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Hello, I need help deciding what to do about which law school to attend or whether I should wait and apply next year.

Undergrad:
Community College 2 years GPA:3.68

Transfer to University of MI 2 years: Bachelors in PoliSci GPA 3.85

LSAC GPA: 3.77

LSAT: 169

I am diverse.

Strong letters of Rec.

I finished almost all of my applications within 5 days of their respective deadlines, fewer than 5 for some.

I am worried that because I applied so late I worsened my chances at t-14, and that schools which waitlisted me this year may accept me if I apply at the absolute beginning of the cycle, especially if in the gap year I manage to obtain useful legal experience (which I can).


My offers:
University of Michigan -25k a Year
U Texas - 41k a year

My Waitlists:
NYU
Duke
Georgetown
Northwestern
Chicago
Columbia

Haven't Heard yet from:
Stanford
Columbia

PLEASE someone give me your input, I need some points of view on this. I'm leaning toward UT but if I could get off the waitlists by applying at the beginning and not the absolute end and by bolstering my application with real legal experience and letters of rec. from employers, then I would do that instead.

Reapply. You considerably underperformed your numbers. Waiting until next year could save you tens of thousands, if not over $100k. And since you are waiting, you might as well retake. A few more points and you should have an embarrassment of riches in choices next cycle. And if you don't, there is no real downside.

I don't know how it's possible for a single person to be diverse--I assume you mean urm? What kind?

TooOld4This wrote:Reapply. You considerably underperformed your numbers. Waiting until next year could save you tens of thousands, if not over $100k. And since you are waiting, you might as well retake. A few more points and you should have an embarrassment of riches in choices next cycle. And if you don't, there is no real downside.

Just got notice I'm waitlisted at columbia too. 169 is solidly in my range, the last 10 practice LSATs I took averaged at 171, didn't take a prep course though. Do you really think retaking would make a difference if I got only a few points more? What if I did worse? If I take it again I want to take a prep course, any suggestion on which one?

I really appreciate your input. I'm worried that I will lose the Texas scholarship which is pretty nice if I wait until next year and reapply.

davidcasaletto wrote:

TooOld4This wrote:Reapply. You considerably underperformed your numbers. Waiting until next year could save you tens of thousands, if not over $100k. And since you are waiting, you might as well retake. A few more points and you should have an embarrassment of riches in choices next cycle. And if you don't, there is no real downside.

Just got notice I'm waitlisted at columbia too. 169 is solidly in my range, the last 10 practice LSATs I took averaged at 171, didn't take a prep course though. Do you really think retaking would make a difference if I got only a few points more? What if I did worse? If I take it again I want to take a prep course, any suggestion on which one?

I really appreciate your input. I'm worried that I will lose the Texas scholarship which is pretty nice if I wait until next year and reapply.

A few points would make a world of difference and not hurt in the least if you scored lower. It can only help. And Texas will be there next year.

If anyone has a suggestion about the best test prep program or class please tell me, all I did last time was take a bunch of practice tests.

Even without a retake, you're a good candidate at GULC, Duke, and NU. I would reapply in September/October. Mich and UT aren't going anywhere, and neither are their medians.

bump

davidcasaletto wrote:bump

You should take the lack of additional comments and the fact that all of the comments basically said the same thing as a sign that there isn't much more to say on the topic. You applied too late to maximize your chances at good scholarships. If you retake and do better (even a few points), you could have phenomenally better options. If you retake and do worse, you aren't any worse off than you are now.

As for prep, try the forum on that topic -- you are more likely to get responses there, since your title in this one wouldn't lead people with that information to click on it.

Reapply and possibly retake. Get better offers and more scholarship money simply by waiting a year. Thank us later.

I don't see where you said you wanted to work in TX

Also, what does diverse mean? Are you an underrepresented minority as far as law school admissions go? Are you black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Native American?

Nice job on increasing your GPA after transferring! Pay attention to how you do on waitlists and whether or not you get money if accepted, and be ready to reapply at the beginning of September if you don't get options you like.

the $25K from Michigan is pretty good for those numbers. Otherwise your cycle was subpar, but honestly, the Michigan offer is solid.

If you don't like Michigan, then reapply. But I doubt you'd get more from them.