mcds (2022-2023)

Good luck! Kaplan helped me...although I did not reach my target 165, had i taken the test again i'm sure i would have hit the 160 mark. Take a practice LSAT and see where you need help. Logic games were not my thing so i purchased the POWERSCORE LOGIC GAME BIBLE book and it helped :)

With a degree in History from Dartmouth, I think you can get into a lot of schools, including Columbia, with a 163. My school isn't as prestigious so I had to score higher. In regards to my rejections, I knew some of them were coming. With my GPA I was expecting Boalt Hall, UVA, U Michigan, and UCLA to reject me. My surprises were Cornell, NW, and USC, not to be pretentious, but I thought I had a chance. I was waitlisted at Duke and Chicago, which weren't any surprises. It was a rather random cycle, but I'm happy with the outcome. For the LSAT, I studied a lot, hours upon hours, I didn't have Friday classes so I spent 4-6hrs each Friday in the library, plus three hours a night for an entire semester. I recommend the Powerscore Bibles. Go through them, then just take as many practice exams as possible. The test is pretty learnable.

Hey- I actually had a bit of a downward trend in my gpa, for whatever it's worth, although I had some possibly mitigating academic factors.

Upward trend. Freshman year (and soph to a lesser extent) hurt me.

I'm not fond of the SAT & LSAT correlation because I've come across too many outliers; me being one of them. I scored a 1270 on my SAT and 171 LSAT, supposedly with a 1270 I shouldn't anywhere near a 171. Anyway, I think with a 163 you should be in at a lot of T-14s, but if you could score higher, even better. Keep studying, June will be here soon, best of luck.

Well the whole thing with the LSAT is that you NEED TO PRACTICE!!! You need to learn the test, learn why the correct answer is right and more importantly why the answer you chose is incorrect. Anyone can score in the 160's it just depends on how hard you wanna work and how much time you are willing to dedicate.

Leadership role in like 4 major student organizations, worked a ton while attending school, and also received some prestigious internships.

I presume you're applying next cycle? If so, good luck!!

Well good luck. I don't know how/what you've done so far. Obviously be sure to stay away from burnout. I don't think I'm getting into HLS so you're probably right about that LSAT score. I don't like or recommend Kaplan at all. I didn't really use any method other than practicing with LSAC stuff. I opened a Kaplan book once and it was so counterintuitive that my score dropped. I burned it and just stuck with LSAC prep materials. I hear good things about Power Score though. Maybe had I used Power Score, I'd have a HLS worthy score. HLS seems more number whorish while SLS and YLS are a little more subjective.

I'm not complaining, lol. I'd choose Yale over Harvard any day of the week and twice on Sunday (personal preference). Maybe I'll have more insight that I can share once I actually start law school. You can email me if you'd like. Thanks again and much more good luck!!

Word of advice, if you can, take the June LSAT so you give yourself an extra shot in October.

Everyone is so much more confident in my chances than I am. I also figure I'll apply to so many schools because my top choice keeps changing. If I'm lucky enough to get a full Darrow from Michigan, it will make my decision even tougher. To be totally honest, it still feels a bit surreal to even be applying to such prestigious schools. Have you taken the LSAT yet? If not, what are you practicing at? If you need any help, feel free to send me a message.

I sent in an LOCI, but haven't heard anything since my deferral. I doubt anything will come of it because my LSAT isn't as good as my LSN indicates though my GPA is a bit better.

I got into my top choice. My top choice has changed over the course of the cycle though. I am a splitter and I can not emphasize how important it is to be at least 170 on your LSAT. Especially if you're aiming for T-14. You've got to overcome your GPA.

Shoot me a PM with your email and we can go from there re: LSAT

TY. My biggest advice to you would be to take a prep course. I don't care if you think you don't need, you learn better on your own, etc. Do it. I tried to self-study too, and that's when I got the 159. I took TM and got the 169. Take the prep course. It's worth the money. If you can't take the prep course, use the LG Bible and LR bibles. Take at least 10 full length practice tests (with the extra section -- 5 sections total). Break down the results by question types to see what type of questions you're missing (that's why I like the prep courses because they do this for you) and drill those question types. Let me know if you need any specific tips over the summer. My main strengths were RC and LR. I'm do OK in LG. Good luck.

For application packages, I really recommend the Ivey Guide, she gives fantastic advice on polishing your resume and your essays. For the LSAT I found the Powerscore Bibles helpful if you haven\'t already checked those out. Good luck!

That would be a dream come true. However, I think it\'s worth it to apply to some of the lower ranked schools that offer the big $ scholarships( NYU, Columbia, Michigan) or a finaid matching program. I probably will narrow the focus to about 10 schools though.

How\'d you end up doing?

If you got a 165 now, you can definitely hit the upper 170s. I was 165 at the same point in time as you\'re at now.

yeah I keep getting that suggestion, lol. unfortunately i\'m not really looking at west coast because of family stuff, but thank you for the advice!

hey thanks for stopping by. do you really think i have a shot at at schools like that with my gpa? my average over the last 70 semester hours is a 3.87, but i\'m a little skeptical. Good luck to you as well!

From what I could glean from your profile, it seems as if we have similar(ish) numbers and schools. Are you planning to retake the LSAT or hold strong with your score? Best of luck in the upcoming cycle!

I've been working on them forever. Of course, that didn't stop me from having stupid typos that I only caught after I sent them in (despite reading, rereading, rerereading). Nothing major though. I've had LORs in since June and transcript in since July. I figure the earlier I get my apps in, the better my chance at some of my reach schools (Y, S). How is your stuff going?

Which test was that? The older tests are harder so that bodes well for the newer tests. I think my highest score on a pre-2004 test was a 169.

But the test isn't. Particularly LGs. LGs since 2004 have been noticeably easier. The older tests felt more convoluted and confusing to me. Have you done any recent prep tests?

It's out of nerves. Neither of my parents went to college so this is totally uncharted waters for. It makes this whole process feel so surreal. Also, a few of the schools I've added (WUSTL, UCLA) gave me fee waivers. No reason not to. I figure better safe than sorry. If I get into my top choices, no harm (except to my wallet). But if I don't, it'd be nice to have a fall back.

*for me

And thanks for the luck! I'll probably submit Harvard with Michigan on the 22nd. Already have HLS filled out actually Let me know how your LSAT prep goes and how you do on the real thing.

Curious to hear how your LSAT experience was

Hey there, Thanks for the comments! I was going to apply ED to UVA b/c I'm concerned about my lsat score. Although I studied for 3 months and practiced in the 164-170 range, what if I bombed it on the real test day. I'm afraid my score may come back as like a 159 and really put me out of the game at a lot of places. That's why I was just going to go ahead and ED to UVA. I still haven't sent the form yet though as I have been thinking what if I did great and the whole scholarship aspect. Decisions decisions!

I guess I just don't think I really have a shot at Harvard , Yale, or Chicago! My cousin went to Harvard but that's a long shot. I will probably hold off on sending the ED form until I get my score back which is only next Friday. I would really like to go to Stanford!

I'm trying not to read too much into it. It's still very early in the cycle. It just stinks not to be in that first batch, particularly since I just got an email from them earlier telling me I was complete. It's like "we are looking at your stuff" followed by (by virtue of no TS1), "but it's not good enough." But then again, there is the possibility that his staff will be sending out emails on his behalf while he is gone, or that this very early batch (just as the very very few TS1 calls that went out earlier this week) was simply the exceptional candidates by virtue of their numbers or extracurriculars. The top 5% of the applicant pool, if you will. Hopefully, he'll be getting to the rest of us soon. Still, the waiting game is brutal, and I wanted to have *some* positive news to latch on to to make it easier.

You know that's easier said than done. Like you're not going nuts waiting for your LSAT score :P

TLS had a postmortem thread up and we managed to come up with almost every question. I knew from that that I only missed a few. It made the wait easier. But ugh...this wait to hear SOMETHING from SOMEONE is killing me.

I quadruple checked to make sure I did that. I'm just as confused as you are. My PS and DS may not have been spectacular, but I didn't think they were particularly off putting. My PS was about a hobby of mine and my DS was about facing racism but still remaining true to myself. Perhaps it's not a deferral, but the status they changed it to for applicants who will be in their first batch of non-priority track acceptances. Yeah, that's what I'm telling myself.

I expect the October LSAT scores will be in on 10/24 or so since they seem to always come the week before (typically Thursday, Friday, or Saturday) it says they will. Good luck and keep me posted. Meanwhile, I want to fast forward through this week.

I appreciate the vote of confidence- thing is, I am not much of a West Coast kind of person. All of my family is here, and I can't see myself going that far from home- even for Stanford. good luck with your cycle!

with your scores this Friday. It seems you will have an awesome cycle!

hey i see that you have applications sent without having a LSAT score. did you just submit your applications anyways? i hope that made sense. i'm just in the same position. i have all the application stuff ready but am just waiting for my score.

At least I think it will be!

Well, I bombed it. I got a 150 so I don't see myself going anywhere.

:-( Sorry to hear that.

Best of luck to you, as well. I'm interested to see what happens with Cornell. Would you go there if you got in?

Sounds like you know what you want! I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach. I'll sit down at the end of my cycle, look at where I got in, look at $ offers, and decide on 3 or 4 schools I'd like to visit. Definitely interested in hearing from Y and S, although I expect rejections from both of them.

are you going to cornell?

Go to Cornell!!! Congrats!

Congratulations on your acceptance to Cornell!

Please withdraw from Cornell so I stand a chance of getting of the waitlist! You might open a seat for me!