Fustrated, Yet Determined.....170+

[FlyGalH2K]

...So, I'm another one of those engineers that wants to be a lawyer, but my brain & the LSAT don't seem to play nice, add that to the fact I’ve been out of school for 5yrs and maybe my aspirations of getting a 170+ on the LSAT and going to a T1 law school may be a lil' lofty 

That said, took the Feb LSAT (my first one) and scored 143! Frankly I wasn’t surprised; I scored 143 – 148 on my practice tests. I guess I’m just frustrated because I’m not sure what else to do. I prepped hard, studied for 2 months, even took an online powerscore prep test. I'm smart and I know it! I do great on the Logic Games, but on every thing else, I’m daft!

Now, I'm reaching out, big reason I've joined this forum ~ How do I re-approach this? Anyone share a similar experience? How about someone that went from scoring a 140ish to 170? How did you do it?

[cooleylawstudent]

The average person who retakes the test only goes up 3 points. Not to say that you can't do better, but thats the stats that I got from LSAC when I took mine in 07.

[bigs5068]

Maybe go to a law school that will accept you with 143 or 148, I go to a lower ranked school and a guy in my section had a 4.0 in molecular biology, but did terrible on the LSAT, I think he got 141. Despite his low score on the LSAT he got into law school and is far and away the smartest student in my section. He got the Witkin award in two classes and had a 4.0 in law school, which is pretty damn hard to do at any ABA school. He already has a great summer job lined up at some bio-tech company in S.F. I forgot the name though. 

LSAT is not everything and you can be a good lawyer no matter what school you go to. If 143 is the best you can do on the LSAT go to school and do well, if you are really interested in the law. Also, if you are a skilled engineer and you get a high GPA from any ABA school, you will be fairly marketable. Obviously 143 is not going to get you into Harvard or anything close to it. However,  sometimes that is the way it goes and the reality of jumping from 143 to 170 is damn near impossible, just to be honest.

[HR6352]

The first time I took the test I was in the upper 150s and ended scoring 170+, but just barely.  If you're at 143 after months of studying, no amount of determination will get you up to 170. 

[cooleylawstudent]

If the OP's slightly outragous claim of going up 20 points is true, then take as encouragment(despite the second half of its statement) that would mean it thinks you can go up to the 160's.

[FlyGalH2K]

Thanks for the feedback! Honestly, I too feel like a retake may not improve my score, and a 170 may be an impossible task unless there's a magic formula to this test i'm missing

With a 3.47GPA in Mechanical engineering and a 3.76GPA for my MBA, I’m not sure if that's enough. Reading all the stats on class profiles have me seconding guessing. I KNOW I can do well in law school. With my new reality I was looking at Franklin Pierce, William & Mary, Chicago Kent and Case Western as more practical choices.

To apply or not to apply?....eeeek!

[HR6352]

If the OP's slightly outragous claim of going up 20 points is true, then take as encouragment(despite the second half of its statement) that would mean it thinks you can go up to the 160's.

Oops, I actually meant the first time I took a practice test.  I got a 150 something with zero studying or knowing what the LSAT was.  If you've already studied for two months and are at 143, there probably isn't much hope. 

[cooleylawstudent]

Apply. Remember its FREE to apply to Cooley online and they take your LSAT score.

[bigs5068]

I would say Franklin Pierce is your best bet. Particularly, since you have an engineering background FP is really well known for their IP program and is favorable to people with science degrees.  There is also the option of going to a lower ranked school and transferring out. That generally doesn't work out though, because you will need to be in the top 20% not to say you can't do it. However, at any law school 100% of the people think they are going to be in the top 20%, but you have an engineering so I assume you can do the math and figure how that plays out. 

Another option is California Bar Approved schools, obviously they won't open the same doors and you will be restricted to California, but there are worst places to be restricted to. Honestly, if you have a mechanical engineering degree and MBA, and pass the bar in California you will have a lot of options. 

The most well regarded California Approved school is Santa Barbara Law School.  The other pro to them is that they are WAY CHEAPER, only 6,000 a year or something like that.

Even if you just get a law degree from a California school combined with your other education, you will have doors open. The mayor of L.A. went to a non-aba school and he is doing alright for himself.

[cooleylawstudent]

Yeah but ABA is good if you ever need to practice out of state. I bet if he applies to all the CA ABA's at least one will say yes.