I need advice too...

[SplitFinger]

Another civli engineer in the house.

My experience is that schools rarely put much weight on what you majored in.  It may help a little if you're a borderline case, but on the whole it is a very, very numbers oriented process.

I would retake if I were you.  You have plenty of room for improvement.

[lincolnsgrandson]

I didn't mean to imply that you're law school options are better because of the engineering degree.  That I wouldn't know.
But it means a lot when you're applying for jobs.  My LSAT ceased to mean anything three years ago.  Your engineering degree is on your bio forever.
In other words, your degree and the law school you'd get into with a 159 probably makes you a better job prospect than a crappy liberal arts degree in a law school you get into with a 166.  Good luck.
By the way, LSAC collects data about retaking exams and score improvements.

[jvan2619]

By the way, LSAC collects data about retaking exams and score improvements.

Great point lincolnsgarden! 

dhjb - there are a lot of people on here with multiple LSATs (me included!).  If you do a lot better the second time around, there are a bunch of schools who will only count the latter score.  Look at "army2law" on lawschoolnumbers.com.  He had a lot of success doing it, but it is very contingent on what policy the school uses since most schools take the average.

split - Didn't know you were also an engineer!  Really sucks that they don't factor it in IMO.  I am REALLY wishing I had choosen an easier major now.  Although lincoln has a great point, it will probably go a long way in interviews.

Best of luck!

[queencruella]

I think they do factor majors in because they need to get a diverse class.  Obviously it's a lot easier for a person majoring in philosophy to get a 4.0 than it is for a person in engineering to get anywhere near that. If 50 people who majored in philosophy got 3.8-4.0 GPAs while only 3 engineering majors got above a 3.4, I'd guess that they'd pick the engineering majors because no one wants a class that has the bulk of people with the same major.

[Ceggon]

hey dhjb,

First off, while I think you have been offered some excellent advice on the LSAT side (considering a retake if you have the time is probably a good idea), I'd also think you have a shot at a decent law school as things stand now. Neither your GPA or LSAT are awful, and things like work experience (particularly if you can tie it to WHY you want to go to law school) is a big benefit. If you are considering doing law related to the environmental/land planning issues you have experience in, you might want to give Lewis & Clark a look. They are either the #1 or #2 program for env law (depands on who you talk to), are in an absolutly wonderful town (Portland, OR), and (as you can see below) your numbers are right in their range. If you dig around on the boards you can find a number of threads that consider L&C's pros and cons.

                  LSAT GPA
75th percentile   164  3.64 
Median            161  3.37 
25th percentile   158  3.10

I'm sure there are other quite good schools out there that you could get into... as has been said before, take a look at lawschoolnumbers.com and USNWR and you will get a good idea of your options.

Good luck!!

[dhjb]

hey dhjb,

First off, while I think you have been offered some excellent advice on the LSAT side (considering a retake if you have the time is probably a good idea), I'd also think you have a shot at a decent law school as things stand now. Neither your GPA or LSAT are awful, and things like work experience (particularly if you can tie it to WHY you want to go to law school) is a big benefit. If you are considering doing law related to the environmental/land planning issues you have experience in, you might want to give Lewis & Clark a look. They are either the #1 or #2 program for env law (depands on who you talk to), are in an absolutly wonderful town (Portland, OR), and (as you can see below) your numbers are right in their range. If you dig around on the boards you can find a number of threads that consider L&C's pros and cons.

                  LSAT GPA
75th percentile   164  3.64 
Median            161  3.37 
25th percentile   158  3.10

I'm sure there are other quite good schools out there that you could get into... as has been said before, take a look at lawschoolnumbers.com and USNWR and you will get a good idea of your options.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the heads-up regarding Lewis and Clark.  I hadn't really considered them yet, I am fairly uninformed when it comes to law schools (trying to get better though).  Environmental Law/Land Issues are definitely my main interests as far as law school goes.  Also, I have to agree, Portland is an awesome place.  Any other suggestions for good schools in these fields of interest?

I have been wondering how important my work experience will be on my applications.  I have gotten somewhat conflicting opinions from people.  I definitely can tie my reasons for wanting to go to law school directly to my work experience.

TheHardestPart - You have a good point regarding the practice tests.  Most of my tests were taken at home, although I did most of the tests without giving myself any kind of break.  One thing that might have hurt my score was work.  I didn't get to study nearly as much as I would have liked.  The 3 weeks prior to the LSAT, I got super busy at work (50-60 hour weeks) and just couldn't bring myself to study that much.  I'm not making excuses, I just feel like I could have done alot better. 

[dhjb]

TheHardestPart - You have a good point regarding the practice tests.  Most of my tests were taken at home, although I did most of the tests without giving myself any kind of break.  One thing that might have hurt my score was work.  I didn't get to study nearly as much as I would have liked.  The 3 weeks prior to the LSAT, I got super busy at work (50-60 hour weeks) and just couldn't bring myself to study that much.  I'm not making excuses, I just feel like I could have done alot better. 

eh... actually i think that can make a huge difference and is a legitimate excuse.  when you take a break from practicing-- and 3 weeks is a pretty significant "break"-- that can do a number on your score.

i have to retract my comment about me not trying to take the LSAT again.... looks like i'm going to be taking it in June and trying to get over 170.  ha!  we'll see...

Well, let me be the first to say good luck in June!  

This time I am going to do whatever it takes to study before the June LSAT, even if I have to take some time off during the weeks leading up to the test.  My weak point is the logic games, my score can really vary in that section.