166 in June. Retook in October only to screw up again with a 170.
UCLA (2/10): Email from admissions office. I was definitely relieved to know I'm not going to get shut out.
Chicago: I don't know if deferred is correct since technically they just put me in with regular decision and haven't made a choice yet. I interviewed there on 1/23. She said I won't hear back for a couple of months most likely.
02/28/06: Waitlist number 1 arrives from Chicago. I was more or less expecting this, though I was a bit hopeful when I saw the letter had come so soon. I was expecting to wait until around April for it.
03/01/06: Email from Boalt saying my application has been selected for further review. Good news?
03/23/06: Called Boalt, told they were not able to offer me admission. Perhaps I shouldn't have been a douche and applied to them as an afterthought after Chicago ED didn't work out. Oh well. This means I'll probably be reapplying next year. Michigan here I come?
4/17/06: Big envelope from NYU almost got me excited, although I guess I'm glad to at least be waitlisted. Also in the mail was a rejection from Chicago for deferred admission.
5/02/06: Withdrew from UCLA. Hopefully that gave a lucky someone a spot. So, here I am now with no options. Sure, I still think my plan is solid, but I must say, now that it's a done deal, it's a bit unnerving knowing I passed up a good school for no guarantees.
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I am aware that many people who will be applying to the 2010 cycle will be starting to read this site to get an idea of what is to come. Let me give you some advice as someone who has botched this process.
1. Do not take the LSAT until you actually feel ready. I took the LSAT in June after only 5 practice tests because I really wanted to do EA applications at schools. The benefit of a higher LSAT score will always trump a slightly earlier application. If you aren't ready in June, October is plenty early. Also, don't let a single practice test convince you that you are ready to go. I got a 175 on the test prior to June and thus convinced myself I was ready. I probably should have paid attention to the 169 I got right before the 175. You should really take more than 5 practice tests.
2. If you do screw up, don't let anyone convince you to not retake it. Yes, many people who retake will do the same and many will even do worse. However, the people citing that do not know what you are capable of. You do. So why do people retake and do worse? Well, the most common reason is that most likely they didn't really screw up the first time around but merely scored in the lower half of their practice scores. If you score between a 170 and a 175 on practice tests and you get a 172 on the real deal, you didn't screw up. You just weren't fortunate. If you retake, you might be even more unfortunate and score a 170. However, I recieved a 166 in June which was lower than any practice test other than the test I took blind without any practice. Nevertheless, most people told me not to retake. I'm glad I did, even if it was only a slight increase.
3. If you choose to retake and one of failing points from the first test was that you didn't study enough, you should probably study quite a bit for the retake. I had only taken 5 practice tests prior to June and I didn't do well. I only took 6 tests following that and I didn't really do all that much better. It wasn't necessarily that I needed to understand how to solve the problems better, but moreso the fact that I needed to practice minimizing stupid mistakes. I think this is the case for many people. If so, bear in mind that you will probably score higher on older tests. Older tests were "harder", but also they had more lenient scales. If you can get the hardest questions, but make a bunch of stupid mistakes here and there, you'll score higher on older tests. This is important to note because you really shouldn't let a few 175's on old tests convince you that you're ready to go. Newer tests are different. Practice with those more.
4. Apply to many schools if you are shooting for the top ones and don't have the greatest numbers. If you have a 3.9/178 and really want to go to Tulane, well, you probably don't need to. However, for those marginals shooting for the illustrious top 14, cast a wide net Don't let the cost of applications get you down. It will be worth it in the end. I held off on applying to Michigan for a while because I was poor and wanted to wait and see what ED at Chicago would be. Once that didn't work out, it was late in the cycle, so I didn't even end up applying. Also, don't let the time it takes to apply get you down. It will be worth it in the end. I had fee waivers from Northwestern, Cornell and Duke, yet I didn't apply because I worked full time and had 20 units and didn't make time for it. This was stupid. Always make time for it.
5. Apply as early as you can. As I said earlier, take care of the LSAT first and don't rush that, but after that, for God's sake get a move on. If you are a marginal admit, you will most likely get in if you apply early and most likely will not if you apply late. What is early? Mid-October is early enough. What is late? The end of December is late. This mostly just applies to schools you're marginal at. If you're a non-URM with a 160/3.2, you won't get into Harvard even if you apply in September. If you have a 3.92/168, apparently you can apply late to UCLA and still get in.
Of course, I still have four pending applications, one acceptance and zero rejections, so I guess it's not over yet. Nevertheless, as of 2/15/06, I'm predicting at least 3 waitlists. Hopefully, someone will make me a happy guy in August. Of course, if not, don't get me wrong, UCLA is a good school so I guess I can't complain too much. However, we're future law students. We're competitive and we want to get into the best schools possible. That's just the way it is.
Good luck this cycle!