Please Help Me Decide What to Do Forum

[fourtyacslaw]

I wasn't sure if this was the ideal place to post this, but I figure current students and graduates would be the most knowledgable about these circumstances. Cutting to the chase, I'm here to ask the often repeated question of whether or not I should attend law school this fall.

Some background information: I am born and raised in Texas, but also have strong family ties to North Carolina. I'd prefer to practice in one of the big 3 cities in TX (Dallas, Austin, or Houston) or Charlotte. I have been interning for a publicly traded tech company (completely unrelated to my major) in the city for two semesters and have a verbal offer I could take up upon graduation. The offer is in the ~$40k range and it's a 9-5 relatively relaxed office environment. It's not exactly what I'd like to do, but I may be able to make a transition in the next year or two to something more preferable if I weren't to attend. I have not explored other options outside of this, as for the past two years I have been set on going to law school and it is not until recently I have been getting cold feet.

I have a 3.1 GPA and a 164 LSAT. Through browsing the forums the last couple months it seems the consensus for anyone under 170 is to retake. I went through a 4+ month course with a reputable private tutor in Austin, and have already taken the LSAT twice (162/164 - last time being Oct. '12). I'm not sure how I feel about retaking, as I put concentrated effort into it the first two times and came away disappointed with the results. The highest I PTed was 168 and I never was able to nail down logic games. Towards the end I would usually get reading or arguments down to -2 to -4 a section each, but may miss 6-10 in games alone. I'm concerned I have lost ground in the first two areas over the past 6 months, and games I never mastered despite focusing on them. Also, with my GPA where it stands it doesn't appear I would stand a chance at T14 schools even with a retake in the 170s.

My relevant acceptances are to SMU ($23k/yr), Wake Forest ($25k/yr), UH ($10k/yr), and Baylor ($27k/yr.) I have no undergraduate debt, and my parents have agreed to pay rent, utilities, and phone bill costs were I to attend. I also have no significant savings. I should also mention I have a significant other that will be working in Dallas in a year, but we are ok with the possibility of altering either one or both of our plans depending on how this shakes out.

So, taking into account my situation and numbers, what would you advise? Attend this fall given my situation and the fact the wheels have already started turning, change course to retake and either sit out a year or try and negotiate, or something else? I'm legitimately losing sleep over this and any advice or accounts of personal experience would be greatly appreciated.