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I applied in the last cycle but had to withdraw my acceptances, which included a full-ride to a t10 school, and three substantial scholarships to one other t10 and two t14s . Among the t14, I was accepted to NYU/Penn/Berkeley/Michigan/Duke/Cornell/NWestern/Gtown.

My reasoning for withdrawal was sound. I work for an international aid organization and due to political circumstances in my host country I had to reevaluate the date at which I could feasibly return to the United States. In order to maintain my commitment to my projects I had to forgo law school this year. I will be returning to the states this fall.

My decision to withdraw was a result of the fact that most of my scholarship offers were non-deferrable, and I wasn't ready to lock myself into debt by deferring without $.

I will be reapplying this cycle. My stats are 170/3.8X from a top public university. I (like every law school applicant) believe that I have solid softs. This time around I will use my old rec's plus one new one from my supervisor which will include positive commentary on my decision to withdraw my acceptances in order to honor my commitments abroad.

I was hoping to get some advice on a few things:

1.) Should I rewrite my personal statement?

2.) Should I take the opportunity to retake the LSAT in December? (I will be returning in October, and will have enough money saved up to be able to devote serious time to studying)
2.a) Would retaking the LSAT look bad to the schools that accepted me in the previous cycle? One fear I have is that they would see my retake and think that I withdrew to shoot for a higher ranked school (a fear that I have especially for those T14s that accepted me but did not offer me a scholarship). This would not be the case, as one of the schools that accepted me in particular is my ideal school, and I would probably forgo scholarship money from a higher ranked school to go there at sticker, to be honest.

3.) Do you have advice on other things that I could do to improve my chances?


Thanks guys.

1.) Should I rewrite my personal statement?

You should at least update it regarding what you've been doing for the past year. This might also be a good place to drop in the info about why you declined to matriculate last year.

2.) Should I take the opportunity to retake the LSAT in December?

Not necessary, but a higher LSAT score never hurt anyone, and the higher it goes, the more scholarship money you get.

2.a) Would retaking the LSAT look bad to the schools that accepted me in the previous cycle?

I'm sure if you boost their LSAT stats, they'll find it in their heart to forgive you.

One fear I have is that they would see my retake and think that I withdrew to shoot for a higher ranked school

Covering your reason for not matriculating in your PS along with a Why X letter could address this concern.

I would probably forgo scholarship money from a higher ranked school to go there at sticker

A higher LSAT score might even get you money here, but again, if you really want this school, conveying this information in a Why X letter would be helpful.

3.) Do you have advice on other things that I could do to improve my chances?

Just boost your LSAT and update your PS. Based on how your last cycle went, and the fact that you're wiling to pay sticker at one of the lower ranked schools you get into last year, you really shouldn't stress too much.

I think you'll do at least as well as you did last year. Your reasons for declining last year are unimpeachable, and at the very least you're a more well-rounded candidate this year.

Okay so... rewrite PS... retake the LSAT if I feel comfortable...

Do I need to rewrite Why X or Diversity Statements? Or can I use the same ones that I wrote last year?

Personally, I would rewrite your statements on the offchance that they look at your old ones and you come off as lazy for not changing anything. I know they keep your old stuff on file but I don't know if they actually look at it (Penn noted I was using the same LOR's when I reapplied but that is easy to figure out digitally because they go through LSAC so I have no idea if they actually looked at my old file at all). Though I would err on the side of caution.

I haven't seen other people ever say this but I think it might also be worth it to write a quick addendum explaining why you turned them down last year.

You dont need to retake the LSAT, unless you know you can do better on it. I would re do your personal statement ( if possible) and maybe add a line or 2 to the why X essays. You should explain why you didnt matriculate last cycle, but i think most places have a spot on the application where you check off that you applied. If you were to only do one of those things- I would write the explination. If you are unsure about the necessity of re writing all of those essasys, contact a school and ask them. You can explain over the phone quickly why you didnt matriculate- but im sure there are plenty of people who wanted to reassess themselves, their school options and see if this is what they really want before they dive in, so you are most likely not alone in this. Then follow their advice to the T.

You may want to call the schools and ask if they retain applications from admitted students who decide to not attend. I think you should still update your personal/diversity/addendum statements on the chance that the same adcom people will review your application and remember last year's. But if there's nothing for them to compare this year's app to, you probably won't have to worry as much about exact wording changes. (Georgetown gets tens of thousands of applications each year. Is your personal statement that distinctive?)

Good luck! You have a compelling personal story and should do well again next cycle.