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To explain my gpa, I attended 2 unis for UG. At the first uni, I fucked up pretty bad and left there with a 1.0 GPA. I then took a couple of years off to work and returned to school. I graduated with a 3.8 GPA from that uni. I wrote all of this in my C+F and other forms while filling out apps in late feb (super late).

I'm rather new to this forum as you can see by my post count. I found this site pretty randomly but I've been glued to this site for the past few days. After reading a lot of these posts, though, I'm starting to feel extremely discouraged, especially with my low LSAT score. I've surmised that the general rule, when in doubt, is to retake and reapply next cycle. I even saw some great LSAT preparation schedules to follow. My question here is if I retake in June, will it have any impact on my current cycle at all?

Finally, what are my options here? I spent like a month writing my personal statement as I heard that it was the most important aspect of one's application after GPA/LSAT. This delayed my application process by a lot. After browsing these forums, I came to realize that PS is almost negligible. TT.TT

Should I retake and reapply next cycle?
With what LSAT score can i realistically hope to have a shot at being accepted into a T-14/20?
Does it even matter with my GPA?
Will schools even notice the upward trend in GPA?

Thanks.

Definitely retake and apply next cycle. I couldn't speculate as to the shot at a t-14, greater TLS minds than me should be able to do that.

Definitely retake.

T14 is not out of reach with a 2.9, but you will need a 170+.

lux wrote:Should I retake and reapply next cycle?
With what LSAT score can i realistically hope to have a shot at being accepted into a T-14/20?
Does it even matter with my GPA?
Will schools even notice the upward trend in GPA?

(1) Absolutely
(2) 169 for WUSTL, 171 for NW if your work experience is good. 173+ for nearly all other T14.
(3) Yes, splitter friendly schools will bite if the LSAT is right.
(4) They'll notice, but it won't matter nearly as much as you want it to.

If you don't retake, you're looking at TTT and TTTT at sticker. Good luck.

BEAST_mode wrote:

lux wrote:Should I retake and reapply next cycle?
With what LSAT score can i realistically hope to have a shot at being accepted into a T-14/20?
Does it even matter with my GPA?
Will schools even notice the upward trend in GPA?

(1) Absolutely
(2) 169 for WUSTL, 171 for NW if your work experience is good. 173+ for nearly all other T14.
(3) Yes, splitter friendly schools will bite if the LSAT is right.
(4) They'll notice, but it won't matter nearly as much as you want it to.

If you don't retake, you're looking at TTT and TTTT at sticker. Good luck.

+1

Take the June LSAT and reapply as soon as applications open. If you have to retake in Sep/Oct then do that. Otherwise don't apply any later than Oct.

FryBreadPower wrote:Take the June LSAT and reapply as soon as applications open. If you have to retake in Sep/Oct then do that. Otherwise don't apply any later than Oct.

another quick question.. does retaking more than once have a negative impact on your cycle?

also, not that it matters much but I made a mistake in the thread title. i got a 157, not a 154. small difference but yeah...

lux wrote:
also, not that it matters much but I made a mistake in the thread title. i got a 157, not a 154. small difference but yeah...

Look at lawschoolnumbers.com. You will find that WUSTL has a pretty firm 168 threshold, and a VERY soft GPA floor. Instead of needing a 14 point LSAT improvement, you need an 11 point MINIMUM to get in at WUSTL, thats a BIG difference in LSAT world.

PowerScore Bibles will be the #1 thing people will tell you to read, as someone that just started seriously studying I can neither confirm or deny the effectiveness of the PowerScore Bibles, but I will tell you that I bought in, and that is what I am using for my study. Really if you can find a class I would do that in addition to what the PSBs say.

I would probably focus on #9-#20 with a 2.9 GPA and a jump in LSAT of at least 11-15 points. It is doable.

OP has a 157, not a 170. This is a big difference. OP either needs to drastically improve their LSAT or not go. You can't have a bad LSAT, and a bad GPA and expect to support yourself as a lawyer.