158/168...Retake? Forum

[TheZoid]

So here's my story. Taken the LSAT twice so far. 158 the first time, didn't study too hard and let's just say wasn't really feeling fresh on test day. Second time around studied hard for about 2 months, was PTing in the 171-175 range, came out with a 168. I have heard some people say third time is the charm, and was wondering if there is any value in a retake given this scenario. Not terribly disappointed with 168, but I think 170+ is a possibility. I should note I am 2.65 GPA so from what I'm seeing, about the only school that a 170+ brings into play is Northwestern, but may also increase scholarships, I'm not sure about that though. Does this make any sense. Right now will probably apply to Wash U, UIUC, IUB, Wake Forest, UConn, and a few others. Also have 2 years W/E, for what it's worth, which is probably very little. Any thoughts appreciated.

[TheZoid]

Also should add that I would prefer BigLaw, and realize none of the schools on that list give me a great chance, and NU would be a huge boost in that respect. If I strike out on BigLaw, it's not the end of the world, as long as my debt is relatively minimal, as I have some pretty good connections and could probably land a job, making maybe 50k, but at least something.

[bk1]

You should retake. You have nothing to lose (schools will look at a 158/168 the same as they would a 158/168/158 or 158/168/168 or 158/168/cancel) and a lot to gain (a 170+ does bring in NU ED as a possibility).

I'd say as a splitter you have more to gain than most since you probably won't get very good scholarships from lower schools anyways.

[TheZoid]

You should retake. You have nothing to lose (schools will look at a 158/168 the same as they would a 158/168/158 or 158/168/168 or 158/168/cancel) and a lot to gain (a 170+ does bring in NU ED as a possibility).

I'd say as a splitter you have more to gain than most since you probably won't get very good scholarships from lower schools anyways.

Thanks bk. I'm kind of leaning in that direction. Do you think I will get any money from the schools I listed? I know most people would say, and I would probably agree, that paying sticker at any of them is a bad idea.

[bk1]

Thanks bk. I'm kind of leaning in that direction. Do you think I will get any money from the schools I listed? I know most people would say, and I would probably agree, that paying sticker at any of them is a bad idea.

Just did this LSN search (switch schools to look at other schools):

http://washu.lawschoolnumbers.com/appli ... =1&type=jd

And it looks like you won't get any from Illinois/WUSTL. You probably won't get any from Illinois even with a raised LSAT but you could get a bit from WUSTL with a higher LSAT. You might have a chance for some money at WF with your current numbers, but as a non-URM splitter you realistically need to go to the T2 to get money.

[TheZoid]

Thanks bk. I'm kind of leaning in that direction. Do you think I will get any money from the schools I listed? I know most people would say, and I would probably agree, that paying sticker at any of them is a bad idea.

Just did this LSN search (switch schools to look at other schools):

http://washu.lawschoolnumbers.com/appli ... =1&type=jd

And it looks like you won't get any from Illinois/WUSTL. You probably won't get any from Illinois even with a raised LSAT but you could get a bit from WUSTL with a higher LSAT. You might have a chance for some money at WF with your current numbers, but as a non-URM splitter you realistically need to go to the T2 to get money.

Interesting, thanks for the info. If I can get the 20k/22k a year at Wake scholly, I'd probably grab it and go, but from what you're saying it doesn't sound like there's a great chance of that. I'd consider WUSTL but I'm not wild about paying sticker there or working in the Midwest. I'm not absolutely hell bent on the T-14, but I'm certainly not about to take on 180k in debt to go to a lower T-1 or T-2 school. I guess I'll apply this cycle, see what happens, and plan on taking the October LSAT so that if it doesn't pan out the way I want this year, I can hopefully lock up a better score and consider my options from there. Thanks again for the help.

[JamMasterJ]

WUSTL and NU are your best shots at the T20 and neither cares about multiple scores. Do it.

[bk1]

Interesting, thanks for the info. If I can get the 20k/22k a year at Wake scholly, I'd probably grab it and go, but from what you're saying it doesn't sound like there's a great chance of that. I'd consider WUSTL but I'm not wild about paying sticker there or working in the Midwest. I'm not absolutely hell bent on the T-14, but I'm certainly not about to take on 180k in debt to go to a lower T-1 or T-2 school. I guess I'll apply this cycle, see what happens, and plan on taking the October LSAT so that if it doesn't pan out the way I want this year, I can hopefully lock up a better score and consider my options from there. Thanks again for the help.

Well it looks like a decent amount of sub3.0 splitters got a 20-22k/year scholly at WF so I'd say there's a decent chance (but that does equate to 120k+ debt). And if you get a 170+ you have a decent shot at NU (much higher via ED), but NU at sticker is 225k+ debt.

[TheZoid]

Thanks JamMaster. I'm leaning towards it.

Interesting, thanks for the info. If I can get the 20k/22k a year at Wake scholly, I'd probably grab it and go, but from what you're saying it doesn't sound like there's a great chance of that. I'd consider WUSTL but I'm not wild about paying sticker there or working in the Midwest. I'm not absolutely hell bent on the T-14, but I'm certainly not about to take on 180k in debt to go to a lower T-1 or T-2 school. I guess I'll apply this cycle, see what happens, and plan on taking the October LSAT so that if it doesn't pan out the way I want this year, I can hopefully lock up a better score and consider my options from there. Thanks again for the help.

Well it looks like a decent amount of sub3.0 splitters got a 20-22k/year scholly at WF so I'd say there's a decent chance (but that does equate to 120k+ debt). And if you get a 170+ you have a decent shot at NU (much higher via ED), but NU at sticker is 225k+ debt.

If Wake is 35K and I get 20, say I go for 15 plus another 20 for living and such, wouldn't that put me at more like 105K? Not to split hairs, it's still a chunk of change, but it's somewhat manageable considering people pay sticker at TTTs. I guess the question becomes what is a better investment Wake at 105/120K or NU 225K? I'd have to think long and hard about that, but I'd probably bite on NU at that point. Don't know though. Any thoughts?

[JamMasterJ]

Thanks JamMaster. I'm leaning towards it.

Interesting, thanks for the info. If I can get the 20k/22k a year at Wake scholly, I'd probably grab it and go, but from what you're saying it doesn't sound like there's a great chance of that. I'd consider WUSTL but I'm not wild about paying sticker there or working in the Midwest. I'm not absolutely hell bent on the T-14, but I'm certainly not about to take on 180k in debt to go to a lower T-1 or T-2 school. I guess I'll apply this cycle, see what happens, and plan on taking the October LSAT so that if it doesn't pan out the way I want this year, I can hopefully lock up a better score and consider my options from there. Thanks again for the help.

Well it looks like a decent amount of sub3.0 splitters got a 20-22k/year scholly at WF so I'd say there's a decent chance (but that does equate to 120k+ debt). And if you get a 170+ you have a decent shot at NU (much higher via ED), but NU at sticker is 225k+ debt.

If Wake is 35K and I get 20, say I go for 15 plus another 20 for living and such, wouldn't that put me at more like 105K? Not to split hairs, it's still a chunk of change, but it's somewhat manageable considering people pay sticker at TTTs. I guess the question becomes what is a better investment Wake at 105/120K or NU 225K? I'd have to think long and hard about that, but I'd probably bite on NU at that point. Don't know though. Any thoughts?

If you get your score up enough for NU, you won't be paying much for WUSTL at all

[bk1]

I used WF's CoA on their website which is 58k/year with 38k of it being tuition, and then tacked on a bit more for tuition increases (but didn't add for interest). There's nothing wrong with taking a scholarship there over NU sticker if you are okay with working in NC.

Jamaster, you're being overly optimistic with WUSTL money. They like splitters but OP is still sub 3 and I doubt he'll get more than 60k total which still makes WUSTL expensive due to their high tuition.

[TheZoid]

I used WF's CoA on their website which is 58k/year with 38k of it being tuition, and then tacked on a bit more for tuition increases (but didn't add for interest). There's nothing wrong with taking a scholarship there over NU sticker if you are okay with working in NC.

Jamaster, you're being overly optimistic with WUSTL money. They like splitters but OP is still sub 3 and I doubt he'll get more than 60k total which still makes WUSTL expensive due to their high tuition.

Thanks bk. Makes sense. Yea I would strongly consider it, and BigLaw is still possible from Wake, just not that likely. Either way, there is a part of me that would prefer to have a little bit of flexibility with my career choice, which less debt would do. Also, what if you go to NU and don't BigLaw. That happens too, and then what? Stuck with over 200K in debt without that high-paying job you were counting on. As for WUSTL, I know it is a T-20, but something about it doesn't thrill me. I think it's the fact that its such a regional school, despit its high rank. If it were Wake $$ vs. WUSTL sticker, or even $, I'd probably go with Wake, even though some would probably consider that foolish.

[JamMasterJ]

I used WF's CoA on their website which is 58k/year with 38k of it being tuition, and then tacked on a bit more for tuition increases (but didn't add for interest). There's nothing wrong with taking a scholarship there over NU sticker if you are okay with working in NC.

Jamaster, you're being overly optimistic with WUSTL money. They like splitters but OP is still sub 3 and I doubt he'll get more than 60k total which still makes WUSTL expensive due to their high tuition.

My bad, I missed his gpa being that low

[TheZoid]

I used WF's CoA on their website which is 58k/year with 38k of it being tuition, and then tacked on a bit more for tuition increases (but didn't add for interest). There's nothing wrong with taking a scholarship there over NU sticker if you are okay with working in NC.

Jamaster, you're being overly optimistic with WUSTL money. They like splitters but OP is still sub 3 and I doubt he'll get more than 60k total which still makes WUSTL expensive due to their high tuition.

My bad, I missed his gpa being that low

Lol, yea. Unfortunate, but true.