156/3.7--Should I go to law school?

[iceepop]

I was VERY disappointed with my LSAT score.  My diagnostic was a 156, and that's what I ended up getting on the real thing.  My prep was basically limited to doing practice tests.  Retaking is not really an option.

I live in Ohio.  My GPA is 3.76, but I fear the LSAC might lower it slightly since I have a bunch of A-'s and they actually count as a 3.7 at my school, which is higher than the 3.66 or whatever that the LSAC (I believe) counts it as.  So we'll call my GPA a 3.7 to be safe.

I will most likely want to stay in state for school.  That being said:

I have basically no chance at Ohio State.
I have around a 50% chance at Cincinnati and Case Western.
I will have an excellent shot at getting into Toledo, Akron, and Cleveland State.
I will be basically auto-admit at Capital, Ohio Northern, and Dayton.

Is there any scenario in which it would be worth it for me to go to law school?  The bottom three schools are probably the only ones which will give me substantial scholarships (which I need), but is it even worth it to go to those schools?

Help please.  Thanks.

[vjm]

Why not retake? Or expand the area you are willing to consider. I have a 158/3.4X and got in to some schools that were great deals (UF, mainly).

[Matthies]

Which schools have part-time programs? Work a PT legal job to get some experince and minimize your debt while going to school PT.

[sassafrass]

Oh c'mon!  keep ur chin up, 156 isn't bad.  what is that, like 60th percentile.  Your GPA's high.  What about soft skills?  Work exp?  community service (that wasn't court-ordered ?

cast a wide net, think outside Ohio if you can.  Write a smokin' good PS.  You'll be surprised what schools you get into (I was, and I had similar #'s to you, with lower GPA)and I bet you'll come up with scholarships at a Toledo-type school or 2.  (Toledo's a good school, BTW).

And with the cost, there's LRAP if you're into PI work

[iceepop]

Oh c'mon!  keep ur chin up, 156 isn't bad.  what is that, like 60th percentile.  Your GPA's high.  What about soft skills?  Work exp?  community service (that wasn't court-ordered ?

cast a wide net, think outside Ohio if you can.  Write a smokin' good PS.  You'll be surprised what schools you get into (I was, and I had similar #'s to you, with lower GPA)and I bet you'll come up with scholarships at a Toledo-type school or 2.  (Toledo's a good school, BTW).

And with the cost, there's LRAP if you're into PI work

Yeah, it was 68th percentile.  That made me feel slightly better about it, but it seems everyone on here is 165+.

I can go outside of Ohio (some schools my fiancee and I talked about were Louisville, UKentucky, and Florida State), but I am getting married next month and my future wife wants to live in Ohio once we are working (which sucks), so out of state schools are only good if I can come back to Ohio with the degree.

Yeah, Toledo seems like a good school.  My cousin will be a 2L there next year and she is keeping her full scholarship (which she got w/ a 3.75/159) and seems to be pleased with it.  I heard that they give the full ride to like half of the 1L class, but many don't keep it.  I have a feeling my numbers wouldn't put me in the top half of their class, and so I don't think I'd be offered the full ride.

Thanks for all the responses--keep them coming!

[vjm]

If you are absolutely set on Ohio, retake. I looked at LSN, and although there are some folks who got in with similar numbers, it seems like a huge longshot.

What did you do to prep for the LSAT? Which sections were the problem ones?

It is a learnable test, and its predictive abilities should be taken with a gigantic grain of salt. Lots of people here got fantastic scores, and also spent a lot of money and time to get there. That doesn't mean they didn't earn it (they obviously did) but it does show that your LSAT is certainly not a measure of some static "natural ability for the law".

You can get a higher score, stay in Ohio (maybe with $$$), marry your girl and ride off into the sunset. Retake.