28 Years Old And I Feel Ancient Already. Retake? Forum

[LadyDiabolyn]

SO, I applied really late in the cycle. I took the LSATs in February and submitted my first application on March 1.

The feedback I've gotten thus far has me wondering whether I should retake and aim higher next cycle. Except for the fact that I'm already 28 and feel ancient.

[rinkrat19]

I'm 32 and I applied last year, deferring my admission to this year. A year is nothing. Retake.

[hichvichwoh]

3.3 GPA really hurts without a higher LSAT score. Being URM doesn't help you that much if you are below both medians, and your extracurriculars are almost meaningless.

Don't force yourself to go to law school this year because you "feel old," because you'll just come out the other side three years older and not necessarily better off. Retake/Reapply, and get some WE specific to the legal profession in the meantime.

[Mr. Pancakes]

27 here, retaking in June. I'll be 28 this summer.

[nygrrrl]

You are not ancient. Also, you applied VERY late. My advice: take one more cycle. Retake the LSAT and have your PS/etc ready to go the minute you get your score back. Apply within the first month and best of luck!

[LadyDiabolyn]

Thanks for the encouragement to wait everyone! I kept telling myself that worst case scenario, I'll be in the same position I am now next year, but for some reason the age thing really irked me.

Well then I guess... let the good times roll. Did anyone else REALLY enjoy studying for the LSATs? I honestly found it to be very interesting. haha.

[Tiago Splitter]

27 here, retaking in June. I'll be 28 this summer.

This was my exact situation last year.

20 years from now you'll laugh at yourself for almost rushing into a poor decision rather than waiting a year. Best of luck.

[Mr. Pancakes]

27 here, retaking in June. I'll be 28 this summer.

This was my exact situation last year.

20 years from now you'll laugh at yourself for almost rushing into a poor decision rather than waiting a year. Best of luck.

Before knowing about this website I was about to go to a TTTT with a low LSAT because I thought I had to go this year no matter what since I felt like I was getting old. Thank you Ken for not letting me get 150k in debt at a shitty law school.

[abbottsbar]

I'll turn 33 as school starts this year, so no, 28 is nowhere near ancient.

[LadyDiabolyn]

It's nice to know that I won't necessarily be surrounded by really, really, young classmates just out of undergrad.

To add to my conundrum, this just in: Illinois is willing to negotiate my scholarship up from 25%. I awaiting their ultimate decision.

[lonerider]

.

[mattviphky]

Retake in june. if you like your score, then reapply. If not, then go this fall.

[LawSuccess]

I was in a similar situation. Retake. It's worth it when you get the score you know you are capable of. You are by no means ancient. Especially if you plan to live to be 100.

[EMZE]

Depending on what category of URM you fit into, between your age and softs, and an LSAT score over 170, getting into T6 isn't unreasonable.

[hyakku]

Younger guy here just wanting to say that you are not damn old. Everyone on TLS above 25 seems to think they are old. You guys make me feel like I'm on the verge of retirement sometimes

[ahnhub]

I'll be 31 when I start at either Columbia/NYU this fall.

What I was most scared of wasn't fitting in or feeling old, it was that employers wouldn't be interested because of my age. Trying to get solid statistical information was basically impossible, and anecdotal stuff was all over the place--some people say older the better, you'll be tons more marketable than a 22-year old with no experience, others were like no, law firms are snobs and will reject you just because you're different, or they won't think a 33-year old can work as hard as a 25-year old, etc. etc..

I decided logic was completely on my side. The vast majority of lawyers who work for big law firms only stay there 3-5 years. If they think they can suck 3-5 years of good work out of me--well, any lack of youthful vigor would certainly be at least balanced out by maturity and prior experience. Anyone will tell you people with substantial prior WE have a significant advantage--and if they like 4-5 yrs of prior experience, why should they mind 7-8?

[Wart]

What LSAT score are you capable of? Even if you increase your score to 165 (which is a big jump), a 3.3/165 typically won't get you much more than you've already got.

[PDaddy]

I'm 32 and I applied last year, deferring my admission to this year. A year is nothing. Retake.

Agreed...even 32 is still very young for an entering law student. I have always said that the ideal age for an entering law student is somewhere between 28 and 32 years old...after she's had a chance to live, work, travel and get some life experience. MBA's tend to be older for a reason. I know people who have started in their late 40's and are doing just fine.

3.3 GPA really hurts without a higher LSAT score. Being URM doesn't help you that much if you are below both medians, and your extracurriculars are almost meaningless.

Bad advice to the N'th degree, and obviously wishful thinking! Extracurriculars are weighed more heavily for URM's, especially if acheived during undergrad. A 3.3 is a solid GPA, especially if you worked during undergrad, had a solid major at a good university and can pair it with a 160+. If you get a 165+ (it sounds like you have the ability to do so), you have a shot at the top-10. Even a 160 will make the T14 adcoms stand up and take notice if you just apply earlier.

GULC, Cornell, Duke...maybe even Northwestern if your W.E. is good...you should have a crack at those.

[LadyDiabolyn]

I'm 32 and I applied last year, deferring my admission to this year. A year is nothing. Retake.

Agreed...even 32 is still very young for an entering law student. I have always said that the ideal age for an entering law student is somewhere between 28 and 32 years old...after she's had a chance to live, work, travel and get some life experience. MBA's tend to be older for a reason. I know people who have started in their late 40's and are doing just fine.

3.3 GPA really hurts without a higher LSAT score. Being URM doesn't help you that much if you are below both medians, and your extracurriculars are almost meaningless.

Bad advice to the N'th degree, and obviously wishful thinking! Extracurriculars are weighed more heavily for URM's, especially if acheived during undergrad. A 3.3 is a solid GPA, especially if you worked during undergrad, had a solid major at a good university and can pair it with a 160+. If you get a 165+ (it sounds like you have the ability to do so), you have a shot at the top-10. Even a 160 will make the T14 adcoms stand up and take notice if you just apply earlier.

GULC, Cornell, Duke...maybe even Northwestern if your W.E. is good...you should have a crack at those.

Thanks.

I'm thinking that if I AM going to defer, I'll probably retake in October. I've always been really good at standardized tests so I'm sure if I add my natural ability to six months of studying I'll have a very, very good score.

My undergrad is known for having no grade inflation whatsoever in addition to a rigorous course load, and admissions offices have told me they consider that.

[hyakku]

OP, to confirm what Pdaddy says, I have a similar GPA (slightly lower, will probably be about the same at graduation) and a 170 and I'm now blessed to be attending GULC next fall on nearly a full ride thanks for a strong LSAT (which was definitely made possible thanks to the people on this board, particularly Dave Hall), URM status, and highlighting the only extracurriculars and experiences I had that could make me stand out, which doesn't seem like the average case judging from LSN but I could be wrong.

I think you could probably do much better than me with a good LSAT, your foreign background, and work experience. I really hope you take a chance and reconsider, and hopefully you can be blessed with a similar opportunity. Good luck.

[hichvichwoh]

I'm 32 and I applied last year, deferring my admission to this year. A year is nothing. Retake.

Agreed...even 32 is still very young for an entering law student. I have always said that the ideal age for an entering law student is somewhere between 28 and 32 years old...after she's had a chance to live, work, travel and get some life experience. MBA's tend to be older for a reason. I know people who have started in their late 40's and are doing just fine.

3.3 GPA really hurts without a higher LSAT score. Being URM doesn't help you that much if you are below both medians, and your extracurriculars are almost meaningless.

Bad advice to the N'th degree, and obviously wishful thinking! Extracurriculars are weighed more heavily for URM's, especially if acheived during undergrad. A 3.3 is a solid GPA, especially if you worked during undergrad, had a solid major at a good university and can pair it with a 160+. If you get a 165+ (it sounds like you have the ability to do so), you have a shot at the top-10. Even a 160 will make the T14 adcoms stand up and take notice if you just apply earlier.

GULC, Cornell, Duke...maybe even Northwestern if your W.E. is good...you should have a crack at those.

Be wary of listening to advice just because it's what you want to hear...By every account, LSAT/GPA matter way more than extracurriculars. Yes, they help, as does the fact that you are a URM, but don't forget that top tier schools have plenty of applicants with strong extracurriculars, URM status, AND higher GPA/LSAT scores. The whole point of my original post is that you should wait a year and retake. Furthermore, unless they explicitly said on your award letter "we are giving you this money because you participated in X activity," scholarships are awarded after taking into account your entire application, so a better LSAT will get you more money as well.

Oh and on a side note, "to the n'th degree" is actually meaningless because you don't define n

[LadyDiabolyn]

I'm 32 and I applied last year, deferring my admission to this year. A year is nothing. Retake.

Agreed...even 32 is still very young for an entering law student. I have always said that the ideal age for an entering law student is somewhere between 28 and 32 years old...after she's had a chance to live, work, travel and get some life experience. MBA's tend to be older for a reason. I know people who have started in their late 40's and are doing just fine.

3.3 GPA really hurts without a higher LSAT score. Being URM doesn't help you that much if you are below both medians, and your extracurriculars are almost meaningless.

Bad advice to the N'th degree, and obviously wishful thinking! Extracurriculars are weighed more heavily for URM's, especially if acheived during undergrad. A 3.3 is a solid GPA, especially if you worked during undergrad, had a solid major at a good university and can pair it with a 160+. If you get a 165+ (it sounds like you have the ability to do so), you have a shot at the top-10. Even a 160 will make the T14 adcoms stand up and take notice if you just apply earlier.

GULC, Cornell, Duke...maybe even Northwestern if your W.E. is good...you should have a crack at those.

Be wary of listening to advice just because it's what you want to hear...By every account, LSAT/GPA matter way more than extracurriculars. Yes, they help, as does the fact that you are a URM, but don't forget that top tier schools have plenty of applicants with strong extracurriculars, URM status, AND higher GPA/LSAT scores. The whole point of my original post is that you should wait a year and retake. Furthermore, unless they explicitly said on your award letter "we are giving you this money because you participated in X activity," scholarships are awarded after taking into account your entire application, so a better LSAT will get you more money as well.

Oh and on a side note, "to the n'th degree" is actually meaningless because you don't define n

Thanks for the motivation hyakku! I'll give it a shot. Someone else this morning (in real life, not on the board:))told me that I should apply GULC next year. Interesting.

lol, hitchvitch I'm glad you weren't saying I may as well have slept as much as I could during college rather than doing all those ECs.

With regards to the scholarship, it's one specifically for leadership, so I guess it was due to some sort of combination of my activities, at least to some extent.

I'm definitely leaning towards sitting out a year.

[JamMasterJ]

I'm a bit younger, but I know the feeling of having your life on hold that waiting a year gives you. I'm so happy I waited, though

[LadyDiabolyn]

.

[Yossarian79]

I also took the LSAT in February, and was going to apply in March, when for a variety of reasons thought it would be better to defer. And I'm 32 going on 33, so you shouldn't feel remotely bad about your decision .