...

[TheJudged]

Why do people female dog at me when I tell them that, but they let you get away with it?

[TheJudged]

Dear [some] 165+ LSAT takers,
Sorry to burst some bubble, but a good lsat score is neither sufficient nor necessary for a successful legal career. It does not even serve as a good indicator for performance in L1... so please, stop telling people (without knowing them) what is and what is not for them.

Honestly, I don't want to sound elitist, but if your numbers are such that you can't get into a Tier 1 (maybe Tier 2) school you should consider whether law school is really the right decision for you.  It's not about being smart enough to succeed in law school or even whether you can be a good lawyer.

The fact of the matter is that law school is extremely expensive (probably about $150,000 total, not to mention opportunity costs) and if you can't find a lucrative job after graduation you might find yourself in a really bad position.  Yes, people from Tier 3 and 4 schools find jobs, but it can be very difficult and many end up working as contract attorneys and such.  Think about your goals, the amount of debt you have from undergrad and the amount of debt you'll have to take out to go to law school.  I think some people believe that just going to any law school means you're set for life, but for some people it really isn't the right decision.

Unless someone in their immediate family is a Big Law partner . . . .

actually every big firm without exception has nepotism avoidance guidelines.  Your relative or friend won't be able to interview you or talk you up to the interviewer or he risks losing his stake in the partnership.

[jalex519]

You all also seem to forget the key point that not everyone wants to go into law for the money. As earth shaking as that might be for you all...

[Smokey]

You all also seem to forget the key point that not everyone wants to go into law for the money. As earth shaking as that might be for you all...

I didn't say everyone was going into it for the money.  But everyone needs to support him or herself.  Attempting to pay back $150,000 in debt while making $40,000 a year isn't the best way to go about this.  I would be scared to death of taking on so much debt (in attention to whatever debt from college, and credit cards and such I might have) if I weren't reasonably sure I'd be able to secure a lucrative job.

[jalex519]

Some specialties (of medicine) require a fellowship beyond a residency and the doctors are in their mid to late 30s by the time they start practicing. Until then they are oftentimes stuck with 150-200k of debt and their ridiculously low intern salary. How do they survive?

[lollypotter]

^^^Oh please, it's an apt comparison and you know it.
 

[Tetris]

how many practice tests have you taken?  I'd recommend a bare-bones minimum of 20 more practice tests, timed, with a 5th "extra" section added in mimicking real test conditions before you retake the test a third time.

also go through both of the bibles (logic reasoning bible and games bible) and maybe read the Princeton Review "lsat" book too.  read twice if neccessary.

if you don't do these things or something similar kiss a law career goodbye b/c any school you get into that takes sub 150 will probably not get you anywhere good... although i'm sure there are exceptions.

also i would advise not taking it in december... not enough time to prep and the longer you wait between tests the better your "lsat addendum" will be and the admissions officers would be more likely to more strongly consider only your most recent lsat score the more time elapses between the scores. 

[$Bill]

Internship is one year, you make ~30k.  Residency goes like, 45k, 50k, 65k, 75k, and then your attending and its hundred(s) depending on specialty.  You can afford life and minimum loans, internship year is hard, but lets not pretend residents dont make enough to eat.  And the debt is closer to 250k, which the inevitable after 6 year salary of 110k+ can take care of in a decade.  Comparing this to our situation isnt particularly apt.

[jalex519]

Internship is one year, you make ~30k.  Residency goes like, 45k, 50k, 65k, 75k, and then your attending and its hundred(s) depending on specialty.  You can afford life and minimum loans, internship year is hard, but lets not pretend residents dont make enough to eat.  And the debt is closer to 250k, which the inevitable after 6 year salary of 110k+ can take care of in a decade.  Comparing this to our situation isnt particularly apt.

I guarantee you that no residents make upwards of 75k (in fact I would dare say that few make over 50k) and I know this for a fact - a number of my close relatives are physicians. Also, internships (i.e. fellowships) are only one year long for easier specialties. A Pulmonology fellowship for example is 3 years. Others such are neurosurgery can be considerably longer. But lets take the example of a student who aims to become a Pulmonologist. After graduating from school with let's say 200k in debt (50k/ per year), they would work for a salary that averages 50k for their first six years (3 years as a resident and 3 years as a fellow) after school. The average student loan is a 10 year note and payments begin upon graduation. Assuming they stick to the 10 year length of the loan(s), they would have paid 60% of their loan amount before ever realizing a six figure income.

Here are some random examples of resident salaries.

http://www.unmc.edu/emergency/benefits.htm
http://www.umm.edu/imres/sal_ben.htm
http://www.uicomp.uic.edu/Residency/ResidentSalaries.html

[$Bill]

That post owns me, I was going off what my med student gf told me...lol at her.  However, it should be noted that shes not going into surgery, so its not all wrong.