just got Fulbright - defer or WD and reapply?

[adoseofwendy]

I just found out I got the Fulbright so I'll be taking a gap year no matter what, but I'm deciding if I want to defer at a T10 school or if I want to possibly retake the June LSAT and reapply next cycle with the Fulbright as a soft. Another factor is I would possibly want to take extra gap years after the Fulbright to do other things such as TFA or getting work experience, so if I deferred, it would inhibit me from doing this.

I got into UofM this cycle with a 169 and 3.5 GPA but I think I might be able to get my LSAT up a bit. Anyway, is it worth reapplying in terms of the schools I'd get into? Possibly ED somewhere. I would prefer to go somewhere in a city like NYU or Columbia.

Also, is it possible to defer to M, retake the June LSAT, and if the score was good, withdraw and re-apply to other schools? So I would not re-apply to other schools during the deferral period but I would do so after withdrawing.

[dixiecupdrinking]

You might as well just reapply since you are definitely not going next year and you'd rather be in NYC. You've already got your recs lined up, you can take another crack at the LSAT and try to get it up. The only concern here is that with a 3.5/169 you're not really a shoo-in for Michigan, let alone CCN, so there's some risk that you'll do worse your next time around if you don't improve next LSAT. So it depends to a degree on how confident you are you can get that score up.

[EMZE]

Law school will always be there. Once you graduate from LS, you won't have all those cool opportunities like fulbright or TFA or peace corps or whatever fits your fancy because you will be driven by your debt. I would tell Mich that you are withdrawing because of the fulbright, and tell them you will be applying in a few years. Retake the LSAT and rock it and you are set up to potentially have more options or at least more scholarships.

[dkb17xzx]

Definitely do Fulbright. I took a couple years off (and now my third year) - spent almost 1.5 years working abroad . It's just a great life experience. As the poster above said - law school will always be there.

[adoseofwendy]

You might as well just reapply since you are definitely not going next year and you'd rather be in NYC. You've already got your recs lined up, you can take another crack at the LSAT and try to get it up. The only concern here is that with a 3.5/169 you're not really a shoo-in for Michigan, let alone CCN, so there's some risk that you'll do worse your next time around if you don't improve next LSAT. So it depends to a degree on how confident you are you can get that score up.

That's my concern.

It's hard to give up Michigan since I know that I won't necessarily get in if I re-apply, even after doing something worthwhile for a year (or more).

[dixiecupdrinking]

You might as well just reapply since you are definitely not going next year and you'd rather be in NYC. You've already got your recs lined up, you can take another crack at the LSAT and try to get it up. The only concern here is that with a 3.5/169 you're not really a shoo-in for Michigan, let alone CCN, so there's some risk that you'll do worse your next time around if you don't improve next LSAT. So it depends to a degree on how confident you are you can get that score up.

That's my concern.

It's hard to give up Michigan since I know that I won't necessarily get in if I re-apply, even after doing something worthwhile for a year (or more).

Yeah. I think that's a personal risk/reward decision you've got to make for yourself, unfortunately. The more I think about it, the less certain I am that you should reapply. You'd need to add around 5 points on the LSAT to have a good shot at NYU, I think.

With respect to your question about deferring and also reapplying, I think, but don't know for sure, that deferring typically involves promising not to apply elsewhere (Early Decision-style). Someone else can probably confirm/deny this.

[adoseofwendy]

So if Michigan accepted me this year (I'm currently a senior) and I reapplied later with the Fulbright/etc added onto my application, it would be iffy that they would accept me again?

My question is why Michigan would have accepted me this year if it's an unlikelihood... just by chance? In which case I should hold onto my admission and defer.

Or is it like I've reached a baseline where if I reapplied next year, I can be fairly certain I'd get in or some other peer school?

[sunynp]

I doubt that Michigan will turn you down if you reapply with a Fulbright. Contact Michigan and tell them about the Fulbright but that you plan to attend law school after you finish.

I would retake and reapply with the Fulbright as a soft.

Congrats on your achievment!

[EMZE]

Tell Michigan exactly your situation. Ask them if deferring for more than a year is possible. Does it make a ton of sense to go and do the Fulbright, get a masters, and do nothing with it? You will be able to seperate yourself more from your GPA if you go get a Fulbright and do something awesome with your masters. As someone 5 years out of undergrad with a lower GPA/LSAT than yours, my work experience is what got me in to a school within MVPB. If you retake, get something 174+, you should not have any issues getting in to a T10.