Can a last minute retake benefit someone who wants to enroll for next fall? Forum

[WiltyMIZ]

Hey guys, so I wasnt sure if this fell under "choosing a law school" or here, so I opted for the seemingly more relevant sub-forum

So some brief background:
GPA: 2.8
LSAT: 166
Average Softs
Wanting to practice in Chicago

Now, on the December administration, I failed to bubble in two questions i KNOW i got correct going through the exam. Both were early LR questions, and will likely always haunt my nightmares. These two cost me a 168. On top of this, my watch didnt work going into he exam, and I was all around a nervous wreck.

Discouraged, I applied to a handful of schools not expecting much. While I was waitlisted/admitted/denied as I expected, UIUC offered me a scholarship a LOT larger than I expected to the tune of about a 65-75% (depending on my personal living expenditures) ride.

For personal reasons, I'd very much prefer not to wait a year. HOWEVER, I ust wondered if, hypothetically, I were to retake the LSAT in June, could a significantly better score provide any bargaining power to scholarship re-negotiation at the last minute? By my logic, at the very worst, I perform no/marginally better and can matriculate. On the other hand, If I were to knock it out of the park (as I feel I should have, my preptests were in the low 170s for the most part) I could at the very least back out and re-apply for an even more generous scholarship OR attempt to get it raised before fall semester starts.

Again, I want to practice in the Chicagoland area. I am well aware my undergrad performance bars me from a realistic (or fiscally worthwhile) shot at the midwest T-14 like NU or Michigan.

I'm just curious as to what could potentially be gained from a last-minute LSAT boost of a significant magnitude.

[haus]

I would suggest taking a look through the Spivey thread as this has been discussed there by people who have worked as ad coms.

Quick summary from what I recall, little to no downside, has the potential to give you leverage you did not have.

one example, p 211 of the Spivery thread
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=5250

also (more generally):

http://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/mistak ... at-advice/

[dm1683]

UIUC w/ 75% tuition for someone who wants to practice in Chicago and isn't committed to biglaw is a good option IMO. But ditto haus, a retake can only help and you can turn that scholarship from UIUC into a full ride if you jump a few points.

It's a good idea, but not something you have to do.