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I just got into a school ranked in the 40s and was wondering if it was possible to applying during your 1L year and starting the next fall at a different law school. I had a 3.26 and a 161 from a top 15 university. 4 years work experience in academia doing research with strong softs and several high impact science publications. I only took the LSAT once without much prep so this is where I think I can improve greatly. If I got 170+ on the June LSAT would it be possible to attend at my current school and reapply to t14s? I do not mind repeating a year and tuition is not a factor. How does this compare vs. transferring if waiting till next cycle is not an option? Thanks in advance!

Also sorry if this has already been answered on TLS would be very grateful for a redirect as well.

tuition is not a factor? I'll just assume you're a trust fund baby.
You cannot repeat 1L year. However, you may transfer after 1L year. It is highly inadvisable to go into law school thinking you can transfer. For transferring, once you get your 1L grades, your UGPA and LSAT won't matter.
Answer: No; Longer Answer: Retake. Just retake and get the 170+ you think you can get and then apply.

Again, It is highly inadvisable to go into law school thinking you can transfer. Just so you don't forget.

The moment you get your fall 1L grades, your LSAT score becomes almost worthless. Your grades at your school will largely dictate whether and where you can transfer. Like a poster above me said. do not go to law school planning on transferring out. Especially if you want to transfer up. You have to do very well to do this, and at some schools even being the best student in your class is not enough, depending on where you want to go. So, if this is your current thought process- you should withdraw from all of your applications and admissions, and focus on a retake.

Thanks! That makes sense.

as a 3L, this question has less than no practical relevance to me, but it is something I have wondered

let's say you do a full semester (full ride TTTT, maybe even with stipend), do all the reading, experience the "law school thing," study hard, and take exams.

then let's say you bail immediately after you finish finals period (prior to grades). you apply to a non-TTTT for the following year with your same LSAT score, the theory being that you are now more "prepared" for the "real thing" as a result of having undergone this "practice run."

assuming you had the time to burn, would this work? would you have to disclose it to LSAC/the schools? would it bring up any character and fitness issues for the bar?

You have to disclose all institutions of higher ed that you've attended in any law school application, so you'd have to let any future law school know. I don't think it would raise any c&f issues (but that's just a guess), but I think you'd need a good reason for leaving/wanting to start over.

One of TLS's more...colorful posters has withdrawn and reapplied twice; he appears to have underperformed his numbers this time round pretty badly.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

One of TLS's more...colorful posters has withdrawn and reapplied twice; he appears to have underperformed his numbers this time round pretty badly.

Did he withdraw after he got his grades?

Btw, who is it?

Side note: You can still withdraw prior to your exams and reapply. Schools don't care about that as long as you are in good standing with that other school.

unodostres wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:

One of TLS's more...colorful posters has withdrawn and reapplied twice; he appears to have underperformed his numbers this time round pretty badly.

Did he withdraw after he got his grades?

Btw, who is it?

Side note: You can still withdraw prior to your exams and reapply. Schools don't care about that as long as you are in good standing with that other school.

Can't remember - it might have been after grades the first time, before grades the second? I think he's talked about his class rank so I'm pretty sure he got grades somewhere.

(It's not a poster I'd recommend anyone emulate, and I believe he has some c&f issues. This is all based on what he's posted here, I should add.)

any way to cite the thread where he talks about this? i am just curious about how it would work.

..

Can anyone explain to me how this is not a really, really stupid idea?

why is sitting out not an option if you score high in June?

I was just playing hypotheticals here. I could ultimately wait another year but am already 4 years out of undergrad and want to get going with school. I was not aware that you could only take 1L classes once regardless of what institution though.

thegolgiapparatus wrote:I was just playing hypotheticals here. I could ultimately wait another year but am already 4 years out of undergrad and want to get going with school. I was not aware that you could only take 1L classes once regardless of what institution though.

Many people wait more than 4 years from the time they graduated UG to Fall Semester 1L. Law school will always be there, but you may not be ready for law school ( or your options for law school that you currently have) at 4 years post UG commencement.