the LSAT, my fears about it, and zero dark thirty
Yesterday I took a free practice LSAT. It was offered at my school through Kaplan, one of those test preparation companies that tries to sell you classes and workbooks to prepare for tests like the GRE, MCAT, and the LSAT. There were not many other people taking the practice test with me, but I expected that. The test we took was an official LSAT from a few years ago, and we had a proctor time us in the same way you'd be timed/set up for the official test.
I didn't study or prepare for the test because I wanted to see how I'd do taking it cold, basically to see where my starting point was. We got our results back right away and I made a 150 overall. The range of scoring is from 120-180. Most law schools want a score around 160-165. The closer you get to 170 the better your chances are. 150 is directly in the middle, it's literaly the 50% percentile, so I feel okay about where I am now. I'm taking the real LSAT in June so I definitely need to prepare between now and then.
I've heard people say that the LSAT is a test that can be learned. How true is this? I ordered the Power Score Logic Games Bible through Amazon because I scored the lowest on the logic games section--anyone know if this is a good study choice? I won't be taking any Kaplan classes because $1,300 is waaay too much for me to spend right now, and some people have told me the experience isn't really worth the money. I did really well on the reading comprehension (much higher than 50th %) and nearly as well on the logical reasoning, but those logic games really pulled my score down. If I can focus on that and get a strategy down for working those questions I think I can pull my score up.
My goal is 163. That's the median LSAT score for UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University, my two target schools. I want to stay in North Carolina, so I will probably apply to Duke University as well but I am not expecting to get in there. Right now my GPA is 3.58 but it will probably go up after this semester, because my classes right now aren't that difficult. That's the median GPA for Chapel Hill and Wake Forest. So it looks like all I need is the improved score and my chances will be good.
When I took the SAT in high school I jumped from the 1800s (all 3 scores) to the 1900s the second time I took it. The thing is, the LSAT and the SAT are completely different tests, so I don't know if that really says anything. Here are my worries though: what if I don't improve my score? I know I will not be getting into a law school with a 150. My backup plan is to take the GRE and apply to regular grad schools. I'm not as interested in regular grad school, it isn't really what I want to do, but I have maybe a 20% chance of getting a job with just an undergraduate degree in psychology so more schooling is my only choice. Plus, I like school. I'm good at learning things and at this point I have zero student loan debt so why not go?
I have heard of people starting at 145 and making it into the 170s, but in my mind that is not reality.
What I want to know is, can I improve my score? Am I delusional for thinking I can go to law school? It's one of the few high-end professional careers that blind/visually impaired people can do, but if I don't "have what it takes" I would rather find out now than have that realization once I get rejected from schools. Am I better off preparing for the GRE and getting a masters in social work? (Becoming a therapist is one of my backup career plans).
It's so cold in my house that I can't feel my toes. Wtf.
I watched Zero Dark Thirty on Friday and it was really good. If you're interested in that kind of thing, then definitely check it out, but if you are bothered by violence or terrorism or torture then stay very far away from this film. It was cool because my dad has been to some of the locations in the film for his job, like Bagram Airfield, except there were no detainees when he went.
One of the things I liked about this movie was that it was largely based on real events. The protagonist is a woman, which you wouldn't expect considering the subject-matter, but that's also based on real information. I thought it was an interesting portrayal of Pakistan. I've never been there, but after watching A Mighty Heart I wanted to see how the country was represented in other films.
I didn't study or prepare for the test because I wanted to see how I'd do taking it cold, basically to see where my starting point was. We got our results back right away and I made a 150 overall. The range of scoring is from 120-180. Most law schools want a score around 160-165. The closer you get to 170 the better your chances are. 150 is directly in the middle, it's literaly the 50% percentile, so I feel okay about where I am now. I'm taking the real LSAT in June so I definitely need to prepare between now and then.
I've heard people say that the LSAT is a test that can be learned. How true is this? I ordered the Power Score Logic Games Bible through Amazon because I scored the lowest on the logic games section--anyone know if this is a good study choice? I won't be taking any Kaplan classes because $1,300 is waaay too much for me to spend right now, and some people have told me the experience isn't really worth the money. I did really well on the reading comprehension (much higher than 50th %) and nearly as well on the logical reasoning, but those logic games really pulled my score down. If I can focus on that and get a strategy down for working those questions I think I can pull my score up.
My goal is 163. That's the median LSAT score for UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University, my two target schools. I want to stay in North Carolina, so I will probably apply to Duke University as well but I am not expecting to get in there. Right now my GPA is 3.58 but it will probably go up after this semester, because my classes right now aren't that difficult. That's the median GPA for Chapel Hill and Wake Forest. So it looks like all I need is the improved score and my chances will be good.
When I took the SAT in high school I jumped from the 1800s (all 3 scores) to the 1900s the second time I took it. The thing is, the LSAT and the SAT are completely different tests, so I don't know if that really says anything. Here are my worries though: what if I don't improve my score? I know I will not be getting into a law school with a 150. My backup plan is to take the GRE and apply to regular grad schools. I'm not as interested in regular grad school, it isn't really what I want to do, but I have maybe a 20% chance of getting a job with just an undergraduate degree in psychology so more schooling is my only choice. Plus, I like school. I'm good at learning things and at this point I have zero student loan debt so why not go?
I have heard of people starting at 145 and making it into the 170s, but in my mind that is not reality.
What I want to know is, can I improve my score? Am I delusional for thinking I can go to law school? It's one of the few high-end professional careers that blind/visually impaired people can do, but if I don't "have what it takes" I would rather find out now than have that realization once I get rejected from schools. Am I better off preparing for the GRE and getting a masters in social work? (Becoming a therapist is one of my backup career plans).
It's so cold in my house that I can't feel my toes. Wtf.
I watched Zero Dark Thirty on Friday and it was really good. If you're interested in that kind of thing, then definitely check it out, but if you are bothered by violence or terrorism or torture then stay very far away from this film. It was cool because my dad has been to some of the locations in the film for his job, like Bagram Airfield, except there were no detainees when he went.
One of the things I liked about this movie was that it was largely based on real events. The protagonist is a woman, which you wouldn't expect considering the subject-matter, but that's also based on real information. I thought it was an interesting portrayal of Pakistan. I've never been there, but after watching A Mighty Heart I wanted to see how the country was represented in other films.