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Hi all,

I'm trying to plan my next move and have some questions. I'm a MA female with a 3.25 LSAC GPA and a 169 LSAT. After this year, I exhausted my retakes and I won't be eligible for my next retake until December 2013.

I was profoundly disappointed with my 169. After on and off studying for two years, I had been PTing in the mid 170's. On the actual thing, I went -0 on the LR sections. However, I fell victim to December 2012's voicemail game. I had done a ton of games for practice and followed Velocity LSAT's LG strategy to the T, but the wording threw me off and I did pretty poorly on the LG section, to say the least. However, not wanting my hard work to be in vain, I threw in some apps comically late in the cycle just to see where my numbers would get me and if there was an offer worth taking, I'd take it. So far I've been wait listed at both UVA (happy surprise) and UCLA (sad surprise). While I'd eat a baby to go to UVA, I know that if I miraculously get off the wait list I'd be paying sticker, and it's something that I can't afford.

So this brings me to my big question: If I were to apply next year and retake the LSAT, I wouldn't be able to retake/get my score back until Jan 2014, which means applying late again. However, would it be beneficial to apply earlier in the cycle (say October/November) with my 169 and sit for the LSAT in December? This is what I'm considering doing. My only worry is that schools where 170 is the cutoff without a high GPA would automatically throw my application in the reject pile before I got my new score. I'm not too certain of the protocol for T14 schools when it comes to Dec/February LSATs.

To be succinct, I suppose my basic question is this: Can I benefit from applying early and still yield the possible benefits of a Dec retake? I feel this would be the smartest course of action, but I would like to get opinions.

Thanks!

You can apply and have them hold your app till score release, then when scores drop you'll go complete right away.

Clearlynotstefan wrote:You can apply and have them hold your app till score release, then when scores drop you'll go complete right away.

In my experience, nearly all schools hold your application when they see you've registered for a future LSAT whether you want them to or not.

Props to you OP for sitting out when you know you can do better on the LSAT. Great decision.

North wrote:

Clearlynotstefan wrote:You can apply and have them hold your app till score release, then when scores drop you'll go complete right away.

In my experience, nearly all schools hold your application when they see you've registered for a future LSAT whether you want them to or not.

Props to you OP for sitting out when you know you can do better on the LSAT. Great decision.

Ah, okay. Looks like I won't have much choice in the matter either way. Thank you for the insight! I hope that going complete in early January won't be too late.

North wrote:

Clearlynotstefan wrote:You can apply and have them hold your app till score release, then when scores drop you'll go complete right away.

In my experience, nearly all schools hold your application when they see you've registered for a future LSAT whether you want them to or not.

Props to you OP for sitting out when you know you can do better on the LSAT. Great decision.

Is it like this for schools you'd be above or right at both of the medians too? As in if you're already a likely admit, then would they still hold your app if they saw you've registered for another LSAT rather than admitting you?