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Hey Guys,

I scored 168 on October LSAT, which met my expectation since I knew I screwed up the first LR section right after I finished it.
In 10 practice tests I took in September, however, my score consistently fell between 171-173.
(usually missing one question on each LR section, 3-5 on RC, and 1-3 on LG. on October test I missed 6 questions on first LR...)
In addition, I have a 3.80 GPA from a Top 20 private school, double majoring in Statistics and Political Science. I'm a senior.
I will definitely retake in December. And I'm confident that my score will improve by 2-3 points.

But I'm trying to decide if I should ED or RD Columbia now.
Going to CLS has always been my dream. And let's just say my commitment to CLS is high enough that I'm not very concerned about whether I get financial aid or not.
I know ED will allow me to: 1) apply early in the cycle 2) show commitment to the admission officers; but I'm not sure how much leverage that would give me, and if that can make up for my low LSAT.
RD also have some advantages: 1) my lsat will improve with the December test 2) since this semester's GPA will also be added to my transcript by the end of December, my cumulative GPA will rise to approximately 3.85 if I submit my application in January. But I'm not sure if applying in January would put me in a position that an minor improvement on scores will be offset by the fact I'm applying pretty late in the cycle.
So it's basically 168+3.8 ED now vs. 171+3.85 RD in January.
Which option do you guys think will give me the best chance of getting in CLS?

Plus, a friend of mine who is a CLS graduate suggest that I apply for ED. She said it's very likely that I will be deferred to the RD, and that way I can update my December LSAT score and GPA without worrying about applying late. That sounds tempting. But I will have to bear the risk of being rejected in ED and completely losing my shot for Columbia since I can't apply again in RD. What do you guys think?

Big thanks in advance to everyone who replies!!!!

Definitely RD. ED won't give you much of a boost and you'll have to pay sticker. As much as I love CLS, it's almost never worth sticker.

Thanks a lot banjo. So still RD regardless of financial concerns?

banjo wrote:Definitely RD. ED won't give you much of a boost and you'll have to pay sticker. As much as I love CLS, it's almost never worth sticker.

GMW77 wrote:Thanks a lot banjo. So still RD regardless of financial concerns?

banjo wrote:Definitely RD. ED won't give you much of a boost and you'll have to pay sticker. As much as I love CLS, it's almost never worth sticker.

Yeah, I'd say so. If you do really well in December, you may want to option to consider the rest of HYSCCN.

Do NOT ED Columbia since your numbers are likely to generate scholarship offers from other lower ranked T-14 law schools. In short, do not pay full price for Columbia.

Thank you CanadianWolf. I appreciate your advice. However, let's just put aside financial concerns for now and say that I really want to go to CLS, do you think that I will have a better chance of getting in with RD?

CanadianWolf wrote:Do NOT ED Columbia since your numbers are likely to generate scholarship offers from other lower ranked T-14 law schools. In short, do not pay full price for Columbia.

Thank you very much banjo. I'm leaning towards RD too, especially after I heard that CLS put a lot more emphasis on LSAT than on GPA (in fact, my firend's original words are "They don't care about GPA at all"). As a CLS student, do you think that's true?

banjo wrote:

GMW77 wrote:Thanks a lot banjo. So still RD regardless of financial concerns?

banjo wrote:Definitely RD. ED won't give you much of a boost and you'll have to pay sticker. As much as I love CLS, it's almost never worth sticker.

Yeah, I'd say so. If you do really well in December, you may want to option to consider the rest of HYSCCN.

My best guess is that you will be admitted to Columbia RD because your GPA is above median & your major in Statistics & minor in Financial Computation & Modeling could draw interest if noted in your PS & tied into your desire to practice law.

OP: PM me if interested in the program that I noted above.

I haven't taken GMAT yet and since I'm a K-JD, I don't think I have much of an advantage in business school application...Thanks for sharing the information though! I appreciate your advice.

CanadianWolf wrote:OP: PM me if interested in the program that I noted above.

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