary are the only two that look at all of them. I wouldn't lose any sleep over this.

[GoatDuck]

Seconding Renerik's point. People can get a bad LSAT score for all sorts of legitimate reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to perform well either on the LSAT or in law school. If you get a better score (say 160), your 136 won't place you in a worse position compared to other people with a 160 LSAT.

[MitchyMarns]

I appreciate the feedback. I wanted to withdraw the write, and postpone it until January, but both my parents said i worked too hard to give it up. I guess the reason why i was hesitate was because if i did score below my PT on the Nov, then i could increase it in a month for the Jan write. Reading multiple forums online, made it seem that no matter what i score, the 136 is going to negatively haunt my application. considering iv written dozens of Pt’s and consistently was low to mid 160s, i know personally that it wasn’t affected by my studying but rather the diagnosis of my father. It won’t be for another year that i write an official Lsat so i’m hoping the circumstances get cleared up before the next rewrite 

[CleanHands]

@MitchyMarns love that your brain went to that username when signing up, immediately following Fishbowl Mitch's hat trick and shootout game-winner. lol