I am a grad student with a bachelors and masters in english, my lsat is 150 and i am going to take it again. What else is there, can i do something to really make me stand out... Please HELP!!!!
203781
You should really concentrate on your LSAT score - try private tutoring.  You can get it through Kaplan.  Most schools have a minimum LSAT score that they require (although they will not say it themselves - once it gets to the admissions committee they will shove you into the "no" pile and not even look at your personal statement if your GPA and LSAT aren't good enough.)  So look at the 25-75th percentile ranges - try to apply to schools where you are in that range for a good chance to get in.  However, remember that 25% of students are still below that range.  There is also a feature on http://www.LSAC.org where you can input your GPA and LSAT and see how many students had those scores in the school you are looking at.\n\nThe best thing is for you to increase your LSAT score.  Did you already take it officially, or is that your practice score?  If it is official, some law schools automatically average the LSAT scores together, so it will really only help to take it again if you have a big increase.  But some schools will only take the higher score.  Make sure that you write in a statement with your application why your first score isn't representative of your true potential.\n\nDon't give up hope - if you work at increasing your score, it can pay off.  When I took Kaplan, I increased 9 points.  And you also are starting off lower, so it will be easier to inrease your grade.  You can focus more on the core concepts and it will pay off big.  Make sure you have a professional evaluate your strengths and weaknesses - at Kaplan they have a report based on practice LSAT tests that show you how you score on each concept.\n\nOnce you have maximized your score, you will really want to make yourself stand out in your personal statement. You can get admissions counseling to help you with this.  You may want to do some volunteer work to beef up your resume.  Focus on what makes you different - you have a masters degree, so that is already a strong point.  You should also try and volunteer in a public office (see if the district attorney or mayors office is looking for clerks - many schools have independent study programs where you can volunteer at these sorts of places, then suck up for a really good letter of reccomendation).  An admissions counselor could help you find out exactly what you are missing, and help you put together the perfect application.\n\nYou may also check with the career office at the school you currently attend - mine had a specialized pre-law counselor.  Good luck!!
517693
Ohh, college applications, ew. I finished all mine last month, yay. :D\n\nYou won't be penalized, but you should really try to stick to the suggested amount of words. A few over isnt bad, 150 over is kind of a lot.  Take out the extra stuff, see if you maybe stated some things twice.\n\nSome college applications will only let you have 250 when you type them in, they have a character count and wont let you go over.\n\nBut 250 sounds like the short answer questions, try to stick to short but still be detailed and answer the question. They have longer essays when they want longer answers.\nAt least thats how the University of Michigan application was. (;o we could be rivals, lmao)
391940
As others have said, I wouldn't recommend doing A Level law, it's not generally thought well of by universities.\n\nYou should probably be taking at least one or two arts and humanities courses - things like English and History are great because they demonstrate that you can evaluate information from a variety of sources and form coherent, concise arguments.\n\nAs for what other subjects you take, it depends if there are any particular fields of law you are interested in - Business Studies or possibly Economics might be useful if you're planning to go into corporate law, perhaps Psychology if you want to go into criminal law, and sciences would be very helpful if you're thinking about patent law.\n\nThere are no real hard and fast requirements for doing law, so overall I would say it's best to take the courses you think you can do well in and that you will like, as long as the bulk of your qualifications have a really strong academic focus (things like Art, Drama, Music etc. might not demonstrate your reasoning and linguistic abilities well enough.) Being well-rounded is probably a positive attribute, but don't take courses just for the sake of appearing well-rounded, take the courses you will really enjoy!\n\nYou should really be aiming for top grades, the very best you can do. B's at least, preferably A's, especially if you want to get into the best law programmes.\n\nOh, and don't worry about the LSAT, it's an American thing. Law is a graduate only subject over there, so you take the LSAT towards the end of your university career or after graduating so you can apply to a graduate Law school.\n\nI believe there was a law aptitude test being developed for British students, but I don't think it will be a mandatory test at every university - ask your career/university advisor for more information or check the websites of universities you're interested in.\n\nGood luck!
247917
You need to take the LSAT get accepted to a Law School.  Three years later if you graduate you can take the bar exam for your state if it has a bar exam and then you can make just enough to pay off your loans for the next five years.  "Law General" is what most states have but some do offer a legal "specialization".  The best type of law is the type that you are best at or enjoy the most.  My wife does Real Estate because she enjoys it and is good at it.  I do Civil Rights because I enjoy it and am good at it.  It is a personal choice for you to make.\n\nIn Liberty,\nEric H. Smith
48355
You might want to retake.  I got nearly identical percentiles (99th verbal and 64th math) and decided to not take the exam a second time.  All the interviews I went on, no one made mention of it except my alma mater, Stern.  The interviewer asked me why I didn't take it a second time, to boost my grade.  Whoops.  Didn't really have an good answer for it.  Needless to say, I did get in.  Stern's not top 10, but for finance it was top 5 at the time, and that is what i was going to study, so somehow I managed to get in with a crappy math score.  So, in answer to question #1, I wouldn't be super concerned with being 10 points below the median.  For #2, I would have to say, depending on what you intend to study (rather, what you tell them you intend to study) it could very well make a difference.  If you say "my plan is to study finance and accounting", the low grade on the math side could hurt you.  If you say you are going to study marketing or IT, maybe it won't be as big a deal.\nNot to get into too long of a discussion, but, its not just the GMAT that matters.  Even with my GMAT score, I was able to get in to Cornell; I just hit it off with the interviewer and I had a good "story", so he sold the school on me and the GMAT seemed to be irrelevant in that case.\nHope this helps you and good luck!
373761
I have 1 word for you: Kaplan. I have had students raise their scores by 200 or more points, and we are the only company that offers a comprehensive, 3-part guarantee. Plan on studying for 3 months or so and you *will* succeed.\nPlease feel free to contact me at the San Jose Kaplan center.
475755
I have a slightly off-topic answer for you, but hopefully you'll find it useful.\nDid you do well on your SAT/ACT? If so, you can audition to teach for Kaplan. Aside from making some money working a few evenings and weekends influencing the next generation, you'll also become a much better test-taker. \nBest of all, after teaching for Kaplan for a year, you'll be able to take a free LSAT course and get the scores you want!\n\nHope this helps!
29268
Law schools look for indications that you can do well in law school, and gpa and lsat scores are two major pieces of data that they use to make this judgement. So, your task is to raise both of these if you can. \n\nYour first move is to go to the law advisor at your college. Most have one in either the career center or the advising center, or there is a faculty member who does this job. Go over in some detail your grades and your lsat scores and see if you can figure out what to do.\n\nTwo suggestions for the low gpa: Take a double major, which will delay your graduation but will give you the opportunity to increase your gpa. But, you really have to make the commitment to get all As in your classes from now on or taking all the courses you want will not improve your gpa or your odds of law school.\n\nDid you prepare for the LSAT? Buy several preparation programs on disk and the diagnostic test and look up everything you got wrong, then take another practice test. Look up everything you got wrong. Take another...and another... until you do consistently well on the tests.\n\nFinally, do you know why you have low scores on both of these indicators? Does this mean that you should reconsider law school as a vocational choice? These are questions that you must ask yourself.
324716
Okay, I am a law student and I will be happy to help you with the process. You can e-mail me at: cyanne2ak@yahoo.com\nYou need to send your transcripts to LSAC, as well as your letters of recommendation. You must register with them to take the LSAT. You do NOT have to use LSAC to submit your applications, however I highly recommend using them! Almost ALL law schools in the USA accept (and many require) that you submit your application online through the LSAC. Also, many of them waive the application fee if you do so. When you take the LSAT, at the end of the test you will have to answer a question with an essay. Kaplan has the best LSAT prep books, USE THEM. When you are accepted to a law school you will have to send them official transcripts to confirm that you did recieve your undergraduate degree, etc. If you have any more questions, please e-mail me. I understand the confusion.
671610
I went to Thomas Cooley in Lansing, Michigan.\n\nI forget my LSAT score (believe me, it has no bearing on how well you'll do in law school).\n\nSuccess, thats another story. Dedication is the key. My class started out with 338 students. Maybe less than 50 graudated. The key is studying on how to be successful in law school. I know Cooley offered classes on how to prepare for law school. If the school you plan on going to offers them TAKE THEM. The first year they will try to break you. I averaged 500-800 pages of reading a week. They will also tell you not to use outside materials for research or learning. Screw that. I had good luck with Bar-Bri; just don't take them to class. I also used a product called "Rom-law". It had cases already typed out and condensed on a CD. I just printed them out and kept them in a binder for class...never got caught. Get past the first year and you'll do fine.\n\nThe professors are like anyone else; some arrogant, liberal, conceited, helpful, smart, clueless, or just "average".\n\nIf you go to law school try to get in a group of fellow students that you know are smart, and you get along with. You can help each other get through it in one piece. I ran around with 4 others; all of us made but one.  \n\nGood luck...and remember its all about dedication.
38567
150 is average, however you can still get into a decent law school with a little under 150 if you have other things going for you. If you get a 160 or over you've done wonderful. I got a 156 and i got into a good law school. I was a little disapointed with my score, but it's still not bad.
555498
The best time to take it is in the fall before you plan to apply to law school.  Most people will take it in thier Junior year. But only take it when you have the time to fully prepare.  A good score would be around 170 or (90%ile).  I wouldn't mind explaining this more.  I work for Kaplan.  617.661.6965.
239742
i do not know what the previous poster is talking about\n\naccording to the official LSAC sight \n\nyou can put in your GPA plus your LSAT score and it will generate a table showing your likelyhood for admission to all ABA approved schools\n\nim sorry to say that you have less than a 10% chance of getting into LMU or Peperdine infact USD and USC are impossible\n\nmost people usually score a bit lower on the actual test compared to the practice \n\nand even so a 156 is a pretty average score\n\nthat with your GPA will only allow you to pursue Tier 4 schools\n\nin the southern Cal area you have a shot at getting into Thomas Jefferson , Cal Western, and Golden Gate Univ in San francisco\n\n\nit is very important to start researching and planning for law school as soon as you think you might be intrested in Law\n\nif you had gotten a 3.15gpa and a 158lsat u would have slightly improved your chances of gettin into LMU an Pepp\nand you certainly would have gotten into a descent Tier 3 school\n\ni suggest that you pursue your MBA perhaps\n\ndont give up if your serious about law school there are several schools that will take any student but these schools have high drop out rates\n\nhowever if you cant raise your GPA take a year off put some distance between you and your GPA get a job and study study study for the LSAT if you raise your score to over 164 you can get into a Tier 2 school, and may get into LMU\n\nfyi, try applying to the Part Time program its easier to get into and it only takes one extra year\n\nGOOD LUCK\n\nim still in pre-law im raising my GPA to a 3.5 and have yet to take the LSAT but my goal is 168
400523
I really recommend the official SAT book released by collegeboard. I think there are 8 tests there and they're all very similar to the actual test. \n\nIf critical reading is what you're not great at, try and pinpoint exactly where it is that you keep losing marks. Is it the passage? The vocabulary section? Then read the official SAT book. In the meantime build up your vocabulary by browsing sites that have prepared SAT vocabulary words that are most likely to come out. \n\nIt is VERY possible to raise your scores, if you really take the time to do so.
407484
To attend an ABA-accredited (American Bar Association) law school, you seem to have the numbers.  Your current university may not garner the fame of Harvard but should be more than enough to ensure that your undergraduate education wasn't spent at a questionable school.\n\nA high LSAT score would be a big boost and will probably factor more than your GPA.  While your GPA will meet the minimum requirements, the top law schools will usually want at least a 3.5 and really no lower than a 3.3.\n\nWrite a really good essay and focus on how you've improved and mature during your undergraduate years (you've made mistakes but you've found successful ways to fix them).  Get a couple of really close professors (those who've seen your improvement, particularly) to write some awesome recommendation letters.\n\nAnd, yes, being a minority helps (female and/or anything but Caucasian for law schools).\n\nIt's going to be hard to hide the fact that your freshman year was rough so don't try it.  Focus on how you've improved and turn it into a positive experience which you learned from with elaborations of the specifics you provided here.  You don't have a guaranteed ride at any law schools but you won't find any doors locked either.\n\nBest of luck.
425606
I don't know what kind of random hits your teacher is making on the students.  Perhaps you can't get past that?  I went to three universities and graduated with a 4.0 GPA in all.  The key to my good grades was my note taking.  I took amazing notes and then when I got home, I went through them and outlined my notes making more sense of them.  By the time I got through outlining and making a really nice bunch of note pages, I knew the material.  It helps to not be freaked out by tests as well.  They never bothered me.  You either know it or you don't.  I think trying to study at the last minute outside the classroom door is foolish.  All that can do is get you all nervous and confused.  Even being around other students who are panicking over their last minute studying will have a negative effect on you.  I stayed away from the classroom and those students until the very last minute and didn't crack a book before the test.  Like I said, "If I didn't know it when I got there, I wasn't going to learn it in 5 minutes!"  I also helped other students study for their exams (the same ones I was taking) and this also solidified the information in my brain.  In that case, you give and you get something in return.  If there was an area which was extremely difficult to grasp onto, I stayed after class and talked to the instructor or made use of the computer programs available for that particular subject.  Good grades take hard work.  Your grades to date are not to be sneezed at, so don't be so hard on yourself.
475026
The best thing you can do is to find something that interests you, then find out as much as you can about it & do a project on that. You need to do it that way, in case the judges ask you questions about your project. If you studied enough, you'll be able to answer their questions enough to impress them, and possibly get a high score. When I was in 8th grade, I did a project on rocks & minerals. I had always been interested in rocks, picking up ones that sparkled, or had weird colors in them. I got a rock book and compared the ones I had to the pictures in the book. I studied about where they came from and how many of them were used in construction and buildings. I got an A+ on my project, and a second place at the fair. And it was all because I could answer the judges questions to their satisfaction. When you don't take shortcuts, it pays off. Now, if your project is due this week, you're gonna be sorry for waiting so long. It will be very hard to do anything on short notice. Hopefully, you're giving yourself plenty of time to study your project, make your report and anything else necessary to dazzle the judges. I wish you success in whatever you do. <*)))><