Apply with 168, low GPA now or retake in Dec? Forum

[calmike]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

[sev]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

How far removed are you from from your GPA?

I can only go off of mylsn but your chances at T13 don't look great no matter what score you get (http://mylsn.info/dm4799/). That one acceptance at NU was 5+ years after they graduated from college.

Edit: and at a non-T13, a 168 will probably get you anything that a 171 or 172 will. But that's just a guess because there doesn't appear to be a URM sub-3.0 170+ applicant in LSN.

[MT Cicero]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

How far removed are you from from your GPA?

I can only go off of mylsn but your chances at T13 don't look great no matter what score you get (http://mylsn.info/dm4799/). That one acceptance at NU was 5+ years after they graduated from college.

Edit: and at a non-T13, a 168 will probably get you anything that a 171 or 172 will. But that's just a guess because there doesn't appear to be a URM sub-3.0 170+ applicant in LSN.

When you pull URM out of the equation on myLSN, you get a lot more data points that make NU more friendly to sub-3.0 / >169. Not friendly, but certainly more so. Same for UVA. I'd retake to give yourself a decent shot at NU/UVA and maybe a puncher's chance at a few more of the top schools. The difference in 168 and 170 could very well be the reason for admission or not.

*Edit: By "decent shot," I do not mean that you're likely to get in. These types of applications can be very volatile, and you can get 2-3 T14 acceptances or 0. I know because I was one. But I wasn't URM, so you could get a nibble where you are. But if you think you can move up even a point, that could be a very key point.

[calmike]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

How far removed are you from from your GPA?

I can only go off of mylsn but your chances at T13 don't look great no matter what score you get (http://mylsn.info/dm4799/). That one acceptance at NU was 5+ years after they graduated from college.

Edit: and at a non-T13, a 168 will probably get you anything that a 171 or 172 will. But that's just a guess because there doesn't appear to be a URM sub-3.0 170+ applicant in LSN.

Thank you for your help.

I am 4 years from college. I have around 3-4 years of work experience.

Is it even worth a retake for non-T13 then?

Do you think a 170 or 171 in December with January application is better than a 168 on an October application?

[calmike]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

How far removed are you from from your GPA?

I can only go off of mylsn but your chances at T13 don't look great no matter what score you get (http://mylsn.info/dm4799/). That one acceptance at NU was 5+ years after they graduated from college.

Edit: and at a non-T13, a 168 will probably get you anything that a 171 or 172 will. But that's just a guess because there doesn't appear to be a URM sub-3.0 170+ applicant in LSN.

When you pull URM out of the equation on myLSN, you get a lot more data points that make NU more friendly to sub-3.0 / >169. Not friendly, but certainly more so. Same for UVA. I'd retake to give yourself a decent shot at NU/UVA and maybe a puncher's chance at a few more of the top schools. The difference in 168 and 170 could very well be the reason for admission or not.

*Edit: By "decent shot," I do not mean that you're likely to get in. These types of applications can be very volatile, and you can get 2-3 T14 acceptances or 0. I know because I was one. But I wasn't URM, so you could get a nibble where you are. But if you think you can move up even a point, that could be a very key point.

Yes, I was having the same thought. Retake in December, hopefully score at least a 170, and apply. I think I would have better chances at a T13 then than applying now with a 168.

I hope you were able to get into the 2-3 T14 schools.

[sev]

Hello,

I have a 168 LSAT and a below 3.0 GPA.

I am Mexican URM and want to get into T13. I want to do big law or a federal clerkship.

Would it be better for me to apply to law school now, like literally this week...

or

should I retake in December, hopefully score 170+, and apply as soon as the score is out?

How far removed are you from from your GPA?

I can only go off of mylsn but your chances at T13 don't look great no matter what score you get (http://mylsn.info/dm4799/). That one acceptance at NU was 5+ years after they graduated from college.

Edit: and at a non-T13, a 168 will probably get you anything that a 171 or 172 will. But that's just a guess because there doesn't appear to be a URM sub-3.0 170+ applicant in LSN.

When you pull URM out of the equation on myLSN, you get a lot more data points that make NU more friendly to sub-3.0 / >169. Not friendly, but certainly more so. Same for UVA. I'd retake to give yourself a decent shot at NU/UVA and maybe a puncher's chance at a few more of the top schools. The difference in 168 and 170 could very well be the reason for admission or not.

Yeah, certainly true. It looks like everyone still has WE (or was from a service academy) and significant distance from their GPA--that appears to be the biggest factor for sub-3s at T13s.

I am 4 years from college. I have around 3-4 years of work experience.

Is it even worth a retake for non-T13 then?

Do you think a 170 or 171 in December with January application is better than a 168 on an October application?

Ah, so you've distanced a little bit--that's good. I wouldn't retake for a non-T13 but if you really want T13.... yeah, I'd probably submit after a December retake (this is just my inclination and not backed by stats or anything). There should still be plenty of slots open in January.

What's your level of confidence that you can do better?