Anyone decided to wait another year?

NorthSide60660

Hello everyone. Wondering if anyone here decided, after receiving their last score for this admissions cycle, to wait another year and continue studying for a better score? I ended up getting about five points less than my goal. It hurts, but I know I can do better and have decided to wait. I also had several setbacks in 2020, aside from COVID: deaths in family, divorce, moving across the country, and health issues. Anyone here waiting a year? Care to share? Thanks.

sschch97

Hey! I have actually already applied for this cycle as I took the November 2020 Flex, however I have been put on endless waitlists ever since. I am now looking to take another LSAT to either get off a waitlist and/or use towards a second gap year. It is definitely not ideal nor how I planned this cycle to go, but I am trying to tell myself this will give me a chance to do even more than I ever planned for myself to achieve.
On top of that, this cycle is BRUTAL. It is a skewed reflection on us as applicants so don't be hard on yourself. You have already achieved so much and I can assure you that what you are hoping to achieve is inspirational to many people around you

sarakimmel

I had the same thing happen, got a score lower than I knew I was capable of and knew that would result in incredible debt if I pushed to apply in the current cycle. I decided to wait a year, it was really hard to make the call, but it was undoubtedly the right one for me. Sounds like it is for you too. That is a lot to go through all by itself, tack onto that studying for the LSAT and applying to law schools and you'd be spread so thin. Take the time, get your feet back under you, take deep breaths and know you made the right choice for you and that everything will look much clearer for next cycle... including being able to be in the front of the line for apps instead of the back as it would have been if you applied in February. Everything in its own time.

Glutton for the LSAT

I haven't taken the LSAT formally but I've committed to taking as long as I need in order to consistently score within my goal range.

LawBound-1

Yes, after getting a 156 on my first take I decided to wait. I know that this core can go up and I just need to put in more time and effort.

SheboyganBoi

Hey! I'm in a similar boat as well after having scored a few points below my PT average and 8 points below my best PT score. It took me about a week of thinking to decide that I wasn't going to settle for my score, and that in the long run, it would be worth it to take the extra time to score in the range that I know I have the potential for. At the end of the day, it came down to whether or not I would look back years from now and regret not having given myself that additional time to get that higher score and give myself a shot at going to the schools that I truly want to go to.

Also, highly recommend taking a couple of minutes to read this great post that really helped give me some new life when I was not doing too hot after my getting my score back
https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/26958

Hope this helped, and best of luck with your studies and everything going forward!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I also decided to defer another year.

I was laid off earlier in 2020, I spent some time working with my families business, engaged in other activities, and later that year is when I decided law was the correct path for me. I tried to get to a score of 170 in an unreasonable amount of time.

On top of my parents getting COVID, it was my hubris that made me think I could get that kind of score in the amount of time I was working with.

Now, I'm back to studying, but I'm also volunteering, bolstering my resume, and trying my hardest to get back into a job that hopefully will also help with my applications. I feel much better. It's more strategic in my situation to take more time.

I also want to say for the people that were hoping to go to law school directly after graduating college and feeling like their life is over because of a bad score. I'm closing in on 30. You still got a whole life ahead of you and there's nothing wrong with taking a year to get some professional experience, Americorps, or whatever organization.

AmMath007

Hey, I was considering applying this year but I have also decided to wait and get the best possible score I can. I am sure many people are on the same boat as you. It is also best to take your time with these things and remind yourself that you made the right choice. I think a lot of people had a terrible year in 2020 and I feel that since Law School is a massive challenge in itself it is best to be in a position where you can go in and perform at your best. For me it would suck to work hard after terrible LSAT scores to get a great one, go to a good school and then not be able to perform to the best of your ability. I am also a terrible online learner and need the interaction one would get from a classroom to learn and perform to the best of my ability.

HermioneGranger

I have decided to wait as well. I applied this cycle and then started to study in October thinking I just needed a couple of months. That was stupid! I took the January flex and scored 9 points below the average of my first choice law school. Unfortunately it will be too late to improve my score for this cycle. I've decided to reapply this fall. I am older and it sucks to have to wait another year, but will be well worth it instead of going to my safety school. I will just have to make the most of this extra year. Good luck to everyone in the same boat.

brookegojazz

I haven't applied yet, but I have been postponing since taking the LSAT in Fall of 2019. I've been studying this entire year and plan to apply for Fall of 2022. I can say it's worth it! It's not fun, it's not easy, but it's been worth the extra time. My extra studies are getting me in a position that will open up doors I hadn't even imagined as a possibility in Fall of 2019. Changing my expectations required humbling myself, accepting the reality that is the LSAT, and not giving up. It's tough but like I said, it's been worth it! Good luck!

canihazJD

I decided to R&R around this time last year. Absolutely the right decision given where I'm at now, and I'm completely fine with waiting another year if I don't get one of my preferred outcomes. If you let your goals define your path, then your scoring will define your timeline. We want to get on with our lives, perceive some form of progress and know where we're headed... but that's all just a construct. Waiting another year is nothing, even considering one more year at the back end or peak of your career. As long as you're using that year to improve your potential for admissions outcomes (therefore scholarship, career, satisfaction, earnings, etc.) it's a worthwhile investment.

To steal a bit from Epictetus, demand the best for yourself.

AmMath007

@canihazJD enjoyed reading your perspective, it all made sense when you quoted Epictetus.