When the score arrived three weeks later: .

Not a 180. But enough for her top-choice regional law school with a scholarship.

Her bank account, already ravaged by undergrad loans and a part-time barista salary, had exactly $44.17 left until payday. The fancy prep courses with their “guaranteed 170+” score boosters cost more than her first car. She felt the familiar weight of inadequacy settle into her chest.

Then she remembered a thread from a Reddit forum she’d bookmarked months ago: “Best free LSAT resources that actually don’t suck.”

She laughed out loud, a sudden, barking sound in her silent apartment. 164. That was seven points above her diagnostic from three months ago. And she hadn’t paid a cent.

Elaine stared at the blinking cursor on her laptop. It was 11:47 PM. The real LSAT was in nine weeks, and she had just spent $200 on a stack of prep books she couldn’t yet bring herself to open.