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Removing personal details, but still would appreciate input. If you want info, PM. Thanks for your help everyone.

It depends on how confident you are. I'd retake and make hys a lock. As it is your chances are pretty good. Congrats on the excellent score

I just retook a 173 and got a 174. I was super confident heading in to the test but then got wrecked by the games, where I didn't answer two questions in the final game which is something that may have happened once in 40+ PTs. Overall, I'm happy I retook because I felt like I was leaving points on the table but I wish it had turned out better, obviously.

If you are HYS or bust, I'd go for it. Worst case scenario is that you score below your previous score and you still get in to every school that isn't HYS, which isn't all that bad. Only drawbacks would be the time spent studying and applying later (if you're applying this cycle).

abcde12345 wrote:Obviously, since I want to go into academia, getting WE after college isn't desirable.

This is a silly statement, but I will bite. If you don't get HYS (really just YS), you should apply to PhD programs in your desired field and then reapply.

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Back a couple of years ago when I was applying a 173, 4.0 from top 5 college was probably something like 75+% for H, 65+% for S (since lack of softs), and Y is always who the heck knows. Applying those probabilities means that you'd have a very small chance of not getting one of the 3.

Today, there might be a slight shift downwards in your chances due to the general trend of accepting fewer straight through students at HYS but thats probably counter balanced by the lower applicant pool. Thus again, there really is no big need to retake the LSAT. Your chances are great that you'll get one of the 3 and to add even a tiny more layer security you'd probably have to score above 75th percentiles, so a 176+.

Of course on the other hand, a 173, 173-175 2nd score won't hurt you.

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abcde12345 wrote:

bdubs wrote:

abcde12345 wrote:Obviously, since I want to go into academia, getting WE after college isn't desirable.

This is a silly statement, but I will bite. If you don't get HYS (really just YS), you should apply to PhD programs in your desired field and then reapply.

Yeah, I phrased that incorrectly, sorry. I don't doubt that WE is valuable, for personal experience, perspective, maturity, applications, and job prospects. I simply meant to say that, in an ideal world, I would be able to take the fastest track to where I (think I) want to go, which would mean accumulating my degrees now (which I don't mind doing, since I like academics).

Also, I'm not quite sure what I want to go into exactly. So I'd like to get my JD first and go from there (I like the relative flexibility of a JD compared to other degrees, which is why I'm interested in law school).

How can you know you want to go into academia but not have a solid research interest? Just because you like the idea of being a professor in a subject you've never studied? This makes no sense.

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abcde12345 wrote:I got a 173 on my LSAT (just got it back). I'm upset with my score because my PT average was 176, with my last 3 or so PTs at 180, 179, and 177.

Why wouldn't you retake? I'm assuming a 173 was on the lower end of what you were scoring so it's not like you'll have to study super hard to get the score you want - all you have to do is maintain your current level for a few months. There's really nothing to lose (except the money for the test), and while there's not THAT much to gain, you really need YSH for academia; why not make it a lock? Really only Yale (and S to a lesser extent) to have a realistic chance at academia, I say just go for it.

I was/am in a similar situation (although not interested in academia and therefore less hellbent on HYS), so I thought I'd throw in my .02.

I was PTing 176 average and had two 180s in my last five tests. Got a 172 on June 2012 LSAT. A good score, but obviously I was a little annoyed--especially because I felt good during the test. I thought hard about retaking, but then I saw LSAC's data on retakes: http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/ ... erdata.pdf. Maybe you've seen this already. Made the decision not to retake a lot easier for me. Look at the row for 173....6 people improved and 7 did worse. Obviously, you (mostly) control your own fate on test day, so maybe you could swing a 173 to a 179. Just thought I'd throw out some stats. FWIW, I think you have a great shot at H already.

1) if you're up for it, yes, retake.
2) Yale considers your LORs very very important, so pay close attention to that. Hopefully you have some close relationships with professors.
3) Know that, as hard as TLS makes it seem to get legal academia, it's only getting harder as the LS bubble starts to burst. I think it's fine you don't have a research interest, since no one knows what part of the law interests them until they study it, but it's a very tough path these days, even from Yale.

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abcde12345 wrote: I was reading over the Yale application instructions, and it looks like they accept Feb LSAT? Is this true? If this is true, I would retake, since I would have a boatload of time to study over winter break. I would submit apps now though.

That's not really how it works. What they mean is you can apply at the end of February and you won't be seriously disadvantaged. But if you apply now, they'll evaluate you now and make a decision. And anyway, if you wait for a February LSAT score before applying to Yale, you'll probably have to deposit somewhere else before you've heard from Yale (which isn't the end of the world, of course).

Elston Gunn wrote:That's not really how it works. What they mean is you can apply at the end of February and you won't be seriously disadvantaged. But if you apply now, they'll evaluate you now and make a decision. And anyway, if you wait for a February LSAT score before applying to Yale, you'll probably have to deposit somewhere else before you've heard from Yale (which isn't the end of the world, of course).

Ahh, ok, thanks. I'd rather apply now. So they wouldn't re-evaluate in light of new information? Is this because of their professor-ratings process?

abcde12345 wrote:

Elston Gunn wrote:That's not really how it works. What they mean is you can apply at the end of February and you won't be seriously disadvantaged. But if you apply now, they'll evaluate you now and make a decision. And anyway, if you wait for a February LSAT score before applying to Yale, you'll probably have to deposit somewhere else before you've heard from Yale (which isn't the end of the world, of course).

Ahh, ok, thanks. I'd rather apply now. So they wouldn't re-evaluate in light of new information? Is this because of their professor-ratings process?

Not really. They'll just make a decision now and won't reevaluate, which is the same as every other school. It's possible it would matter if you got waitlisted.

The only way I guess the professor evaluation part might come in to play is that if they hadn't decided on you on say, Feb 29th and you got a new LSAT score, they probably wouldn't update your file for the faculty members that already have it. I'm not sure about that though.

abcde12345 wrote:

bdubs wrote:

abcde12345 wrote:Obviously, since I want to go into academia, getting WE after college isn't desirable.

This is a silly statement, but I will bite. If you don't get HYS (really just YS), you should apply to PhD programs in your desired field and then reapply.

Yeah, I phrased that incorrectly, sorry. I don't doubt that WE is valuable, for personal experience, perspective, maturity, applications, and job prospects. I simply meant to say that, in an ideal world, I would be able to take the fastest track to where I (think I) want to go, which would mean accumulating my degrees now (which I don't mind doing, since I like academics).

Also, I'm not quite sure what I want to go into exactly. So I'd like to get my JD first and go from there (I like the relative flexibility of a JD compared to other degrees, which is why I'm interested in law school).

This is not how one should think about pursuing legal academia in today's entry hiring market.

Also, if your GPA is above a 3.85 then you don't need to retake, as that gives you a 82% chance at Harvard. Yale is always a crapshoot and your LORs, personal statement, and past research experience will be what distinguishes you from the rest.