| Topic Name: |
Disappointing LSAT, need advice.. |
| Message Name: |
Yikes |
| Date Posted: |
07/02/2002 |
| Message: |
I'd say if you really felt like you blew it on the LSAT and could do significantly better, retake it. Also, I would rule out any scoring issues (I think you get your actual answer sheet and a "mini" test booklet when you receive your score in the mail) - you may also want to request a handscore. If you did do something unfortunate (such as mis-bubble), you can at least take the test again knowing that your gut feeling about the difficulty of the exam can be trusted and it also makes for a decent addendum.
With that said, keep in mind the following points:
- most schools will take the average of your two LSATs. Even schools that claim to always take the higher or take the higher under some circumstance (i.e. a difference of 10 points or greater) seem to still admit based on the average score. Thus, if you manage a 170, you're still looking at a 165 average. That should be enough to get you into Penn/NW (although they're LSAT heavy) and possibly Michigan, but Chicago is out with that score.
- work experience (especially only a year's worth) is really not relevant in the admissions process. You'll get into the same schools with or without it, so I wouldn't bother taking a year off, unless you're planning to spend it studying for the LSAT (and even then, I'm not sure what it buys you).
If you're not completely set on the top 14, take a look at some other top tier schools that you may have a shot at with your current LSAT score or with the average of your retake. Perhaps your particular goals as a lawyer do not require you to attend a highly ranked school.
Good luck!
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