Top Law Schools

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It's simple. Re-take!

Just apply, go to law school, and be done w/ it. There is no evidence to suggest you will fare better on a fifth retake.

MrKappus wrote:Just apply, go to law school, and be done w/ it. There is no evidence to suggest you will fare better on a fifth retake.

That is tru as well.

MrKappus wrote:Just apply, go to law school, and be done w/ it. There is no evidence to suggest you will fare better on a fifth retake.

Kind of leaning that way. I think it would be wise to ask yourself WHY do you have your heart set on X,Y,Z school. Is it the cities they are in, is it a specific area of law you want to practice in, is it the prestige/name of the school that attracts you. If you would have just gone somewhere in 2009 you would be well on your way to being done. The LSAT is a test, JD a prof. degree, passing the BAR another test...what you do with all of that is up to you. Justify it to yourself, everyone here is in a different position looking at YOUR situation based on what they would do, some reach beyond that and suggest a much more practical approach-reference quote above.

At some point you have to pull the trigger. Unless you are on some Benjamin Buttons shit, I would probably hope on board and Quad city dj's the thing.

Good luck

I'm kind of torn on what advice to give you here. sure a higher lsat would be nice and I usually say re-take. you don't want to waste that gpa and you sound like you have certain goals in mind. unfortunately, there is no guarantee you will improve your score and anecdotal evidence says you won't. even if you do, a 169+ is going to look like an outlier to any T30 when you have a cancel, 2 scores in the 150s, and a score in the low 160s. not sure how that will affect you though, as I've never heard of someone with 5 LSAT administrations on their app. the USNews rankings will help your case. I'm sure with a 3.5/170, someone will take you, but this is an odd situation and you're going to have to do a lot of thinking before hand. good luck.

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You've obviously been in the LS admissions game for a while now, so I have a feeling you know the deal on multiple LSATs. If that's the case, then you're just looking for some 0L or law student to pat you on the head and lie to you. I'm all for warm 'n fuzzies, but what exactly are you looking for w/ this thread? Five LSAT takes is not good. While schools will appreciate the US News bump the fifth take might give them, they are, quite reasonably, going to think "Well of course you can get a 165+ on the fifth try."

Most schools simply look at the highest score. Definitely. There are some exceptions, and some schools will either average your scores, or look at all of them "holistically." That said, there comes a point when a school will place a lot less emphasis on a higher LSAT, and that point probably comes after an applicant has taken the test three times.

If you want to take it again because you truly believe you have a 165-170 in you, by all means do it. But be prepared for even a decent score to help out way less than if it had come on a 2nd or 3rd try (especially for schools that come right out and say they look at all scores, like UVA).

Good luck.

P.S. Edit: You seem like a nice person, and I truly hope your 4th take goes better than expected, so it's a moot point.

Glad that you got a little more in depth with the most recent post. The more I put myself in your shoes this does become a deeper abyss than it seemed at first.

In regards to other peoples expectations. F' em. It's your life, gotta go with what works for you. As far as ego and your own expectations...well that is indeed a tough one. If you can move beyond all the stuff that is lingering with you from the past (projections of X,Y,Z school, score etc..) then everything will fall into place with less effort. Personally I don't think it is healthy for you to drag it out for year after year allowing all the tension and expectations to build and beat yourself up over it.

You have a goal of 169 on LSAT, but I think your long term goal of clerk/non-profit or gov. work is what you should remain focused on.
I think it would be healthy for you to get in the game. There is always the off chance you can swing the transfer option, if you believe you have what it takes. I would agree 100% with the options in private/public sector, that is reality although I don't think you should let it hinder you moving forward. Even the best laid plans....can hit the shitter.

I believe your score puts you in a tough position in regards to $. Carrying undergrad debt and then accruing more for law school etc...I have often wondered how many peoples lives would have panned out if they didn't take on all the debt to go to a more prestigious school where they were forced to pay sticker vs. taking a scholarship somewhere. Seems that you def. need the higher salary to service their debt. 100k in debt at 6.8% over X years. run those numbers, even at six percent. That is paying off my mortgage and a whole bunch of 3-4 week vacations to South America, Africa & Europe for me and enough money to throw down on a rental or two If you go public sector there are some decent debt repayment/relief things floating out there after X amt. of years of service.

My move would be to get it all together less one document required to have application completed in case you want to put it on hold and try and work some other angles. Let the scores come across. Get a list of schools together, try and dig and see who transfered to some of the schools you are aiming for, see where they went for their first year. Internet is handy.

I often wondered what would happen if you began at school X in aug/sept. and then took oct. test as 1L to get score up to help build your case for transfer. Not sure that is a logical move but just wondering if it is legit.

Just don't continue to be fixated on the negatives, attempt to focus on what moves you can make to get you to where you want to be in a few years. Believe in yourself, let go of doubt/fear.

I say...Go with your gut.

Look, people on here are going to give you advice based upon what they'd do in your situation (as a poster above has said). However, it really comes down to the fact that this is your life and you need to do what make you happiest.

As far as the above poster saying that they've never heard of someone with 5 LSAT administrations...of course these people are out there. You don't hear about it much, because this is the minority and not the majority. And obviously these people probably don't post a lot on TLS forums.

But in any event I honestly "do" believe that the LSAT score is the single most contributing factor in law school admissions (most would probably agree). So if you feel comfortable with what you get, then great. If not, do what makes you happy. It should be about you and only you and your happiness.

JMHO Goodluck.

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This isn't meant to be offensive but more of a nice warning that people on here tend to get hostile when folks start asking about their chances of getting into schools when they have an LSAT score that has not been given to them yet. Like for the rest of us, the next few weeks are going to be tough, but I suggest you wait a few weeks for advice on your T30 chances, and then come back with your actual numbers. Then you can receive some actual solid advice, as opposed to random guessing (which, with a situation like yours where you have 4 tests, and scores tbd, is going to be what happens).

On a side note, you remind me of a friend in a very similar situation, and with what you've told us about yourself, you seem like a very motivated and passionate individual. Your chances of standing out at a great state school or any school in your current range are probably fantastic.