Advice needed: Retake in Feb (167/3.8) Forum

[sarahnd21]

Hi All,

This is my first time posting, but I could really, really use some advice. I got my Dec score today (it was on hold) and got a 167. I know 167 isn't a bad score, but I'm really bummed about it. My first PT (without any studying) was 163 and after that I was consistently scoring in the 170s. My last 3 PTs were 175, 180, 175.

December was the first time I took the LSAT (I decided in late fall that I wanted to apply) and I only studied for about 6 weeks. However, I was very confident going into the test and felt well prepared. I tested at UW Madison and the power went out in the middle of the test (2 1/2 mins in the first section, which was logic games for me - ugh!). We had to wait for an hour, and then had to move locations. Needless to say, it was very disruptive and I think it messed with my score. LSAC will be including a letter in my file indicating that this happened and that it "may" have had an affect on my score - but who knows how much law schools will pay attention to that.

My top choice for schools is UW Madison (in-state), but I've also considered applying to U Michigan (for their child advocacy program), U Minnesota and Northwestern.

For some background, I graduated in 2009 (fifth year out) with a 3.817 from Notre Dame. I then did a teaching program similar to TFA for 2 years and received my Masters in Education (3.9 GPA) and have since been working at a health care consulting firm for the last 2.5 years.

My main question is this - should I retake the LSAT in February and attempt to get a higher score? I'm pretty confident I could get into UW Madison with my current score (median = 161, 25-75% = 156-163), but I was really hoping for a significant amount of scholarship money from them (ideally, a full ride). I'm not sure how much an increase would affect my scholarship chances - anybody have any advice?

If I do decide to retake in February, should I still apply now and mention that I'll also be taking in February? Will they still review my application now and then possibly add scholarship money later? I don't want to apply too late in the cycle and really, really don't want to wait another year.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance!