Considering Withdrawing - Need Advice

[mtn1103421]

I'm currently deposited and have submitted my enrollment form at a top 30 but not top 20 school with $$ scholarship. When applying I had a 16Xmid and 3.8mid and this wasn't my best offer (I was offered similar money at Vanderbilt and a full ride at another top 30 school) but chose this school due to personal circumstances that have since changed. I was waitlisted at several schools (Duke, Michigan, Georgetown, NYU, etc.) and retook the LSAT in May to no avail, but just got my July LSAT and I miraculously increased several points to 16xhigh. I want to work in public interest so I'm worried my current debt level will be too high and the school is not competitive enough for the harder to attain PI opportunities. Thus now I am considering withdrawing and reapplying but have a few concerns:

1. Is it too late to withdraw? I don't have a lease yet, but I am worried bc I've submitted my enrollment form and orientation is in a little over two weeks.

2. Will being a reapplicant hurt my chances more than the new score will help?

3. I have now taken the LSAT 5 times. Will this hurt chances more than the new score will help?

4. Will the higher number of deferrals from COVID hurt my chances more than the new score will help?

5. Will the combination of 2-4 hurt my chances more than the new score will help?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi mtn,

Short answer: it's not too late to withdraw (obviously, you'll lose the deposit), and your new score will help more than any of the factors you mentioned.

Longer answer:

You're in a good position not to have an apartment lease in your current school's location. Withdrawals happen all the time at the "last minute" (people have other opportunities arise, life circumstances change, etc.). The school gets its "protection" from your seat deposit (which you lose), but beyond that you are not "locked in" by any means.

Your new score gives you a major leg up in the new admissions cycle. Some theoretical detriment from re-applying is not going to outweigh that score. If you were re-applying with exactly the same profile as before, then you would probably stand a lesser chance of being admitted than you had before. Re-applying with better numbers, particularly a better LSAT score (the credential that schools prize most, for better or worse), is a huge benefit.

With the exception of MAYBE the Yales, Stanfords, and (to a lesser extent, because they have such a big incoming class) Harvards of the law school world, taking the LSAT multiple times (even 5 times) has no impact on your admissions chances. Because of the U.S. News reporting requirements for their rankings formula, schools are incentivized to make their admissions decisions (and they do make such decisions) on the basis of your highest score alone (see here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/do-law ... igh-score/). So your number of takes is not going to outweigh the benefits of your new score.

The issue of how COVID deferrals are going to impact the admissions cycle is the trickiest one in your list. But let me tell you, I've been watching this admissions game for a long time, and the chance that COVID deferrals are somehow going to elevate schools' LSAT medians 3-4 points (or more), for just this cycle, is pretty low. LSAT scores in the high 160s and up are rare enough that you're still going to be a commodity this admissions cycle. At the very least, I see very little chance of you ending up in the same or worse admissions position just because of COVID deferrals.

Because re-applying and having taken the LSAT five times simply won't register as negative factors in law schools' evaluation of your new application, the combination of factors isn't going to outweigh your new score.

Please let us know if this triggers further questions for you, and best of luck in the new application cycle!

Jeremy

[mtn1103421]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. One additional question I have concerns the details of withdrawing. On the LSAC application for member schools, it asks "Have you ever attended any law school?". If I withdraw before orientation, I am able to answer "No" to this question, correct? If I withdraw before orientation, my understanding is that I will have been enrolled at a law school, but I will not have attended.

Thanks!

[Frank Peter]

Hi Mtn,

Yes, that is correct. If you've enrolled at a law school but withdrew before classes start, it would be fair to say that you have not attended law school for purposes of that question.