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Decent softs, 2 years of solid W/E at a specialty consulting firm. Undergrad degree in Government from a lower ivy.

Can anyone give me some advice here? Is a retake my best option?

Retake is probably not the best option given your GPA. If you ED to Northwestern you can't ED anywhere else in that cycle, but I'd ED to NU if it is your dream school.

I would imagine that my GPA is the reason I need to retake, no? My lowest PT was a 168, and my average was around a 172-173. I fell below 170 on one PT out of the last 22, and always had perfect lg sections, missed 2 lg questions on the real one. That being said if I have a good shot (better than 50/50) at acceptance without retaking, than I'd prefer to not risk a lower score.

For someone with your GPA, most of the top schools are already out. So a 170 isn't much different than a 180 for you. If you honestly feel you underperformed and are very likely to increase your score, then go for it. I almost always recommend a re-take but this is one of those rare times when it might not help even if the score goes up, while a lower score could hurt.

I was under the impression that a bump of 2-3 points makes a big difference because it would put me over the top 75% LSAT for my target schools. If that's wrong, than it's not worth the risk of a lower score. Thanks for the response!

A retake doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. I don't think the above advice is all that accurate. I think you need a couple more points to have a good shot at NU. More points will help with $$$, too. You're out at the top 6, but I think you can greatly improve your chances at the bottom of the T14 with a higher score.

You might want to check with the schools you're really targeting to see whether they average or just take the top score. A lot just take the top, and I doesn't sound like you're in much danger of seeing a score drop anyway.

A 2 or 3 point bump would lock in Northwestern. Just understand that you really need to get after it for a good month or two before the test to get that score. 170 doesn't offer a lot of room for improvement, and is a perfectly reasonable score for someone who was in the 168-175 range on PTs. Good luck!

With W/E and 170 and ED, I think you are really good shot at NW right now so a retake is a unnecessary risk. Although it is one with big upsides. You should get NW though, even with that gpa. Unforunately, if you miss NW, you wont get any other schools RD all the way down to wustl or so. (you should ed to uva if you NW ed fails or Duke second round ED if both fail. They could also realistically work)

That's my worry, an NU ED doesn't work, and I'm stuck in low T1 or T2 for the cycle. I was under the impression that if I use an ED on NU, I can't ED anywhere else until the next cycle? Does ED NU give me my best shot at cracking T14? I'd be extremely content with any school from 7-13 with my numbers, but I think ED UVA or Mich. are even bigger reaches...

jrwitty wrote:That's my worry, an NU ED doesn't work, and I'm stuck in low T1 or T2 for the cycle. I was under the impression that if I use an ED on NU, I can't ED anywhere else until the next cycle? Does ED NU give me my best shot at cracking T14? I'd be extremely content with any school from 7-13 with my numbers, but I think ED UVA or Mich. are even bigger reaches...

ED to NW will likely get you in. If it fails, you will become an RD applicant or rejected. Either way you can now ED to UVA who allows you to ED at any time throughout the cycle. Also Duke has a second round of ED in January or so which you can do if both fail. Gtown also allows ED at any time. The only thing that you cannot do is have more than one ED live at any given time.

But like I said ED to NW will likely get you in. It is by far your best shot. But I would not say that the others with ED are impossible to get for you. I'd say youd have a small shot at all i mentioned, check LSN. 3/4 ride to wustl is your safety backup.

Not sure if a higher lsat would even help you much because you are already at median for these schools and it is your gpa that kills you not you lsat. It would help some sure, but not a game changer since you are already at 170. It would help more for higher schools that you have no realistic shot at anyway.

Obviously, if you think you can do better, it can only help of course.

Thanks for your responses. I guess the question then is how much would a lower score on a retake hurt my app? I know that a higher score would slightly help an NU app, but is it worth the risk? What about for UVA or UMich?

jrwitty wrote:That's my worry, an NU ED doesn't work, and I'm stuck in low T1 or T2 for the cycle. I was under the impression that if I use an ED on NU, I can't ED anywhere else until the next cycle? Does ED NU give me my best shot at cracking T14? I'd be extremely content with any school from 7-13 with my numbers, but I think ED UVA or Mich. are even bigger reaches...

Technically speaking, you can't ED anywhere else in the cycle if you ED to NU. But if you're rejected from ED, what could they possibly do to stop you? If the other school doesn't care (and Duke, GULC, and UVA don't), they can't do anything to stop you.

With that GPA you'll need a 175+ at the top 10. NW is probably your best shot in the top 14. If you think you can score higher you increase your chances at NW, as well as getting more money down the ladder of schools. I'd say retake if you don't think you'll score lower, and apply to most of the t20-30 and hopefully score a good scholly from one of them.

There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

He's got a decent shot at NW. He should try there first. They took a 171 2.8 and a 170, 3.1 Regular decision.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

I think all three schools are his dream schools.

Desert Fox wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

He's got a decent shot at NW. He should try there first. They took a 171 2.8 and a 170, 3.1 Regular decision.

Isn't UVA ED in early September and then a NU ED in late September better than NU ED in early September and a UVA ED in October/November? Assuming preferences for both schools are equal of course.

Misread on my part. I'd ED to UVA first too.

Corwin wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

I think all three schools are his dream schools.

Desert Fox wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Corwin wrote:There's a lot of misconceptions in this thread about the ED process for NU and UVA. First, if you're going to go for both, you should do UVA first. UVA guarantees a response within 2 weeks, so you can apply the week that applications open and then ED to NU if you don't get UVA. Second, 170 is ok for ED to UVA, but 172+ seems much stronger for ED at NU. There aren't that many people who apply ED to NU with 170/3.0. Usually it's sub 3.0 people with 172+. Maybe in reality 170 will be ok at NU, but the data we have indicates 172+ gives the best shot.

To be honest, at your numbers ED UVA is not a bigger reach than ED NU. I actually think you have a better shot at ED UVA.

UVA might give a better shot, but the OP said that Northwestern is his dream school. Don't see any reason to ED somewhere else first.

He's got a decent shot at NW. He should try there first. They took a 171 2.8 and a 170, 3.1 Regular decision.

Isn't UVA ED in early September and then a NU ED in late September better than NU ED in early September and a UVA ED in October/November? Assuming preferences for both schools are equal of course.

I too misread the OP, he put the () and it broke up the flow. I assumed he wanted NU over UVA, Mich.

Sept. UVA ed -> NU ed -> Gtown ED is probably the correct choice.