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Hello all

(please don't quote) (also this is not a flame I sincerely apologize if it comes off at all badly)

Like many others, I just received my September score and am trying to figure out how to move forward

My stats now stand at a 3.9x (mid-high) and a 172. I plan on applying next year (will be 1 year out of UG). Non-URM. Softs are okay (extensive on-campus/internship stuff, honors in majors and some academic awards, will have a job for a year), won't help or hurt.

My goal is HYS or CCN with $$. My career interest is in public interest and I'd like to clerk if possible. I would probably take an offer from HYS over CCN unless the money from CCN was 50% or better.

I think I have a good idea about where I stand but I'm hoping to lay out my current understanding of my chances and my two possible routes forward and receive critiques.

My current chances: Outside shot at Y/S, pretty likely in at H, very likely in at CCN, good shot at some $. Not much of a shot at Hamilton but a better shot at the Ruby. Is this accurate?

Option 1: Apply next fall with my current stats. I will be able to apply very early, which is a plus. If I were to apply, I'd basically go into it with my goals above and would likely take an offer that matches them. If I didn't receive an offer that matches my goals, I would delay going for a year and probably retake the LSAT. My main questions here are: is applying twice harmful to your chances?

Option 2: Retake the LSAT in February or June with the hope of scoring 173+, then apply in the fall. My main question here is whether or not retaking is worth it/whether it would significantly increase my chances if I were going into the LSAT still averaging a 174 or so. I will not have the time I had this summer to study, but I'd obviously make time if it'd make a big difference. I also wonder if retaking before going through a cycle is "worth it"-- in other words, why apply if it's possible to receive an ideal offer without retaking?

Which of these seems like the more sensible choice? Time isn't an object. Money is something of an object but I don't mind taking on debt.

Thank you in advance for any help and advice.

Given your goals and where you were PTing prior to the September test, I would retake if I were in your position.
Personally, I have nearly identical goals and am in the same position in terms of timeline, ideal outcomes, and softs. A couple of more points on the LSAT, combined with your GPA will put you in prime Hamilton/Vandy/Ruby territory. I'm pretty sure those options are still possible with your stats, but you have the potential to dramatically increase your odds if you're willing to give it another shot.

Additionally, those extra 2-3 points on the LSAT would increase your odds at Yale, which has a much more generous LRAP than Harvard for PI gunners.

Like you said, you'll have excellent options with your 3.9+ and a 172, but a 174/5 could be a gamechanger at CCN and Y. I don't think you'd be wrong to not retake, but you have nothing to lose but some time (and potentially lots of $$$ and improved options to gain)

Hope this helps, and I'm looking forward to sharing a cycle next year!

Anon-e-miss wrote:.

Thanks Anon. (And congrats on the score! Well earned.)

creed wrote:

Anon-e-miss wrote:.

Thanks Anon. (And congrats on the score! Well earned.)

Thanks, you too!

.

Platopus wrote:.

Thank you. Yeah, the fact that I really lose nothing from retaking is the most compelling reason to do so. I’m going to spend the weekend thinking about it and if I decide to retake, I’ll sign up for December. It’s all still fresh and I think it works better than Feb/June schedule-wise.

I forgot to include this, but it’s really just LR that I need to nail down. September reflected my typical LG/RC breakdown: -0, -1/-2. It’s just LR that fluctuates between -1 and -4, which is a lot given that it’s two sections. So I should be able to target my studying there. Which I guess is all the more reason to retake.

What I wouldn’t give for one LR and 2 LG sections on the LSAT!

Agree with the above. Retake.

I scored very highly on the LSAT but have only a mid-low GPA for HYS. Would do so much to go back and change that but it's set in stone.

You still have that opportunity with your stats. A 175+ with your GPA will give you an almost 50/50 shot at Y and S according to myLSN. That's amazing.

I am sure it's gotta take quite a bit of emotional energy to gear back up on the LSAT after having scored very well already, but you have so little to lose and so much to gain.

PS, my little bit of advice for LR for someone scoring fairly well already is to get really aggressive. Start doing confidence drills where you just rip through a section almost recklessly with confidence. That will give you a gauge as to your intuition.

This helped me go from finishing sections with 3-5 minutes remaining to more like 9-12 minutes. I started moving on without reading all answers, and eliminating wrong answers more quickly. That allowed me to use the ~10 minutes at the end of the section to go back and really scrutinize the hardest questions. My LR average went from -1 to -3 per section down to -0 or -1.