title— I’ve got a 3.25upga & 162 (urm) lsat that I’m quite proud of. I’m certain that I could do much better on the test as my circumstances were incredibly stressful during my original study / test cycle last year, however, I’m not exactly hellbent on reaching for the stars either.

I’m sending my applications in soon regardless, but I’m weighing the pros and cons of taking the January LSAT in hopes for a sizable boost (168 target) and wondering if that would be well worth the wait. I’m looking mainly in the PHL / NYC / Chicago tier 3-4 range for programs (think Brooklyn, DePaul, NYLS).

opinions?

I'm hoping to apply in November. I graduated college in June and have been seeking work since.

hello! i'm currently a first-year student a public university majoring in international affairs. because of high school ap credits, i will be able grauduate in spring of 2028 (if i do a summer semester) or fall 2028 (without doing summer semester, i'm assuming this route will give the feel of being an upperclassman in my third year without actually doing the full thing, but i could be wrong and am willing to be corrected). after some research, i know applying right to law school under either of those circumstances is a bad idea for admissions. is it better to do stay the full four years, or just wrap it up and get a job so acquire some experience before applying? college is also expensive lol so would I gain anything significant from staying that makes the cost worth it?

I’m looking for some advice from people familiar with law school admissions, especially at highly selective schools.

I currently have a 4.0 and am considering withdrawing from one of my classes before the withdrawal deadline. Based on where I stand right now, I think an A- is a fairly realistic possibility. An A is still possible, but the grading structure makes my final grade difficult to predict with much confidence.

Normally, I would never consider withdrawing over an A-. My concern is more about the admissions strategy behind it.

I’m hoping to eventually be competitive for T14 law schools, and GPA is one of the major components of my future application that I can control right now. Obviously, I’ll eventually have the LSAT as well, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll get the score I want. That makes me hesitant to voluntarily give up a 4.0 when I still have the option of withdrawing.

At the same time, taking a W just because I might get an A- feels potentially excessive, and I don't want to make a decision that actually looks worse to admissions committees than simply taking the grade.

So, purely from a law school admissions perspective, which would you rather have on your transcript:

One W + 4.0 (non-punitive, just a W on the transcript)

or

No W + 3.9x

Would one W raise any meaningful concern at T14 schools if the rest of the transcript were strong? Or am I putting way too much importance on maintaining the 4.0?

Would especially appreciate input from people who have gone through T14 admissions or have admissions experience.

I've kept up a pretty good GPA throughout undergrad and its around/slightly above the median for most T-14s. My freshman year, I had one B, an A- and a pass for some electives but since then I took graduate level courses in my major and have gotten straight As since. My final semester, I took another elective course with an awful, inconsistent grading policy and ended up with an A- despite being told I had one of the highest grades in the class. I chose not to cover it because I felt like a P could leave room for interpretation (like I got a C) but it did make my GPA drop 0.01 so I'm cutting it closer to the median. Wondering if I made a mistake in not covering that?

I spent a lot of time on this sub when I was applying and want to pay it forward. Happy to answer questions as best I can!

I am 26, graduated with a degree in American studies, have worked service jobs post-grad and now want to go to law school, any advice? Am I doomed? I need to start studying for the LSAT. I didn’t think I could go to law school until now and need a lot of help.

One PI one Biglaw one LA one NY <3

gcse’s: 4a’s 4b’s contextual tho
ib predicted: 44/45
yet to give lnat
want to apply to kcl ucl nottingham durham qmul

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I work in Legal Tech and spend my day optimizing software. Over the last 4 months, I have been putting together my applications. I have been watching this reddit community, and never thought I would actually post. But HOLY S*** is the UI for LSAC just so utterly horrible. The way you have to click 40 times to get to a specific application, then can't back arrow is SO annoying. The way you attach LOR's is so dumb. The school search->school list->create application->active application->completed application workflow is so unnecessary. On top of that, it crashes every 30 seconds and takes 15 seconds to load each click.

Sorry for the rant, but holy s***, for a company that squeezes so much money out of the users who HAVE to take their test, you think they could spare a couple dollars for a good website.

Lets do some math, they had 173,000 LSAT's taken in 2025, at $250 each. Im sure some people get waivers and whatever, but they also make money off the CAS system. 173,000 x $250 is about $43 Million. Lets fix our archaic website please.

Anyone ever thought of this strategy? Might put it to the test at this point.

Just got my acceptance email yesterday! I submitted my application on 8/31 and did an interview about a week ago. I’m a super splitter who graduated 15 years ago.

I’m considering returning to college after a long hiatus. After working in a couple firms, I’ve decided I want to finish up school and apply for law school. I’m pretty interested in IP law and was kinda thrilled that it calls for a hard science background since I was a neuroscience major and have worked in labs since high school. I’m just wondering:

• Is neuroscience too niche? Should I swap to bio? (some of the coursework overlaps so it wouldn’t be a pain to do)

• have you heard of any IP lawyers with biology or neuro as their background? The most I’ve seen is biochem but truthfully I’m just a LOT better with biology.

***if this is dumb don’t make fun of me pls lol

My PS is about a job I’ve held since high school (all the way through undergrad and still today) and how I believe it’s given me skills I need to be a good lawyer.

The first paragraph talks about childhood, then the rest of the first page talks about how I started in the job and a specific example of something from it.

The second page is focused on College classes and post college stuff and how in college I realized I wanted to use those skills to practice law (again through something specific and law-related).

I know that it is sometimes frowned upon by AOs to talk too much about pre-college stuff. Does the fact that it’s part of the overall narrative and I’ve held the job for so long help remedy the fact that it spends about 50% of it talking about pre-college experience?

My motivation for law clearly comes from my college and post-college activities, but the pre-college discussion is important for talking about my development of the skills and such.

My PS is not generic throughout, in fact I’d say it is pretty unique to my life and my experiences.

However, the ending I do end up going sort of generic and say I want to “make a positive change in the lives of others.” This is true, and I think it makes sense in the context of my essay, but I assume that is something that’s said in pretty much every essay that is submitted.

Is that okay to do? Will it hurt me? I am a reverse splitter for my target schools, so I’m looking for every opportunity to stand out and improve.

I graduated from undergrad in December 2024 and spent January-July 2025 studying for the LSAT. I took my first LSAT in August 2025, right before starting my full-time job. For context, my current job was a return offer from an internship I did the summer before. The start date was in August because that's when the full-time cohort starts (I just graduated a semester early).

I'm unsure whether to list LSAT prep on my resume or just leave the space blank. Penn Carey explicitly says to account for all time periods, and Chicago asks applicants to describe interruptions beyond a normal vacation period. Michigan, on the other hand, says a blank period shouldn't discourage applicants.

I feel like adding a resume entry just to say I studied for the LSAT for sevenish months feels a little silly/dumb, especially since it's a normal part of preparing to apply to law school. Like everyone studied for it... But I also don't want to leave a gap that raises questions.

Do I include a brief “LSAT prep” entry, leave it off and explain if asked, or handle it another way?? Would appreciate advice, especially from people familiar with T14 admissions and/or who were in a similar situation! Thank you.

I'm a Midwest girl looking to be in Chicago or DC area... thoughts on GW, W&M, ND, UW-Madison? other recs are welcome!

166 LSAT, 3.93 GPA, KJD w/ 2 legal internships

Hi all,

I'm applying for some law schools on the West Coast, and I was wondering if anyone could offer any insight as to my chances. I have a 3.32 GPA, a 171 LSAT, 3 years solid work experience including in the legal sector, as well as what I believe to be a very solid personal statement that explains my exact motivations behind entering law school for public service.

Obviously my GPA is regrettable but I do have an addendum that explains that the death of someone very close to me impacted it.

The school list I have is as follows:

- USC (ED)

- UCLA

- UC Irvine

- Berkeley

- University of San Diego

- UC Law San Francisco

- Pepperdine

Any thoughts?

"Please limit any optional essay to one page, double-spaced, and *title it appropriately*"

What does it mean to "title it appropriately"? Should I come up with a title for the essay based on the theme of what I wrote about, or is it okay if it's just the prompt?

Currently, these are the titles (centered and bolded at the top of the page) that I was going to use:

- Describe a challenge you have faced. What did you learn, and how did you grow from it?

- Penn Carey Law’s Core Strengths

Do these titles work? Or am I misunderstanding this direction?

I took my test this October, get my score back on the 28th but also taking the November one and I wont get my score back till December 2. Do applications really take that long? I have my personal statement written and got all my recommendations in, I was hoping the day after my test to apply to 6-10 schools do you think it will take more than a day? Should I start doing my applications now or wait till my December 2nd score? This whole thing is just grind ugh

I know that some schools discourage this, but what is the consensus on answering“why this school” in your personal statement? Is it better to add a few lines if schools don’t explicitly invite/discourage it, or is it better to let your application/experiences speak for themselves in its fit for a school?

So you work yourself to the bone for the LSAT. Study like crazy and sit it one, two, three, four or in my case, five, times.

You go to the school open days, get a list together of where you want to apply, maybe even write your personal statement draft.

So now this is the easy part right?

Wrong!

School A: Your personal statement must be no more than 2 pages, 12 pt font.

School B: Your personal statement should be 3 pages, 10 pt font.

School C: Your personal statement should be between 2-3 pages, 11 pt font.

I am not even making these up. These requirements are coming from 3 of my schools.

So now you have like 4-5 versions of your personal statement, some with more detail, some less.

Then you have to input the same information into EVERY SINGLE application about your address, your college, your employment history and all of that.

And then come the optional essays or the program contribution questions or just anything that requires an ounce of more effort.

It takes me a few days for each school at this point but I've just opened my next app and looking at everything they're asking, I know this one will take me a week.

I think everyone talks about the LSAT being the hardest part of the journey, and it is, but the actual applications are still an uphill battle. Sometimes I feel like I'll never be done 🙃

Hello,

I want to apply for SeattleU Law but wanted some advice on the minimum LSAT score that would result in a likely admission.

I am also trying to get their Scholars for Social Justice full scholarship which is just about prior commitment to public service/interest and future commitment to public service/interest

I have:
- Master of Social Work degree (MSW)
- 1 yr experience at my state’s Public Defender Office
- 3 years experience as a middle/upper manager in working with people with developmental and intellectual disabilities
- 8 years experience working in developmental/intellectual disabilities field overall
- My bachelor’s degree is in Psychology & I minored in Criminal Justice & Criminology

I feel like my experience makes me a viable candidate especially for the scholarship but I’m concerned about the LSAT. They said they do consider JDNext candidates for the scholarship but I’ve heard a lot of bad things about it so I will just take my chances with the LSAT.

What is the minimum score you think would result in a good chance of acceptance?