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Most law schools base admission on a rolling basis. I have always wondered what happens in a situation where an applicant gets rejected but suddenly does much better on the retaken LSAT. Will the schools reevaluate the applicant and reopen their file?

Absolutely - the following year

What if you apply now, are rejected, take december, do better, can you re-apply in January again? This is an interesting question.

I'd also like to know the answer to this.

Yes, this is the point. Let's say that you apply to law school this year using the October scores and get rejected before the December scores become available. If you do much better in December, can you get a reevaluation for THIS YEAR?

most schools wont evaluate you with a future test registration....no matter what LSAC says ive talked to dean's of admissions who say they know when you are signed up for a future LSAT

IF you're signed up for december, they won't reject/deny you until your December scores come in.

Likewise, if you're rejected this cycle you can't reapply to the same school. You must wait until next year to apply to the 2015 class.

If you tell them to go ahead and process your app despite having a future LSAT on file they will do just that. If that means they straight up reject you before your new score is in, and suddenly you do better, you are SOL for this year for that school. You can't reapply the same year, even with a marked improvement on LSAT.

2014 wrote:If you tell them to go ahead and process your app despite having a future LSAT on file they will do just that. If that means they straight up reject you before your new score is in, and suddenly you do better, you are SOL for this year for that school. You can't reapply the same year, even with a marked improvement on LSAT.

This is VERY interesting. If what you say is true, no one should apply to a specific law school early until they get a sufficient LSAT score. Applying before you receive your retaken score would then be a mistake. This is a HUGELY important point. I wish this thread would be made into a sticky thread.

If you are rejected for a certain year, you will stay rejected for that year. Regardless of any new developments. If you get rejected in December, you cannot apply again for that cycle.

Try again next year.

typ3 wrote:Likewise, if you're rejected this cycle you can't reapply to the same school. You must wait until next year to apply to the 2015 class.

Is this an LSAC rule, a Federal law, or just speculation?

Let's say you have a 3.7GPA sit the LSAT in June, score a 166. You apply ED early in September and get some rejections from T14 schools. After you get the rejections, you decide to retake the LSAT in December or even February where you score a 175. You get your school grades back and increased your GPA too. Now you're competitive at the schools that rejected you. Are you sure they wouldn't reconsider your application?

albanach wrote:

typ3 wrote:Likewise, if you're rejected this cycle you can't reapply to the same school. You must wait until next year to apply to the 2015 class.

Is this an LSAC rule, a Federal law, or just speculation?

Let's say you have a 3.7GPA sit the LSAT in June, score a 166. You apply ED early in September and get some rejections from T14 schools. After you get the rejections, you decide to retake the LSAT in December or even February where you score a 175. You get your school grades back and increased your GPA too. Now you're competitive at the schools that rejected you. Are you sure they wouldn't reconsider your application?

No they wouldnt reconsider your application because they based their decision off of the information you gave them at the time.

In the scenario you posed, it would have been better to wait.

Its an LSAC/Law school rule. If youre rejected for a certain year, you stay rejected. If you want to reapply the next year because you have better numbers, youre free to do so.

When you're rejected for a cycle, you're rejected for a cycle. They don't reverse the decision. If you really retake and score that much higher, wait a year and apply the next cycle. Get a job, travel, do whatever. It's 1 year dude.

Deuce wrote:When you're rejected for a cycle, you're rejected for a cycle. They don't reverse the decision. If you really retake and score that much higher, wait a year and apply the next cycle. Get a job, travel, do whatever. It's 1 year dude.

Fortunately I'm not in that position, but the OP asked a decent question and the answers, wshile firmly given, look like speculation. On another website they would have been tagged [citation needed].

Take, for example, U Texas.

--LinkRemoved--

If my application for admission is denied, can I appeal that decision, or can I request a reconsideration?

Within 30 days of the date of denial, you may petition for reconsideration by submitting a letter addressed to the Assistant Dean for Admissions indicating your reasons. Reconsideration requests will only be considered if there is some significant, additional information that was not available at the time of your original application. The Committee's initial decision will have been based upon all factors, academic and nonacademic, included in your application. In those rare instances in which the petition is granted, the usual result is that the candidate is placed on a waiting list. The number of offers of admission expected to produce the desired entering class probably will have been made by the time your petition is considered.

Clearly they have a 30 day time limit, but from that statement I think we can gather that at least some schools in some circumstances may reconsider a decision based on a substantially improved LSAT score in a sitting they were previously unaware of.

If you believe otherwise, perhaps you'd like to cite a source?

albanach wrote:

Deuce wrote:When you're rejected for a cycle, you're rejected for a cycle. They don't reverse the decision. If you really retake and score that much higher, wait a year and apply the next cycle. Get a job, travel, do whatever. It's 1 year dude.

Fortunately I'm not in that position, but the OP asked a decent question and the answers, wshile firmly given, look like speculation. On another website they would have been tagged [citation needed].

Take, for example, U Texas.

--LinkRemoved--

If my application for admission is denied, can I appeal that decision, or can I request a reconsideration?

Within 30 days of the date of denial, you may petition for reconsideration by submitting a letter addressed to the Assistant Dean for Admissions indicating your reasons. Reconsideration requests will only be considered if there is some significant, additional information that was not available at the time of your original application. The Committee's initial decision will have been based upon all factors, academic and nonacademic, included in your application. In those rare instances in which the petition is granted, the usual result is that the candidate is placed on a waiting list. The number of offers of admission expected to produce the desired entering class probably will have been made by the time your petition is considered.

Clearly they have a 30 day time limit, but from that statement I think we can gather that at least some schools in some circumstances may reconsider a decision based on a substantially improved LSAT score in a sitting they were previously unaware of.

If you believe otherwise, perhaps you'd like to cite a source?

Texas is an exception. At most schools, rejections are final for that cycle. Many schools feel that allowing (and accepting) appeals would set bad precedent.

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HeavenWood wrote: Texas is an exception. At most schools, rejections are final for that cycle. Many schools feel that allowing (and accepting) appeals would set bad precedent.

You may well be correct that most schools will not accept appeals, but it by no means seems hard and fast, and I certainly wouldn't say Texas is an exception.

30 seconds with Google tells me that at the very least The University of Illinois College of Law, Florida State University and American University in DC also allow appeals. I'd imagine if the school issuing the rejection doesn't specifically exclude it it would at least be worth asking if a prospective student has a new LSAT score that would materially change their application.

I called Michigan, and they said that even with future re-takes, they can't hold apps and will review all apps with an LSAT score. However, even if you get rejected, a re-take score could very likely prompt another review of your app.

So what might be happening in this case is that people with a re-take are not officially rejected (if they're neither accepted nor waitlisted) until the re-take scores come in.

That being said, is there ANY disadvantage to applying to a school in one cycle, deciding not to go, then re-applying the next cycle (due to whatever reason)?

albanach wrote:

HeavenWood wrote: Texas is an exception. At most schools, rejections are final for that cycle. Many schools feel that allowing (and accepting) appeals would set bad precedent.

You may well be correct that most schools will not accept appeals, but it by no means seems hard and fast, and I certainly wouldn't say Texas is an exception.

30 seconds with Google tells me that at the very least The University of Illinois College of Law, Florida State University and American University in DC also allow appeals. I'd imagine if the school issuing the rejection doesn't specifically exclude it it would at least be worth asking if a prospective student has a new LSAT score that would materially change their application.

4 law schools out of 200 is still an exception.

HeavenWood wrote:
4 law schools out of 200 is still an exception.

Yes, clearly you are correct and I am wrong. Obviously I reviewed all 200 schools in my 30 seconds with Google and was just trying to distort my stats by naming the only four schools that will allow an appeal.

I apologize for wasting your time.

albanach wrote:

HeavenWood wrote:
4 law schools out of 200 is still an exception.

Yes, clearly you are correct and I am wrong. Obviously I reviewed all 200 schools in my 30 seconds with Google and was just trying to distort my stats by naming the only four schools that will allow an appeal.

I apologize for wasting your time.

Why not relax?

if you are signed up for a later lsat, and dont say otherwise, a decision to admit, deny or waitlist wont be handed down until after they recieve your score. IF you tell them to go a head and make a decision, once they do so, that is is for a vast majority of schools for the cycle. You will need to check on a school by school basis if you can appeal the decision.

However, if your first lsat is that bad, why mail in the applicaiton and fees until you know for sure where you stand? If its the end of a cycle, wait for the next one and see if you can get a scholarship in addition to goign to the school. You only have to wait a year, and can use the interim to save up for expenses and mature( if needed)

northwood wrote:if you are signed up for a later lsat, and dont say otherwise, a decision to admit, deny or waitlist wont be handed down until after they recieve your score. IF you tell them to go a head and make a decision, once they do so, that is is for a vast majority of schools for the cycle. You will need to check on a school by school basis if you can appeal the decision.

However, if your first lsat is that bad, why mail in the applicaiton and fees until you know for sure where you stand? If its the end of a cycle, wait for the next one and see if you can get a scholarship in addition to goign to the school. You only have to wait a year, and can use the interim to save up for expenses and mature( if needed)

Reading the other stuff before it in the thread was frustrating and made my head hurt.

I don't understand what would compel a person to apply early with a poor LSAT score while planning to re-take, sending in apps before registering to re-take and/or before somehow telling the LS's about the upcoming re-take to delay application review and then wanting to appeal rejection decisions same cycle to get re-consideration/another application review with a newer score. That has NIGHTMARE student, lay off the adderall written all over it.

It probably doesn't matter anyway because I suspect the situation is bogus. For unrelated reasons I called 15 law schools yesterday to spot check what is going on with this cycle. Only one of them has sent out any decisions so far. Not many yet, only acceptances to ED applicants, no rejections, and they started sending those out less than two weeks ago.