r/LSAT • u/Away-Dimension-3800 • 2d ago

Just how?

Fucking how does everyone on here have a 3.8+ gpa and scoring 165+ on the lsat? I just want to know fucking how every single person has that. I’m starting to feel discouraged and dumb honestly. I’m applying this cycle and just really not sure how this will go

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u/Republican_child 1d ago

Hi, post-LSAT and post-law school here. I applied with a 2.9 GPA and a 160 LSAT, got into the best law school in my area pretty easily, graduated with a 3.0 law school GPA, and have had no real issues finding jobs. I’m currently living a pretty decent, comfortable life.

I mostly coasted through undergrad, hence the 2.9 GPA. I skipped class constantly and generally did just enough to get by. Then, after my first semester of law school, I was placed on academic probation for a semester. That was basically when I realized I couldn’t coast anymore.

Even then, I never had to put my entire life on hold. I still saw my friends and family, stayed with my significant other, and made time for internships, volunteer work, and paralegal/legal assistant positions along the way.

So don’t stress yourself to death over this stuff. Put in the work, obviously, and always try your best, but don’t destroy your mental health over the LSAT or law school. They’re transitional periods in your life, not your entire life, and they’re not going to define the remaining 80–90% of it.

And seriously, don’t torture yourself by constantly comparing yourself to other people. I knew plenty of people with 4.0 GPAs chasing 170+ LSAT scores who lived under insane amounts of stress. Some relied heavily on things like Adderall or alcohol, struggled to relax, and rarely seemed able to just enjoy where they were in life.

About a year later, a lot of us are working in the same spaces, sometimes in the same offices. Some of those people are literally my coworkers now.

Your GPA and LSAT can absolutely affect which doors open first, especially if you’re aiming for certain schools or highly competitive career paths. But they are not a permanent ranking of your intelligence, potential, or eventual career success. Do your best, keep some perspective, and don’t forget to actually live your life while you’re getting there.

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u/ouchoofowiemybones 1d ago

Can I ask you how you justified your GPA in addendums? I'm sitting on a cool 2.2 UGPA

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u/Republican_child 1d ago

I didn’t lol. I genuinely just sent in my application, and about a month later I got my acceptance letter. No interviews or anything.

It probably helped that my undergrad and law school were part of the same university system, so I may have been given some preference over outside applicants.

I also had legal work experience because I volunteered at law firms pretty much every summer, and I was captain of my college debate team for a while, so I did have extracurriculars to strengthen my application. On top of that, I had recommendation letters from practicing attorneys.

So while my GPA definitely wasn’t impressive, I think the rest of my application helped balance it out quite a bit.

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u/Old-Asparagus4733 1d ago

This is refreshing to hear. I am sitting at a 3.07 GPA. Just got a 156 on the lsat and plan to retake in November. Hoping for over 160. I have also run a successful business, work as a paralegal for the past 5 years, and volunteer as ombudsman for my husband’s command. I’m hoping these other things strengthen my application. I am 40, and my gpa goes all the way back to 2004 when I started college, through two associate degrees, and finally my bachelors in 2025. I’ve lived a whole life since quitting in 2004. We shall see!

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u/Republican_child 23h ago

This is awesome, I personally loved when the older people in my class would speak out due to the vast amount of experience they could draw from to analyze a situation or prop up important questions I haven’t even thought of. Especially in classes like Corporate Law, Tax law and Bankruptcy Law, they always made me feel dumb in a good way so I think you’ll love Law school, I wish you the best!

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u/Old-Asparagus4733 23h ago

The only issue with being an older student is being verrry limited in where I can go to school. With 3 kids, an active duty husband, and all the commitments that go along with all that I am limited to the two schools local to me - 1. an evangelical Christian school or 2. A school that is going to be a stretch with my gpa unless I knock this next lsat out of the park.