Cornell $$$ vs. Retake vs. Not going Forum

[SlippinJimmy]

I would graduate from Cornell with little debt. I have acceptances at Mich, UVA and Duke, but no scholarship. My goal is government work in any of SF, LA, NY or DC, in order of preference.

I really want to defer a year for personal reasons (credit card debt, personal projects, my SO), but Cornell does not defer scholarships... I worry I might lose it or have it substantially reduced. I have a 169. I have taken the LSAT 4 times; two takes were pre-TLS and I was not prepared, one was a cancel due to illness. I'm confident I could improve at least a point as 169 was the very bottom of my prep test range.

I have a strong, strong preference to go to any of the NYC schools, Berkeley or Penn as my SO is willing to relocate in a year. Am I crazy for gambling on my scholarship and/or retaking?

[ponderingmeerkat]

I would graduate from Cornell with little debt. I have acceptances at Mich, UVA and Duke, but no scholarship. My goal is government work in any of SF, LA, NY or DC, in order of preference.

I really want to defer a year for personal reasons (credit card debt, personal projects, my SO), but Cornell does not defer scholarships... I worry I might lose it or have it substantially reduced. I have a 169. I have taken the LSAT 4 times; two takes were pre-TLS and I was not prepared, one was a cancel due to illness. I'm confident I could improve at least a point as 169 was the very bottom of my prep test range.

I have a strong, strong preference to go to any of the NYC schools, Berkeley or Penn as my SO is willing to relocate in a year. Am I crazy for gambling on my scholarship and/or retaking?

What is "little debt"? What would be your total out-of-pocket COA?

It's hard for people who don't know you or the granular details of your personal life to measure the value of those concerns. Most people would say a low-to-no debt outcome at Cornell is a fairly solid outcome.

[RZ5646]

Unless you really think that you got lucky with your current Cornell scholarship, I don't think you would have anything to lose by reapplying/retaking.

Factors that could harm you if you reapply: applicant pool might become slightly more competitive

Factors that could help you: work experience will show that you're employable, a job will give law school a greater opportunity cost which the schools will need to offset with increased scholarship money, you'll have time to edit or rewrite your essays, you may be able to retake the LSAT

In addition to improving your application and scholarship chances, a gap year would probably benefit you personally and professionally in a number of ways.

I vote for reapplying.

[Clemenceau]

You're not gambling much of anything by not going this year. Retake when you're eligible if you think you can improve, and go to law school when you're ready.

[SlippinJimmy]

Thank you, everyone.

What is "little debt"? What would be your total out-of-pocket COA?

It's hard for people who don't know you or the granular details of your personal life to measure the value of those concerns. Most people would say a low-to-no debt outcome at Cornell is a fairly solid outcome.

About 50k debt after scholarship and family contributions.

Fair point. Is it still a good outcome for someone who wants California (have ties to both major CA markets) and has no desire to go into biglaw?

Unless you really think that you got lucky with your current Cornell scholarship, I don't think you would have anything to lose by reapplying/retaking.

Factors that could harm you if you reapply: applicant pool might become slightly more competitive

Factors that could help you: work experience will show that you're employable, a job will give law school a greater opportunity cost which the schools will need to offset with increased scholarship money, you'll have time to edit or rewrite your essays, you may be able to retake the LSAT

In addition to improving your application and scholarship chances, a gap year would probably benefit you personally and professionally in a number of ways.

I vote for reapplying.

I have 2 years of WE at this point. My scholarship is inline with what Cornell has been offering people with my numbers. I know the mantra is that multiple retakes have a negligible effect on admissions, but I worry that 5 retakes shows poor judgment. I've never heard of 5 before.

[ponderingmeerkat]

What is "little debt"? What would be your total out-of-pocket COA?

It's hard for people who don't know you or the granular details of your personal life to measure the value of those concerns. Most people would say a low-to-no debt outcome at Cornell is a fairly solid outcome.

About 50k debt after scholarship and family contributions.

Fair point. Is it still a good outcome for someone who wants California (have ties to both major CA markets) and has no desire to go into biglaw?

I mean, it's not ideal. With your 169 LSAT and interest in California, I'm curious why you didn't apply to USC/UCLA? Your COAs at those places might have been much lower. Given a lack of interest in biglaw, keeping that debt level low should be a big priority.

[RZ5646]

I assumed you were K-JD. However, if the Cornell scholarship is just commensurate with your numbers and you have no special attachment to Cornell, I see no reason why you couldn't reapply and try for something better.

[Lavitz]

Yeah just retake, or even reapply without retaking. Cornell doesn't really make sense if your main goal is government work in SF or LA.

[cron1834]

Lavitz is right. Also, you should post your actual scholarship in these threads... often ppl only post the debt, which assumes out of pocket help from savings or family. Evaluating the debt in isolation is misleading if it presumes that you're spending savings/family money unwisely.