Very Low LSAT

[paigeroo]

As a person that started out with those scores at the beginning of my preparation take heart in knowing it is possible to get it way up there with the right kind of practice and determination.  What have your study habits been like?  You need to make sure your working smarter not harder. 

Which sections give you the most trouble?  And what sections do you feel like you could just blow the roof off of if given enough time?

The other thing you may want to consider is getting professionally tested by a educational psychologist.  You may have a processing disorder, where you process information while reading a bit slower than others.

[avvocato]

So  I have two low LSAT scores-- 140's and a 3.46 GPA. I am planning on taking the test again after SERIOUS preparation. Is there any chance of me getting into a good law school? If so what schools would you recommend? Or should I just give up on law school. 

Ok, let's get the bad news out of the way. You've lost your solid shot at Harvard. Booohooo...

Now, time for some damage control....
You have a great GPA so obviouly you have some smarts. Since you got a score in the 140s without serious prep, that shows that you need to change how you've approached the test. Many people in my LSAT class started out in the 140s on their first diags, and increased to the 150s 160s and beyond by the time the class was over. My experience with LSAT classes is the following: stay away from Kaplan, Princeton Review is more miss than hit (it was a miss in my case), and Testmasters (Testmasters180.com) saved my future as a law student.

The deal with aveaged scores....
Ok, it does suck that most schools average scores. I agree with the others - look for schools that don't average. However don't limit yourself to only those schools. Even if you only wind up an aveaged score in the high 150s, it's not the end of the road. You can write an addendum asking the adcomm to take note of your higher score, and that your first score is not representative of your testing skills, etc. It doesn't wipe away the fact that you had a lower score, but it brings attention to your improvement.

4th tier isn't your only option...
Don't sell yourself so short. I always tell people, "Let them tell you no." I say this because sometimes, they just might tell you yes. Or even waitlist you, and many time the WL game can land in  your favor. Of course you should be practical and not bother applying to places like Harvard (unless you want to frame the rejection letter, and let it hang on the wall next to your diploma from U of XYZ when you're a successful attorney. Then you can laugh and say, "Can you believe it - Harvard rejected MEE?? Bwahaha!) Even if your average is in the 150's, it's not a complete dead end for you, especially with your GPA and any other factors you will list on your application.


Relax (and save those nerves for your first set of law school exams)....good luck on lsat # 2 and those apps!!

Hope this helps.....

[Hugh G.D. Ick, VII]

If by "good" law school, you mean a tier three, then yes, you can do it! 

Please note that I find this notion of a tier three school being a TTT ridiculous.  The fools over on xoxohth.com haven't seemed to realize the advantage of encouraging students with awful scores to go to law school.  If anything, we need more third and fourth tier schools.  These schools abound with positions for T5 grads to become Dean or tenured Professor.  Those are some cushy little sinecures.  Ever since they started opening up the T5 to nearly everyone, without scanning for indicators of prestige, T5 students seem to have forgotten how to contort the entire field of law to our advantage. 



Prestigiously yours,

Hugh G.D. Ick, VII

[tp83]

Ohh I'm in a very similar situation. For my Kaplan test 2 I scored a 140 but I got a 137 on the last practice exam and I'm worried about if I should even consider law school. I'm signed up for the Sept 30th test date and its pretty nerve wrecking. I'm hitting about 60% with the 140 score on Logic Games and RC but LR I suck at and I need serious improvements in inference and assumption questions. I'm working on them...but taking a break to post here.

[avvocato]

Ohh I'm in a very similar situation. For my Kaplan test 2 I scored a 140 but I got a 137 on the last practice exam and I'm worried about if I should even consider law school. I'm signed up for the Sept 30th test date and its pretty nerve wrecking. I'm hitting about 60% with the 140 score on Logic Games and RC but LR I suck at and I need serious improvements in inference and assumption questions. I'm working on them...but taking a break to post here.

Here's your first problem: Kaplan. My suggestion is that you get out of the class, and see if you can get any or all of your money back.

I'm only saying this because I studied with their books and it got me nowhere. I wasted my money on Princeton Review which gave me a slight improvement, but I still wasn't competitive.

Testmasters180 saved my butt, and after going through their program and seeing how everything made so much more sense, I WISH someone had told me about them earlier down the road.

I'm sure you could get into one of their courses for the December test... perhaps even a late summer session for the September test.

See how things go, but if you are barely hitting the 150s, your best bet would be to postpone and go with Testmasters180 for the December test. You only want to have to deal with the LSAT once....

[tp83]

How did you do while studying with Kaplan?

I am in Kaplan because I heard it was better than Princeton Review...but after 10 sessions already I'm not so sure I'm doing any better than when I started off cold by myself study.

Where can I find Testmasters? I noticed a lot of people mentioned that program but I have no idea where to look for it in my area. I'm from Maryland.

Thank you for your insight...I don't think I can get a full refund back because I'm 2 weeks from the end of the course already. They have the program for higher score guarantee but I don't believe they are willing to refund you the entire tuition fee.

[avvocato]

How did you do while studying with Kaplan?

I am in Kaplan because I heard it was better than Princeton Review...but after 10 sessions already I'm not so sure I'm doing any better than when I started off cold by myself study.

Where can I find Testmasters? I noticed a lot of people mentioned that program but I have no idea where to look for it in my area. I'm from Maryland.

Thank you for your insight...I don't think I can get a full refund back because I'm 2 weeks from the end of the course already. They have the program for higher score guarantee but I don't believe they are willing to refund you the entire tuition fee.

Word on the street is that the higher score guarentee is a bit of a sham. I was told that they will under-score your exam so that you are certain to make a 10 point increase. But what good is that if you are going from a 137 to a 147? Know what I mean? Just see if there is a refund policy... or something pro-rated... or tell them you had an emergency or something. See what they say.

Here's the link for Testmasters: http://testmasters180.com/

In Baltimore, the class for the September test started this week.
In College Park, the class for the September test starts next Tuesday.

As I said before, I only wish I had known about Testmasters earlier... it would have saved me a lot of money and heartache. And I'd probably already be a lawyer by now. Ha! But things still worked out, and I'm on my way....

Good luck!!!

[tp83]

Thank you so much for that!
Are you from the Maryland area too? Since you were able to find the classes.
I will look into it for sure and see what I can possibly do.
Are you currently in law school now?
I would like to apply next year for the Fall 07 class.

[avvocato]

No prob - you are welcome!

I'll pm you...

[FlashInThePan]

I wouldn't be too worried about it. Focus less on law school but more on the LSAT like others have said. When I first wrote it, I figured it would be a walk in the park (as I was actually a medicine boy who had done well on the MCAT). I got a 148 and was extremely humbled by it. I trained and trained just by doing tests and buying more tests on eBay.

I brought that up to a 160 no problem. I didn't take Kaplan as I felt that would have been a waste of money. For me, it was just a matter of training my mind to think more analytically.