To Re Apply?

[gobears846]

Hello,
I am seeking advice on what to do next cycle.
This past cycle, I applied to a variety of schools in the top 20 (NW, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, USC, Duke, etc) as well as GW, BC, and Fordham.
I have a 3.5 from UC Berkeley where I double majored in Environmental Economics and Political Science. My highest LSAT is a 166, but there is a history there.

Oct 2020 - Cancelled
August 2021 - 163
October 2021 - 157
Jan 2022 - 166

I applied to a vast majority of my schools in November 2021. I registered for the January LSAT, so most schools put my app on hold. So my application went into complete at most schools in February.

I have solid softs including being a first generation college student, lots of internships, working at one of Berkeley Law's labs, etc. I would classify my writing skills as strong. I think I had well written and interesting PS, DS, etc. Trusted friends as well as my LSAT tutor offered feedback.
One of my LORS was my director of the lab at Berkeley Law and I also took a class with her. The second was a professor of mine for two semesters and we developed a close relationship through my regular attendance of office hours.
I also started a corporate job as an associate in February and added an update to application by emailing in an edited resume.

But... my results were so disheartening. Rejected everywhere that I applied in T20
Waitlisted, then rejected at GW
Waitlisted at BC and Fordham
I even applied to UC Hastings out of anxiety in March and got rejected.

Any advice for the next cycle? Should I give up hopes in T20 and just apply T20+?
I could retake the LSAT and I have PTested at 170+ multiple times, but with so many retakes and it just not going my way, I am weary to take it again. I have also taken the test four times now.

For reapplicants - I know you have to rewrite essays. But what about LORs and resumes? I feel like those would be vastly the same. Since graduating college, I have studied for the LSAT and started a full time job, so there's not much to add from my applications last cycle.

[Dave Killoran]

Hello,
I am seeking advice on what to do next cycle.
This past cycle, I applied to a variety of schools in the top 20 (NW, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, USC, Duke, etc) as well as GW, BC, and Fordham.
I have a 3.5 from UC Berkeley where I double majored in Environmental Economics and Political Science. My highest LSAT is a 166, but there is a history there.

Oct 2020 - Cancelled
August 2021 - 163
October 2021 - 157
Jan 2022 - 166

I applied to a vast majority of my schools in November 2021. I registered for the January LSAT, so most schools put my app on hold. So my application went into complete at most schools in February.

I have solid softs including being a first generation college student, lots of internships, working at one of Berkeley Law's labs, etc. I would classify my writing skills as strong. I think I had well written and interesting PS, DS, etc. Trusted friends as well as my LSAT tutor offered feedback.
One of my LORS was my director of the lab at Berkeley Law and I also took a class with her. The second was a professor of mine for two semesters and we developed a close relationship through my regular attendance of office hours.
I also started a corporate job as an associate in February and added an update to application by emailing in an edited resume.

But... my results were so disheartening. Rejected everywhere that I applied in T20
Waitlisted, then rejected at GW
Waitlisted at BC and Fordham
I even applied to UC Hastings out of anxiety in March and got rejected.

Any advice for the next cycle? Should I give up hopes in T20 and just apply T20+?
I could retake the LSAT and I have PTested at 170+ multiple times, but with so many retakes and it just not going my way, I am weary to take it again. I have also taken the test four times now.

For reapplicants - I know you have to rewrite essays. But what about LORs and resumes? I feel like those would be vastly the same. Since graduating college, I have studied for the LSAT and started a full time job, so there's not much to add from my applications last cycle.

Hi GoBears!

Thanks for the message,and I'm sorry to hear your cycle went lie this. I am going to strongly urge you to reapply, for two reasons:

• 1. Next cycle should be better than this one. because we should see an applicant dip and the score bubble will be even less of an issue.
  
  2. I think there's very likely an issue inside your application that can be fixed. It's not your LSAT though: your LSAT score history is not a factor here--they don't care about the 157 and they see you as a 166, and three takes (a single cancel is irrelevant) is nothing unusual these days. I had a person with 9 takes a pull a T25 acceptance last year, by comparison, and one with 7 pull T14. It's too bad the LSAT hasn't gone the way you wanted and performed in the past (and if you think that could change I could see a retake being warranted, but that's not my point here), but your score is still solid. Your GPA is also good, although at many of these schools it's below the median and that can be an issue.
  
  Instead, I suspect there's an issue either in your essays (most likely) or LORs (less likely). The blanket rejections--even at schools where'd you think you'd get in--tells me the issue goes beyond numbers to something in your softs. Most good writers think that they've produced good essays, but in my experience that isn't usually the case. This is because the essays need something much different and far less comfortable than most people realize. Friends and even most LSAT tutors simply don't know what that is, and often give feedback that isn't all that helpful (and is often quite damaging). I've been doing this 30 years and I've seen this as an issue so often that I suspect this is where the issue is. The alternative is the LORs, if someone said something negative, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Based on your descriptions though, this seems less likely.

I would suggest you get a professional law school admissions consultant to review your essay (not a professional writer, but an admissions person). with a quick read, they'd know immediately if your essays were the issue or not., as well as how easy it would be to fix the problem if one exists.

Thanks!