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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.

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--

Reapply

xyzzzzzzzz wrote: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.

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)?

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

flyingpanda wrote: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?

xyzzzzzzzz wrote:

phoenixwright83 wrote:

xyzzzzzzzz wrote: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?

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