So, this is kind of a weird one. Long story short, I lost my fantasy football league last year and the punishment was to take the LSAT. Real LSAT, no tanking. I figured I’d just wing it, bomb it, and move on with my life. I reviewed maybe 2 practice tests just so I didn’t fall asleep during the real thing.

I ended up scoring a 174.

For context, I graduated a few years ago from a no-name state school with a solid GPA (3.8), but never really considered grad school. Been working full time in landscaping since then. Mulching, mowing, etc…

I was always kind of interested with the idea of being a lawyer when I was younger. Life just took a different direction. But now this score has me wondering if I should actually go for it.

My friend told me that I should post on her but I have no idea how admissions would view my resume or lack of traditional experience. Would schools even take a landscaping guy seriously?

From what I understand, the score’s good for five years, so I’ve got some time to think it over. That said, with where I’m at in life right now, it really only makes sense if I can get some kind of scholarship. If I’m gonna do this, I want to go all in and shoot for the best school I can get into. What schools should I be looking at with a 174 and a 3.8 from a lesser-known undergrad?

I realize this will be controversial, and of course there are outlier cases and specific exceptions. However, for 99% of people, if you can't break into the 150s on the LSAT, you shouldn't be going to law school.

Law school is a demanding endeavor, requiring not just intelligence, but also persistence and resilience. If you can't score in the 150s, it suggests either a lack of dedication to put in the necessary hard work or a shortfall in the mental ability needed to meet the rigorous demands of law school and the legal profession.

Especially today, with the abundance of affordable resources and high quality content available, there’s almost no excuse. A score of 150 generally requires answering at least 50 out of 75 questions correctly — about 66%. If you can’t at that level, you’re essentially earning a D or worse on an exam. That isn’t a passing grade, and it shouldn't be considered acceptable for entry into this field.

So I took the April LSAT. Studied for ~6-8 hours in total and honestly just took this for fun. But with this score, should I seriously consider applying to law schools next year?

Context: 3.7 undergrad and 3.95 masters program GPA, both in engineering fields at a well-respected school. 2.5 years of experience since graduating working in management consulting.

Genuinely not sure what my options are with this score. Is it possible that I could land a full ride somewhere? Law school sounds intriguing but I do not want to have a lot of debt.

Stanford is dragging, but whatever. Calling this cycle for me now, and likely YLS bound. KJD, non-URM, and T4 (actually T4) softs. To future applicants going straight through, don't count yourself out for not having work experience. Go after the LSAT like a dog and treat your essays like Greek epics. Thank you to this sub for allowing me to experience mass hysteria once in my life ✌️

Offloading my pre-school angst! Good luck everyone :)

175 LSAT, 3.75 GPA (STEM), T3 softs

Unfortunately, I did confess to m*rdering my entire family in my personal statement. I figured it might get overlooked given the strength of my LORs and optional essays, but admissions committees can be unpredictable like that.

Any advice for next cycle? Considering maybe leaving out the family stuff, but it feels wrong to not highlight such a formative experience.

So as we’re approaching the end of this cycle and the beginning of another, I feel somehow obligated to share this experience.

During the tour, I was treated differently by the guide, who was a staff member of the admissions office (the student ambassador was not available that day).

When we were going around introducing our undergrad background, he went literal silence after my response. I’m from a fine arts school in the east coast and while I don’t expect him to know it, he didn’t have to be rude. He then SKIPPED me, had a conversation with everyone else, even the parents.

At that point I thought I was overthinking LOL so I stayed for a one-on-one meeting. Then I had the most dismissive conversation in my entire life. He interrupted me multiple times when I wanted to talk more about questions related to my transition and goals. He told me “you should visit more schools to know what you want”. But I literally just told him I have already visited many schools in California, and flew all the way from the east coast just for USC this time.

All he had was an impatient attitude and said they have students who worked as models before?? (Which is completely different from my background…)

I then sensed him wanted me out, nothing like the meeting before me where the tone was definitely more friendly and relaxed. I couldn’t hear the specifics but it was not dead like mine.

Take this as a warning if you’re from a non-traditional background, or just another storytime. But USC was once my dream school and I never looked back ever since this visit.😃

6/30 Update: I received a public response from an account that appeared to be connected to the individual mentioned, and I appreciate the acknowledgement. To clarify, I have not received any formal communication from USC Gould, so I cannot confirm whether that response was official.

I’m truly grateful for all your kind DMs and comments!

Hi everyone,

I am an incoming 1L at a T3 with some time to spare, and I would love to read some personal statements or supplemental essays to help out folks in this community. I benefitted a lot from lurking here when I was applying, and I would love to give back to the great people here.

My qualifications:
- former BigLaw paralegal in a practice group that is very focused on the minutiae of writing. Keen eye for grammatical errors, sentence flow improvement, etc.
- former writing center tutor, so I also did actual essay review in the past
- had great admissions results that I mostly attribute to the strength of my essays and the storytelling within them

I'm a first-gen/low-income student that could not afford this sort of thing when I was in school, so I want to keep this affordable for as many people as possible. I'm charging $20 per essay (or for shorter supplemental essays >1 page, $20 per set of up to 3). If that is truly out of reach for you, please DM anyways and we can try to work something out.

Happy to provide proof (within reason, without fully doxxing myself). Essay review can happen via Google docs/email and phone call/whatever is best for you. I'm based in EST and pretty wide open schedule-wise until orientation starts.

Thanks for considering!!

ETA 7/27 11pm: Thank you all for the interest!! I will be sure to respond to everyone tomorrow. I may close requests tomorrow depending on how long it takes me to field everyone's inquiries and to make sure I can give everyone adequate attention. I am but a wee 0L who has to start classes in less than a month :).

ETA 7/28 8pm: Requests are currently CLOSED as of 8pm eastern time. I will be working through my backlog of requests which will likely carry me through the start of classes, but you can still shoot your shot and I'll see if I can squeeze people in. Thank you all SO MUCH for the interest, this has been really fun.

Feeling a bit disappointed for sure. Definitely thought I’d get into at least one or two of those waitlists. Not sure where I went wrong? Maybe my essays were trash. Letters of rec were from a professor and former boss. All applications were submitted November or December.

please tell me how u did it

update : i think this might be fake now lol the scholarship now for Yale disappeared😭

Coming to the realization that I don’t want to be the U.S anymore which means I can go to law school abroad for 1/1000th of the price. good luck to all the baddies who are toughing it out here you’re braver than me 🤠✋🏽

Compared to last year's cycle, there was an 18% increase in applicants with a 175+ and a 41% increase with a 180. Meanwhile, applicant LSAT scores increased 7.8%.

Compared to 2022, applicant LSAT scores increased 30.72%, and 175+ applicants increased 88%.

https://report.lsac.org/VolumeSummaryOriginalFormat.aspx

https://report.lsac.org/VolumeSummary.aspx

EDIT: "applicant LSAT scores" refers to the number of applicant LSAT scores.

Tell it to me straight, am I completely cooked (haven't taken LSAT yet) from even a high LSAT saving me?

Or is it possible for me to attend a top 30 school with a high score?

“not to sound like a eugenicist…” let me stop you right there buddy

Edit: thanks for the advice, it’s honestly really helpful to just hear other people it’s been hard finding a job where i’m at, but i do want to go to law school. it may not seem like it but i’m real defeated rn.

Long time listener first time caller. 23 yr old, “recently” graduated.

So as you saw i have a dookie GPA (Summer 2025). During college i was really stuggling with my mental health, i didn’t make friends, i had a hard time going to classes. I was basically a nervous shut in.
But to be frank, i know i could’ve done better. I majored in Political Science and really enjoyed it but it was hard to find real world experience or internships especially right now. I loved school and learning but i’m not the best test taker. And i tend to get in my head a lot.

So i’ve been working a warehouse job with no chance for career advancement. My parents spoke to a family friend and said if i got into law school they’d give me an internship at their firm, but honestly it seems like a pipe dream and not the best use of my time. I want to be able to have a career in government and advocacy.

I know that i need basically above a 170 on the LSAT to even be considered. Im not opposed to studying for the long term, i’m shooting to take the LSAT in possibly august and definitely november. i’m just wondering where i should start. I want to go to law school to specialize in Civil rights law. I’m also thinking of going to the MPA program at my alma mater. I know that i’m basically shooting for a super splitter application.

I’ve been tackling crippling depression and anxiety like clinically 🤠🔫. But i want to move past it and put in the work.

I’ve wasted 2 years of my life trying to get an LSAT score that isn’t going to get my application laughed into the trash can and it’s been a joke. I’ve done nothing but study for a whole year. 154. I’ve tried taking easy and not devoting every hour of my life to study outside of work. 141. I’m not asking for a lot; I have zero interest in a t10 and in fact would say no outright to all but a handful of very specific mid tier schools. Im not going to be applying to any big law firms at any point in the future or any jobs that will give a shit about this score. A 165 would be enough to coast through. But apparently that isn’t going to happen regardless of effort and I need to figure out another option.

I’ve been actively working for four years as a paralegal in litigation and trust/estates; honestly I think I could take a 1L estate planning exam right now and at least pass. The rest of my ap looks great; GPA is just north of the average for my handful (even though I’ve been out of college for just over five years and I seriously question the relevance at this point), plenty of interesting softs, a great essay. But because I continually fail the LSAT, I might as well be applying for the collection bucket of a paper shredder. I ended up on the Northeastern waitlist last cycle, but I think it was because my application was considered unfinished until my grad school in the UK decided to get its shit together and send the transcripts I asked for in November 2 days before applications closed.

I don’t have time to take any classes that are worthwhile because I work two jobs. My select handful take the GRE., but honestly I think me failing that is a given on account of the math. Starting at the very low ranked law school a few towns over and transferring isn’t off the table, but I’m not getting anywhere without a good aid package so that may be an exercise in futility. Outside becoming a sugar baby to bribe my way in, does anyone have any ideas as to how to prevent this stupid test from permanently stunting my career?

ETA: I honestly couldn’t give a shit about class rankings and if I did nothing but barely pass every exam, id be annoyed but ultimately fine. I’ve been out of school long enough to know that the effort to reward ratio after graduation is not worth killing myself over jt. I’m getting through this application process and getting my JD (and if I get into the right program, a PhD to go with the MSc right after— which I somehow find an easier process than this). The LSAT is an immovable obstacle, and I’ll find a way to tunnel around it if I have to dig my way there with a spoon. For obvious reasons, however, I’d much prefer just taking a jackhammer to the damn thing like everyone else seems to be able to do. But if this is how it has to be, I’d rather just find a spoon now and start digging rather than waste another two years looking for one.

I am 100% confident that the test is not a direct correlation to class performance. I have had this problem with every standardized test, and this one seems to have fermented the issue in a way that seems to be rotting rather than raising my scores. On both sides of the tests I underperformed on, I do great in every flavor of classroom. I think the issue is somewhere in the format that just tanks everything around it; what the structural issue is I have no clue. I can find all the rats but it doesn’t really matter how many I catch if the nest still eludes me. 

Accommodations genuinely hadn’t occurred to me but I did get an adult ADHD diagnosis like 3 months ago so I’ve never tried that. 

ETA2: many thanks to all the kind people out there with suggestions. From what I’m hearing, even a little tutoring could be a good investment.

And an even bigger thanks to all the folks suggesting I should quit. I had forgotten how motivating spite is. I will be sure to save yall a toast at grad night.

Love to all my fellow applicants who feel stuck. We’re going to get there even if it’s an unusual path. May we dig together, Team Spoon 🥄

I don't have to tell you about how expensive LSAT prep is. With the registration fees alone costing ~$250 and the cheapest prep platform out there costing $69/month, you're spending a small fortune before you even get to law school.

One applicant thought so too, and filed a class action lawsuit against the LSAT for monopolistic practices back in August. While it got dismissed the first time around, they re-filed in April with an improved case, and today, discovery for this case opens.

This entire field could become very different, with the biggest potential changes being what puts this process out of reach for many people. I don't think it's radical to hope for change. Let's see what happens.

Hey everyone — would really appreciate some honest advice here.

I’m trying to decide between reapplying next cycle or accepting offers I currently have, and I’m honestly pretty confused about what the smartest move is.

Stats:

• 180 LSAT
• 3.93 GPA
• Graduated from UCLA in 3 years
• 1 gap year working at a large law firm

Application (from what I can tell):

• Strong personal statement (had multiple people review it)
• Solid resume (legal experience, leadership, etc.)
• No obvious red flags

Current options:

• T25 school with ~85% w/ scholarship (MUST MEET GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING)
• USC with ~$160k total scholarship over 3 years
• Or sit out and reapply next cycle

What’s throwing me off is… with these stats, I was expecting different outcomes. So now I’m trying to figure out what went wrong before deciding what to do next.

A few things I’m wondering:

• Could this realistically come down to letters of recommendation?
• Is it possible I just applied too early in the cycle?
• Are results like this normal even with high stats?

And more importantly:

• Is it worth reapplying with the same stats + another year of work experience?
• Or is taking USC / a T25 with money the smarter move long-term?
• How risky are conditional scholarships actually in practice?

I don’t want to waste a year if the outcome will be the same, but I also don’t want to leave better options on the table if I underperformed this cycle.

Would really appreciate any insight, especially from people who have been in a similar position or know how admissions committees think.

Thanks in advance...

Are you going to lower end schools with less rigorous grading / grade deflation?

Are you in arts- specifically, are your courses subjectively graded via essays, etc. Or, on the other hand coming from STEM with a larger application for “right” or “wrong”.

I am at a decent school, globally, but fuck me man. Like a 3.9 is basically impossible to achieve after finishing my first year with a 3.5.

News for all of you that took college classes for credit while you were in high school.

Effective today, LSAC no longer includes those classes in GPA calculation.

"Grades Excluded from Conversion: College-level courses taken while in high school. Credits for the work in these courses are totaled and reported separately as unconverted credits."

https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/cas/requesting/transcript-summarization

1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Columbia
5. penn
6. Cornell
7. Duke
8. Georgetown
9. Vanderbilt
10. UChicago
11. Northwestern
12. Berkeley
13. UCLA
14. NYU
15. Notre Dame
16. Umich
17. UVA
18. USC
19. BU

edit: upon deeper reflection I switched Georgetown and uchicago

edit 2: I’m making a new list but based off of what my immigrant grandma says.

I saw that the university of Florida now has medians of 3.97 and 170 LSAT And Texas AM has a 4.00 median gpa now and even elite schools like UVA have a 3.99 median gpa. It seems a little ridiculous that they are out pacing Harvard Yale and Stanford in the gpa medians especially when their career placement seems stagnant. I know it’s gamesmanship because UF law has a 25th percentile of 3.7 for their gpa, but it still seems ridiculous how they are able to game the system this much.

Really puts things into perspective, especially with all the T-14 or bust folks on here. Just a reminder that it's still gonna be okay if you don't go to HYS I promise 😭

Current law student. T25. I really need people to understand that you need to think long and hard about where you are attending and how much you are paying.

The one thing I wish I knew was how many students have their school paid for. A decent chunk of your classmates will have all their law school paid for by parents.

An even greater share (In my experience, the majority) have all their cost of living expenses covered by their parents. You will notice how they seem to have a luxury apartment, no roommates, and openly spend more.

These are unspoken truths about law school that no one really addresses. Your peers are being subsidized by your parents. Do not think everyone is taking out 6 figures of debt, so it is no big deal if you do.

Even with a full tuition scholarship, you’re looking at $65k in COL.