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Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:33 am
by ALgooner
Here is the situation:
I took the LSAT in October after about 2-3 weeks of light studying (logic games bible mainly), and scored a 155. I had taken 3 PT, scoring 159-162 on them. My worst section by far is the logic games section. I didn't even get to the third and fourth games. I feel like with intense study, I could do a lot better than a 155.
My GPA is 3.85 in Economics.
After scoring so low on the LSAT, I was completely discouraged, and decided that law school wasn't for me. I played around with the idea of grad school, but never really found a program that interested me very much. So, on March 1, I decided that I would give law school another shot. At this point in time, I had no idea how late I had waited. Until I started to look for schools to apply to, and realized most of the deadline had passed. I applied and was accepted to the University of Alabama Honors Law Program (I'm an undergrad there). But other than that, I was totally clueless as to where I wanted to apply. It took about a month to get all the recs in, PS written, transcripts sent, etc, and I finally applied to Pepperdine and George Mason on March 31. I know I have little to no chance of getting in, considering my LSAT score, and how late it is. I also am preparing to send applications to Tulane, Oregon, and Denver (again, I know I don't have much of a chance, especially at Tulane).

UA has a great law program (29th), and I guess I should be extremely happy that I found anywhere that would accept me considering how late it is. In addition, my dad is faculty at UA, so I would get half off of the already very cheap tuition. It would be roughly $9,000 a year. The problem is, I really don't want to live in Alabama for the rest of my life. I feel like if I go to UA, I will be trapped here.

I have been reading through the forums, and feel like the best thing to do would be to study hard for the June LSAT (starting immediately), and reapply next cycle, aiming for a T14 or T20. My parents are horrified at the idea of me taking a year off, though. I am a little scared, as well. What if I don't do as well as I think I can, and am not even able to get back into UA?

Any advice is appreciated!

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:35 am
by bk1
Yes.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:37 am
by StarLightSpectre
Put down your seat deposit at UA as a back up plan. Study your tail off for the June test. If you do considerably better then withdraw and reapply next year. If not you still have UA. However, realize that if you do go UA you well most likely be stuck there. So study hard.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:42 am
by rinkrat19
Don't bother with UA. A 3.85 is way too good to waste.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:43 am
by Br3v
rinkrat19 wrote:Don't bother with UA. A 3.85 is way too good to waste.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:01 am
by ALgooner
StarLightSpectre wrote:Put down your seat deposit at UA as a back up plan. Study your tail off for the June test. If you do considerably better then withdraw and reapply next year. If not you still have UA. However, realize that if you do go UA you well most likely be stuck there. So study hard.
Wow, I hadn't even thought of this. I have already paid the seat deposit. But I guess I thought I would have to let them know for sure if I am attending before I got the June LSAT back. Is that not the case?

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:07 am
by Samara
Withdraw now and see if you can get your seat deposit back. Retake in June, retake again in October if you have to. Apply early and go to a better school. Or at the very least, get some substantial scholly money. Work experience will also help you at OCI. Absolutely retake and reapply.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:29 pm
by StarLightSpectre
Most give full refunds minus the deposits if you withdraw before the first day of class. So you could wait till you got your scores to drop out.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:31 pm
by t14fanboy
Samara wrote:Withdraw now and see if you can get your seat deposit back. Retake in June, retake again in October if you have to. Apply early and go to a better school. Or at the very least, get some substantial scholly money. Work experience will also help you at OCI. Absolutely retake and reapply.
Samara is wise.

Re: Should I retake and apply next cycle? Need advice

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:27 pm
by ColtsFan88
StarLightSpectre wrote:Put down your seat deposit at UA as a back up plan. Study your tail off for the June test. If you do considerably better then withdraw and reapply next year. If not you still have UA. However, realize that if you do go UA you well most likely be stuck there. So study hard.
This seems like an excellent plan.