Making a decision in the next week Forum

[burtmacklin]

-The schools you are considering: Fordham, Emory or wait til next year and take a shot at NU
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Fordham:$173,166 Emory:$140,388 NU:???
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings: Parents would be willing to split COL with me wherever I go, whenever I go, as well as contribute around 10k per year towards tuition, the rest is loans
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any): From NY, want to work in NY, went to school in a town that is not a viable option
-Your general career goals: Biglaw in NY
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers: 172/2.93
-How many times you have taken the LSAT: 2 (166,172)

I know what the right choice seems to be, I am just having a tough time committing. I didn't apply to NU this year because I didn't feel my WE at the time was going to make it work out, but since then I've gotten a job at SDNY courthouses (its not really an impressive position, but I have gotten to meet some judges/network pretty decently down here) and wanted to know if NU wuold look favorably on this type of work enough to give me a shot. I like the idea of being able to take another year to save up more money anyway so that I can pay down at least a little more tuition without loans, and I'm not the type to complain about studying for LSAT. Would a re-take be a good idea or should I try to go at it with my score now and not risk scoring lower on my third try? Again, I think I'm leaning towards waiting, having my app ready on the very first day, and praying to Johann that he doesn't ruin my life, just wanted some opinions (and I'm assuming encouragement since I think TLS will feel the same way). Please don't quote since I've gotten at least somewhat personal in this