Reapplying Conundrum: Should I go for it? Forum

[Cinderelly]

Hi everyone,

(Incredibly sorry this is so long)

I have submitted a deposit at one of the schools in the lower half of the T14 without a scholarship. I didn't receive any large scholarships at any lower-ranked schools so this school was by far my best option. After depositing I found a two-bedroom apartment nearby and signed the lease, figuring I could find another future 1L as a roommate. I was looking forward to law school and all was well.

Now I am questioning my decision and the $200,000 I am about to take on in debt (this site has had a lot to do with it). I believe I can improve from my current 167ish LSAT (I studied for less than two weeks, nonintensive, and my diagnostic was 167 cold), so I recently signed up for the June test. My plan is that if I score a 171+ I'll reapply and hope for a large scholarship in the T14 (my GPA is 3.9+). If my score doesn't improve I'll just suck it up and pay sticker where I've already deposited. However, if I wait until I get my June score back to make an ultimate decision and I end up attending this year, I wouldn't be able to start looking for a roommate until well into the summer. I can't afford to waste rent on a two-bedroom apartment if I am the only one living there and I'm worried I won't be able to find a roommate.

Pros to retaking with the goal of reapplying:
-My 167 underperforms my GPA and I have realistic chance at a scholarship if I can improve by a few points.
-I am already deposited at a T14 so I have a backup plan if the test doesn't go well.

Cons to retaking/reapplying:
-I either lose the housing deposit if I reapply or I may not be able to find a roommate if I end up not scoring well and stay where I am
-Lose the law school deposit
-What would happen to me if I can't find a job?
-Will have to start paying on UG loans, which could be problematic if I have a hard time finding a decent job.
-SO would then graduate 2 years before me rather than one and may not be able to afford his student loans for that long a period of time without my assistance (he is going into a artsy kind of field where paychecks aren't guaranteed)
-I am limited to a certain geographical area because I need to be within commuting distance (2-3 hours) of SO, so if I don't end up with a scholarship to one of those 3 schools I will have wasted all this time, effort, and money for no gain.

Questions:
Is retaking/reapplying the right choice for me? Reasons why I should just go now and be happy?
What are my chances of finding a roommate if I don't start looking until July (the apartment complex is one of the most popular for the law school and the law school is located in a college town type of area, if that helps)?
Is paying 200k for a non-T6 T14 a dumb thing to do?

If there is any reason I should drop my retake plans and proceed with the roommate search given these pros and cons, I'd love to hear them. I really REALLY don't want to wait a year, but that 200k is really nagging at me.

Thanks!

[Ragged]

I would definately retake and re-apply. a) you didn't study nearly enough the first time around so odds are you will improve significantly b) taking on 200k in debt is not a good idea unless you are in T3 and with your GPA you could go virtually anywhere with a 174+ / get full ride almost anywhere

[SaintClarence27]

Take the test again, and go by what you got. If you do poorly, you can still attend Cornell in the Fall.

[lawschoollll]

You are absolutely cheating yourself if you don't retake and reapply. With a 167 diagnostic, you should be able to get 174+ easily, and if you don't at least try, you will (or should) regret it for the rest of your life. And I don't think that is being too harsh. Many people, myself included, score in the low-mid 150s, even high 140s, on diagnostics, and bring them up to 170+ with good study techniques.

If your ceiling is 167, which I find extraordinarily unlikely, then fine. But don't go to Cornell at sticker without trying.

[Cinderelly]

I realize that retaking/reappling is typically the obvious response in these types of situations, but I just want to be sure it is 100% the right idea for me. The only reason I am posting this thread now rather than waiting to see what my actual LSAT score is that I worry that reapplying is not the right thing for me to do regardless of what my new school will be, considering all of the cons I have listed. If this is so, I would rather make the decision now not to reapply than wait until I get my scores back at the end of June. That way I don't waste money and time on the LSAT and LSAT prep and I can solve the roommate issue (Is the roommate thing even something to be worried about or am I freaking out over nothing?)

Although I only studied for two weeks last time my PTs improved by over 5 points. Then on the actual day of the test I panicked on an RC passage and ended up with like a -7 on RC due to not finishing. In all of my PTs I had missed -0 or -1 in the RC section. I'm worried something like that could happen again. Of course had I done more practice tests maybe I wouldn't have panicked...

I know I am probably being a baby about this. It is just that putting off law school for a year brings up several complicated life issues. I sometimes wish I could pretend I had a much lower GPA or that I had studied as hard as I could on the LSAT the first time around so that I could be happy with paying sticker at my current school and not feel like I am taking out 200k in loans due to laziness/idiocy at my initial lack of LSAT prep.

Thanks for your responses. If you guys really think reapplying (assuming a higher score) is the obviously correct thing to do, it will give me more confidence as I face dealing with the complications that I will have to deal with by putting off law school a year.

(Not going to Cornell, btw)

[SaintClarence27]

I realize that retaking/reappling is typically the obvious response in these types of situations, but I just want to be sure it is 100% the right idea for me. The only reason I am posting this thread now rather than waiting to see what my actual LSAT score is that I worry that reapplying is not the right thing for me to do regardless of what my new school will be, considering all of the cons I have listed. If this is so, I would rather make the decision now not to reapply than wait until I get my scores back at the end of June. That way I don't waste money and time on the LSAT and LSAT prep and I can solve the roommate issue (Is the roommate thing even something to be worried about or am I freaking out over nothing?)

Although I only studied for two weeks last time my PTs improved by over 5 points. Then on the actual day of the test I panicked on an RC passage and ended up with like a -7 on RC due to not finishing. In all of my PTs I had missed -0 or -1 in the RC section. I'm worried something like that could happen again. Of course had I done more practice tests maybe I wouldn't have panicked...

I know I am probably being a baby about this. It is just that putting off law school for a year brings up several complicated life issues. I sometimes wish I could pretend I had a much lower GPA or that I had studied as hard as I could on the LSAT the first time around so that I could be happy with paying sticker at my current school and not feel like I am taking out 200k in loans due to laziness/idiocy at my initial lack of LSAT prep.

Thanks for your responses. If you guys really think reapplying (assuming a higher score) is the obviously correct thing to do, it will give me more confidence as I face dealing with the complications that I will have to deal with by putting off law school a year.

(Not going to Cornell, btw)

Even if you're happy going to Duke (and you should be), increasing your LSAT even a few points could get you a free ride. That's $150,000 difference, just for waiting it out a year, and that's not even counting the difference in total cost of repayment.

[yeff]

OP, life is indeed complicated, and your decision to sign a lease without getting a roommate first strikes me as a bit questionable.

This choice, however, is pretty easy.

With the high GPA already set your ceiling is almost unlimited. Apply early next year.

[Cinderelly]

OP, life is indeed complicated, and your decision to sign a lease without getting a roommate first strikes me as a bit questionable.

This choice, however, is pretty easy.

With the high GPA already set your ceiling is almost unlimited. Apply early next year.

Yep, it was just one of the many stupid decisions I've made in this whole law school situation.

Does anyone know if breaking a lease with about 2 months notice prior to moving in has any repercussions other than loss of the deposit?

[high0034]

OP, life is indeed complicated, and your decision to sign a lease without getting a roommate first strikes me as a bit questionable.

This choice, however, is pretty easy.

With the high GPA already set your ceiling is almost unlimited. Apply early next year.

Yep, it was just one of the many stupid decisions I've made in this whole law school situation.

Does anyone know if breaking a lease with about 2 months notice prior to moving in has any repercussions other than loss of the deposit?

Possibly, but not very likely. It depends on the terms of the lease and state law... In some cases the landlord is able to come after you for lost rent if they are unable to rent the apartment out right away, or have to settle for a lower rent than you were paying.... That said I own a rental property and it would not be worth the time/cost of pursuing it, just a scare tactic. You will most likely just lose your deposit, your credit score should be safe.

[td6624]

feh

I feel like people here overestimate the good that studying for the LSAT does. I have nothing with which to back this up, but I feel like beyond logic games, studying ain't gonna do that much.

But common wisdom is that it does so maybe I should just shut up.

[SaintClarence27]

feh

I feel like people here overestimate the good that studying for the LSAT does. I have nothing with which to back this up, but I feel like beyond logic games, studying ain't gonna do that much.

But common wisdom is that it does so maybe I should just shut up.

It didn't do anything for me. I studied hard for 3+ months (~4 hours per day, MANY PTs) and scored worse on the LSAT than on my diagnostic.

Part of the problem is that 1) I'm not that fast, 2) I screwed up on one of the problems, and 3) All of the "studying" stuff I did my brain does automatically. I've always just figured things like that out (a semester of accelerated calculus learned in 1 1/2 weeks from the textbook) intrinsically. The downside is that, though I'm great at logic and recognizing patterns and all, it takes me a little longer to sort through it.

[td6624]

All I did was go through a book on logic games (very deliberately) and take 4 practice tests.

I don't feel like more studying would have done anything for me. But maybe that's me just trying to not feel bad about my less-than-stellar prep.

[lawschoollll]

All I did was go through a book on logic games (very deliberately) and take 4 practice tests.

I don't feel like more studying would have done anything for me.But maybe that's me just trying to not feel bad about my less-than-stellar prep.

[SaintClarence27]

All I did was go through a book on logic games (very deliberately) and take 4 practice tests.

I don't feel like more studying would have done anything for me.But maybe that's me just trying to not feel bad about my less-than-stellar prep.

Wow, considering that the person who wrote that was more self-aware than most, your point of rubbing it in seems rather douchey.

[td6624]

All I did was go through a book on logic games (very deliberately) and take 4 practice tests.

I don't feel like more studying would have done anything for me.But maybe that's me just trying to not feel bad about my less-than-stellar prep.

yeah you, uh, got me there. i guess.