Long post - feeling uncertain/appreciate advice

[lsatadviceseeker]

Hi,
So first of all, I wanted to say a BIG thank you to this forum and powerscore resources in general, I 100% don't know what I would do without them. I also LOVE the podcast, it has definitely been the highlight of my LSAT prep. So, basically I'll summarize my experience as much as possible so that this doesn't become an essay. Disclaimer: ended up being lengthy

I started studying for the LSAT 2 years ago during my senior year of college with a really really low diagnostic (122). After 7 weeks of studying, I was at a 140, but I was determined to raise my score. Unfortunately, life kept throwing me major curveballs and I had to go through a lot of circumstances that I didn't ever foresee. So my studying was pretty on/off because of that. Then last summer I was able to become more focused/devote my full time to studying and started doing way better. I was PTing at 164 before I sat for my first exam and scored a 161 (score canceled this last July). I felt as though I was still underperforming my understanding of the exam so I took it again in October, when I was PTing at about a 166-167 and scored a 159. I realized test anxiety was a big problem for me (I have existing ADD and anxiety) and got testing accommodations for 50% increase in time. This was helping a lot and I began consistently PTing at a 168/169 (one high score of 179) before my next official LSAT earlier this year, which ended up being a 165. After this, I decided to send in my application for this cycle and really rushed to get everything in. I was not informed about the process enough and I really thought that I stood a chance for schools that I was right below the medians or in between the 25 percentile rank and the median. However, I was only accepted into one school, a T-30 with a 40% scholarship. Unfortunately, I did not get into my two dream schools, both similarly ranked T-20s (but by this point I was not surprised after learning more about the importance of medians).

So, I decided to give retaking another shot, but with the pandemic, having to move home and everything else that was going on in the world, I wasn't as focused as I would've liked to be till closer to the test, but I was still PTing in between 168-173 before the June Flex. I felt good going into it, but got completely wrecked. After listening to the post-June flex podcast, I realized that I had received the hardest test form based on the discussions, which was predicted to have a -9/-10 curve. I ended up scoring a 161, which is the lowest score I have gotten in a year.

Now, I am in a predicament of what I should do. Objectively, the school I am in at isn't a bad option, it is in the region that I wanna practice in and is ranked relatively well. But for some reason, I really don't feel excited about it for the price I will be paying (esp with covid) and am worried about online education for 1L. I am looking at about 95K to 100K cost for tuition. I don't know what it is, I guess that I just thought that if I worked really hard, I would end up at the schools that I really had been working for and am just frustrated that I have been underperforming my PT numbers. I am open to taking the test one more time and really amping up the difficulty of my PT conditions (taking brutal sections/tests under less time and drilling more) but I am worried that I may not do as well again. I also am completely out of fresh prep material as I have done every PT in one form or another. My dedication is there, however, and I am not opposed to giving it one more shot.

I am also highly considering applying ED to my top choice school which offers a minimum of 50% scholarship to their admitted ED applicants. Their LSAT/GPA medians are 166/3.80 and I would be applying with s 165/3.69. I am N-urm and N-KJD, but I am first gen. I would also reapply to the school that I got into this year along with others that I did not apply to last year.

So my main question is do you guys have any advice as to what I should do? I am really feeling lost and don't know what would be the best course of action. My options are
1. begin school at my current offer in the fall, 2. retake LSAT and try to score higher and reapply. 3. Don't retake LSAT and reapply early in the fall.
Do you think the ED would give me enough of a boost to make up for the GPA/LSAT difference?
LSAT STATS: four takes - cancel, 159, 165, 161

I'm so sorry for the long post, I know you all are so busy. Thank you so so much in advance for any help you may give!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi lsatadviceseeeker! First off, I have to say how impressed I am with your hard work and improvement. Going from a 122 on a diagnostic to an official score of 165 and practice scores in the 170's is nothing short of incredible. With your commitment, I'm sure you will absolutely crush it in law school.

As for your situation. It's great that you're being so thoughtful of all your options - law school is a huge decision and I'm glad you're not taking it lightly. But there isn't a "right" answer for this kind of stuff; I can only give my personal experience and opinion, which I'll try to do as best I can below.

I totally get not being jazzed to start law school during the pandemic. Paying that kind of tuition for an online only education is just ridiculous; the whole reason to pay that much for a good law school is because of the lifelong personal connections in your field that come from being part of an elite institution. As a fellow prospective lawyer with ADD, having to learn all of 1L through Zoom sounds appalling. I had to do it for my last two months of law school once quarantine started and it was not fun. However, I wouldn't put too much of a premium on being "excited" about law school. Going to law school is exciting for about all of 2 weeks; the remainder of law school is extremely stressful and draining. This is true at every good law school; going to your dream school vs the T-30 that you've already been admitted to will have very little difference on your quality of life over the next 3 years once that "wow I'm at my dream school!" charm wears off. Instead, law school should be viewed purely as an investment into your future. So the question comes down to, is the chance at attending your dream school worth much more than the advantages of the school you already got in to?

You mentioned that your school is located where you want to practice. I'm not sure whether your dream school is as well, but if it not then I want to caution you about that. I just graduated last month from a top 15 ranked law school. It was my top choice while applying, since at that point having a high ranking and being in a cool city were the most important factors for me. However, I've known all along that I didn't want to practice in the state where the school was located. I seriously discounted the disadvantage this would put me at. Familiarity with the state law and experience in the state are enormously important in the field I'm interested in (public defense). It's made it much more stressful to get the internships, networking contacts, and post-grad job that I want (obviously COVID hasn't helped either!). Although my school was very good and my professors were excellent, if I could do it all over again I would have gone to a lower ranked school within my intended practice state. If the school you're admitted to is in your intended practice area but your dream school is not, do not discount the enormous advantage that this holds. Going to school within your intended practice area is a more valuable investment than attending an out of area higher ranked school in my opinion (Yale and company excluded).

If your dream school is in your practice area, then I think you should go for it. Attending a better school within your practice area will pay off for the rest of your career. Waiting one year to attend law school is worth that chance in my opinion, especially if that year of law school would have been all online anyway. So how can you get into your dream school? Well, 3 things can help. First, obviously you want to try to raise your score. With your practice scores, it sounds like you can still raise your official score a bit. If you're out of practice material, I'd suggest working with a private tutor to see if there's any small areas where you can improve and see if they can come up with some practice drills for you. Second, you want to do something cool with your year between now and law school that you can write about in your personal statement/talk about in your interview.

Third, you want to apply Early Decision. I applied and got in to my school ED. I was a splitter (high LSAT, low GPA), and my numbers were right around the cutoff for admission. My decision to apply ED - along with my essay, interview with the admissions office, and the fact that it was the only school I applied to - all combined to give the admissions office the strong impression that I really wanted to go to that school and nowhere else. I believe that impression was what made the difference in getting me into that school. All the data shows that applying ED is somewhat of a plus for getting in. From what I've heard, it won't get your application in the door, but if the admissions team is on the fence about you it can be the difference maker. The only real downside of applying ED to your dream school is that it can hurt your ability to negotiate scholarships, but a minimum 50% scholarship is a great deal so that seems like it's not an issue in your case.

All this to say - if I were you, my decision would come down to whether my dream school was located in the area where I wanted to practice. If it wasn't, I would probably stick with the good school I'd already gotten into within my practice area. If it was, I would probably retake the LSAT in August or October, do something cool with my gap year, and then apply ED to my dream school.

Hope that helps! Good luck with your decision, and feel free to follow up with any more questions.