Retake a (three year old) 171? Forum

[redsox]

Once upon a time, I was an undergraduate who kind of wanted to go to law school, so I took the June 2010 LSAT. Did well on my diagnostic and few practice tests, so I didn't really take studying all that seriously, ended up with a 171 and a -6 on the games. Decided not to go to law school, graduated with a 3.89 (BA/MA in a social science), set out to become a productive inhabitant of the real world.

Now, after a couple years in finance, law school is looking much more appealing than gainful employment. The real world isn't any fun, and grad school seems like a socially acceptable escape. And business school is dumb. And if I were a doctor, people would die. So that leaves law school. I plan on applying next fall (so starting school in fall 2014). I know that I'll get into some good schools with a 3.89/171, but:

1) It still kills me that I was so lazy about studying, and that I got a -6 on the most learnable section of the test;
2) It'd be nice to get some money somewhere, because law school is expensive, and a few more points on the LSAT could probably help with that;
3) I don't know if there's any issue with the fact that my score will be a little over four years old when I start school (I know Cornell, for example, has an earlier cutoff than the normal 5 years); and
4) I'm probably a somewhat uninteresting applicant for my numbers, so better numbers might be better...

So if you were me, would you retake? Thoughts? Criticisms? Advice?

[jetsfan1]

My general rule of thumb: You think you can do better = retake you think you have reached your potential = apply

This is coming from a 0L who is putting off law school for a couple of years bc he bombed his first LSAT, so take that for what you will, but I think you should retake. Can't really hurt that much, and even a 173 puts you at both H medians.

[redsox]

Yeah. My gut tells me to retake. There doesn't seem to be much of a downside (other than potentially wasting the hours it will take to actually study this time around), and if it goes well it could open a few doors.

[patrickd139]

Yeah. My gut tells me to retake. There doesn't seem to be much of a downside (other than potentially wasting the hours it will take to actually study this time around), and if it goes well it could open a few doors.

Don't waste that GPA. Study hard this time, retake, and enjoy HYS (or a T14 for damn near free).

[cinnamonchurros]

I think if you're confident in your ability to score higher (which you seem to be), then go for it. You don't really have much to lose. Also, you have a fantastic GPA, which will go well with your shiny new LSAT score.

[gnomgnomuch]

If youre confident you can score higher than defintely go for it. You can also write a P.S about how you were unsure about law school before, and after a few years in the workforce youre now confident this is what you want to do with your life (this might actually help you, since schools might want applicants not only w/ W.E and high scores but also a strong desire to do the work)

Best of luck, but even now youre prob in at lower T14's with good money, and most likely in at CCN, and small chance at HYS