When should I re-take the LSAT? Forum

Broncos15 · Post by **Broncos15** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:37 pm

Hey,

Needing advice for an LSAT date- UG Senior graduating in December....current GPA lower 3.60-3.65 range so I am pretty satisfied with that as I feel that leaves me with solid options....but can graduate with as high as 3.68

Should I trade away a few GPA points in order to take the LSAT in October or December ? it is unlikely i could study for the LSAT and have a 4.0 semester given the grade deflation at my school.

My current debate is wether to take the LSAT now while I am not working and only a student, or should I wait until after graduation and start working to take it? I plan on getting work experience post grad so I am not in a rush to start Law School right away

Broncos15 · Post by **Broncos15** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:44 pm

Additionally info: grade deflation is pretty common in my school, few A's are given, anything above a 3.2 is pretty solid etc ( saying this only to mention I have to budget my time carefully for grades )

Goals on Law School/LSAT retake- Ideally a 171 at minimum because while studying for it last year I was planning on re-taking in December, but got busy with school....I took a practice test in December and got a 171 without much practice in several months ( but remembered the concepts from my summer studies........Or at a very bare minimum a 167/Acceptance to UT Austin ( TX resident here)

ihenry · Post by **ihenry** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:06 pm

School may be a bit more stressful due to projects/exams but all day's work makes me exhausted, and leaves me less time to spare. I also feel my mind is more vigilant, more tuned to the exam setting and easier to concentrate during the school period. YMMV.

nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 6:53 pm

I'd take it either Feb or just completely wait till June/next Oct to take it. No need to rush it if you plan on working for a few years anyways.

Broncos15 · Post by **Broncos15** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:19 pm

ihenry wrote:School may be a bit more stressful due to projects/exams but all day's work makes me exhausted, and leaves me less time to spare. I also feel my mind is more vigilant, more tuned to the exam setting and easier to concentrate during the school period. YMMV.

True that's my debate .....While work would leave me tired and exhausted/ not wanting to study more than school, I wouldn't be juggling the two top priorities in law admissions ( the GPA and LSAT)......because your job performance does not affect admissiosn unless you raise C&F issues, get fired or something stupid

Almost everyone will agree those two are the most important factors compared to everything else, ( Even those who believe law admissions is holistic and an admissions decision comes down to other things like personal statements, softs , etc grant that LSAT/GPA are the most important things : so the real debate is not whether those two are the most important things but how much they outweigh the other parts )

Broncos15 · Post by **Broncos15** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:27 pm

Maybe ideally in a worse case I could work part time lets say 20-25 hours while studying for the LSAT ( single here, well off - only saying this to give details of my situation)

I could go back and live at home for a few months work part time or take off work entirely after graduation while studying for the LSAT so I have a better chance of getting a score I'd be satisfied with and not reatke

shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:39 pm

I would strongly recommend that you wait until after graduation to take the LSAT. I just graduated a month ago and I decided to shoot for the June administration, which was during my finals week. I did fine on the exam, but I did have some burnout that year. So I was only motivated enough to go through one Kaplan book (4 total PTs) and then drill a few extra LG because I normally get -0 for that section. I decided against retaking for now, but I know I would do a bit better if I did retake because I would be motivated to do more extensive prep.I just don't know how much fun it would be to grind through LSAT prep when you are finishing college. The time commitment will never be easy but I don't think most people would regret not having a ton of free time their first year working full time vs. not enjoying the finishing stretch for UG. It's not as if waiting a year to not be a real KJD is a bad thing.

ihenry · Post by **ihenry** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:27 pm

Broncos15 wrote:
ihenry wrote:School may be a bit more stressful due to projects/exams but all day's work makes me exhausted, and leaves me less time to spare. I also feel my mind is more vigilant, more tuned to the exam setting and easier to concentrate during the school period. YMMV.
True that's my debate .....While work would leave me tired and exhausted/ not wanting to study more than school, I wouldn't be juggling the two top priorities in law admissions ( the GPA and LSAT)......because your job performance does not affect admissiosn unless you raise C&F issues, get fired or something stupid

Almost everyone will agree those two are the most important factors compared to everything else, ( Even those who believe law admissions is holistic and an admissions decision comes down to other things like personal statements, softs , etc grant that LSAT/GPA are the most important things : so the real debate is not whether those two are the most important things but how much they outweigh the other parts )

Looks like you are the type of person to get nervous easily.. If you are really far from being prepared and you truly feel these are conflicting priorities then yeah wait till graduation.

Broncos15 · Post by **Broncos15** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:11 pm

ihenry wrote:
Broncos15 wrote:
ihenry wrote:School may be a bit more stressful due to projects/exams but all day's work makes me exhausted, and leaves me less time to spare. I also feel my mind is more vigilant, more tuned to the exam setting and easier to concentrate during the school period. YMMV.
True that's my debate .....While work would leave me tired and exhausted/ not wanting to study more than school, I wouldn't be juggling the two top priorities in law admissions ( the GPA and LSAT)......because your job performance does not affect admissiosn unless you raise C&F issues, get fired or something stupid

Almost everyone will agree those two are the most important factors compared to everything else, ( Even those who believe law admissions is holistic and an admissions decision comes down to other things like personal statements, softs , etc grant that LSAT/GPA are the most important things : so the real debate is not whether those two are the most important things but how much they outweigh the other parts )
Looks like you are the type of person to get nervous easily.. If you are really far from being prepared and you truly feel these are conflicting priorities then yeah wait till graduation.

Ehh I'm not really nervous just have a more cautious mindset because of my past situation......I had a 3.5 LSAC GPA last year which is "mild splitter" territory so the TLS conventional wisdom ( and my own belief) would be for anyone in the 3.4-3.5. range to focus on finishing up UG first then LSAT .....I know with a current 3.65 things are looking better with everywhere but Y and S potentially in play but it's hard to break the old mindset when I used to need to scrap fro every GPA point to crawl up.

BlueprintJason · Post by **BlueprintJason** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:10 pm

Broncos15 wrote:Maybe ideally in a worse case I could work part time lets say 20-25 hours while studying for the LSAT ( single here, well off - only saying this to give details of my situation)

I could go back and live at home for a few months work part time or take off work entirely after graduation while studying for the LSAT so I have a better chance of getting a score I'd be satisfied with and not reatke

I'm all for taking time off to work etc. even for a few years. I got to do so many cool things in my former career, and I'm really glad I didn't do law school sooner.

As to your debate, I think it makes sense to focus on grades, since you are not in a hurry and thus have time. I would take time off and focus on studying for next June. Since you have the financial resources/family support I would take advantage of that and land a job over the summer after the LSAT. You can focus on the LSAT like a job (which is how you should approach it IMO), and you will have a job on your resume anyways come application time. Even doing part time work if you are really worried about resume building wouldn't be that hard, but if you don't have to work then why bother?

Being one and done with the LSAT is really, really amazing, and if you focus on killing that you have a much better shot. Also, I know they say all that matters is the numbers, but since you are coming at it with a GPA probably lower numerically compared to your LSAT ability, taking it once is a powerful statement as to your abilities to focus on something and crushing it.

HTH and good luck!

Jason

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:24 am

No need to rush. Focus on getting that GPA as high as possible before graduation.

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