A law school that i cannot yet gain entrance to is OFFERING to let me AUDIT a few classes this fall???

Question

my lsat is poor. took it twice and the second time gained only 1 point...it is also a good 10 points below their median.

i have been very determined to make myself known to the school because i want to attend this particular school so badly and my poor test taking skills drags me down..i know thats no excuse, but whats a girl like me to do? i know that i can do well because i want it so badly.

so what do you think about what they are offering me?
they said i can audit a few classes but will have to retake the LSAT for the 3rd time.

LINKIN r u there? u have answered a few of my questions in the past and u seem to know what you are talking about>

thanks!


how about u Professor X? i like your answers too...

Answer 1

Definitely audit. Participate as well.

I'd take the LSAT again. However, I'd still audit. When you audit, the key is to participate, and show that you can keep up and do well at the school. I'm not sure if you have a choice, but try and audit a class taught by a professor who's on the admissions committee.

Law schools can admit whoever they like. If you can show them that you'd be a great student there, they can admit you despite your numbers. I have to imagine they made the offer for you to audit with the idea that those teachers would report back and help them decide whether to give you a shot or not.

The difficulty with law school is the only way to really get a grade is to take the final at the end of the class. I doubt you'd audit that many classes. So, your only chance to show you can handle things is to speak up and show your brilliance in class. Talk to the professor during office hours. Things like that. I suspect the prof will report back their opinion of you. If you blow them away, they may let you skip taking the LSAT. If they're not sure, they may want you to take it again. At this point, you really have nothing to lose.

Take this very seriously. I'm not sure if every admissions committee is like this, but me and my buddy almost went to a top 10 law school. I was tight with 2 guys (still am). We were all high school buddies. 1 was doing law like I was (was my roommate in law school). The other is a surgeon now. Well, when me and the other guy was applying to law school, after everything was turned in and deadlines long past, our surgeon buddy found out his sister's best friend was on the admissions committee at that top-10 law school. That friend said had she been told earlier, she could have gotten us two in. She said she had 5 no questions asked admits. The school did this because not everyone agrees on what applications suggest a strong student, so if one person on the committee felt very strongly about an application, they could use one of their "no questions asked" admits.

The same applies in your situation. It's not purely numbers. They use GPA and LSAT so much mainly to weed out the huge numbers of applications they get. However, you've peaked their interest in a way beyond numbers. They may be deciding whether to give you that golden ticket and ignore the numbers.

I'm pretty sure this "audit" offer is a way for them to check you out in person (since law schools don't give interviews). This might be your chance to get in. I'm not positive, but there's also a chance the school may let you enroll in the spring. It's kind of a low chance of that since the 1st year curriculum is usually set in stone for everyone and it would put you back, but you never know. They might expect you to catch up in the summer or night program or whatever.

Answer 2

I've never heard of this before. It seems to be a good sign that they're reaching out to you. The fact that they want you to take the LSAT again indicates they are not adverse to admitting you in the future. And auditing the classes is a great way too see what law school is really like.

I have to be honest with you though - law school is nearly all tests. Indeed the first year is entirely exam-based, even if you do work hard at taking only seminars later on (which would force you to miss out on very important classes). Although the types of tests you take (open book for national schools, closed-book for regional schools) vary, they are usually 3 hour in-class or one day take-home - the same kind of tight time pressure that you face in the LSAT. No matter how badly you want it, if you remain a poor test taker, you will not succeed in law school.

Try to find ways to improve your test taking skills. Many of my bright students who 'choked' on the LSAT did so because of anxiety or other psychological reasons. We practiced meditation, breathing and other things that worked surprisingly well. Just sheer repetition of many timed drills made a difference as well. If you have not taken an LSAT course, do so and work one on one with your instructor on your difficulties. As a Princeton Review LSAT teacher, my students got virtually limitless extra help, I believe most courses have the same policy.

If you can improve your test taking abilities before the term starts, you can audit the classes as a way to make sure law school is right for you, and as a means of showing your dedication.
You can take timed practice exams from the law professors and go over them with classmates. That can give you an indication of whether you can succeed in law school and it will show the school how serious you are.

If you cannot improve, you can audit the classes for your own enlightenment, but will need to reassess your ability to do well on law school and on the Bar exam. It is a very unfortunate situation, which has nothing to o with whether you would make a good lawyer.

Good luck!

Answer 3

woman, what are you doing? this is like the 9th time you've posted this question. You probably have 26 different answers to this question. Give us a break already!!!!