As you know, in addition to being a blogger and author, my day job is that I’m a law school admission consultant. Since 2004, I’ve worked with law school applicants through unlimited, all-inclusive packages to strategize with them on their law school applications and all admission-related decisions. However, everyday people contact me who are only looking for hourly help, or help with parts of their applications but not others. I didn’t have time to help these people, and I hated telling them that. But I also knew I couldn’t hire just anyone to help my clients, so I waited.
I waited more than 6 years! Then, I found an amazing law school admission consultant whose experience, perspective and advice (and personality!) totally mesh with my own. Her name is Jocelyn Glantz and I want you to meet her! Jocelyn is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where she then served as Assistant Director of Admissions. For the past 10 years, she has been working as a law school admission consultant, first through Kaplan and then on her own. Her passion is helping people get into law school, and we’re happy to have her on the LawSchoolExpert team. She is now available for hourly consultations – you can sign up for one hour or for a 5-hour package at a discounted rate.
The following is a guest post by Greg Smith, an LSAT instructor at Alpha-Score.com. He has been teaching the LSAT since 2003 both in class and online.
Thinking of retaking the LSAT? Here’s a few things to consider:
Are you insane?
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results – Rita Mae Brown.
If you didn’t do as well as you’d like this time around, what is going to change next time? You need a new plan of attack, something needs to change. This could be as simple as reducing your stress, studying harder, or not staying out until 4 am the night before the LSAT, but something needs to change. If you have a plan and you can make significant changes than retaking the LSAT may be in your best interest.
How did you prepare for the LSAT?
If you spent months poring over LSAT text books and reviewing practice exams in preparation for the exam, it is unlikely that a few more months of study will have a significant effect on your score. However, if you avoided LSAT questions in favor of nights out with Jagermeister or even spent your time studying for midterms and writing essays, then you might have some room for improvement. If you don’t think you studied hard enough the first time are you going to commit to a different study plan for a retake? Did something go wrong?
I’ve heard terrible stories of what can happen on LSAT day. Everything from construction in the room next door to heat waves, panic attacks and illness. If your test day was a disaster you’ve got a great reason to retake. Also, if there were extenuating circumstances during your first LSAT you may want to notify any law schools you apply to of this fact, BUT only after you have proven you can score higher.
Check your score?
Check your LSAT score against your scores on your home practice tests. If there’s a significant difference then something went wrong. If it wasn’t a the testing conditions, illness floods or some other natural disaster then the most likely cause of your downfall is stress. It is possible to overcome this and even turn it to your advantage, some students perform better under stress. Check this guide on stress reduction for the LSAT.
Statistically speaking
LSAC provides substantial data on students who repeat the LSAT and the results they see. In summary, only about 30% of students retake the LSAT. The ones that do, are more likely to see their score increase than decrease. Approximately 67% of repeaters saw their score increase, 8% experienced no change, and 25% received a lower score. Effect on Applications
You should also consider the delay of re-taking the LSAT on your applications to law school. Many schools admit students on a rolling basis so it is actually easier to get in if you apply earlier. One option is to apply with your lower score to take advantage of the rolling admissions and then if you get a higher score, alert the school and have another shot at admission. You may also get accepted to a school that is not your first choice based on your initial LSAT score. At this point you can take the LSAT again, stress free because you know you are already accepted to at least one school. Then, if your second score is higher, you might get into the school of your choice. Stress is a very significant factor in how students perform on the actual LSAT so whatever you can do to reduce or eliminate stress is a good thing! Ann Levine can probably provide better input on how a second score affects your application with respect to rolling admissions. Average or Highest LSAT Score?
Check with your target schools (usually on their websites) to see if they average your scores or take the highest one. Even schools that average scores can occasionally be persuaded to take your highest if there were special circumstances at the time of your lower scored LSAT. (note by Ann: since schools only have to report the highest of multiple scores to the ABA, they have incentive to rely on your highest score). Law schools are increasingly taking the highest reported LSAT score for applicants as it helps their law school rankings when they report the average LSAT of their admitted students. Let your schools know!
If you do decide to retake the LSAT, make sure to let your school know about your new score. You need to make sure your new score gets to them. (note by Ann: schools make mistakes about this all the time, so take control of your process and be proactive about making sure schools have your new score.)
Steve Schwartz at the Ace the LSAT blog (whom I quote in my law school admission guidebook) just let me know he came out with e-book schedules for those who are self-studying for the LSAT. If you’re taking the December or February LSAT, I highly recommend you check these out. Click here for more information about LSAT self-study schedules.
I hear from a lot of idealistic people – idealism is good. I’m a card-carrying idealist myself. And if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how I feel about disgruntled lawyers – (in a nutshell: they should’ve gone in with open eyes, done their research, and should now conduct themselves professionally and honorably). Two clients sent me a link to this video in the last 24 hours and I just have to share it with you. Why? Because it’s funny. And why is it funny? Because it is absolutely based in truth. Why is the truth important? It will make you think. And if you think, and if you do your research, then you will know that -should you choose to go to law school- you will have done it for the right reasons, even if they are on the idealistic side.
I know you’re sitting down right now, trying to write the most brilliant, persuasive, powerful personal statement ever written but your fingers are paralyzed on the keys. “I hate to write about myself,” some tell me. Others say, “my life has been pretty boring/sheltered/standard/privileged.” Still others say, “I went through hard times but I don’t want to write a a sob story.” How do you hit the perfect compromise and create a personal statement you can be proud of?
I dedicate a lot of space to this in my book, but here are a few ideas to get you started on brainstorming topics to address:
1. It’s very hard to go back to the drawing board after writing an intro and conclusion, so just start writing your ideas down and sharing your stories and experiences. Start writing like you would a journal or blog, using a conversational tone. Write how you speak. You can fix the grammar and spelling later. Fine-tune conclusions and themes later. Right now, get your stories on paper and see what themes naturally emerge.
2. Yes, your final personal statement will be between 500 words and 4 pages for each law school. Most law schools want 2-3 pages. And yes, this is double-spaced. But don’t think about that. When you first get started you should write at least four pages so you have room to cut.
3. Don’t try to weave together everything you’ve ever done. Find things that are similar, either in subject matter or in exhibiting a trait you’re trying to demonstrate, and only weave them together if it really works.
4. Don’t reiterate everything from your resume. Leave job descriptions to the resume, and if you discuss resume items in your personal statement be sure to take a more anecdotal and lessons-learned approach rather than describing your duties and accomplishments.
5. Going in chronological order can be a trap. There is no reason to start with the day you were born, no matter how dramatic the birth might have been. Start with the most interesting thing about you – get the reader’s interest by sharing information about you that will be likable and interesting and as captivating as possible. Don’t try to “warm up” to your story with childhood memories, no matter how cute. You can always reflect back on those memories later in the essay if they were essential in formulating your goals and ideals and if they provide real context for your later achievements.
6. The goal is not to be “unique.” That’s a very high bar to set. Don’t apologize for being privileged if you were fortunate enough to fall into this category. Just tell your story, whatever it might be, and tell it in an authentic and sincere voice.
7. If you did face a lot of obstacles in your life (family issues, poverty, discrimination, immigration, etc.) you face an entirely different set of problems because you may have to pick and choose among them. Sharing all of your trauma (parents’ divorce, food stamps, education not stressed, poor grades, working through school, dealing with depression and ADD) can be overwhelming and cause concern that you don’t really have your life together. But sharing a few of these things can make for a powerful essay. The key is sharing information that shows you’ve prepared yourself for the challenges ahead and you’ve demonstrated that you truly overcame these issues – not just that you’ve survived them but that you overcame them.
On Monday’s USNews.com Get In Law School blog post, I’m going to give lots of advice for what to do now that the October LSAT is behind you, how to cancel your score, whether to cancel, whether to retake the LSAT in December, and what to do while you’re waiting for your October LSAT score. Until then, here are some links to more information to help you decide whether to cancel your LSAT score:
In the meantime, now that you’re done with the LSAT, enjoy the rest of the weekend. Start worrying about your law school application materials again on Monday. You deserve a break.
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Ann K. Levine, Esq., former director of law school admissions for two ABA approved law schools, is a law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert,
