Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q&A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles.
If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.
[Get more tips and advice on applying to law school.]
Dear Shawn:
I’m writing to get your advice on whether or not to retake the LSAT in October. I took the LSAT in February 2014 and scored a 173. I also have a canceled score on my score report, but my undergraduate GPA is 3.0.
In order to compensate for my low GPA, I want to make sure that my LSAT score is as high as possible so that I am in the best position when applying. Do you think it’s worth it for me to retake the LSAT in October? –
High LSAT Low GPA
Dear High LSAT Low GPA: First,, congratulations on that superb LSAT score. A 173 is a great accomplishment and will help you gain admission into any law school you apply to.
From an admissions perspective, a 173 is already high enough to compensate for your GPA to whatever extent possible. Unless you scored close to 180, a higher score won’t really make a difference and there’s always the chance you could perform worse.
The big risk is taking the LSAT again and scoring lower. At a 173, that isn’t that difficult to do. First, in the 170s, you generally increase or decrease one scaled point per additional question right or wrong.
Second, unless you were consistently scoring significantly higher on your practice tests leading up to the February exam, it is likely that a 173 is close to your ceiling and any significant lapse in concentration, missed rule in a game or difficult passage would likely bring your score below 173. Encountering a difficult game or passage could even bring you below a 170.
The high risk described above, coupled with an only minor admissions advantage in getting a higher score — which is probably unlikely in any event — leads me to conclude that you should stick with the 173.
[Know what to consider when deciding whether to retake the LSAT.]
Dear Shawn:
I originally planned on applying to law school for fall 2015 admission. I was very far along in the process of putting together my application, including submitting letters of recommendation and completing personal and diversity statements.
Ultimately I decided to postpone applying until this year to pursue a fellowship. I am now beginning to put together my admissions package for fall 2016 admissions. Should I start from scratch and write new essays and get new letters of recommendation, or can I use what I prepared last year? -Postponed
Dear Postponed: You should not plan on starting completely from scratch, but you should expect to make some changes to the applications you prepared last year. You should expect to alter your personal statement and likely request a letter of recommendation from someone at the fellowship, but there is no need to start a new application from scratch.
[Learn how to complete a postponed law school application.]
The big change you should plan on making is incorporating your experience this year into your personal statement and other essays, as applicable. This of course depends on the nature of your personal statement and any connection the content of your personal statement has with the work you did in the past year. I would encourage you to modify your personal statement by adding a paragraph to address the fellowship. This may of course require you to shorten other parts of your essay to conform to word or page limits.
Your letters of recommendation are another part of your application that may be affected by your fellowship . I recommend that all applicants have at least two letters of recommendation from undergraduate professors and, if applicable, one letter of recommendation from a work supervisor.
Even if you already have a professional letter of recommendation, you should consider requesting a letter of recommendation from someone whom you worked for with the fellowship.
More from U.S. News
A Low GPA Might Not Derail a Law School Application
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Evaluate GPA, LSAT Scores to Set Law School Application Strategy
Know if Retaking the LSAT, Updating an Application Is Necessary originally appeared on usnews.com
