Need help making final decision. Please Forum

[phoenixwright83]

Hello everyone. I am in a huge bind and really need advice. I know a lot of users on this forum have a good idea on the whole law school application process and I would like as many opinions as I can get.

I took the LSAT three times: 163, 164, 167 (June). I have a GPA of 3.9. I have an MBA ( 4.0 ). I have already been accepted to a top 25 university with $10,000 a year, no strings attached. Every LSAT score was a bit of a disappointment (my PTs were much higher), to say the least.

Obviously my money and acceptance are based on the 164/163 combination. Does my 167 make any change in my options?

To get to the point.
1) Should I accept my enrollment, or re-apply for schools in the same range or a littler lower, in hopes of gaining higher scholarship offers and an ED in a T10? Some schools I am thinking about in the lower range are : Davis, Hastings, Boston U, Boston College - in hopes of full or 75% scholarships. Would I have a chance of acceptance from UCLA, USC, Vandy, Texas, Cornell and ED at either VA or Michigan? Michigan my goal....
2) Should I just take the money and go to the T25?
3) Does the fact that I took the LSAT 3 times make my application weaker and my 167 moot?

I had a big discussion with my father and he does not believe that I should be paying as much as I am to go to law school. I am worried that his concerns about this economy and my job prospects as a graduate are well founded and that I should put off another year of my life and re-apply this cycle.

What would you do?

I made the mistake of aiming too high when I applied last cycle. I was uninformed about Merit aid, and wish I knew about this website earlier. My graduate advisor, was a complete hindrance to this process and give me some bad advice. I am happy to have been given the fee wavers I did, because if not, I would not have mad it into law school ( I was told to apply to the T14 only and did not get into any .... but now I know better).

Sorry if my post is a little long. Thank you for taking the time to read, if you want more specific information please PM me and I will be happy to share.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Do you have something productive to do for the year off?

3 takes could act as a negative soft some places, but most schools in the 20-30 range typically just consider the highest score.

If you are fine with the idea of taking a year off, I would think you could get some significant money at schools in the 20-30 range, as well as a shot at some decent money at UT/Vandy/UCLA. I would think you would have somewhat of a shot doing ED at one of MVP.

Also...consider writing a law school to request a 4th take if you really think you can score 3+ points higher. I have no personal experience with this and info about this is limited, but I have heard 2 people mention doing so on this site before and both had the request granted.

edit:

hourumd is a decent resource for checking out scholly info at various schools:

--LinkRemoved--

[olanderp]

Reapply

[romothesavior]

Reapply

[phoenixwright83]

When did you apply? If you applied late, I might think about applying again.
What are your career goals?

I applied last week of Dec. So not really late. To make it simple my career goals are corporate law, more specifically Mergers Acquisitions and Investment Banking.

[phoenixwright83]

Also, for those who say that I should reapply. Does it look badly if I reapply to schools that rejected me the first round (USC and UCLA)?

[xyzzzzzzzz]

[flyingpanda]

If you ED to UVA, you will make it in.

[phoenixwright83]

If you ED to UVA, you will make it in.

If I were to ED I would choose Michigan or Penn over VA. Is VA a better choice because I have a better opportunity to get in, or because you think it is a better school? By looking at the numbers I thought that I would have a better chance at Penn or Michigan over VA (so does lawschoolpredictor). Does VA ED give people with lower scores a better chance at acceptance?

[phoenixwright83]

When did you apply? If you applied late, I might think about applying again.
What are your career goals?

I applied last week of Dec. So not really late. To make it simple my career goals are corporate law, more specifically Mergers Acquisitions and Investment Banking.

December is wayyyy late. I wouldn't worry about reapplying to schools that rejected you. Just make sure your personal statement is killer.

I did not know that December was considered late. I haven't done much since last year because I thought I was going to go to school. So now I am in a bind. I have been working, but not full time. Also, I thought I had an awesome personal statement before and it revolves around a core principal that draws me to the study of law, so should I change around my PS or draft a totally new one?

[xyzzzzzzzz]

[romothesavior]

Oh please, December is not WAAAAAAY late. It isn't early, but it certainly isn't terrible.