Retake LSAT or go?

cat_person

I applied to law school in late December and sent a January LSAT score (162). I was accepted to a #50 ranked law school with a ~30-40K/year conditional scholarship. I deposited and have been planning to attend in the fall. For context: this school was not my first choice school, and I have been secretly harboring a desire to transfer after my first year if I'm unhappy and do well with my coursework. I've been trying to suppress this "transfer fantasy" and start school with the intention of staying because from what I've read it's impossible to predict one's 1L grades.

Recently, I started to rethink my plans. I can't help but feel jealous of some of my friends who are starting law school at programs I'd love to attend. Shouldn't I feel more excited about the program I am planning to attend? Simultaneously, I love my new job and am in a happier and healthier place than I've been in a long time. As I think about moving, I can't help but feel like I'm giving up on my potential to attend a higher-ranked program that might be a better fit for my career aspirations. What if, I've been thinking, I defer my offer, work another year, and save up more money for school. I could also invest in LSAT tutoring (something I haven't tried yet) and retake the LSAT in the hopes of getting a higher score and reapply to some of my dream programs. For context: I previously applied for law school and studied for the LSAT alongside a very demanding job. I now have much more free time and bandwidth to study. I could also spend the year getting mentally prepared for school. For me this means, seeing friends and family, traveling, and pursuing personal goals.

I know it is very challenging to increase one's LSAT score, so as I weigh this decision I want to be realistic about how much I can improve. I would admittedly be disappointed if I didn't improve my score and ended up in a similar (or worse) position a year from now. And when looking at the numbers, the reality is only a small fraction of folks get above a 165. I do have a strong GPA and career experience working in my favor.

So... what would you do if you were me? Go? Or wait a year, retake the LSAT, and reapply?

canihazJD

Depends on your goals. Right or wrong, for certain career paths, the benefit of a more prestigious school on your resume/diploma is enormous... life altering even. I was a reapplicant, turning down more than a few solid scholarship offers. One of the best decisions I've made. Without more context, it sounds like you'd always be wondering what might have been, which leans R&R. And while it seems like you got the point, just to reemphasize, don't ever bank on transferring.