49 year old physician seeking advice

[airbornedoc]

I am a 49 year old physician in Florida taking the LSAT in June.  I graduated with honors from a private medical school 20 years ago.  I took the LSAT in 2/03 and scored a 148 without prepping for it.  I'm signing up for a Kaplan course to prep for the LSAT.  I'm focusing on gettint into Florida State University.  I don't know if I'm competetive since I've been out of the classroom for 21 years.  I'll listen to any ideas.

[John1990]

Im not the most experienced person on this board but,
My guess is that you are in better shape now than you were 20 years ago because your job experience gives you a huge advantage.  Your UGPA will still be counted even though it dates back a while, and if you graduated with honors, your gpa is probably very competetive at florida U.  If you take an extensive Kaplan course there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to score the 160-162 needed to get in. 
I had a diagnostic of 150, and i am now scoring in the 160-164 range after about 4 months study where i put in about 75 hours of studying.
Personally i prefer powerscore, just make sure that Kaplan uses actual LSAT questions and you will be fine.
Hopefully some one else can jump in here

[bigs5068]

The best site for law school admissions is lawschoolnumbers.com. You can look for people with your identical UGPA & LSAT and see what schools they got into. Your UGPA is your undergrad G.P.A. I don't think your Medical School Transcripts will be evaluated. It looks like you need a 160 to get into FSU according to LSN http://fsu.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/0910/ .

[Thane Messinger]

I am a 49 year old physician in Florida taking the LSAT in June.  I graduated with honors from a private medical school 20 years ago.  I took the LSAT in 2/03 and scored a 148 without prepping for it.  I'm signing up for a Kaplan course to prep for the LSAT.  I'm focusing on gettint into Florida State University.  I don't know if I'm competetive since I've been out of the classroom for 21 years.  I'll listen to any ideas.

ABDoc -

I knew three physicians in our first-year section.  All did very well. 

You're exactly right to take a course.  Focus on this like the dickens, and the rest becomes relatively easier.  What you will offer is a unique perspective, and one that admissions committees will be receptive to.  While they will look mostly at undergraduate grades, your medical school and later experience will be a strong plus.  As long as your LSAT put you within the realm, your "softs" and ancillary materials will be key, and highly favorable. 

There's a new book that should be out in a few weeks.  I'll try to remember to post on it.  It's called "Law School Undercover," I believe, done by a veteran law professor who's served on admissions committees.

Best of luck,

Thane.

[nealric]

What's your goal for law school? What type of law do you seek to practice? What are your financial constraints?

As far as admissions are concerned, your primary problem is the LSAT. Also, they are going to look at your undergraduate GPA, not your MD GPA. I assume that was good if you got into medical school.

[airbornedoc]

Thanks everybody.  My undergrad GPA was 3.4something.  What is powerscore?  I took Kaplan in Knoxville in 1982 and it helped me on my second MCAT.  It is the only review course I am familiar with however.  I am interested in malpractice law.  I've been an expert witness several times and enjoyed it.  It would also be easy for me to slide into, as opposed to criminal or real estate law etc.  Why am I interested in law school?  I went to medical school to prove I could to my parents.  I want to go to law school for myself lol.  I've seen physicians get sued without merit and I've seen some that deserve to get sued more often.  As for cost, I would write a check for tuition.  Doc.

[MikePing]

Study for the LSAT, everything else will take care of itself. 

You might start to consider who will write your letters of recommendation.  This is often a hurdle when you've been out a while.  Did you ever publish?  Hopefully you can find an acedemic who also worked with you so that you can get both an academic and professional recommendation in one.  FSU only takes one letter, so if you can't find an academic you will be fine.   

You will have a strong application for FSU if get into the ballpark with the LSAT.  160 is below the 25th percentile, but you have a lot of soft factors.  Your experience as an expert witness and physician will be a valuable contribution to any law class.  The quality of a legal education is as dependant on the students that make up the class as it is the professors. 

Good luck, let us know what happens!!

[SaraJean]

Thanks everybody.  My undergrad GPA was 3.4something.  What is powerscore?  I took Kaplan in Knoxville in 1982 and it helped me on my second MCAT.  It is the only review course I am familiar with however. 

PowerScore (http://www.powerscore.com/) is another prep company, and they are considered of the best programs for logic game prep.