UMN/GWU/Emory/UCI/retake LSAT in JUNE Forum

[kacy]

I've posted earlier, but I'm now considering new options. I just got $120k from UCI and WL from UVA. Also, it seems like many agree that it may not be worth going to law school if it's not one of t14 b/c of the bad economy. I honestly don't know what kind of law I want to practice, but I do know I can't afford to not have a job with a huge law school debt.
I'm getting waitlisted to top 14 schools and I'm considering retaking June LSAT and hopefully update the schools with a higher LSAT score.

My numbers are: LSAT -167 & GPA - 3.4

I know my GPA is very low so I was hoping to get 170+ to compensate for it. I used to get 173s on my PTs but I ended up with a 167. I feel like I could probably do at least a couple points better if I take it again in June, and maybe even score in the 170s. I've heard of people talk about retaking the LSAT in June and update the schools to get accepted in the same cycle. My only concern is that the results will be out in July, and I'm afraid there won't be any seats left in t14 by that time. If that happens after I get a higher score, is it worth it to wait until next cycle? I know I should probably make a deposit or two to the schools I got accepted to. What do you guys think? Are any of the schools I got accepted to worth going to? Should I retake the LSAT in June? Which schools should I put down deposit, if any?


UVA - WL
GULC - WL (not priority list)
UMN - $75k (CoA $111k)
GWU - $30k (CoA $202k)
Emory - $66k (CoA $148k)
UC Irvine - $120k (CoA $115k)
Fordham - WL
UGA - $22.5k (CoA $70k resident tuition)

[somewhatwayward]

First of all, you are thinking about this in the right way! Honestly you should be proud of yourself for being mature and able to anticipate that being in a huge amount of debt with no job sucks and realizing that you are not any more immune to that than anyone else.

I wish I could vote more than once bc retake is definitely the best even if all it does is increase your scholarships to UCI, etc. Don't go to UCI, GWU, Emory, or UMN without a scholarship that puts you at less than 100K of debt at the very most....less than 70K would be better (including living expenses). Personally I wouldn't go to any of those schools without a full ride and connections to the area. Definitely don't go to UMN if you don't have ties bc people have reported difficulty getting a job there without ties even if they went to UMN.

Retaking may get you off the WL at UVa or GT but if that happens, money will still be a concern. Those schools aren't worth sticker IMO. But you can cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, hit the books and keep PTing, trying to get your PT average to 3-5 points above your target to give yourself some wiggle room on game day. One thing that I have heard helps is for every question you got wrong or you weren't sure about but guessed right, write (write! not think) down a sentence saying why your choice was wrong and a sentence as to why the right choice was right. Also, I found it helpful to PT with 32-33 minutes per section just so that on game day 35 minutes felt longer and gave me time to get over my nerves.

[francesfarmer]

Retake retake retake! I retook a 170 (we have the same GPA) and it was one of the best choices I've ever made. Even if you do worse, law schools won't care, especially using the June strategy.

Keep in mind that you may not get $$$ from the t-14 anyway, though, because you're a splitter.

[jessierocks]

First of all, you are thinking about this in the right way! Honestly you should be proud of yourself for being mature and able to anticipate that being in a huge amount of debt with no job sucks and realizing that you are not any more immune to that than anyone else.

I wish I could vote more than once bc retake is definitely the best even if all it does is increase your scholarships to UCI, etc. Don't go to UCI, GWU, Emory, or UMN without a scholarship that puts you at less than 100K of debt at the very most....less than 70K would be better (including living expenses). Personally I wouldn't go to any of those schools without a full ride and connections to the area. Definitely don't go to UMN if you don't have ties bc people have reported difficulty getting a job there without ties even if they went to UMN.

Retaking may get you off the WL at UVa or GT but if that happens, money will still be a concern. Those schools aren't worth sticker IMO. But you can cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, hit the books and keep PTing, trying to get your PT average to 3-5 points above your target to give yourself some wiggle room on game day. One thing that I have heard helps is for every question you got wrong or you weren't sure about but guessed right, write (write! not think) down a sentence saying why your choice was wrong and a sentence as to why the right choice was right. Also, I found it helpful to PT with 32-33 minutes per section just so that on game day 35 minutes felt longer and gave me time to get over my nerves.

OMG, I'm an international student who got a full ride at UMN!
Should I just ignore it?

[you'rethemannowdawg]

If you want to work in MN and can truthfully tell employers that, you probably don't need significant ties. There was an MN attorney taking questions a couple months ago and he said that going to a local school is enough as long as you can truthfully tell employers you want to stay there.

[somewhatwayward]

If you want to work in MN and can truthfully tell employers that, you probably don't need significant ties. There was an MN attorney taking questions a couple months ago and he said that going to a local school is enough as long as you can truthfully tell employers you want to stay there.

The person said that was only if you had stellar grades. You can't really hang your hat on that. Also, jessierocks is an international student, and I think she would have even more trouble convincing MN employers that she wants to stay.

[cahwc12]

All of those are terrible options except for retake, but unfortunately for you, things don't improve all that much even with a retake. I have similar numbers (3.4/168) and decided to sit out this cycle. To get real money at a good school, 173+ is really where you/we want to be. It sucks for us that 3.4 is just too low for serious merit aid at most schools, but that's just the way it is. With the precipitous drop in apps this cycle, you may be able to talk up some of those offers, but by how much is up in the air.