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Hornet2011 wrote:What is "really late in the cycle"? If you think you underperformed you are best off to wait a year.

TheUnicornHunter wrote:Need to give us specific numbers and stuff if you want advice.

TheUnicornHunter wrote:Need to give us specific numbers and stuff if you want advice.

ihenry wrote:This cycle is shit for foreign students. It is possible that next year is worse. No joke either.

MisterT wrote:

ihenry wrote:This cycle is shit for foreign students. It is possible that next year is worse. No joke either.

How come? What's your source?

ihenry wrote:

MisterT wrote:

ihenry wrote:This cycle is shit for foreign students. It is possible that next year is worse. No joke either.

How come? What's your source?

International applicants are on the rise (we are talking about GPA-less people here), but adcomms seem to have quota for this category, especially given that domestic applicants are also on the rise. Just check past years' Standard 509 reports for "#students not included in gpa calculation" and you'll have an idea. Also, I heard that if you are not a u.s. citizen and do not come from a u.s. undergrad, you may have trouble for OCI interviews, and adcomms may not want these students to impact their employment numbers.

The source for this year's situation is word of mouth. Last year, a 171 got half ride at Georgetown; this year a 172 gets dinged, both without impressive softs. This is just one of the many snowflakes. With your 174, it is very likely that top schools don't want you because they have many other foreign applicants that are "better" than you, and less-than-top schools don't dare to take you so they just YP.

Regarding your Q, how confident are you in pulling 175+? Because I think 175+ will still stand out in foreseeable years to come. If not, I suggest you consider sticking to this cycle and see what happens.

To increase my chances next cycle should I a) look for a killer internship or b) retake the LSAT in September so that I am at or (hopefully) above the 75th at all schools?

ihenry wrote:Yes, LSAT score is a major factor but it could also be for other reasons as well, like academic records being classified as "superior" for whatever reason (ya, ya I know), coming from a more recognized undergrad (like oxbridge), advanced degrees, more WE, etc. Applying late could be a disadvantage too but those of us who submitted in October didn't get a decision until March from most schools either, so while applying early could help, don't expect it to do wonders.

I can't really give you more advice as I haven't figured myself out either. Best of luck anyway.

P.S. I got an "experimental 10 minute citizen ban"! Haven't been on TLS for a while and what kind of new politics is this??

MisterT wrote:

ihenry wrote:Yes, LSAT score is a major factor but it could also be for other reasons as well, like academic records being classified as "superior" for whatever reason (ya, ya I know), coming from a more recognized undergrad (like oxbridge), advanced degrees, more WE, etc. Applying late could be a disadvantage too but those of us who submitted in October didn't get a decision until March from most schools either, so while applying early could help, don't expect it to do wonders.

I can't really give you more advice as I haven't figured myself out either. Best of luck anyway.

P.S. I got an "experimental 10 minute citizen ban"! Haven't been on TLS for a while and what kind of new politics is this??

I get what you are saying.. well at least I have one last shot at stellar grades this semester and convincing LSAC that I am actually doing better than those who watch cat videos / have meaningless facebook chats during class and then cram for two weeks before finals and get Bs and Cs.

One thing I do have in my back pocket is a seat at a one year MSc at LSE, so I guess the question becomes do an advanced degree or work somewhere for a year..

Ps. I also got the ban too. Guess it really was an experiment. weird. And good luck to you too if you are still waiting!

kcdc1 wrote:

To increase my chances next cycle should I a) look for a killer internship or b) retake the LSAT in September so that I am at or (hopefully) above the 75th at all schools?

I've never understood why people seem to think working and scoring highly on the LSAT are mutually exclusive.

asdfdfdfadfas wrote:

kcdc1 wrote:

To increase my chances next cycle should I a) look for a killer internship or b) retake the LSAT in September so that I am at or (hopefully) above the 75th at all schools?

I've never understood why people seem to think working and scoring highly on the LSAT are mutually exclusive.

They aren't, but it is a grind, especially reading comp. I'd wake up at 5 am, get to the office, study for two hours work 9-10 hours a day on a trade floor, and pound out two or three more hours some nights. I ended up in the high 160s, but it was an absolute grind.

MisterT wrote:Happy april 1st everyone

So this cycle has been pretty dismal for me - despite having a good lsat score, grades, LORs etc I applied really late in the cycle and have been WL to pretty much everywhere and rejected from the top schools.. The thought of (maybe) attending a school below my numbers and most likely paying full price is becoming less and less attractive.

Given that I have some very minor legal work experience and would be able to work part time for a small office over the summer, to increase my chances next cycle should I a) look for a killer internship or b) retake the LSAT in September so that I am at or (hopefully) above the 75th at all schools?

I know how much hypotheticals are questioned on here but both options would require considerable preparation.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Foghornleghorn wrote:1/29 complete is reaaallly late. Reapply.

williamtell wrote:There is no reason to retake the lsat with a 174. No school is going to not accept you because of that LSAT and no school will accept you with a 180 that wouldn't accept you with a 174. Your application obviously hinges on the rest of it. GPA, letters, etc. The late application really wouldn't hurt you enough either. You need to reconsider the rest of your application not your lsat.

MisterT wrote:

williamtell wrote:There is no reason to retake the lsat with a 174. No school is going to not accept you because of that LSAT and no school will accept you with a 180 that wouldn't accept you with a 174. Your application obviously hinges on the rest of it. GPA, letters, etc. The late application really wouldn't hurt you enough either. You need to reconsider the rest of your application not your lsat.

That is my worry, but to clarify I don't have a reportable GPA (and no matter what my LSAC evaluation states my grades are really not bad at all, my school confirmed that I was an excellent student - and my school is very reputable (University of Zurich). Plus my LORs are - unless someone had a personal grudge - very good from what my recommenders had me believe. So seeing as those are all highly weighted factors I'm having trouble figuring out whats up. This is my outcome so far:

HLS: reject
Columbia: interview then hold (february hold wave)
Berkeley: reject (said they wouldnt accept a 3 year undergrad program)
Chicago,M,D,P: WL - hoping some of these are YPs

MisterT wrote:This is my outcome so far:

HLS: reject
Columbia: interview then hold (february hold wave)
Berkeley: reject (said they wouldnt accept a 3 year undergrad program)
Chicago,M,D,P: WL - hoping some of these are YPs