3.7, 160/172 Forum

[T6Hopeful]

Now I'm sure some of you have come across almost these exact numbers at some point and may be a little tired of hearing about it, but I really don't know what to think about lawschoolpredictor on this one because I do have a considerably lower score on record.
The 160 is from June (essentially was just running at a high stress level, went on vacation a month after and have been relaxed ever since)
The 172 is from this past October retake. Didn't even re-study for it. I had it down and i got rid of my biggest problem (stress/anxiety). So, unless schools require addenda, I will most likely not write one, as I'd rather let the higher score speak for itself and not make excuses.

Strong upward trend in grades - 2.5 first semester, and either a 3.9 or 4.0 from every semester there on out. Double major (one is a romance language, the other is public policy), average softs, average ps, average LORs (at least I think so).

Now a big question for me is the ED to Columbia. If I had just gotten the better score on the first test, I would just wait it out and say even if I didn't get in, I'd be able to compare offers. And while it's not a DREAM school it's definitely my first choice (even with $0), although I honestly wouldn't mind if I ended up anywhere from there to bottom t14 to even WUSTL with $$$$. I72 is Columbia's median, and the 3.7 puts me a hair under the GPA median of 3.72 (which I'll probably hit or be over after 7th semester grades). But with Columbia supposedly averaging, I feel as though even my ED chances would be slim.

So whether I ED, I'm just going to get the rest of my apps out ASAP anyway, I just think I definitely won't get in there RD. What do you guys think?

[mst]

I'm no expert, especially with multiple LSATs, but I would say that if CLS is your #1, your numbers are right in the ballpark of where I would expect an ED to pay dividends at CLS, if it were to pay dividends at all. As for the addendum, I would ask around a bit more before firmly committing to not doing it. 12 Points is a big jump, and judging by what others on the forum suggest, it might be worth mentioning regardless of the reason (might).

[T6Hopeful]

Thanks for the response. I guess I was being a little rash about not writing an addendum, but personally if I were to be an admissions officer (which obviously I'm not) I would prefer only legitimate excuses. That being said, I'm going to a law fair at my school on the 3rd, at which point I'll ask the Columbia representative (I believe last year the man there was involved in the admissions department in some way) and see what feedback I get.

[T6Hopeful]

Shameless bump...
Could anyone attest to multiple scores that are further apart?

[Excellence = a Habit]

Hey there. Our numbers are similar (I'm at 3.7/163/171) though you've got a substantially better shot at Columbia than I with your extra LSAT point. mst is right; being close to or at both medians puts you in a good position for the ED to make a difference. Of course the extra score is a wild card, so it may come down to your softs. Work experience? (FYI, I didn't ED at Columbia, even though it's the school I'd most like to attend disregarding money. I'm too curious about what money offers would look like further down the T14. Even ED of course, my chances wouldn't have been good - as RD, I'm hoping my softs will impress them.)

As for the addendum, I don't remember what Columbia specifically says about it, but almost every school I was looking at asked for an addendum for a score change of 7-8 points or more. They seem not to care whether there is a good reason for it or not - they just want you to acknowledge it and put something out there about it. For me, that was just that work was really busy in the lead-up to the first test. I know, that sounds lame, and I would rather have written nothing, but I didn't want to seem to be ignoring directions. The stress factor seems to me like it would be a better reason... although, I guess that could fall both ways, since law school will be a stressful environment in itself.