Good not great numbers, 'retake and reapply?' Forum

[bigflaw_ruleofjaw]

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[BigZuck]

I would retake and reapply because debt is a real burden, you want to put yourself in the best possible situation to get the job that you want, and because you haven't really gone about this the right way (applied late, didn't put sufficient effort into studying for the LSAT, etc.)

[snowball2]

If you're getting rejections from schools you'd prefer to attend or only partial (or no) $$ from schools to which you're accepted, then retaking makes sense to either minimize debt or maximize opportunity. You can't change your GPA but you can squeeze some more points out of your LSAT score.

[UVA2B]

It's all cost-benefit analysis, really. Prospective law students need to accurately assess their goals in employment and what it will take to achieve those goals. For instance, you say you want to go into public interest. Although it'd be better to more accurately define that goal (civil rights, immigration, environmental, etc.), you're looking at work that won't pay much after graduation (or likely ever, really). With that in mind, you should look at the schools that will place you into those types of jobs while minimizing cost because the debt will be difficult to pay off following graduation. So if your LSAT, which is the most controllable factor in law school admissions, is too low to net you a good school at a cheap price, you should retake and reapply earlier in the cycle when you could get more significant scholarships and better options.

Retake and reapply is largely circumstantial, but it's fairly common because posters looking for advice have rarely done the above cost-benefit analysis rigorously.

[Tiago Splitter]

OP I was in your situation. 27, not happy with my career, not making much money, ready to move on, and hadn't studied enough for the LSAT but it was too late in the cycle to retake without waiting a year. Fortunately I came to this board and got the retake/re-apply advice and am glad I took it. I know it sucks but if you're going to do this you have to do it right. Consider taking a different job or even just taking a little time off but don't rush into law school without putting yourself in the best possible position up front.

[dm1683]

Depends on two things:

1. How much you studied. If you got the 167 after 4-6 months of hard work and like 20-30 timed PTs then maybe applying now is justifiable, since you may have reached a ceiling. But if you just "studied" for like 2 weeks and took only a few practice exams, there's clearly room for improvement and it would be foolish not to retake.

2. (More important) Your career goals. What does "public interest" mean for you? Do you want to go work for the ACLU or some fancy high profile org? Then you need to go to a top 13 school and retake is a must. But if you have more modest goals, like working as counsel for a local nonprofit or being a local prosecutor, then taking the money at a place like UMinn or Iowa (assuming you would be ok working in Minnesota or Iowa, respectively) is a decent option.

So no, not everyone needs to retake and reapply. but it can only help...so why not?