3.87 GPA/153 LSAT

[katharm]

3.87 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, Honors College, etc. etc...

153 LSAT 

Have been working full time at prestigious investment firm for over a year; female. I realize Duke, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Yale are out of reach - but what are the chances of USC (S. Carolina), Tennessee, Georgia, American...?

Any input would be fabulous. Oh, LSAT.... I hate you.

[olderapplicant]

RETAKE the LSAT

[snarkygirl]

ditto PP.

take a prep course or buy a prep book.  unless you went to a really sh!tty undergrad school, with a GPA like that you should be able to score better on the LSAT.

[katjust]

Why, when someone with an LSAT below 160 asks about their chances at a certain set of schools,does the first response have to be "retake the LSAT".  The OP did not ask whether she should retake the LSAT.  She asked what her chances were at a certain set of schools predicated upon her current numbers. 

For all you know the OP studied incredibly hard for the LSAT and 153 was the best she could do.  Being smart and a hard worker does not always translated into doing well on the LSAT. 

[snarkygirl]

if you can get a 3.87 at a decent school, you can do better than 153 on the lsat.  sorry.  a decent lsat score = intelligence + study skills, the same things contribute to a good gpa.

[$Bill]

Why, when someone with an LSAT below 160 asks about their chances at a certain set of schools,does the first response have to be "retake the LSAT".  The OP did not ask whether she should retake the LSAT.  She asked what her chances were at a certain set of schools predicated upon her current numbers. 

For all you know the OP studied incredibly hard for the LSAT and 153 was the best she could do.  Being smart and a hard worker does not always translated into doing well on the LSAT. 

Fair enough...no unless you are either a URM or incredible soft factors (founded a company, peace corps...no college leadership deals) will you get into the schools listed.  Not that you shouldnt apply, but your chances are quite slim.

YOu really should look into testmasters and devote a good 6 months of intensive study to the test. 

[lilly22]

OK, First of all, I have to agree that you can still get into some decent law schools without retaking the LSAT. everyone  on this board will probably jump all over me for saying this, but your high GPA can outshine your lower LSAT score. It did for me, and I'm going to Washington & Lee (ranked #25). In this case, the rest of your application has to be near perfect to outshine the LSAT score since it is still probably the most important factor. But things like your choice of major, honors thesis, graduating magna cum laude or whatever will in fact make a difference. Also, make sure your personal statement and resume are very strong. Secure good letters of recommendation that really show how good you are. If you can, go visit the school and schedule an interview with an admissions counselor so you can really show who you are as a person and express your sincere desire to go to that school. If the rest of your application is perfect and you are in constant contact with the admissions office to continually express your interest, the admissions committee may be more likely to forgive a lower LSAT and decide that based on your undergrad grads, professor reccs and personal statement, you will in fact excel at their school. Your admission is not guaranteed, but as I said- it can be done and I am living proof.

Good luck, and based on your GPA, I'm sure you will be getting quite a few law school acceptances. Some schools I would consider: American, W&M, Univ of Richmond, Hofstra, Brooklyn, Villanova, Temple, Catholic, Seton Hall, St. John's, NY Law, Maryland

[blueskies6]

mea- I just sent you a pm with a question