Top Law Schools

re-taking in Feb after a not very good October score

should I still apply this cycle (in late February) or wait it out and go for the '14-'15 cycle?

i think the general consensus is that at the top-tier schools it does hurt (sans Yale, because of the no rolling admissions thing). Some of them will not even entertain a Feb score, although I've read anecdotes on here that suggest exceptions are made here and there. All the schools I've looked at mention February in some capacity, usually negatively ("February is very late in the cycle and most of our class is full at that time" etc. etc).

Most TLSers are going to tell you to wait it out & apply next cycle. That's good advice. However, if you have registered for and feel prepared to take the test in Feb, I would take it, even if ultimately it only amounts to practice. Also, if the schools in which you are interested accept Feb scores non-punitively, that is something to consider as well.

I applied to some schools where I expected to be admitted back in my cycle, but I applied in early February with my December LSAT score. I got waitlisted at a surprising number of them. Granted this was in the '09-'10 cycle (the year of the waitlist), but I think it says a lot about how negative a late application can be. I have to think that a February score is best used in the next cycle.

thinking about applying post-feb lsat, but gunning for HYS (not expecting schollys elsewhere)

Read what Mike Spivey and JB wrote in the “Q&A with admissions deans.” If you score at or above your target’s median in Feb, you’ll be good. If you’re a 174 scorer — and remember, this would place you in the company of a diminishing minority — why would school X refuse to look at your app when schools Y and Z would? As Mike said, that admissions dean at school X would’ve effectively shot themselves in the foot by basically leading a competitive applicant right to the door of a competing school.

Take it in Feb. Kill it. Apply. (though you’ll probably need to click the “send” button on your app before your feb score is released since most schools’ deadline is before feb scores are released)

OVOXO wrote:Read what Mike Spivey and JB wrote in the “Q&A with admissions deans.” If you score at or above your target’s median in Feb, you’ll be good. If you’re a 174 scorer — and remember, this would place you in the company of a diminishing minority — why would school X refuse to look at your app when schools Y and Z would? As Mike said, that admissions dean at school X would’ve effectively shot themselves in the foot by basically leading a competitive applicant right to the door of a competing school.

Take it in Feb. Kill it. Apply. (though you’ll probably need to click the “send” button on your app before your feb score is released since most schools’ deadline is before feb scores are released)

this makes sense. can I make it so a school doesn't see my existing score?

For what it's worth, here's a website that talks about the various aspects of law school applications/admissions, including applications time.

every school I plan on applying to has a deadline in march or later, for what it's worth

From what I've learned it's always best to apply early.

David_Hume14 wrote:

OVOXO wrote:Read what Mike Spivey and JB wrote in the “Q&A with admissions deans.” If you score at or above your target’s median in Feb, you’ll be good. If you’re a 174 scorer — and remember, this would place you in the company of a diminishing minority — why would school X refuse to look at your app when schools Y and Z would? As Mike said, that admissions dean at school X would’ve effectively shot themselves in the foot by basically leading a competitive applicant right to the door of a competing school.

Take it in Feb. Kill it. Apply. (though you’ll probably need to click the “send” button on your app before your feb score is released since most schools’ deadline is before feb scores are released)

this makes sense. can I make it so a school doesn't see my existing score?

Nope, they're going to see that score. Unless you wait until it falls off your record (which takes 5 years).

And as stated above, if you have the numbers to get in, schools will let you in later. Otherwise, they might as well close admissions when they've filled their class. If, however, you're a marginal candidate at the schools you want to attend, wait until next year.

David_Hume14 wrote:every school I plan on applying to has a deadline in march or later, for what it's worth

Also, the vast majority of schools will extend their deadlines.

(I just blogged about all of this yesterday, fyi)

David, I enjoy some of your philosophical works. Didn't realize you were still around.

David_Hume14 wrote:re-taking in Feb after a not very good October score

should I still apply this cycle (in late February) or wait it out and go for the '14-'15 cycle?

If you aren't applying to a top law school then it won't really matter. If you have the GPA/LSAT to be competitive for discounted tuition at a top school, you need to weigh the probability of landing the starting salary you want/need/expect from your target school(s) with waiting a year for sticker (if you get in).

If you know you can land a $160k/yr job and be gainfully employed for 35 years, you'd be stupid to wait a year (not the special snowflake self-delusion kind of know, but the dad-is-a-lawyer kind). But it seems more likely you'll (general you) be happy to grab a $60k/yr job and very lucky to have it for several years after that. This makes waiting a year almost a no-brainer if you want to go to a top school, because that debt load will be much reduced if you can have a better shot a bigger discount.