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You need to narrow down your geographic and career focus before anyone can give you advice on specific schools to attend

But yes, definitely retake. There is a world of difference between a 167 and a 173 when coupled with your GPA

Don't apply early decision to UT no matter what you do

A -10 is something you can definitely fix (more PTs under true test conditions would help with whatever your describing here), I wouldn't have killed but I might have pinched a small baby to have that be my problem when I was retaking

You don't even need to think about a 173, play around with a 3.7 170 on law school numbers and retake in December

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sollos wrote:I think my biggest concern is potentially fouling up the December test. If I foul up, I've lost this ED opportunity, and I am absolutely opposed to waiting another year for the next cycle. And so I'm worried that there might be some curveball on December that'll just cause this to repeat.

Then again, I suppose I could at worst still take what merit aid I might get from a regular decision to UT. But I'm also wondering how much merit aid will be affected by applying as late as the December LSAT (which I guess gets released in early Jan.).

people are going to fight you on the last part of your first sentence, but you really need to take advantage of some of the resources on this site (spivey thread, guides, etc.) and get a better idea of what the law school application process looks like

sollos wrote:The only dissuasion is that I don't fancy staying in Texas.

Then definitely don't apply to UT ED.

Definitely talk to Spivey (and others), but I'll tell you from my own application cycle (last year) and the research I did back then that applying after a December retake is perfectly fine. At least with regard to the top 14, I performed exactly to my numbers - got in everywhere I was above both medians, and got six-figure aid from schools where I was above both 75th's (including full rides). I suppose the earlier the better, but keep in mind that applying on January 5th (or whenever you get your scores back) probably won't affect your cycle too significantly (i.e. you'll perform to your numbers).

And I agree with the other posters above - don't go to Texas if you don't want to work in Texas, and definitely retake.

Even if you roll with a 167/3.76 (which would almost certainly be a very bad decision) applying to UT ED would be an early contender for worst decision of the 2015/2016 law school application cycle.

Do

Not

Apply

ED

As a person who took Texas with $ over higher-ranked schools, I am very happy with my decision and my employment outcome. That being said, I wanted to stay in Texas.

You can go to other markets from UT. Lots of friends going to NY, LA, DC, etc. But you've got to be in the top quarter of the class.

emkay625 wrote:As a person who took Texas with $ over higher-ranked schools, I am very happy with my decision and my employment outcome. That being said, I wanted to stay in Texas.

You can go to other markets from UT. Lots of friends going to NY, LA, DC, etc. But you've got to be in the top quarter of the class.

I know a number of people going to other markets from UT too but I think it's not wise to attend UT unless your target is TX (I think we're probably saying the same thing but in my opinion the "You can go to other markets" thing shouldn't factor in. If you want another market, don't go to UT). And top quarter isn't easy to do from my experience.

I think especially if the OP wants PI/gov in another state then UT would be an exceedingly poor choice. The OP needs to figure out what they want from their legal career and where they want that legal career to be.

BigZuck wrote:

emkay625 wrote:As a person who took Texas with $ over higher-ranked schools, I am very happy with my decision and my employment outcome. That being said, I wanted to stay in Texas.

You can go to other markets from UT. Lots of friends going to NY, LA, DC, etc. But you've got to be in the top quarter of the class.

I know a number of people going to other markets from UT too but I think it's not wise to attend UT unless your target is TX (I think we're probably saying the same thing but in my opinion the "You can go to other markets" thing shouldn't factor in. If you want another market, don't go to UT). And top quarter isn't easy to do from my experience.

I think especially if the OP wants PI/gov in another state then UT would be an exceedingly poor choice. The OP needs to figure out what they want from their legal career and where they want that legal career to be.

Agreed. Sorry I wasn't more explicit but that was what I was trying to say. Other markets are totally possible but it's too much of a risk.

OP if you were like "I want NYC but I'd be ok ending up in TX" I'd say it's worth it. But given that you say you absolutely positively do not want to end up in TX it's probably not your best bet.

Your gpa and a great LSAT could get you a full ride at a lower T14. Retake. Doesn't matter how far you have to drive/fly. Lots of scholarship money on the line here.