IUB v. Wisconsin v. UIUC v. retake? Forum

[sarebee]

Hi everyone,

Unsure of what to do. I applied late (early Feb) because of my LORs and so still waiting to hear back from a few schools. I am extremely debt averse, so I didn't aim real high in rankings. I took the LSAT twice, first getting 159, then 162 (practicing at 168-170; consistently got -0 in LG but on test day bombed this section); my gpa is 3.9. I have a ton of family in Indiana and I want to end up in Chicago (I'm pretty sure -- if not, then DC or where I'm from, Boston). I don't think I want biglaw, I want to be an ADA or AUSA (I realize how competitive this is), but I'm also very interested in policy.

I got a full tuition scholarship at IU (looking at about $60k in COL through loans), plus some fairly hefty $$ from Wisconsin (not full though). Still waiting to hear back from Illinois and BU. So far, IU is looking like my top choice, unless I magically hear from UIUC and get a full scholarship there as well. Probably won't get much $$ from BU. I need to tell IU by 4/1, but there is no seat deposit.

I have 3 years of WE (pretty good softs) and will be paying for law school completely through loans. I'm getting a little nervous about leaving my life here, but that's just because I'm used to it. I'm dying to start law school in the fall, but I understand it would be irrational and naive to go just because of that. Should I retake and reapply to higher schools? (I'm assuming you will say yes, but I wanted confirmation.) I thought about retaking and applying to Northwestern, for example, but the COL terrifies me.

Sorry for rambling -- wanted to provide as much info as possible. Thanks!

[BigZuck]

I'd retake for a full ride at UIUC at a bare minimum. But I'd also keep my eye on Chicago/Northwestern if you score high enough.

Definitely retake June no matter what

[sarebee]

I'd retake for a full ride at UIUC at a bare minimum. But I'd also keep my eye on Chicago/Northwestern if you score high enough.

Definitely retake June no matter what

Thanks, BigZuck. Since it's my last chance, I was thinking retake in October and put everything off a year, but you think I should try for June instead?

[butlerraider1]

Edit: poor reading comp. on my part.

[BigZuck]

I'd retake for a full ride at UIUC at a bare minimum. But I'd also keep my eye on Chicago/Northwestern if you score high enough.

Definitely retake June no matter what

Thanks, BigZuck. Since it's my last chance, I was thinking retake in October and put everything off a year, but you think I should try for June instead?

Some people are so loathe to reapply that they retake June to hedge. If they do well enough, they reapply (that's what I did). If they don't do well enough, they take whatever their best option is that cycle.

I think you should retake whenever you will score your absolute highest. If that's October, do it in October. Your options next cycle won't be any worse, and because you have an awesome GPA you might be able to get almost a full ride at a place like Northwestern if you can squeeze out a few more points.

I went low 160s>mid 160s> high 160s on three takes so that kind of improvement is definitely possible IMO.

[LawsRUs]

everything zuck said.
also, uiuc was throwing full rides at people who are above medians like mad this cycle. a pretty good option for chicago if your june lsat score is not better