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- Studying with Victoria: Taking a Beating, Courtesy of Old Mr. LSAT , September 2, 2010
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The Curse of the LSAT 180
Most Strongly Supported asked me to write a guest post about what it’s like to get a 180 on the LSAT – likely expecting a feel-good piece, full of wisdom and wit, which would inspire others to excel on the test. This, however, is not my style, nor would it be truthful. Why you ask? Well because getting a 180 on the LSAT really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, it’s almost a curse. Don’t believe me? Well here are the top 6 (okay so I was aiming for 10 but The Office came on) reasons behind the curse of the 180.
1. No matter how many times I casually drop my score into my pickup lines (“How’d you like to let Mr. 180 LSAT buy you a drink?” “You know, my LSAT score is at least 10 points bigger than 90% of the people in this bar”), my LSAT mastery has yet to get me any action with the opposite sex of any kind, whatsoever.
2. You still have to write a personal statement. Apparently perfection is not good enough for law schools. I have to craft (make-up) a heartfelt (contrived) story just like everyone else (like that summer I spent building orphanage hospitals for disabled refugee children in Vietnam…).
3. Any pre-law student (including each and every one of my students) who hears my score is compelled to ask if they can buy my score or, from the more bold, if they can simply have it. This gets old – quick. So, let me settle this once and for all – first, do you really think you were the first person to ask if you could have my score? Really? And, if for some glorious reason (fingers crossed) LSAC allowed me to sell my score, do you really think I would sell it to your broke ass and not upload it to EBay for some frenzied pre-law bidding?
4. Outside of the narrow world of Law School, it’s just a 3 digit number, as useless as dialing 1 before the area code, or enriching skim milk with vitamin D.
5. If (god forbid!) you decide not to go to law school, even if it’s because you got a sweet job teaching the LSAT, most people who find out about your score will either think you’re a liar or an idiot (truthfully, I’m probably a little of both).
6. In our society of mediocrity, perfection is nerdy (and not the somewhat cool Lord of the Rings nerdy but the more menacing Star Trek nerdy). Even my boss (the LSAT sensei himself) thinks a 180 on the LSAT is a bit lame.
Well there you have it. But I have a feeling that you still aren’t convinced, that you still don’t believe in the curse of the 180 (only 1 in every 10,000 does). If so, tune in next time, where I’ll present my fail-proof tips for rocking the LSAT, so you too can experience the curse.
Photo by Flowery *L*u*z*a* CC Attribution 2.0 Gen.
I asked you if I could buy your score like three times when I first met you. I feel lamer then Collen at a USC rally.
Out of curiosity, did you get a lot of fee waivers from law schools?
I’m trying extremely hard to feel sorry for you, but I’m failing miserably.
And your first reason would have probably worked on me, but that’s a different matter.
I REALLY want to feel that curse — so bad.
Don’t feel too bad Cory, even though you asked more than anyone (who’s keeping count anyway?), your requests were the most genuine.
re:Spags
I never got around to applying to law school – I didn’t want the temptation… or maybe I couldn’t deal with the possible rejection… okay, truthfully, I was just lazy (see #2 above) – so I couldn’t tell you.
re:Anonymous
Hot Damn!, is that an offer to help me break the curse? (because I REALLY want to break that curse – so bad)
1 out of 5000. you’re even half as special as you think.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by blueprintlsat: Nick tries to elicit sympathy for those cursed by a 180 on the LSAT. He fails. Miserably. http://bit.ly/aaHcK8...
Half as special as I think, but still twice as special as I ought to be
Tell you what: if you break your curse with cocktails, I want it (the curse, I mean)
And I get my score pretty soon too =/
Did you use Blueprint and if so did it help you get a 180?
well…i want the cocktail…and 180 is hot…
(remaining edited by moderator)
re:anonymous
I think I may need something a little harder than cocktails to help break this curse. And good luck with your score.
re:old man
I took a blueprint class, and I’m glad I did (I certainly enjoyed the class enough to come back and teach for them). And yes, blueprint provided me the skills that made my 180 possible – I’d be floundering about in the dark if I hadn’t taken blueprint. If you want half a chance at a 180 you’re going to need help, and the blueprint method is rock solid.
re:a fan
If only more people shared your “enthusiasm” for logic mastery… (And btw, I’m quite impressed – you need some seriously racy content to be edited by the blueprint moderator)
Very cool. I didn’t realize that you teach Blueprint. Where do you instruct the course and what are your lessons learned?
hmmm…except it wasn’t racy at all…I don’t think it was…I was commenting on your first point and all I said is “I would…” you know… hit that…
re: old man
I teach in Berkeley. The most important thing I’ve learned teaching so far is that everyone can get better and anyone can excel, no matter where they start off. I’ve had students go up more than 20 points to score in the 170s. If you are willing to put in the time and get help from people who know what they’re doing (aka take a blueprint class) you can dominate the LSAT (just like the US dominates the Olympics – well, except for curling… *yawn*)
re: a fan
You don’t happen to be in the Bay Area…? (you pre-law students are something else)
Hi A fan,
Sorry about editing your comment – it was tagged in case we wanted to edit it but in so doing lost the original final sentence. Please feel free to reinstate your innuendo at your leisure.
Best,
moderator
Something harder than cocktails? another drink or are you referring to something else?
Are YOU in the bay area?
And i also think lsat scores aren’t coming out today..i think they may be Monday (not cool. i was hoping to see it and get drunk)
Anonymous- Yeah, he’s in the bay area (duh?) and he’s cute (thanks FB), so you should kick it to him! I wouuu…yeah you know…
http://abovethelaw.com/2010/02/lawyer_sells_law_degree_on_craigslist.php
hmmm
((East Coast))
(yer)
Well i FB-ed it up as well and he’s not my type (unless you know, he gives me the curse). i like them tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious.
[...] my first idea for this week’s entry was to write a response to Nick’s blog entitled, “A Ride on the Ultimate LSAT DiscoStick, Seducing the Man with a 180; A True Story”. [...]
Ms. Plan B,
You seduced him huh…(high five).
no better score than that…
[...] week, I explained to you how my LSAT score of 180 was a terrible burden to bear, but in so doing, I failed to explain how I attained that score. So now, dear reader, I present to [...]
“6. In our society of mediocrity, perfection is nerdy (and not the somewhat cool Lord of the Rings nerdy but the more menacing Star Trek nerdy). Even my boss (the LSAT sensei himself) thinks a 180 on the LSAT is a bit lame. ”
That’s sad. I’m Jewish and in my society, the smartest guy in town gets to marry a beautiful young woman, has 10 kids and they are supported by his wife’s family. There is a lot of competition to either become the strongest learner or to marry the strongest learner.
[...] Rey, somewhat-proud owner of a 180 on the LSAT, will be teaching our Berkeley course, and can also give you tips on body-building [...]
I feel your pain….
Although, I must admit – trying to convey this to other non-douchebags has brought me no sympathy whatsoever
You have put it very nicely, I have referred my students to this website (forgive me for not referring everyone, but I need to play down the competition not point them out).
Thanks for the laugh, back to studying for finals.