Page 1 of 1
ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 11:34 pm
by Fiera
Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 11:52 pm
by WokeUpInACar
Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
You know what else will be a real pain? Paying off the extra 75k+ in scholarship money that you'd be throwing away by refusing to retake.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 1:31 am
by Toby Ziegler
WokeUpInACar wrote:Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
You know what else will be a real pain? Paying off the extra 75k+ in scholarship money that you'd be throwing away by refusing to retake.
Yeah this. You quite possibly could save yourself 100k by sacrificing 3-4 hours a day studying. Just bite the bullet and pat yourself on the back when you see those scholarship offers.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 1:49 am
by Clearly
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:37 am
by PRgradBYU
The term "reverse splitter" is merely a term people use to justify their horrible decision not to retake. So... retake. Hitting 171+ could earn you a hefty UChi scholly.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:04 am
by Ti Malice
PRgradBYU wrote:The term "reverse splitter" is merely a term people use to justify their horrible decision not to retake. So... retake. Hitting 171+ could earn you a hefty UChi scholly.
+1
Having been through all of the test material doesn't mean that there isn't a great deal of value remaining for you to extract from more challenging questions.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:12 am
by hephaestus
Just to echo everyone else: a retake is going to yield potentially 75k+ of scholarships. Studying again is worth that money.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:15 am
by wtrc
RETAKING SUCKS. I'M OUT OF MATERIAL TOO, I CAN ATTEST TO IT. Especially when you've already taken twice (I have). It sucks to be working full-time and have a very limited social life for so many months because of this multiple choice test. It really does.
But so does a ton of debt with shitty LRAP programs and limited job opportunities. Make your next 4 months (til December) shitty. In return you'll either have way less debt ($100,000+ less, perhaps) or be able to go to a HYS school and have a great job when you're out.
If someone told you they'd give you $100,000 and all you had to do was work a shitty job for 4 months, would you do it?
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:16 am
by 04102014
Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
To address your question, I think you'd have a shot with ED, depending on your softs and how well you interview. Two ED applicants were accepted last cycle with high GPAs/166, so it's doable.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:24 am
by ZVBXRPL
ohpobrecito wrote:Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
To address your question, I think you'd have a shot with ED, depending on your softs and how well you interview. Two ED applicants were accepted last cycle with high GPAs/166, so it's doable.
URM?
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:28 am
by 04102014
ZVBXRPL wrote:ohpobrecito wrote:Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
To address your question, I think you'd have a shot with ED, depending on your softs and how well you interview. Two ED applicants were accepted last cycle with high GPAs/166, so it's doable.
URM?
According to LSN, neither were URM. (Although one failed to identify race. Regulus is a white knight.)
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:37 am
by hephaestus
wtrcoins3 wrote:RETAKING SUCKS. I'M OUT OF MATERIAL TOO, I CAN ATTEST TO IT. Especially when you've already taken twice (I have). It sucks to be working full-time and have a very limited social life for so many months because of this multiple choice test. It really does.
But so does a ton of debt with shitty LRAP programs and limited job opportunities. Make your next 4 months (til December) shitty. In return you'll either have way less debt ($100,000+ less, perhaps) or be able to go to a HYS school and have a great job when you're out.
If someone told you they'd give you $100,000 and all you had to do was work a shitty job for 4 months, would you do it?
I totally agree. I retook while working full time. It was hard, but eminently worth it in the end.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:01 pm
by jbagelboy
Ask Regulus
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 12:08 pm
by HoratioHornblower
WokeUpInACar wrote:Fiera wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to figure out if it's realistic at all to ED to Chicago with only a 165, but with a 3.95 LSAC GPA.
I'm already so familiar with the test material, it's going to be a real pain to try to retake...
What do you think?
You know what else will be a real pain? Paying off the extra 75k+ in scholarship money that you'd be throwing away by refusing to retake.
THISS. SO MUCH THIS.
I seriously seriously regret not retaking the LSAT.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:14 pm
by AT9
Coming from a fellow reverse splitter who works a full time job and hates the idea of a retake, you should retake. Your current LSAT (which is really high by non-TLS standards) and your near perfect GPA indicate that you have the ability to score higher if you put your mind to it.
Just 3-4 more correct answers and you're at the new medians for some T-14's.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 4:37 am
by 20141023
.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:57 pm
by Winston1984
Regulus wrote:Hahaha yeah, as the others mentioned, I was one of the two non-URMs on LSN who got into UChicago with a 166 (with a 3.92 GPA) this past cycle. Without giving away any of her personal info, the other person who got in through the ED backdoor with the same exact stats as me (the female with a 166/3.92 on LSN) is not a URM, either. (There was also
this gal who is a non-URM LBGT Hispanic that has been out of undergrad for several years... but she's pretty much the definition of "non-traditional.")
As has also been mentioned, if you think that you can muster up the energy to retake the test, do it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain... kind of. I work for a Japanese company where I often had to work 7 days a week, frequently pull all-nighters for projects with ridiculously-short lead-times, and regularly work 12+ hours on "normal" weekdays. My wife was diagnosed with (
disease name here) on the day I graduated college, so I've had some stuff to deal with at home on top of work since I started working. After a year of studying nightly for the LSAT, it basically became an issue of "do I continue to spend the limited amount of waking time I have at home cooped up in my room studying for this test, or spend time with my wife?" In the end, I just wasn't able to justify the personal sacrifice for the test any longer, and compromised with the 166 I got last June. I was T14 or bust, and figured that if I didn't get in someplace that I wouldn't mind paying sticker, then I would just give up law school and continue working in my current position. Even in my situation there were still a lot of people on TLS who told me "suck it up and retake," and if I had been more of a heartless badass I might have done just that, but alas. The moral of the story:

Probably the first time I have understood/respected someone's decision not to retake.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 3:22 pm
by PRgradBYU
Winston1984 wrote:Regulus wrote:Hahaha yeah, as the others mentioned, I was one of the two non-URMs on LSN who got into UChicago with a 166 (with a 3.92 GPA) this past cycle. Without giving away any of her personal info, the other person who got in through the ED backdoor with the same exact stats as me (the female with a 166/3.92 on LSN) is not a URM, either. (There was also
this gal who is a non-URM LBGT Hispanic that has been out of undergrad for several years... but she's pretty much the definition of "non-traditional.")
As has also been mentioned, if you think that you can muster up the energy to retake the test, do it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain... kind of. I work for a Japanese company where I often had to work 7 days a week, frequently pull all-nighters for projects with ridiculously-short lead-times, and regularly work 12+ hours on "normal" weekdays. My wife was diagnosed with (
disease name here) on the day I graduated college, so I've had some stuff to deal with at home on top of work since I started working. After a year of studying nightly for the LSAT, it basically became an issue of "do I continue to spend the limited amount of waking time I have at home cooped up in my room studying for this test, or spend time with my wife?" In the end, I just wasn't able to justify the personal sacrifice for the test any longer, and compromised with the 166 I got last June. I was T14 or bust, and figured that if I didn't get in someplace that I wouldn't mind paying sticker, then I would just give up law school and continue working in my current position. Even in my situation there were still a lot of people on TLS who told me "suck it up and retake," and if I had been more of a heartless badass I might have done just that, but alas.
Probably the first time I have understood/respected someone's decision not to retake.
No kidding. I had no idea any of that went on, Reg... it makes me even happier for your UChi acceptance / attendance.
Re: ED at Chicago: 3.95/165 (reverse-splitter) ??
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:02 pm
by Fiera
Wow Regulus, thank you so much for sharing that story. Sorry I just got a chance to respond to it--but I'm really glad things ended up working out for you, as far as getting in with you LSAT goes. And you don't regret not retaking at all? I think you definitely made the right decision here, and on one can say otherwise.
Haha, okay you guys had me rolling when I read these responses. This is why I love TLS--because people aren't afraid to kick you ass when it needs it, sometimes even when it doesn't

Sigh, retaking sounds simple enough in theory, but in practice it has continued to give me the middle finger.
I think maybe I'll just do all my apps now and ED Chicago just in case, but take the Feb LSAT in case I get a score that'll make it worth my while to postpone til next cycle for Harvard? I wish Harvard accepted the Feb LSAT! It doesn't really unequivocally say it won't either, hmm.