Should I re-take? Forum

[DebtAverse]

I took the LSAT for the first time in June and scored a 172. I have mixed feelings about the score because on the one hand it is my exact target score, but on the other hand I was PTing 3-4 pts higher and felt that the test had gone better than that. Part of me says this is a great score, I have good chances at T14 schools, and I probably wouldn't score much higher if I retook, but part of me says I could probably up the score by a few valuable points and possibly have more scholarship opportunities.

Extra details that might help:
GPA: 3.95 (altered slightly)
Softs: Average, worked through undergrad
Undergrad School: TTTT, online division
No interest in BigLaw, want to do PI

Any words of TLS wisdom? Chances? Is it very damaging to retake and get a lower score? Any thoughts on how the PI interest or online undergrad might influence the kinds of numbers I need?

Thanks in advance!

[ymmv]

I took the LSAT for the first time in June and scored a 172. I have mixed feelings about the score because on the one hand it is my exact target score, but on the other hand I was PTing 3-4 pts higher and felt that the test had gone better than that. Part of me says this is a great score, I have good chances at T14 schools, and I probably wouldn't score much higher if I retook, but part of me says I could probably up the score by a few valuable points and possibly have more scholarship opportunities.

Extra details that might help:
GPA: 3.95 (altered slightly)
Softs: Average, worked through undergrad
Undergrad School: TTTT, online division
No interest in BigLaw, want to do PI

Any words of TLS wisdom? Chances? Is it very damaging to retake and get a lower score? Any thoughts on how the PI interest or online undergrad might influence the kinds of numbers I need?

Thanks in advance!

Enjoy the full rides. You should have big money at a couple T14s and virtually any strong regional.
I would apply broadly and take whichever school gave me free tuition in the market I'd most like to practice. What kind of PI do you want?

[transferror]

A retake is only useful for the purposes of getting >75% LSAT, but that pretty much only applies for HYS in your situation. Also, when you say "online division," I assume your school has a campus, but will it be evident from your transcript that you were an online student? If so, it might affect your cycle.

[ymmv]

A retake is only useful for the purposes of getting >75% LSAT, but that pretty much only applies for HYS in your situation. Also, when you say "online division," I assume your school has a campus, but will it be evident from your transcript that you were an online student? If so, it might affect your cycle.

Interesting. Does LSAC categorize GPAs from online schools any differently, assuming they're accredited?

[DebtAverse]

I took the LSAT for the first time in June and scored a 172. I have mixed feelings about the score because on the one hand it is my exact target score, but on the other hand I was PTing 3-4 pts higher and felt that the test had gone better than that. Part of me says this is a great score, I have good chances at T14 schools, and I probably wouldn't score much higher if I retook, but part of me says I could probably up the score by a few valuable points and possibly have more scholarship opportunities.

Extra details that might help:
GPA: 3.95 (altered slightly)
Softs: Average, worked through undergrad
Undergrad School: TTTT, online division
No interest in BigLaw, want to do PI

Any words of TLS wisdom? Chances? Is it very damaging to retake and get a lower score? Any thoughts on how the PI interest or online undergrad might influence the kinds of numbers I need?

Thanks in advance!

Enjoy the full rides. You should have big money at a couple T14s and virtually any strong regional.
I would apply broadly and take whichever school gave me free tuition in the market I'd most like to practice. What kind of PI do you want?

Thank you for your reply. I feel more encouraged now. I am hoping to work in some sort of child advocacy, but I would be interested in other types of PI as well. I didn't realize until recently that PI jobs can be so hard to come by. I seem to remember that you are interested in PI too. Is that right?

[ymmv]

I took the LSAT for the first time in June and scored a 172. I have mixed feelings about the score because on the one hand it is my exact target score, but on the other hand I was PTing 3-4 pts higher and felt that the test had gone better than that. Part of me says this is a great score, I have good chances at T14 schools, and I probably wouldn't score much higher if I retook, but part of me says I could probably up the score by a few valuable points and possibly have more scholarship opportunities.

Extra details that might help:
GPA: 3.95 (altered slightly)
Softs: Average, worked through undergrad
Undergrad School: TTTT, online division
No interest in BigLaw, want to do PI

Any words of TLS wisdom? Chances? Is it very damaging to retake and get a lower score? Any thoughts on how the PI interest or online undergrad might influence the kinds of numbers I need?

Thanks in advance!

Enjoy the full rides. You should have big money at a couple T14s and virtually any strong regional.
I would apply broadly and take whichever school gave me free tuition in the market I'd most like to practice. What kind of PI do you want?

Thank you for your reply. I feel more encouraged now. I am hoping to work in some sort of child advocacy, but I would be interested in other types of PI as well. I didn't realize until recently that PI jobs can be so hard to come by. I seem to remember that you are interested in PI too. Is that right?

No, but maybe someday when my UG loans are paid off.

If you want to work for a place like Community Legal Services or CADA, I would probably take a full scholly at a regional flagship in a big city and start interning/volunteering/clinicing/pro-bonoing the hell out those kinds of organizations throughout law school. I'm aiming biglaw for the moment, but TCR for PI gunners seems to be intern, network, rinse, repeat. On the up side you won't have to stress as much about grades, but on the downside you'll have to hustle a little earlier and longer than many of your private sector peers.

Anyway, nevermind all that for now - time to get those applications in. Congratulations and best of luck! Enjoy your 0L year. You've earned it.

[DebtAverse]

A retake is only useful for the purposes of getting >75% LSAT, but that pretty much only applies for HYS in your situation. Also, when you say "online division," I assume your school has a campus, but will it be evident from your transcript that you were an online student? If so, it might affect your cycle.

Thank you for the reply! That's a good point about the >75% being the key reason to retake. Considering my target schools, it looks like a re-take is not in order then.

Yes, my school has a campus, and I'm told the transcript will be the same as it is for on-campus students. It feels weird trying to keep the online nature of my degree quiet though (with the LORs, etc.).

[DebtAverse]

I took the LSAT for the first time in June and scored a 172. I have mixed feelings about the score because on the one hand it is my exact target score, but on the other hand I was PTing 3-4 pts higher and felt that the test had gone better than that. Part of me says this is a great score, I have good chances at T14 schools, and I probably wouldn't score much higher if I retook, but part of me says I could probably up the score by a few valuable points and possibly have more scholarship opportunities.

Extra details that might help:
GPA: 3.95 (altered slightly)
Softs: Average, worked through undergrad
Undergrad School: TTTT, online division
No interest in BigLaw, want to do PI

Any words of TLS wisdom? Chances? Is it very damaging to retake and get a lower score? Any thoughts on how the PI interest or online undergrad might influence the kinds of numbers I need?

Thanks in advance!

Enjoy the full rides. You should have big money at a couple T14s and virtually any strong regional.
I would apply broadly and take whichever school gave me free tuition in the market I'd most like to practice. What kind of PI do you want?

Thank you for your reply. I feel more encouraged now. I am hoping to work in some sort of child advocacy, but I would be interested in other types of PI as well. I didn't realize until recently that PI jobs can be so hard to come by. I seem to remember that you are interested in PI too. Is that right?

No, but maybe someday when my UG loans are paid off.

If you want to work for a place like Community Legal Services or CADA, I would probably take a full scholly at a regional flagship in a big city and start interning/volunteering/clinicing/pro-bonoing the hell out those kinds of organizations throughout law school. I'm aiming biglaw for the moment, but TCR for PI gunners seems to be intern, network, rinse, repeat. On the up side you won't have to stress as much about grades, but on the downside you'll have to hustle a little earlier and longer than many of your private sector peers.

Anyway, nevermind all that for now - time to get those applications in. Congratulations and best of luck! Enjoy your 0L year. You've earned it.

Oh, okay, idk why I thought you were going for PI. Anyway, thank you for the insights about going that route. There is a strong regional T2 in my area, so I may end up there. I definitely need to do some research on the interning options available in this area. Sorry for my ignorance, but what does CADA stand for?

And thanks the encouragement -- I needed it tonight.

[everything_bagel]

I've got similar numbers and am also committed to public interest. I've never understood the TLS attitude that what you want for PI is a full ride, end of story. A school with good LRAP (HYS, Chicago, probably others) is at least equivalent to a lower-ranked school with more money, so don't worry so much about the debt yet. I can't answer the retake question for you except to say I am not planning to do it...having a really compelling PI story (and being able to demonstrate interest through WE/extracurriculars) has allowed a lot of my peers/people I have spoken to to outperform their numbers in admissions.

TLS is just super conservative on the debt issue, IMO. You have to figure out whether that is the right perspective for you or not.

of course, LRAP is more on the chopping block in some places than others, so you have to be cautious if the school doesn't have a lot of money (e.g. boalt) but it's totally a viable option.