9/17/09 -- Taking LSAT on 9/26/09. Currently in prep course at Kaplan, where my highest score has been 169, but I'm still holding out (fading) hope I can break 170 on test day. Obviously given my sub-par undergrad GPA I'm hoping the time out of school, a very strong resume and a high LSAT score can offset some of the damage. I'll see what score comes back on LSAT and then make my final decisions on where to apply, but I qualify for in-state tuition in Virginia, so will be focused on those schools (George Mason, William & Mary, UVA, etc.) I'll update this as I move forward, and I'll also be following others with similar profiles. Please don't hesitate to contact me, as I'm anxious to compare notes with others throughout the process.
9/21/09 -- Getting very frustrated. LSAT is 5 days away, and I seem to be stuck at 167 on my prep tests lately (taking the last one tomorrow morning). What's worse, I think I'm getting burnt out because I'm getting more questions wrong on my strongest sections , at least when I'm doing them at home. I really need to knock this test out of the park if I'm going to offset my ten-year-old GPA and I just can't seem to get there.
9/26/09 -- Just got home from the LSAT. It was relatively straightforward, and I think I did reasonably well, although not spectacularly. Guess we'll know in about three weeks. Interestingly, even though I have no LSAT score yet, I'm getting tons of emails from law schools, so I guess CRS is up and running.
10/8/09 -- Should be getting my LSAT score in another week or so. Meanwhile I'm trying to get a handle on the personal statement. I'm a good writer and I have a good story to tell (10 years in DC politics), but I'm stuck on the scope and how I want to approach it. I have a few ideas written down but I'm allowing self-doubt to dissuade me from each of them. I'd actually like to take Kaplan's personal statement consulting but after the money I dropped on LSAT prep (and the application fees I'll soon be shelling out) I just can't spend the money. I think I'm on my own for this one!
10/16/09 -- Received my LSAT score tonight and got a 168. I was really hoping for a 170 (only two more questions right would have done it!) but I guess I'll live with this one. Not sure what this will mean in concert with my subpar GPA from the 1990s, particularly with our high-tiered, selective law schools in DC and VA.
12/13/09 -- Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I took far too long on the personal statement, allowing too much self doubt to creep into my drafting. In retrospect, I should have banged out a draft and started circulating it for comments and gone from there. Now, I have a short statement aimed at the 500-word limit for Mason and GWU. Sent in my application to Mason this week and will send in GWU on Monday. It's a little later than I'd hoped, but hopefully still early enough. Now, I'm struggling with how to lengthen the PS for other schools (I don't want to get branded a slacker with a 500-word essay), which is tough when you've spent so much time whittling down to a bare bones essay. Also applied to Penn State this weekend because they sent me a fee waiver, so why not?
Don't worry too much about your old grades. Grades only mean so much for old guys like us. It all comes down to the LSAT and our resume.