Application Question

[srozek]

Hello There,

I just got my LSAT score & it's lower than I expected; I got a 156. I am an American citizen, but I have an international transcript, and more than 5 years of paralegal experience both in probate & immigration law. I'm bilingual, Arabic is my first language. I'm trying to get into UNC-CH. Do I go ahead & apply, or should I re-take the February LSAT?
I do have a strong personal statement.

Any advice would help.

Thanks
Sarah

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hello Sarah,

Sorry to hear about your score! Yes, 156 is probably not going to cut it for UNC-CH, unless you have an exceptionally high GPA. Their LSAT 25%-75% spread from last year was 160-164 (see, e.g. https://officialguide.lsac.org/Release/ ... px?sid=102). Even with a GPA above 3.7, your chances of admission are no higher than 10-15% according to their calculator (https://officialguide.lsac.org/release/ ... fault.aspx).

I understand that you have international experience and are bi-lingual: this is great, but those are so-called "soft" factors. They can help push you into the "Admit" category if you're a borderline applicant, but are unlikely to overcome a substantially lower-than-expected LSAT score. It happens, but rarely.

I strongly recommend applying now, and re-taking the LSAT in February (assuming, of course, that you can devote a substantial portion of the next month studying for the test). I don't know what study guides you used to prepare for the December LSAT, but here's a good study plan from last year that you might find helpful:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/255 ... study-plan

Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck!

[srozek]

Thanks Nikki,

I took the Powerscore online course, and I devoted a lot of time before the December LSAT. Unfortunately, I scored at 5-6 points lower than all my practice tests.

I will go ahead & apply now, re-take in February.

I appreciate your advice.

Thank you so much
Sarah

[srozek]

Another question, my work experience is all here in the U.S., does that count at all?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Sarah,

The fact that your practice test scores were much higher than the actual one is quite encouraging: it shows that you made some progress, and that you are fully capable of achieving a much higher score. The difference between a 154 and a 160 would be huge: it puts you in an entirely different league of schools to which to apply (including Chapel Hill).

Whether your work experience is in the U.S. or abroad is unlikely to be a decisive factor. Absent an absolutely stellar GPA (3.9+), I would still re-take in February.

Good luck!
Nikki

[srozek]

Got it, thanks Nikki for the advice & encouragement!