Michigan vs. Retake and Reapply AA Male Forum

[truthinart]

Hey everyone, this is my first post on TLS and I've got a bit of a conundrum. I was admitted to Michigan, and was told that I would receive a rather substantial scholarship. After talking it over with the family my total debt at graduation would be about 40k. Normally I would jump at this opportunity and go skipping off to Ann Arbor, but after looking through TLS the last few weeks (why did I not discover this site while I was LSAT prepping) I think I might be able to do better.

I'm an AA Male with a 3.8/162. I studied for a bit less than a month for the LSAT initially so with a retake with proper prep I might be able to substantially increase my score.

So what do you all think? Should I take the money and run to Michigan or wait a year and reapply?

[dawyzest1]

Really, the only correct response is to sit this cycle out and retake the LSAT. Get above a 165 and enjoy your T14$$ and HYSCCN acceptances. Studying for less than a month is simply not enough to have an accurate sense of your LSAT ceiling and literally you need only 3 points to see a huge difference.

BUT, your 3.8/162 should have had you in as an AAm at at least some of the T14. Did you not get admitted anywhere in the top 14? I ask because this could mean you have another issue in your app (personal statement, LOR, axe murderer) that is hurting you.

Can you write again with a sense of your whole cycle?

[truthinart]

Really, the only correct response is to sit this cycle out and retake the LSAT. Get above a 165 and enjoy your T14$$ and HYSCCN acceptances. Studying for less than a month is simply not enough to have an accurate sense of your LSAT ceiling and literally you need only 3 points to see a huge difference.

BUT, your 3.8/162 should have had you in as an AAm at at least some of the T14. Did you not get admitted anywhere in the top 14? I ask because this could mean you have another issue in your app (personal statement, LOR, axe murderer) that is hurting you.

Can you write again with a sense of your whole cycle?

Part of my problem was that my whole cycle was rushed. I applied pretty much at deadline for almost every school I applied to. I wasn't aware of the URM bump, as it is, and didn't blanket the T14 like I should have. Initially after getting my score my plan was to retake this summer, but I started to get fee waivers and decided to apply for this cycle. I was accepted at Georgetown (without scholarship), and waitlisted at Duke and NYU.

Looking back I'm sure that I could've made my application stronger, but with the little that I knew of the law school app process at the time I'm relatively happy with how I did this cycle. But then I started exploring this site and dreams of HYS started floating around my head. So here I am.

[qwertyboard]

Really, the only correct response is to sit this cycle out and retake the LSAT. Get above a 165 and enjoy your T14$$ and HYSCCN acceptances. Studying for less than a month is simply not enough to have an accurate sense of your LSAT ceiling and literally you need only 3 points to see a huge difference.

BUT, your 3.8/162 should have had you in as an AAm at at least some of the T14. Did you not get admitted anywhere in the top 14? I ask because this could mean you have another issue in your app (personal statement, LOR, axe murderer) that is hurting you.

Can you write again with a sense of your whole cycle?

I think it's probable that you will have a better cycle with your current numbers next year. Did you apply late? If not I would say there is almost definitely something wrong with your app... or maybe you're an axe murderer like the last poster suggested?

[qwertyboard]

Really, the only correct response is to sit this cycle out and retake the LSAT. Get above a 165 and enjoy your T14$$ and HYSCCN acceptances. Studying for less than a month is simply not enough to have an accurate sense of your LSAT ceiling and literally you need only 3 points to see a huge difference.

BUT, your 3.8/162 should have had you in as an AAm at at least some of the T14. Did you not get admitted anywhere in the top 14? I ask because this could mean you have another issue in your app (personal statement, LOR, axe murderer) that is hurting you.

Can you write again with a sense of your whole cycle?

Part of my problem was that my whole cycle was rushed. I applied pretty much at deadline for almost every school I applied to. I wasn't aware of the URM bump, as it is, and didn't blanket the T14 like I should have. Initially after getting my score my plan was to retake this summer, but I started to get fee waivers and decided to apply for this cycle. I was accepted at Georgetown (without scholarship), OSU (I'm from Ohio), and waitlisted at Duke and NYU.

Looking back I'm sure that I could've made my application stronger, but with the little that I knew of the law school app process at the time I'm relatively happy with how I did this cycle. But then I started exploring this site and dreams of HYS started floating around my head. So here I am.

This thread is done then... retake and reapply.. unless Michigan is your dream school and it aligns with your goals...

[truthinart]

Really, the only correct response is to sit this cycle out and retake the LSAT. Get above a 165 and enjoy your T14$$ and HYSCCN acceptances. Studying for less than a month is simply not enough to have an accurate sense of your LSAT ceiling and literally you need only 3 points to see a huge difference.

BUT, your 3.8/162 should have had you in as an AAm at at least some of the T14. Did you not get admitted anywhere in the top 14? I ask because this could mean you have another issue in your app (personal statement, LOR, axe murderer) that is hurting you.

Can you write again with a sense of your whole cycle?

Part of my problem was that my whole cycle was rushed. I applied pretty much at deadline for almost every school I applied to. I wasn't aware of the URM bump, as it is, and didn't blanket the T14 like I should have. Initially after getting my score my plan was to retake this summer, but I started to get fee waivers and decided to apply for this cycle. I was accepted at Georgetown (without scholarship), and waitlisted at Duke and NYU.

Looking back I'm sure that I could've made my application stronger, but with the little that I knew of the law school app process at the time I'm relatively happy with how I did this cycle. But then I started exploring this site and dreams of HYS started floating around my head. So here I am.

This thread is done then... retake and reapply.. unless Michigan is your dream school and it aligns with your goals...

It's not my dream school, and retake is what I was leaning towards, really just wanted to make sure that I wasn't making some huge mistake without getting some (relatively) objective input.

[dawyzest1]

If you get at least a 165, apply early, and don't f*ck up your app or interview, you have very good odds of getting H. Look at this:



Even if you don't retake and simply apply broadly, you have good outcomes waiting:

[Lacepiece23]

Hey everyone, this is my first post on TLS and I've got a bit of a conundrum. I was just admitted to Michigan off of the waitlist, and was told that I would receive a rather substantial scholarship. After talking it over with the family my total debt at graduation would be about 40k. Normally I would jump at this opportunity and go skipping off to Ann Arbor, but after looking through TLS the last few weeks (why did I not discover this site while I was LSAT prepping) I think I might be able to do better.

I'm an AA Male with a 3.8/162. I studied for a bit less than a month for the LSAT initially so with a retake with proper prep I might be able to substantially increase my score.

So what do you all think? Should I take the money and run to Michigan or wait a year and reapply?

Yeah man don't make the mistake I did. I'm happy where I'm at an doing well, but I could have retook and been at Harvard, and I well am not. I will always probably regret it at least at little bit. There's no rush wait a year.

[bizzybone1313]

I have a AA friend that got admitted to Harvard with about a 3.55ish/164ish. You would be making a very big mistake enrolling at Michigan. It is a fine school-- it really is. I absolutely love it. It is my favorite out of the MVP tier, but you are real close to getting into Harvard. The only thing I don't know and I am sure others can speak to this: If OP declines Michigan's offer, will he still get fair consideration for the next cycle or will they ding him because he didn't enroll this year?

[dawyzest1]

I have a AA friend that got admitted to Harvard with about a 3.55ish/164ish. You would be making a very big mistake enrolling at Michigan. It is a fine school-- it really is. I absolutely love it. It is my favorite out of the MVP tier, but you are real close to getting into Harvard. The only thing I don't know and I am sure others can speak to this: If OP declines Michigan's offer, will he still get fair consideration for the next cycle or will they ding him because he didn't enroll this year?

My guess is especially because he was waitlisted, as long as he handles declining the offer of admission professionally, there shouldn't be any negative effect on his chances next cycle. Be nice, OP!

[JamesDean1955]

Retake, get 4-6 more points on the LSAT (learnable test, easily doable), enjoy Harvard or Stanford.

[PRgradBYU]

AA male with a 3.8 GPA? You'll be looking at some ridiculous T14 $$$ (and HYS) if you retake and hit in the mid- to high-160s.

But IMHO, graduating from Michigan with only $40k of debt is by no means a bad deal. Just think long and hard about what you want to accomplish in your legal career; if Michigan is the best fit for your goals, take it and run. Otherwise, retake and enjoy HYS.

[JamesDean1955]

^^ Honestly, I don't see how Michigan could fit your goals in a way that HYS couldn't (unless you have some compelling reason to be in Ann Arbor, or you're from Michigan).

You'd lose nothing by retaking, waiting a year and earning some $$, and reapplying. That Michigan scholly isn't going anywhere, especially not if you score higher on the LSAT.