Classic Dilemma: To apply or not to apply?

Navas de Tolosa

3.98 GPA and 165 LSAT. Retaking in February. I already submitted my application but my first choice school says they won't review my application until after I receive my Feb scores, unless I request otherwise. Their median LSAT is 165 but I feel that applying with a 165 won't get me much money (especially since they have a full-tuition scholarship I was hopeful for that would probably call for a 168 or 169). There is a decent (but not great) chance my score will improve in Feb but I fear that rolling admissions will give my spot to other applicants. You see my dilemma.

Your thoughts? I'm leaning towards just asking them to review my application now.

Matthew524

Hey, I would just tell them to review your application as of now. You have an amazing gpa as well as a great LSAT score. Im pretty sure your LORs and other extracurricular activities probably even pushes you further. Also a quick tip I learned from a lot of law school students is, find the rival of your law school that you really want to go to and also apply to that school. Then when it comes down to crunching numbers tell the law school you want to go to that their rival school offered to give you way more money! I know countless people who have received a lot of extra money from this tactic and I am sure it will work. BTW what school do you want to go to?

cverdugo

If you think your numbers are good enough to get in now, go ahead and apply. If you get in you can use your FEB LSAT as a negotiation chip if you significantly improve.

@Matthew524 it isn't about finding a Law Schools' rival when negotiating scholarship but rather finding out what school are similar in rank and tier. You can't call up Michigan and say "Michigan Stated offered a full-ride, what can you do for me?"

Aidoe

@Mathew524, how does one go about informing a law school about all of that? Are you saying it's as informal as an email or phone call?

Matthew524

@Aidoe @cverdugo I was told by Jonathan Wang, 7sage tutor, and his other friends that you should call their rival schools and talk to them about it. I am just telling you what I was told by other people and I have seen it work especially when it comes to rivals.

UsernameChange

@Cverdugo is spot on with his example. "Rivals" only matters of they are closely ranked. Fsu vs UF for example. As he said, you will get laughed at trying to use Michigan State as a bargaining chip against Michigan...

Aidoe

@Mathew524 I don't doubt it tbh but who exactly do you talk to about this and how? Just the admission committee through a phone call? There must be a way to properly do this

Pacifico

Negotiations are primarily done over emails composed in a professional tone. And law school rivals are not UG sports rivals. The word rival is a bit misleading in this context as it is more about rankings and prestige as has been alluded to. Therefore you could consider that HYS are rivals (no merit aid though), CCN are rivals, UT and UCLA are rivals. As noted above, if you email Duke and tell them UNC gave you a full ride they won't care too much. You might get a little something but you're not getting matching offers as is more likely with closely ranked schools.

lsatings

@Pacifico said:
And law school rivals are not UG sports rivals. The word rival is a bit misleading in this context as it is more about rankings and prestige as has been alluded to.

Agreed. When people say 'law school rivals' they already assume a rivalry in rank/prestige within that determination.

lsatings

@"Navas de Tolosa" said:
Their median LSAT is 165 but I feel that applying with a 165 won't get me much money (especially since they have a full-tuition scholarship I was hopeful for that would probably call for a 168 or 169). There is a decent (but not great) chance my score will improve in Feb but I fear that rolling admissions will give my spot to other applicants. You see my dilemma.

I would say it depends on the school. First off in terms of admission, some schools will use a high GPA to mitigate the effects of a 'lower' LSAT. Schools such as UChicago or even Berkeley are very GPA oriented, so you can pretty much secure admission that way and dont stress your LSAT too much. If you don't get in, you can always reapply.

I would also consider seeing if you can use your February LSAT score to negotiate a higher scholarship so you're not waiting to be admitted to do so. It is still a score you have to report to the school, after all, and if it is higher then it ultimately benefits them. The worst case scenario is that you will be rejected, but the silver lining is that if you don't hear back from them/are waitlisted at the time that your new LSAT score is released, then you can submit your score as an 'update' to your application that will only strengthen it.

If you wait until February and aren't admitted because you are applying later, then you would at least have given it a chance.

kennedybj

@Pacifico said:
if you email Duke and tell them UNC gave you a full ride they won't care too much.

darn right they won't! #GoDuke