Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q-and-A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles. If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.
This week, I will address questions regarding application strategy and gauging your admissions chances when applying to law school.
Find out [how law schools evaluate LSAT scores.]
Dear Shawn: At this point, because I’m scoring in the mid 150’s and willing to attend only one of the top-14 law schools, I am faced with the following dilemma: should I take the December LSAT and apply with what is a suboptimal score or should I work another year and take the exam in June?
Thus far, I am able to nail the reading comprehension section and to a lesser extent the logical reasoning, but I am struggling tremendously with the games. Of the practice tests that I have taken, I haven’t been able to get more than 10 questions right in that section, which in part explains why I have been achieving such a terrible score.
In addition, I have heard from that most — if not all — law schools do not at all care about much else besides the LSAT and, to a much lower degree, one’s undergraduate GPA. Is this true? – Scoring Low
Dear Scoring Low: If you are only willing to get into a top-14 school, your will almost certainly want to retake the LSAT and at least break into the low 160s. In order to feel comfortable about gaining admission to more than a couple of top 14 school, you should shoot for the high 160s.
The situation you describe on the LSAT is a common one for students who end up scoring very well on the test. Logic games tends to be the least intuitive section for most students, and many people find that after focused study and lots of practice they can turn the logic games from their worst section to their best section.
Since your area of difficulty with the test is specific, you might benefit more from individualized one-on-one tutoring than you would from a full LSAT course, which will cover lots of information that is less relevant to you.
Learn to [identify and address three types of LSAT logic games.]
Finally, although it is true that the LSAT is the single most important aspect of a student’s candidacy, the remaining components of an application combined generally play a larger role than the LSAT in determining admission. Undergraduate GPA is also extremely important, and for some schools — Stanford and the University of California–Berkeley among the top 14, for example — GPA is as important or more important than LSAT scores.
So study hard for the LSAT and do your best to maximize your score, but do not feel that you need to score greater than a 170 to have a chance to be admitted at a top 14 law school.
Dear Shawn: I am writing on behalf of my son, who is currently a senior and is applying to law school. Although his overall GPA stands at 3.3, his GPA this semester will be 3.7, and he scored a 159 on his LSAT. Two questions: What tier of school can he expect to get into this year, and should we wait until this semester’s grades are posted to submit our applications or submit them right now? -Mom
Dear Mom: This semester’s performance will definitely strengthen your son’s candidacy. Overall, his numbers indicate a smart person who may have underperformed academically toward the beginning of college. If this is the case, and especially if this semester’s grades are part of a broader upward trend in his GPA, he is likely a stronger candidate than his numbers suggest.
Get [tips to buff up your college profile before law school.]
In that case, I recommend submitting an addendum along with his applications identifying any positive trend in GPA, explaining the underperformance early in college, and indicating that the more recent semesters are better indicators of his academic ability.
With respect to whether to submit applications now or wait until this semester’s grades are finalized and posted, I recommend waiting. The benefits of increased overall GPA and having good data to back up an addendum outweigh the cost of waiting a few more weeks to submit applications.
As to what tier of school your son should expect to be accepted at, that is a much more difficult question to answer without knowing more specifics about him. In general, the best way to predict admission is to look at LSAT and GPA ranges for schools he is applying to and see where his numbers fall. If both numbers are within or above the range for that school, then your son should expect to be a strong candidate there. As mentioned above, however, your son may be able to outperform his numbers if there is an upward trend in is GPA.
More from U.S. News
Use Winter Break to Get Ahead on Law School Applications
A Low GPA Might Not Derail a Law School Application
Take 3 Steps to Diagnose an LSAT Practice Test
Evaluate GPA, LSAT Scores to Set Law School Application Strategy originally appeared on usnews.com
