3.2 GPA, 165, 172. Advisability of a retake? Forum

[robotclubmember]

Lol this thread. Don't go to Asia to teach English just because people say it will make your application better. The bottom line is, your numbers are fine to get into UVA and other splitter-friendly schools. You just applied too late.

Retaking isn't a bad idea if you're very sure you can get a better score. If I get anything less than a 174 on the recent Dec LSAT I took, I'll be retaking.

I'm not recommending it because it would make his application look better. But the fact is, if he wants UVA or any other lower T14, he's going to have to wait it out. He will matriculate in Fall of 2012, he will have to apply next cycle. And would you really want to spend 21 months working retail? In the meantime, make lemonade, do something that will enrich your life. Or you could work on your skill of saying "debit or credit," "paper or plastic"...

I don't disagree with this... but going to teach English to Asians isn't my idea of enriching my life. OP should do something over the next 21 months, but it should be something he wants to do.

And that is why I gave the advice, cos it's what he said he wanted: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p3776755

lol

[Nonok]

You gave him good info, but it kinda seems like OP is trying to escape from his life without doing the research. There are plenty of less soul-crushing jobs out there OP.

[Kabuo]

I know there are better jobs out there. I've been back in my hometown since graduating, and the only jobs here are soul crushing. I used to avoid it by playing online poker instead of working unskilled labor/retail, but I've been advised to put that on hold now that I want to practice law since it's dubiously legal at best. I could somewhat easily sublet from people in Lexington, KY; Cincy, Cleveland, or Columbus, so I've started looking for jobs in those areas.

I know teaching abroad isn't an enriching experience for everyone, but I believe it would be for me. Nonok is right that I haven't done a lot of research into the specifics of teaching abroad, but that doesn't mean I don't have a decent idea of what it would be like. I grew up in a Navy family and have lived all over the world, often off base. Plus, if there's any practical use for an English degree, teaching English seems like it might be it, which is why I'm looking into teaching abroad. I also know that Dean Z likes these sorts of things, so if I don't manage a higher LSAT and change only my resume, I might have improved my Michigan app enough to get in.

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I am going to retake. I understand what bigkahuna is saying about it kind of being a gamble that I improve at all, but I think it is an easy gamble to make. Absolute worst case scenario, I go braindead on test day and drop 15 points or something. I still have my WUSTL acceptance to fall back on, and I think I could be happy at WUSTL. It just would all but kill my shot at biglaw, which is something I can live with, since I am confident that I want to be practicing law, whether at 40k or 160k. Best case scenario, I continue to -3 the rest of the test and ace the games for a 180 and an outside shot at CCN. I know this is not likely at all, but I think I have a reasonable shot at getting a 176 or higher if things go ok at the LSAT. And, having taken 2 real LSATs now and with an acceptance under my belt, I think I will be almost nerves free for this administration. Basically, if I'm ever going to have a peak performance on the LSAT, this will be it, so I'm just going to give it a shot and see what happens.

[criticalthinkx]

The fact that you are questioning whether to take the test one last and final third time tells me you might as well just do it. You already have an excellent score, but why not take it again if it's important to you?
If you wait and take it again later you will have to re-train yourself for the test. This could suck up more time and cause more frustration for you if you end up regretting your choice.
Personally, it makes complete sense that an over-achiever type would be so tempted to take the test the maximum number of allowable times (in this case within the five year period). Some of this seems to happen more with splitters, who are trying to make up for "mistakes" made in undergrad; although there are others who believe you have X number of chances to take the test so you might as well take them all.
I agree with everyone on this thread. You have many options to look at and try to figure out what you want. It sounds like it's important for you to at least try, so I say why not?

[glewz]

If you take it in feb, it's really to boost any scholarship chances - I believe you'd get most app decisions by March so CCN would probably be out of the picture (unless you'd like to reapply).

[TLSanders]

Here's a downside I haven't seen mentioned--your score might decrease. You may be thinking that doesn't matter, since most schools are now using the higher score in their calculations, but in fact it's not that simple. Since your GPA isn't in line with the schools you're shooting for, you're not likely to be a "by the numbers" admit even if your score increases. That means the admissions committee actually looking at the specifics of your application, and if something goes wrong on test day and you score in the mid-160s again, their subjective view will be that that's a more accurate indication of your ability than the one high score.

[Kabuo]

Here's a downside I haven't seen mentioned--your score might decrease. You may be thinking that doesn't matter, since most schools are now using the higher score in their calculations, but in fact it's not that simple. Since your GPA isn't in line with the schools you're shooting for, you're not likely to be a "by the numbers" admit even if your score increases. That means the admissions committee actually looking at the specifics of your application, and if something goes wrong on test day and you score in the mid-160s again, their subjective view will be that that's a more accurate indication of your ability than the one high score.

I get this, but if this happens, I can always fall back on my WUSTL acceptance. I know some cool people at the undergrad and like the area. WUSTL is by no means a doomsday scenario for me; I just want to make sure I don't end up selling myself short because of a games meltdown.

[robotclubmember]

Here's a downside I haven't seen mentioned--your score might decrease. You may be thinking that doesn't matter, since most schools are now using the higher score in their calculations, but in fact it's not that simple. Since your GPA isn't in line with the schools you're shooting for, you're not likely to be a "by the numbers" admit even if your score increases. That means the admissions committee actually looking at the specifics of your application, and if something goes wrong on test day and you score in the mid-160s again, their subjective view will be that that's a more accurate indication of your ability than the one high score.

I get this, but if this happens, I can always fall back on my WUSTL acceptance. I know some cool people at the undergrad and like the area. WUSTL is by no means a doomsday scenario for me; I just want to make sure I don't end up selling myself short because of a games meltdown.

Yep, this was mentioned in the original post.

Now, the REAL downside is this. If you simply applied earlier in the cycle, you would be very likely to gain admission into UVA ED, and maybe even some other lower T14 (GULC PT is another possibility). So if you waited a year with the exact same numbers, but got the apps out earlier and polished them in the meantime, you could do better than WUSTL probably. But if you scored worse, then it's WUSTL or nothing. But it sounds like your prep is solid.

[3ThrowAway99]

I think you should retake if it's not a problem financially to pay for the extra test. If you are averaging above what you are scoring and your current scores don't seem to be providing the options your looking for, I think it is definitely worth retaking. You also won't have to wonder if you could have/ would have done better (like me, who only took it once and wasn't completely satisfied with my score).

Also curious if the 165 was just due to being relatively unpracticed at the time or something else.

[Kabuo]

The 165 was after taking 4 practice tests and being satisfied with only trying to finish 3 of the 4 games. I found this site after that and realized that people were prepping much harder than I had and that my 3.2 needed some major LSAT help, so I took another ~30 tests and approached the retake the way I should have approached the original.

[3ThrowAway99]

The 165 was after taking 4 practice tests and being satisfied with only trying to finish 3 of the 4 games. I found this site after that and realized that people were prepping much harder than I had and that my 3.2 needed some major LSAT help, so I took another ~30 tests and approached the retake the way I should have approached the original.

nice. yea that's a pretty sweet score with hardly any practice. hope to here how Feb goes if you do retake again.

[SupraVln180]

OP I would put money you get into Cornell. GULC is a toss up.