172/3.65, solid softs Forum

[sneezus]

Hi there, I'm new to TLS, so I am not sure if this is the appropriate spot for this; I'm looking for advice on a few different things.

I have a 3.65 GPA and scored a 172 on the December 2013 LSAT, my first shot at it. I'm doing TFA in Philadelphia teaching Spanish/ESL and am also working on a Masters of Education at UPenn; I have some other decent softs like being published in a peer-reviewed journal, 2-yr mission in Chile, blah blah. I won't apply until next cycle.

1) With these numbers, what are my chances at CCN? I feel like NYU looks good, but I'm in the soft middle at CLS. Would my softs maybe get me over the edge?
2) Rest of T14 with $$$ vs. CCN sticker?
3) I'm happy with the 172 but not thrilled; I consistently scored between 175-178 on PTs, and I knew I didn't turn in my best performance on the day of. Since I'm not applying this cycle, would it be worth it to retake the LSAT for $$$ purposes, or am I tempting fate there?

I'm mostly interested in public interest law (I think), so money is a big factor here.

Again, if this is in the wrong forum, my bad. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Gooner91]

Hi there, I'm new to TLS, so I am not sure if this is the appropriate spot for this; I'm looking for advice on a few different things.

I have a 3.65 GPA and scored a 172 on the December 2013 LSAT, my first shot at it. I'm doing TFA in Philadelphia teaching Spanish/ESL and am also working on a Masters of Education at UPenn; I have some other decent softs like being published in a peer-reviewed journal, 2-yr mission in Chile, blah blah. I won't apply until next cycle.

1) With these numbers, what are my chances at CCN? I feel like NYU looks good, but I'm in the soft middle at CLS. Would my softs maybe get me over the edge?
2) Rest of T14 with $$$ vs. CCN sticker?
3) I'm happy with the 172 but not thrilled; I consistently scored between 175-178 on PTs, and I knew I didn't turn in my best performance on the day of. Since I'm not applying this cycle, would it be worth it to retake the LSAT for $$$ purposes, or am I tempting fate there?

I'm mostly interested in public interest law (I think), so money is a big factor here.

Again, if this is in the wrong forum, my bad. Thanks in advance for your help.

I think you would be ok retaking if you feel like you could raise your score. There is some great information on here about studying and whatnot. I do not believe it will hurt you much if for some reason you score slightly less on the LSAT the second try, with the exception of maybe HYS but even then I am not sure it will. I think that is what you meant by "testing fate"?
Also look into the LRAP at different schools if PI is your interest, there is a great post that gives information on that as well.

That is a great score btw, you should be proud of it.

[sneezus]

A minimal drop in the LSAT might not hurt, then? This makes me feel like taking the LSAT again is an option with a lot of upside if I hit my average with minimal downside if I do worse. I wonder if I can motivate myself to study again.

Found that LRAP post. Very helpful. Thanks.

[Gooner91]

A minimal drop in the LSAT might not hurt, then? This makes me feel like taking the LSAT again is an option with a lot of upside if I hit my average with minimal downside if I do worse. I wonder if I can motivate myself to study again.

Found that LRAP post. Very helpful. Thanks.

From what I understand most schools take the highest scores. I am sure others on here know more about this than I do and can provide further insight into how it might effect your cycle to have a lower score, but I do not think it will have much effect.

[amc987]

Hi there, I'm new to TLS, so I am not sure if this is the appropriate spot for this; I'm looking for advice on a few different things.

I have a 3.65 GPA and scored a 172 on the December 2013 LSAT, my first shot at it. I'm doing TFA in Philadelphia teaching Spanish/ESL and am also working on a Masters of Education at UPenn; I have some other decent softs like being published in a peer-reviewed journal, 2-yr mission in Chile, blah blah. I won't apply until next cycle.

1) With these numbers, what are my chances at CCN? I feel like NYU looks good, but I'm in the soft middle at CLS. Would my softs maybe get me over the edge?
2) Rest of T14 with $$$ vs. CCN sticker?
3) I'm happy with the 172 but not thrilled; I consistently scored between 175-178 on PTs, and I knew I didn't turn in my best performance on the day of. Since I'm not applying this cycle, would it be worth it to retake the LSAT for $$$ purposes, or am I tempting fate there?

I'm mostly interested in public interest law (I think), so money is a big factor here.

Again, if this is in the wrong forum, my bad. Thanks in advance for your help.

I think whether you should retake or not depends on what your goals are and how likely it is that you can do better. I know a couple of people who retook 172s for scores in the high 170s. I don't think they regretted their decisions. I know other people who retook and did 3-5 points worse. My guess is that if you're gunning for $$$ at the t14 and a Harvard acceptance, it might be worth considering. If you're going for CCN or some money from the lower T14, you could probably just keep what you've got. The odds say that S and Y probably will be difficult for you to swing because of your GPA, not your LSAT score.

The other thing to consider is that this 172 is your first take and your testing record looks pretty great (it would look better with a 175-178, obviously, but that's like saying Michael Jordan's career is better than LeBron James's). Even if you did worse on a retake, you could always give it another go on your 3rd try and do better. If you're motivated and scoring well on PTs, I might go for it in Feb or June. If not, then take your 99th percentile score and have some champagne to celebrate.

[062914123]

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[sneezus]

we're in the same boat--i have a similar gpa and retook a low 170s score for a high 170s score to "make up" for it. goal is also pi and i'm mostly concerned about $$$. i would definitely retake. tfa is a good soft but i wouldn't count on it to push me over the edge anywhere. numbers are still of utmost importance, and since you underperformed on test day, i'd take the chance. a slightly lower score shouldn't really hurt you, especially since it's unlikely to be significantly lower considering your pt range. imho the chance at more $$$ was more than worth the trouble of retaking, and having the higher score gives me a lot more confidence, even though i technically had a "good" score before.

eta: w/r/t 2, i'd personally take $$$ at certain lower t-14s over ccn, but it's really dependent on the situation. you can't really know until you've got decisions back

Thanks to everyone. A lot of good advice here, what a solid resource.

More for bee: At this point I'm leaning toward a retake for $$$ purposes, I'm really not shooting for HYS considering my GPA. Question for you: did you take the very next LSAT administration after your initial score? Part of me likes the idea of waiting til June, but if February might be better, I could do it. Second question for you: how did you approach studying for the second round? I've burnt through most of the PTs. Ideas/tips? Thanks.