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Thanks for the help

A medical addendum may be worth it, but it'd probably be better to check with the school and see if they can do a retroactive medical withdrawal for that semester.

Now, on to the fun stuff...

SouthCalLaw2016 wrote:Since I cannot retake the LSAT, without significantly delaying my plans, I would think the conventional wisdom that populates these threads of "retake" does not apply to me.

You and every other poster with "unique" circumstances.

You are not unique. You need to retake if you want to have a decent shot at UCLA or USC, especially if you want to get any scholarship money there. You have a better shot at USC right now, but you're still below the LSAT median and below the 25th GPA at both. Will it delay your plans? Yes. Will a delay in your plans be worse than a crippling amount of debt? I'd certainly say so, but if you really, really like debt, maybe you'll have a different answer.

You also did not mention what kind of PI you want to do. Is there a specific SoCal non-profit that you envision working for? Do you want government work? "Public Interest work" is a very vague field.

cavalier1138 wrote:A medical addendum may be worth it, but it'd probably be better to check with the school and see if they can do a retroactive medical withdrawal for that semester.

Checked with the school, unfortunately there really isn't a way to get these grades off my transcript.

cavalier1138 wrote:You are not unique. You need to retake if you want to have a decent shot at UCLA or USC, especially if you want to get any scholarship money there. You have a better shot at USC right now, but you're still below the LSAT median and below the 25th GPA at both. Will it delay your plans? Yes. Will a delay in your plans be worse than a crippling amount of debt? I'd certainly say so, but if you really, really like debt, maybe you'll have a different answer.]

UCLA and USC are reach schools that I am not expecting to be accepted to, but I have a fee waivers and they make sense geographically so in my opinion they are worth applying to. My post was not to debate the merits of retaking, I get the logic behind it. For myself, the next opportunity I have to qualify for the LSAT is in June of 2018, which would allow me to apply in the 2019-2020 cycle, assuming I can finally get the score I want. After extensively looking over the benefits and costs of making a decision of this kind, I decided from a monetary, personal, and overall well-being standpoint that for myself it was not something I wanted to pursue. If you are really concerned with the reasoning behind my decision, PM me and I could explain it to you further.

The main reason I made this post was to get opinions on the effects of my first year of college on my overall application and to get some extra insights UC Irvine admissions that anybody might potentially have. Also, since scholarship dollars are harder to ascertain from the available resources online, if anybody could provide additional information on chances at $$$ at a school like Loyola that would be cool too.

cavalier1138 wrote:You also did not mention what kind of PI you want to do. Is there a specific SoCal non-profit that you envision working for? Do you want government work? "Public Interest work" is a very vague field.

I know of the specific grouping of organizations within the Southern California legal market that I hope to one day work for. After being connected with people working at these orgs over the past few years and my own online research, I am aware of what law schools they hire students out of, the work they do, and the salaries that they typically pay. Knowing this I understand the importance of minimizing law school debt, and trust me more than anything in the world I want to take the LSAT again. If I could take it every time it was offered until I got the score I wanted, I would. However that is not currently the situation I am in, so I am left to face the choices that I currently have.

SouthCalLaw2016 wrote: I know of the specific grouping of organizations within the Southern California legal market that I hope to one day work for. After being connected with people working at these orgs over the past few years and my own online research, I am aware of what law schools they hire students out of, the work they do, and the salaries that they typically pay.

Given this, it sounds like you're in fine shape to target the schools you want to attend (assuming that these organizations hire primarily out of second-tier California schools). There's still nothing unique about your situation, so MyLSN will provide relevant data. A higher LSAT will only increase your scholarship offers, especially if that higher LSAT makes you competitive for better schools in the region. However, your current LSAT is well above Loyola's 75th, and I would anticipate a decent money offer from them. Just make sure you aren't getting a conditional scholarship, because it looks like they love to hand those out.

But once again, since you seem to be aware that a retake is in your best interests: there is no such thing as a good reason to not wait and retake the LSAT. The extra year or two of waiting is offset by six-figure scholarships.

Write a good essay and why UCI statement, apply early, and you should be set.