The LSAT

 

    The LSAT has been referred to, among other things, as the killer of dreams. It is an exam that in many ways doesn’t have anything to do with law school; however, it is the most defining factor of whether or not you get accepted. 
    
    You are not your LSAT score. Law schools think that a higher score means that you will be more likely to succeed in law school and have a greater chance of passing the bar on your first try. Balderdash! 

    Having so many people apply to law school is a recent phenomenon. Whether it’s due to the economy, jobs being outsourced to other countries or the proliferation of lawyer TV shows, law schools are being flooded with applicants. Why do you want to go to law school? Are you sure?   

     At any given law school, your LSAT score will be the first thing the admittance committee will look at. The second thing is your GPA. Thirdly, and depending on the school, your race and ethnicity. Nothing else matters. Nowadays, I don’t even think the school will read your personal statement. A friend of mine, who I took my first LSAT with in October 2003, scored a 148. We both applied to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas but only my friend was accepted. His GPA wasn’t even above 3.3. We both believe that he was accepted because he was Hispanic as a 148 LSAT, especially today, will not get a second glance at UNLV.  I read my friend’s personal statement that accompanied his application and it was full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Substance wise, his personal statement contained mostly fluff. Even if you got a Presidential speech writer to write your personal statement, it doesn’t matter – in most cases it’s pretty much your LSAT score and nothing else.

    So, before you lay out thousands of dollars to Kaplan or Princeton, and for LSAT Prep Books, keep in mind that getting in is only half the battle. Not to mention the many hours you will spend on practice exams. Then there’s the LSAT exam itself, which I ended up taking twice. My first score was a dismal 138. A monkey guessing the answers would have done better. It’s true – if you fill in the same letter for the whole exam you will score a 140. 

    I know plenty of people who dropped out after their first semester because being a lawyer or going to law school just wasn’t for them. Then there are those who fail out, or as law schools call it, “academically dismissed.” It’s hard to tell if you will make it in law school or not. Here is some recent data on law school drop-out or attrition rates:

Whittier Law School: CA    51.50%

Touro Law Center: NY    37.40%

Golden Gate University School of Law: CA    36.90%

Western State School of Law: CA    32.60%

Widener University-Harrisburg: PA    30.50%

St. Thomas University: FL    28.50%

Barry University School of Law: FL    27.60%

Thomas M. Cooley Law School: MI    26.00%

Widener University: DE    25.70%

    If you haven’t figured it out already, the point I’m trying to make is that you must have the desire to go to law school. You must really, really want it. For those struggling with the LSAT, the best advice is to practice actual LSAT questions over and over until you recognize a pattern. There are only so many ways to ask the same question. You may find it easier to read what’s known as the “call of the question” before reading the question so you know what you are looking for.

    As difficult as it may seem to get in law school in the United States, it is much harder to get accepted in other countries. With new law schools cropping up year after year, it is even becoming easier. Last year there were over 150,000 students enrolled in law school - an all-time high. The downside is that law schools prey upon the fact that you are somewhat desperate, and charge exorbitant tuition.

    Consider the fact that a legal education from a private law school will end up costing you over $100,000, but the median salary for new lawyers is just $62,000. Don’t forget to minus the $12,000 per year that you will pay in student loans.

    If you don’t graduate from one of the top 15 law schools, there are some things you can do that will help you land a higher paying job after you graduate from law school and pass the bar. Many schools offer what is known as an externship, which allows a student to gain experience in a specific legal field before graduation. A student can also work or volunteer while going to law school, but it shouldn’t be for more than 20 hours per week and not until the third year of law school.    

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