<p>Anyone out there know of any decent school in California that might accept someone with a 149 LSAT but 3.44GPA.</p>
<p>This combination seems to be a little weird, at least according to a lot of data that I’ve looked at. So, I was wondering if anyone might know people who got into decent schools with this combination. </p>
<p>I also have 5yrs paralegal experience (including trial experience), a paralegal certificate, and I play in a touring punk rock band. So if anyone thinks these experiences will help, let me know so that I can feel better about myself.</p>
<p>I would reccomend looking into USD (University of San Diego). Also try USC if you are financially stable. It varies on where you went to undergrad too. I’d also try U.C. Hastings (I know someone who went there with a 3.2). UC Davis seems to look more heavily on LSAT than they do GPA, but your GPA would be in range to be accepted. </p>
<p>Among the ABA-accredited schools, that score puts you a little above the 25th percentile mark at Whittier, Thomas Jefferson, Cal Western and Golden Gate. Your GPA would put you at or above the 75 percentile for for these schools.</p>
<p>Don’t confine yourself to schools where you are above the 25th% percentile for LSAT, but in choosing those where you aren’t, select some where your gpa would be high. I’m not an expert, but I think paralegal experience MAY help a LITTLE, IF you can get a good recommendation from your employer, especially if your employer is an attorney who has some connection to the school. </p>
<p>And, while I don’t usually suggest this…you may be the kind of person who should hire someone to review your personal statement.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the positive responses. It’s definitely better than the “study harder, take it again and re-apply next year” response I’ve been getting from my friends. </p>
<p>As to the advise re LOR and PS, I got 2 pretty strong LORs from attorneys that I’ve worked with, and 1 LOR from my Sr. Thesis Advisor from my undergrad days. I’m not sure I can hire someone to look at my PS (Kaplan charges like $500 for 1hr!! Good God!). I’ll just have to roll the dice. Do schools actually look at these things though?? I figure they see my report, see the 149, and toss my app into the reject pile.</p>
<p>Oh, and sugarmantra, I’ll be 27 this year. Granted, I may be ancient when I finish LS, but spending 5 years to pursue the rock star dream was a well-worth-it experience.</p>
<p>First, I wasn’t suggesting Kaplan. There are better people out there. At least have the pre-law advisor or career services office at your undergrad read it through for you. (Almost every college will help alums with things like this.)</p>
<p>You are talking about an investment of at least $30,000, if you get into an inexpensive state school, to perhaps as much as $150,000. Being cheap on the PS is,to be blunt, stupid.</p>
<p>Yes, the law schools read these things. Yes, they tend to be more important for people who have been out of undergrad for a while like you have. I said in my response that I don’t normally think it’s a good idea. But for an older applicant with a bit of a split, it may well be. </p>
<p>Don’t kid yourself, the PS MATTERS --for someone like you, more than most. You’re just at the cusp for the bottom 25% of the LSAT range for a number of schools. Not everyone who has a 149 at those schools is going to get in. Think not only in terms of “Once they see my 149, they’ll toss my app” but in terms of “my 149 will be enough to get my file read at some schools but it’s not going to guarantee I get in. My PS has to be good enough to do that.”</p>
<p>Oh, and you should have AT LEAST one more academic LOR.</p>
<p>first to emsibdn: I went to St. Mary’s College with a double in Philosophy and Interal Liberal Arts (its a Great Books program that only like 5 schools in the country have. it’s based on the Rennaisance Trivium which basically teaches subjects socratcially by reading original text, discussing the text, and then writing)</p>
<p>jonri - i understand what you’re saying. in fact i have had a lot of professionals look at my PS (from an academic counselor to admissions people to law students, etc.). So far I think it’s pretty damn good, but we’ll see. Thanks for letting me know that these things matter. My disbelief lies in others telling me I’m basically done and I have no hope.</p>
<p>A 149 isn’t terrible – it’s just very average. </p>
<p>How did you study? Do you have any desire to take another shot at it? If you didn’t study intensely, you can probably improve signficantly. If you did, then you should have a shot somewhere.</p>
<p>i studied by taking old tests. took about 20 of them, but I didn’t take them under real conditions (i.e. took long breaks between sections, correction a section before going on to the next, gave up when I didn’t feel like studying, etc.) I also didn’t review what I was doing wrong. I do have a desire to take it again, cuz I know I can break a 160. We’ll see though. Since I applied to like 7 schools before taking the Dec. LSAT, I guess there’s still a 25% or less chance that I can get into some of these 1st-2nd tier schools.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to get into a 1st / 2nd tier school with a 149 these days. (Lower ranked schools may be another story.) However, you can probably raise your score through more effective prep. </p>
<p>While it’s good you worked through all those exams, you won’t get much benefit from them if you don’t review the questions you missed. (Otherwise, you probably just keep making the same mistakes.) </p>
<p>If you work through the remaining available tests in this manner, and also review the questions you missed on the exams you’ve already done, you should be in better shape next time around. (You may even want to redo some of those tests.)</p>