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Hi y'all, Happy 4th!

I'm in a bit of a pickle right now with my law school decision and I was hoping to get some advice ....

Right now I'm contemplating attending the University of Arizona in the Fall on a full ride (total costs would run me around 15k a year in loans .. I have some money saved up) or retaking the LSAT for a 3rd time. If you guys have any input, it would be greatly appreciated.

My UGPA is a 3.58.
Oct (13) LSAT score - 153. Dec (13) LSAT score - 161.
I would be taking the LSAT again in Oct of 2014 if I choose that route.
I'm not sure what kind of law I want to do but I do know that I want to end up working in a big market city in the future. I know that Arizona's reach isn't far out of the Southwest so that may play a factor ...

Thanks again for all your help!

What was your initial diagnostic on PTs?

If you want to practice outside of Arizona and/or have a reasonable chance at biglaw, you should retake. I'm not sure about UA's performance in Los Angeles so someone else will have to speak to that. Good job on your improvement so far though, just gotta keep it up.

I believe I started out in the low 140s. I ended up scoring around the 165-168 range on PTs before my Dec 13 test but missed a few on LG which is why it dropped me down to a 161.

gti24 wrote:I believe I started out in the low 140s. I ended up scoring around the 165-168 range on PTs before my Dec 13 test but missed a few on LG which is why it dropped me down to a 161.

Then yes, you should definitely retake. A 167+ combined with your GPA would make the T14 a possibility.

Do you want to practice in Arizona for the foreseeable future?

If the answer to this question is yes, I would take UofA and never look back. Statistics for a class size of 157 showed a bit more than half of grads getting legal jobs, and their class size has plummeted to 105 last year. The only other contender in the area, ASU, has downsized similarly.

If not, retake and reapply.

Full ride isn't bad but with your gpa if you can increase that score just a bit more you'll have better options open up, I'd retake bro

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm just a little hesitant giving up a full ride on hopefully scoring better on the next test but I'm leaning towards it. Any other input would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy the fireworks tonight

stips?
gpa?
goals and in what markets in particular?

Brut wrote:stips?

I forgot about this part. Insist that they remove stips.

I just have to be in good academic standing in order to continue to receive my scholarship. There's also the idea of me transferring after my first year but don't know how well I am going to fare academically wise.

i suspect you haven't done your due diligence
going to law school is not a decision to be taken lightly
you should have some picture of what you'd like to do and where
before you attend
you've been unable to articulate this
so i advise that you not attend law school this year
wait until next cycle, and in the mean time, do more research on law schools and the legal market, talk to more lawyers, maybe find some law-related employment

Also don't worry about giving up the scholarship, you should be able to get similar scholarships if you apply next year. It's a buyer's market right now.

my advice: if you want to practice in arizona and can get the scholarship w/o stipulations, go to uofa. if not, retake.