Is it worth waiting a year for a shot at the T14? Forum

[shuttlesworth]

I have pretty good but not great stats -- 170/3.58 -- but I applied extremely late in this admissions cycle (February) and I really think I could have done a better job with my application by taking it to a consultant or something. On numbers alone, I'd think I have a pretty good shot at Cornell, GTown or UMich if I had better softs (transferred twice) or had applied earlier in the admissions cycle. As it stands, however, I'm not counting on getting into any of them. I just didn't realize that sending in your application early was so important.

Is it worth waiting a year to apply early next admissions cycle with a year of work experience under my belt if it means getting into a t14 school? Or should I just bite the bullet and attend UT or Minnesota or someplace?

Also, does anyone know if law schools keep your admissions file intact if you've been rejected? If I applied next year, would they still have the LORs/Personal Statements i sent in this year on file? Or would I start completely fresh?

Thanks for the help.

[patrickd139]

I have pretty good but not great stats -- 170/3.58 -- but I applied extremely late in this admissions cycle (February) and I really think I could have done a better job with my application by taking it to a consultant or something. On numbers alone, I'd think I have a pretty good shot at Cornell, GTown or UMich if I had better softs (transferred twice) or had applied earlier in the admissions cycle. As it stands, however, I'm not counting on getting into any of them. I just didn't realize that sending in your application early was so important.

Is it worth waiting a year to apply early next admissions cycle with a year of work experience under my belt if it means getting into a t14 school? Or should I just bite the bullet and attend UT or Minnesota or someplace?

Also, does anyone know if law schools keep your admissions file intact if you've been rejected? If I applied next year, would they still have the LORs/Personal Statements i sent in this year on file? Or would I start completely fresh?

Thanks for the help.

First, you've got the stats to make a run at the T14, maybe with $ if you're lucky and get your apps in early. If you can afford to do so, IMO, you should wait and reapply next year. If you get scholarship money from a UT or a Minnesota--and want to practice in that region--then I would highly recommend them. However, at the end of the day, they're more regional law schools than the T14, even if just slightly so. But you know this...

As for keeping your admissions file intact, I can't imagine this being the same for every school. Most schools I've spoken with do keep files for at least a cycle or two, but that's hardly enough empirical evidence to make a broad generalization about "law schools." Call the admissions office and ask.