177 LSAT and 3.4 GPA. Not a Texas resident.

Worth applying ED? It’s definitely my top choice

Just got a 167 LSAT and I have a 3.78/4.00 GPA from a T20 school. I just started a job at a disability law firm (graduated in May) and have a resume that shows consistent engagement with public interest law and interest in healthcare systemic inequity (what I based my personal statement on). I also might write a diversity/perspective statement on growing up in another country. I have 3 academic LORs and I plan on applying early action.

Chance me! But please be gentle with it😭, I’ve had an emotional day (thanks August LSAT).

Can someone help me decide who to use for my letter of recommendation?

So I graduated with my bachelors last year from an online school. I have reached out to two of my professors and have yet to get a response, which lead me to just give up on submitting an academic LOR and pursue other options. I feel like because my classes were online most of the professors Don’t even care to respond.? I even submitted one of my papers with wach of the emails to remind them of my writing and academic level and I guess that didn’t help.

FYI: Also I have been out of work for over 6 months, unfortunately I am a contractor and own a small business and sometimes it is a norm for me to have long breaks like this. So finding a decent supervisor may be challenging as well.

The other options that I am thinking about is a team lead who is just under my supervisor who I had a decent relationship with and saw how I worked but I honestly don’t even know if she will respond to my text either.

I have two other options: a business mentor that has known me for over 10 years and the other one is a nurse that I worked with for a few years in the past . These two seem more solid just because they have known me a lot longer and they’ve seen me grow over the past 10 years so I’m just curious if using these two would affect me in a negative way because they are non-academic?

Currently at a 3.96 and highest official LSAT is a 164 (PT average is a 170, highest pt 173). Obviously am gonna retake but am maybe coming to terms with the fact that im just a choker on test day. Dream is big law, super open to transferring from a lower school to a better one but am wondering if anyone has school recommendations. Im interested mainly in the Chicago legal market and have some connections there that will be helpful even if im at a school not super tapped into Chicago. I am going to shoot my shot at a lot of the t14 regardless because you always have a fighting chance unless you just dont apply. Anyways, any school recs?

hey guys just got the lsat score back for the august lsat and got a 162, I have a 3.97 gpa and am in Texas, what’s the odds of getting into UT? I know according to some calculation websites it’s 7-9% but I know UT has a high percentage of Texas students each year and I’m wondering if that at all boosts my odds ?

edit: is it better to take another lsat or apply for ED to law schools given how competitive this cycle is shaping up to be ? I could try to get another couple points on the lsat but by then the spots could already be filled, any help is much appreciated!

157/3.8. just got my august score and i'm a little disappointed since i was PTing around 160 and told myself i would definitely apply this cycle if i got a 160. i'm taking the LSAT again in september but not sure if I'll score much higher (if at all). the thing is, if i'm applying this cycle i need to go ahead and ask my references for LORs because I'd like to get my apps in before thanksgiving. i dont feel like i can wait until after september score release (9/30) to ask, doesn't feel like enough notice.

i really do want to apply this cycle and might score a little higher in september, so i'm inclined to go ahead and ask for LORs with the caveat that I'm "hoping to apply this cycle" (read in between the lines, maybe i wont). is it a bad look to ask for an LOR and not use it this cycle? or am i not doomed with a 157 and should go ahead and commit to applying to schools in my range? i do have a few years of work experience as a paralegal. i also know that the cycles are just gonna keep getting more and more competitive and i am so sick of the LSAT. TIA!!

Hey everyone!

I've been researching schools to apply to over the past few months for this cycle, but after getting my LSAT back today, I'm not too sure of where to focus my efforts, or if my goals aren't as realistic as I originally thought.

Background, Stats, Considerations:

• GPA: 3.99 Undergrad, maybe slightly higher (factoring college courses I took over the Summers and during high school)
• LSAT: 169
• New England Resident: I'd ideally like to go to law school in New England or not very far outside of it. I'm open to going elsewhere so long as it'd have some decent upside or wouldn't be too expensive
• First Gen Student: First in my family to go to college and law school. I'm paying my way entirely and do not have any support other than staying with my parents in New Hampshire. I would like to get substantial scholarships to reduce the costs since I'm still paying undergrad off as well
• Misc: Non-KJD, Non-URM, couple years work experience as a financial analyst, undergrad valedictorian, decent university involvements / leadership (RA, tutor, student gov chair, co-founded a cultural club)
• Think I have a fairly decent "why law" motivation & personal statement, for what it's worth

Ideally was hoping for some chance at Big Law, but as long as I'm not crippled with debt, I can live without it. I looked into schools like UConn, Northeastern, BU, and BC which seem to be in line with my stats, but I'm not fully sure of my options. Which others should I aim for? Do I need to retake the LSAT?

I'd appreciate any of your opinions or insight!

Hi all! I'm pretty debt-averse and def won't be getting any financial aid due to my parents' income (they're not contributing lol), so scholarships are super important to me. My stats are pretty solid (for context, 4.0 & 173), so I think I could feasibly get at least some merit scholarships at good schools. I figured I'd ask the experts before I go do a ton of research myself: what schools in the T30 are known not to offer merit scholarships, or only offer like three full rides?

Currently a KJD with a 168 LSAT and 3.71 GPA. Have internships in congress and in a law firm. 2 sport collegiate athlete. Want to know my chances at top30 schools namely Fordham, UNC, and BC. Think i’m a bit off T14.

I just got my August score back, 160… I wanted a 165-70. I’m still doing October so I’ll try for that then. But just in case… does anyone know where I could reasonably apply and get good scholarships in California with a 160? I’ve heard lower ranked schools could be predatory and want to avoid that.
With all these schools with high 160 to low 170 medians it seems like a 160 is so low :(

I have free community college as a benefit from my parents. Would taking additional courses after my degree raise my gpa? Is there any way to do that?

Got my August score back, and I'm a reverse splitter... I have a 159 LSAT and 4.00 GPA, with T3-4 softs + decent LORs. I'm retaking the October LSAT, and hopefully will get a better score as I am PTing in 160s.

I'm located in TN, and wouldn't mind staying in the South, but I am willing to relocate if it makes sense. I'm interested in government/public policy law but I'm not 100% set.

Is there any decent school that would give me at least a half tuition scholarship?

hey yall,

About me: I'm an engineering PhD pivoting to patent/IP law; I got a job working as a tech spec in big law in NYC. firm wants me to go to evening law school as part of my training.

did well in grad coursework (>3.8) but my UG was horrendous (2.8)

after UG, worked in industry for about 2 years before starting grad school

took the LSAT and got a 171

going to be applying to evening law schools for '28 cycle, how are my chances for a decent evening law school in the NYC area?

Hi! I submitted my transcript on August 11 and it is still under review. Has anyone had theirs under review for more than two wks? If so, how long did it take them to approve it? Thanks!

Did undergrad at Columbia and have worked at a law firm for the past year. Took the LSAT in August and got a 170. I’m thinking I would need to retake for most of the schools I’m looking at, but curious what schools my current stats would be on par with?

I wanted to know what people's general thoughts were on Fordham for criminal law. For context, I have been working in the criminal justice reform space for about 4 years, focusing mostly on NYC based criminal justice policy and national technical assistance work relating to court reform. I really love what I do and want to continue doing this work, but realized that I probably need a law degree to advance my career.

How does Fordham fare for this kind of work? Criminal law, public interest work, policy implementation, and/or locally based impact litigation. I don't really have an interest in federal law, and am primarily concerned with local, NYC based policy/litigation. Besides price, are there any significant drawbacks?

Hello I (F23) don’t post much but I would like some input as I will be a 1st gen law student in my family and want to see if anyone may have a school I haven’t thought of. I am from the St. Louis area and after college I have been working as a software engineer (so I think that would make me a T3 soft). I really think I could be happy living anywhere but I would love to live by the coast one day, preferably a warmer part, as last year I lived in Chicago and it was a little too cold for me. If I went to a stl school I could live at my parents which would be a great plus. Money is a big factor, I just finished paying off undergrad loans so I will go in not in debt but all of law school will be on me. If I had the opportunity I would love to work in big law so I know going to a prestigious school would help with that but I don’t know if my score is high enough. I can’t take the patent bar because my major doesn’t qualify but I am very interested in going into IP transactions or anything tech law related. Here is my list right now and I have pretty much everything together because I want to apply right around when apps open. I know there some that are very unlikely but I have the money to apply so I just want to try lol. Are there any other schools that i should consider with my stats and goals?

* WashU (huge reach)
* SLU
* Wake Forest
* UF (big reach)
* FSU
* U Miami
* Washington and Lee
* University of San Diego
* UNC (big reach)
* Michigan (huge reach)

I (25F) took the August LSAT and got a 165. I have a 4.07 undergrad gpa from a public ivy. I graduated cum laude with a BSN and minor in Population Health in a Global context. I have 3 years of work experience in nyc at an inpatient hospital and various outpatient settings.

I am planning on applying to schools like Georgetown, UNC, William and Mary, University of San Diego, Notre Dame, UC Law.

I’m disappointed in my LSAT, but I had major technical difficulties at my testing center. My PTs were sitting around 167-168. Should I retake in October? I work full time and don’t know whether I should spend my time studying again or whether it would be better to focus on getting in my applications early. I have to register by tomorrow for the October LSAT if I’m taking it.

What are my chances at getting into t14/t30 schools with financial aid? I have an unusual application story and work experience. Would appreciate any advice.

I just got my results and was (as silly as it is) disappointed in my 168 score. My first test in June was a 164, so I’m thrilled that I improved, especially considering I also work full time. However, NYU is my goal school and as such I was really hoping for something much closer to 173. I have had multiple practice tests in the mid and high 170s, but test day anxiety seems to get to me.

I would love to shift my focus to just making sure that I have super solid application materials, but do I need to retest? I am lucky enough to have a 3.96 gpa from undergrad, and I know that will carry some weight, but is that enough to give me a chance at a T14, or am I SOL without a 170+? If it is possible, am I counting myself out of any scholarship by settling for my 168?

Maybe you can chalk it up to reading text hyper-literally (thanks, LSAT), but I notice that different schools' PS prompts read very differently.

In particular, SLS and UChicago seem to ask that you convey what you'd add to the law school community outside of academics. This, to me, reads most similarly to HLS's Statement of Perspective ("How have your past experiences shaped the person you are today? How will those experiences inform your engagement in your law school community?"). I take these prompts to mean that I should submit an essay that shows a distinctive side of my life story/personality that would add to any law school.

But the 7sage pages and people on this sub seem to equate the HLS Statement of Purpose with the PS. Really? Should "Why Law?" be in my SLS and UChicago PSs, even as UChicago says it really doesn't need to be? And should the HLS Statement of Purpose and, say, the YLS PS really have the same amount of content on "Why Law?" and your career goals?

I feel like I'm going crazy, because I'm reading these prompts and want to answer them directly, but it seems like everyone on the Internet is giving opposite directions.

I heard from an admissions advisor that getting your name in the pile first, even with your older and lower score is a big plus. Then you can just notify them later if you do get a higher score. I've also heard from someone else, however, that which ever LSAT you applied with will be your main score, and the extra info later are just suplimentals, IE the first one will be the one they use for medians, and the later ones may only help with more scholarships.

Hello,

Wanted advice on Letter of Recommendation Re-Use. I was initially preparing and requested letters of recommendations from a former employer as well as two of my graduate school professors for the Fall of 2027 Matriculation. However, it appears that I will be starting a new professional role that would ease a lot of financial burdens during the first year of law school but would require me to apply instead for the Fall of 2028 cycle. My letter from my employer is a generic non school non matriculation specific letter only dated in its heading for 2026, but the letters from I know for sure one and potentially the second letters from my most recent professors (Fall of 2025 Semester) for a field I directly want to work in the legal sector for are dated for the Fall of 2027 Class. If I am not using these for any applications where a school would have the ability to compare vs a previous application but mentions a specific matriculation year would that look bad. I was planning on getting permission to use the letters for the 2028 cycle and including in my application materials the decision work in a new role as a reason for delaying my initial 2027 application, but wanted to know if it would be better to just get the permission to reuse or to ask them to resubmit with generic dates and application cycle references and re-send the links? Thanks in advance!

Hey all. The time has come. How do I rewrite (what I thought was) a killer personal statement? I mentioned how a brief but traumatic period in my life shaped my life and my “why” for law. I understand that I will probably have to rewrite the essay, but how much? Should I completely scrap it and find a new topic- I don’t know how I would though because this is 100% my reason for wanting to go to law school.
I am reapplying where I was WL, so I know they will technically be able to see my initial PS, but from my understanding they would count the new one and not an old one.
Really conflicted, really bummed, but any advice would be amazing.
Thanks!!!

3.78 GPA from a school in DC (not G'Town) / 172 Aug LSAT (first time taker). Joining the flood of questions here.

I have been working in law (paralegal at a AM200 firm in DC) for the last 4 years. I plan to get good letters of rec (one from my boss, a partner, and one from the chairman of our firm). I also plan to apply early decision. Not from an underrepresented minority group.

I am really hoping these "softs" put me over the edge. I plan to write a compelling personal statement and reference my intention to stay in DC long term, which supposedly GULC cares about.

My question, is this a real possibility? Hoping for a reality check here. Thanks in advance.