LMU STUDENT NEARLY ACES LSAT

September 27, 2010 - September 20, 2010— When Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) senior Nick DeAngelis went to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) test, routine for aspiring lawyers, he hoped to do well enough to eventually pursue his dream and get into a regional law school.

That was before DeAngelis came within points of acing the test.

The senior from Morristown, Tenn., was just shy of a perfect score with 173 out of 180, which is in the 99th percentile. In other words, DeAngelis scored better than 99 percent of everyone else who took the test.

“My parents were very excited about it,” said DeAngelis. He said he went into the test feeling prepared, but didn’t expect a score that high.

Now his plans have changed dramatically.

“It changed where I had options to go,” said DeAngelis, who is a history and philosophy double major. “Before I was thinking of applying to [the University of Tennessee] and other schools. Now I’m thinking of applying to Harvard and Stanford. It’s a pretty big difference.”

DeAngelis said he wants to go into corporate law, dealing with mergers and acquisitions. Corporate lawyers will probably find more work in the city, so DeAngelis is planning to eventually go to Knoxville, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn., or Atlanta, Ga. He added that he’d also consider practicing on the west coast in southern California.

Reasoning tests like the LSAT have always come naturally for DeAngelis. “When I was younger I would do logic puzzles like Sudoku,” said DeAngelis.

But his near-perfect score didn’t come easy.

“I studied quite a bit,” said DeAngelis. He said he took six or seven practice tests to prepare for the test. For his regular classes, DeAngelis maintains his 3.87 grade point average by studying every day.

He doesn’t spend all of this time studying, though. DeAngelis likes to unwind by playing soccer and tennis, as well as card games. He has been in the Student Government Association for the past three years and is currently serving as Chief Justice.

DeAngelis has simple advice for anyone preparing to take the LSAT.

“I would say definitely you should take practice tests,” said DeAngelis, who recommends Kaplan’s LSAT Crash Course online program. “That gives you an idea of what the test is going to be like.

<< previous page