June LSAT Retake for Waitlist

[bigstateu'18]

To preface this, I have read the "The June LSAT and the Law School Waitlist" post and found it quite informative, but I do have a couple questions specific to my situation. I'll try to keep it as short as possible to save everyone's time, but I do think the details are quite important.

I have been waitlisted at a number of schools between 4 and 14 in the USNWR rankings (and have yet to hear from 2) with an LSAT of 171 and GPA between 25th and 50th percentile at most of those schools. The weakest part of my application is likely a poor senior year of college ('17-'18). I medically withdrew from the fall semester, and though I did graduate on time the following spring, I was still dealing with the issue from the previous semester. Thus, I took online classes and earned a significantly lower gpa than my cumulative. I wrote an addendum explaining that year in detail and describing why it will not be an issue moving forward, but am afraid it may not have helped very much, especially considering the slight stigma in the legal community associated with my particular medical issue. Also during that time I applied to all of the same schools as I did this year, plus one just outside the T14. I was waitlisted and did not end up hearing from any of the T14 schools, though I was admitted to the one just outside T14. I paid the seat deposit but ended up withdrawing late in the summer. Since then, I have been employed in two part-time jobs, both college degree required but not really in my field of study or viable as long term career options. I applied in February of this year to put as much time as possible between my application and health issues.

Considering those circumstances, especially that the LSAT is already the strongest part of my application and at or above the 75th percentile for most of those schools, would an improved score still increase my chances of admission from the waitlist? Is there anything else I could do to increase my chances this year? Would another year off be particularly beneficial (I could look for more stable employment, though my undergrad degree isn't well suited to finding a career-type job right out of college, or I could apply to a one-year MBA program at a regional school)? Or, is getting into a T14 school just not in the cards for me?

My LSAT score is from just before my medical issues began, if that makes any difference.

[Dave Killoran]

To preface this, I have read the "The June LSAT and the Law School Waitlist" post and found it quite informative, but I do have a couple questions specific to my situation. I'll try to keep it as short as possible to save everyone's time, but I do think the details are quite important.

I have been waitlisted at a number of schools between 4 and 14 in the USNWR rankings (and have yet to hear from 2) with an LSAT of 171 and GPA between 25th and 50th percentile at most of those schools. The weakest part of my application is likely a poor senior year of college ('17-'18). I medically withdrew from the fall semester, and though I did graduate on time the following spring, I was still dealing with the issue from the previous semester. Thus, I took online classes and earned a significantly lower gpa than my cumulative. I wrote an addendum explaining that year in detail and describing why it will not be an issue moving forward, but am afraid it may not have helped very much, especially considering the slight stigma in the legal community associated with my particular medical issue. Also during that time I applied to all of the same schools as I did this year, plus one just outside the T14. I was waitlisted and did not end up hearing from any of the T14 schools, though I was admitted to the one just outside T14. I paid the seat deposit but ended up withdrawing late in the summer. Since then, I have been employed in two part-time jobs, both college degree required but not really in my field of study or viable as long term career options. I applied in February of this year to put as much time as possible between my application and health issues.

Considering those circumstances, especially that the LSAT is already the strongest part of my application and at or above the 75th percentile for most of those schools, would an improved score still increase my chances of admission from the waitlist? Is there anything else I could do to increase my chances this year? Would another year off be particularly beneficial (I could look for more stable employment, though my undergrad degree isn't well suited to finding a career-type job right out of college, or I could apply to a one-year MBA program at a regional school)? Or, is getting into a T14 school just not in the cards for me?

My LSAT score is from just before my medical issues began, if that makes any difference.

Hi Bigstate,

Thanks for the question! Yes, for the T7-14 schools, you are right about your LSAT score being at or above the 75th (using Class of 2021 data). For those schools, it's not the biggest help. For the T6 it would be more of a help of course since you are under the 75th there for each school, and sometimes under the 50th. So while from a percentile positioning standpoint we aren't seeing a big boost, the question that crosses my mind is how the schools are considering your final year grades. Meaning, if they have academic questions about you, the 171 isn't erasing those. I know that sounds bizarre for me to say given how good a 171 on, but in the T14 they are very used to seeing score in the 170s, and if for some reason they are uncertain, your LSAT score is probably not erasing those question marks (again, that's crazy, but it's one path of inquiry that immediately jumped to mind here).

The big problem here is that I can't see enough of what's going on in your app to know how much skepticism they have. Clearly something is throwing them off, but I don't know whether it's the grades, the medical condition (which would be dicey on their part to factor that in), your essays, or what exactly. For example, maybe your essays aren't striking the right tone, and the hard numbers aren't the problem at all. Without clarity there, I can only speculate about the impact an LSAT retake would have (hence the theory above).

Last, as far as the year off, law schools typically say it's not about time off, but what you do with that time that matters. If you are growing, getting leadership and development opportunities, working in the law perhaps or a field of professional interest to you, then the time away can be great. But if it's not getting you anywhere, it usually doesn't change the calculus of admission dramatically.

Thanks!