Bombed the Dec. LSAT- Retake or Go Lower-Tier/Transfer? Forum

[confusedphder]

Seeking some advice. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

I bombed the recent LSAT (161 when my diagnostics had been 168-172) and am now facing a conundrum: do I retake and apply next cycle or do I apply to a lower-tiered school and then work my butt off to transfer to a higher-tiered school after 1L? Some background: I have an excellent undergrad GPA (honors, scholarships) from a top school, a PhD (honors, fellowships, published articles) from another top school, and interesting work/extracurricular experience. (I'm abandoning the academic route because I don't want to take a job in the middle of nowhere.) I'm attributing my unusually low score to some serious family issues that came up a week before the exam, and I have every reason to believe I'd be able to get at least a 167/68 the next time around. I'm really unsure what to do, as I've been given conflicting advice by law school friends. I don't want to wait around another year, but I also don't want to end up at a low-ranked school and face debt and uncertain employment prospects 3/4 years from now. I'd be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has knowledge or experience with transferring.

[justinp]

Standard 0L disclaimer (I'm a 0L! I don't know anything!) but retake it. It's easy to say 'oh I'll just transfer' before the reality of having to apply to law school all over again while simultaneously managing a law school courseload sets in. Add in the fact that you'll have made friends (potentially even have a new girl/boyfriend) and general inertia effects, and it gets reeeeaaaaal hard to get yourself really in gear about transferring. And on top of all that you don't even know if you'll be high enough in your class to transfer!

I had several friends in undergrad who didn't bother retaking the SAT and said they'd just transfer to the main campus of the state university system after spending two years in one of the crappy branch campuses. To my knowledge only one of the five actually made the transfer; the rest decided that sounded too hard, and are about to graduate into a brutal job market with a degree from Northwest Southeast Bumblef*ck A&M.

[yankees42789]

Also a 0L here, but the general consensus is to never go to law school with the intention of transfering. It sounds like if you boost your score (and you obviously think that's feasible), you have a good shot at an elite school (presumably T14). And the difference in terms of employment opportunities between where you can get in now and where you could with a higher score is significant enough that you should probably retake even if you'd rather not sit out another cycle.

[bp shinners]

I didn't even read anything other than your title, but NEVER go to a law school with the intention of transferring. It's such a universally applicable rule that I don't feel the need to understand your specific situation.

[confusedphder]

Thanks! I appreciate the advice.

[fashiongirl]

Also a 0L here, but the general consensus is to never go to law school with the intention of transfering. It sounds like if you boost your score (and you obviously think that's feasible), you have a good shot at an elite school (presumably T14). And the difference in terms of employment opportunities between where you can get in now and where you could with a higher score is significant enough that you should probably retake even if you'd rather not sit out another cycle.

+10000000

[quiver]

As a transfer, I agree with all the above advice; never go to a school expecting or relying on transfer. It is much easier to retake the LSAT (especially when you had been scoring much higher) than to go into 1L and nail every exam. Also, transfers almost never receive merit aid, so you would be locking yourself into paying sticker for your final two years even if you managed to do well enough to transfer (although I believe YHS give need-based aid). I completely understand not wanting to wait another year, but the best answer for you is to wait, retake, and attend a much better school.

[Sandro]

Never, ever go to school planning or even counting on transferring. That is one of the biggest 0L misconceptions by far, I cant imagine there being anything else more wrong than imagining its smart/useful to rely on finishing top 5-10%.

[flyingduck]

Also a 0L here, but the general consensus is to never go to law school with the intention of transfering. It sounds like if you boost your score (and you obviously think that's feasible), you have a good shot at an elite school (presumably T14). And the difference in terms of employment opportunities between where you can get in now and where you could with a higher score is significant enough that you should probably retake even if you'd rather not sit out another cycle.

+1. Relax, study for the LSAT again, retake, apply next cycle, get into a T14, and pat yourself on the back.

[xeoh85]

I am not a 0L.

Retake the LSAT. . . . Trust me.