Tomorrow (Monday) I will be sharing 15 minutes of wisdom about applying to law school in the next 4-6 weeks if you just took the December LSAT. Please join in and feel free to listen, call in with questions or chat questions during the live program. The Blog Talk Radio Show will air at 1 p.m. EST/ 10 a.m. PST. If you can’t make the live event (from your computer or phone) you will be able to listen anytime later or to download it at iTunes (look for Blog Talk Radio: Ann Levine at iTunes for a list of all of my podcasts).
Who Gets To Attend A Top Law School?
16 Responses
Ann, great talk, as always. Two questions: I took the LSAT Saturday and I don’t expect any surprises, positive or negative. I feel my practice scores of 155-158 will be reflected in my final score. Should I go ahead and submit the apps for schools from my list that fall in that range or wait to submit any apps until I get the score? Question two: A couple of my schools of interest have sent me fee waivers from my LSAC profile if I apply before the 31st. Worst case is that LSAT DOES take until the 4th. Can I complete and submit everything else or does not having the LSAT before the 31st keep me from using the fee waivers?
Thanks, Wendi. I’m glad it was helpful. If you are confident in your score range, it’s fine to go ahead and submit apps to schools on your list that fit that range. You can submit everything – you don’t need the LSAT score to use the fee waivers. Good luck!
Wonderful!!! As you know when testing, you feel confident on SOME answers and SOME leave you cross-eyed. In my practice testing, usually when I was confident, I was right and when I was confused to death, I got nervous and chose incorrectly. I left the actual test feeling the same way. The only real difference I encountered was that I was being very precise and so on one section I ran out of time and just guessed on the last two answers which hadn’t happened before when I was timing myself.
I was very happy to find out from your talk that I was doing things in the correct order. Everything is flowing well except my personal statement, which is my own nervousness. I WILL take your advice and ask some of my friends and family to tell me what they think are my most important attributes. My husband has been trying to help, but of course, he’s the most biased of them all 🙂 Thanks again.
Ann,
I plan on applying to Rutgers in Newark, NJ and St. John’s. The day of the test I was sick with a splitting headache. I do not know how much lower of a score I could expect, because I believe the test could have gone either way (but I am leaning towards a lower than 156 score).
My question is if my score went below my former score, how much of a detriment to my application to these schools would the scores be?
Any help you could provide would be appreciative.
Joe, I think you would want to explain the circumstances of your condition during the test. I don’t know how you did on the first test, but you might want to consider canceling this score and just going ahead and applying with the score you already have.
Ann
Ann,
I am the same Joe from the other thread regarding last minute LSAT tips. I received a 156 as my highest score and was not accepted to either school last year. I would have to apply to both schools’ part time programs in order to have a chance of being accepted.
Here is my last post:
“I got done with the LSAT a few hours ago and I am wondering if I should cancel my score. This was the fifth time I took the test. The first time I got slightly below the median, cancelled the next two scores, then scored a 156. I was shooting for around 160 ( I may have gotten lower than my previous score), because my GPA is slightly below a 2.5. Should I cancel my score and apply to part-time programs?
I am worried that if I drop from the score I have right now (especially with my LSAT) that It will hurt my future chances of getting admitted to a good school.”
I believe I have until Friday to fax the form to LSAC and I have all ready printed it. Thanks for all your help.
Joe
Hi Joe,
Sorry I didn’t understand that the comments were both by you. Unfortunately I can’t give more specific advice about your chances with the current score without reviewing your applications to the schools from last year and getting to know a lot more about your background. If the schools you’re applying to average LSAT scores then I would cancel. IF you’re sure you got lower than 156, then cancel. If you’re not sure, then hang on…..
Good luck. And please let me know if I can be of any help.
Ann,
I was wondering if I could use part or maybe even all of last year’s personal statement I used to apply to law schools I was not accepted to. None of the schools I applied to seemed to require applicants to answer one single question. The choice for the topic of my personal statement was why I wanted to attend law school. Would the admissions’ committees look down upon an applicant who used all or part of last year’s personal statement in this year’s application?
Joe,
It’s not out of the question to repeat a few experiences or themes, but it would be lazy to submit the same essay two years in a row. Obviously, that essay didn’t do you a ton of favors last year so you have little to lose by putting in the effort to improve your materials and show a side of you the law schools might not have seen from your previous application.
Ann,
I was wondering if it is okay to send in an optional essay (on diversity, “why this law school”) after the application has already been submitted.
Might the fact that I did not submit it with the rest of the materials reflect poorly on my original application? My application files have not been read yet.
If I should submit this optional essay, how should it be delivered? Mail? Email? Fax?
Thanks for the great work!
Jack
Ann, glad life isn’t overwhelming you any more. I was wondering why the apps ask what other schools I am applying to? What insight do they garner from that information? I am applying to quite a few because I am non-traditional and can’t really afford to sit out ANOTHER year, so how completely does one answer that question? I was afraid if I listed them all, some of my first few choices would think–we don’t have to let her in because someone on this list will. Or–we’ll waitlist her to see how interested she really is. I could see the reason behind all the app questions except this one.
Wendi, It’s a marketing question and also a way to see how serious you are about the geographic region, or whether you’re really applying to schools that all have a certain program and if this is consistent with your application.
Hi Wendi…
I just got my LSAT score and it is 15 points lower than I have been practicing. I havent been able to shake that feeling and dont know if I want to apply with that score. My G.P.A is a 2.7 and I have been working with a publishing company for the last 2 years which like many jobs hampered the time i was able to dedicate to the test. Nonethless I am thinking that i should take it over but a part of me thinks that i should wing it and stragetically apply and explain that i am not my numbers and the reasons why i aspire to attain a law degree. Please advise?
Chibunna, I’m confused. Was this question for a fave blog reader named Wendi, or for me?
Without knowing your LSAT score and where you’re planning to apply, both Wendi and I will be kind of useless ; )
Happy new year!
Ann,
I have a 176 LSAT score but a 2.65 GPA….I want to practice in DC but idk what to do….any advice on getting in? Chances at any top schools?
Hi Darrionwillis,
I’ve helped a number of clients in this situation – we call you a “splitter” since you have one thing that’s fabulous (LSAT) and another that is not (GPA). I can’t give more individual feedback in the blog format, but you may want to start by reading my book (www.lawschoolexpertbook.com) and then if you decide you’d like to work with an admission consultant for advice throughout the process, you can contact me through my law school admission consulting website