Application Strategy Advice Forum

[PotatoMonkey]

All comments are welcome!

I had applied back in '10 for entrance in 2011 with a 3.7x and 170; got into Cornell, GTown, wl'd at UVa, Mich, $$$ at Fordham, William & Mary.

I decided I didn't want to go to school yet, so I decided to reapply after two years. GPA is now a 3.8, I have a new, very strong LoR, updating personal statement, and have been working (though not the entire time since graduating, but I'll have ~1.6 years FT by the time I start school). Only problem is that I retook, choked, and got a 167, which is really aggravating.

App Questions:

1.) Do I dare risk an Oct. retake? I had been testing well, but this threw me for a loop. I don't want to risk getting another lower/similar grade, and don't want it to hurt me.

2.) If I reapply to schools I had withdrawn from after being accepted, should I include an addendum?

3.) I'm a moron and took out a lot of debt for UG, and am now definitely not able to go at sticker, barring some miracle windfall. What should my cycle look like? I'm really liking how NU looks - would ED be a smart/worthwhile decision? I haven't seen anyone with my numbers on LSN that had ED and gotten in, but there were some with slightly higher LSAT and lower GPA.

Any help would be nice/appreciated/thoughtfully considered.

Ideally I'd like to work at a firm for a while to get some experience and then move into gov. work, and I don't have my heart set on any specific city, though NY/Bos/Chi/DC are all fine with me. Not so sure about CA/TX towns, but my mind's open.

[MrSparkle]

IIRC, apps have a box that asks if you applied before. What you should have done was accept admission two years ago, and applied for a deferral for 1-2 years!

No use pointing that out now, I know.

I wouldn't retake, you could get the same or lower, and that'd only confirm the average. GT explicitly says they average LSAT scores. Others would only take the highest, so I think you're fine.

I'd include an addendum about your year off (CALL and ask adcomms of every school to see what they think), since adcomms might wonder why you'd turn down admission to great schools only to reapply later.

I don't think you'll get much merit money though, except maybe some from lower T14. If you apply ED, you remove school's incentive to give you money at all, so assume that you will get none. If you want NW I think you'll get it, but no money.

[ben4847]

Some signs point to this year being an easier year to get in, what with less people taking the LSAT. On the other hand, some schools have cut class size, but I don't recall if that affects the range you are looking at.

I predict you'll be good.

[JamMasterJ]

not sure whether NU is going to do the same thing again with ED. I think you'd probably need another point of two on the LSAT to get in if they do. Otherwise, you'd probably get about 60K there

[PotatoMonkey]

Thanks everyone! It may not seem like much, but it'll go a ways in figuring out my approach, esp. that last note about NU.