<p>Jonri,</p>
<p>I am well aware that my experience is merely one datapoint. I also believe, however, that applying twice is never a bad thing (unless, and this is in response to sally’s post, one’s application has not substantially changed). The LSAT is a huge component of one’s law school application, and if the OP were to raise his/her score substantially between the two cycles, I’d wager that he/she would have a far greater shot at getting into the schools at which he/she was previously rejected (assuming the new LSAT is within the range of the schools in question). The fact that the applicant had previously applied is a non-issue.</p>
<p>The issue of re-applying is a negative in other circumstances. Suppose a person applies just before deadlines, is rejected, strongly believes that he or she would have had a better chance had they applied earlier, and applies at the beginning of the following cycle with a substantially similar application. Will that re-application be viewed as a negative? Yes.</p>
<p>You call my view an “opinion” because you were misled by the structure of proof in my original post. Granted, my reasoning wasn’t entirely clear. I should mention that I’m basing my “opinion” not just on my admissions experience, but also on having worked and communicated with admissions deans at numerous T10 schools. </p>
<p>I most definitely do not owe Mike an apology. His original post was reckless.</p>
<p>sallyawp</p>
<p>I agree with your post, but I would like to add some specificity to them.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes and no. I’d wager that if your LSAT score is at least 4 points above the previous one, it’s worth a re-application (assuming the new score is in the school’s range). Why 4? Well, the admitted margin-of-error is ±3, so–for law schools–any new score within that range is statistically insignificant. Only one school I know of–Michigan–has gone on the record about their discouraging additional LSATs unless the applicant went outside of the MoE, and has stated that they’d only consider LSAT scores beyond that range. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if other schools followed this practice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think you’re approaching this from the wrong perspective. Suppose an applicant initially applied to, say, UVA with a 3.9/161 and was rejected. Suppose she retook the LSAT and scored a 175, and decided to apply in the following cycle. She would, arguably, have an outstanding shot at any law school, including UVA. In that circumstance, having applied twice will most definitely help. Schools that aren’t HYSCCN tend to be very conscious of their applicants’ interest in them, especially applications who are particularly competitive for other schools. That’s why schools like Penn and Michigan have “why Michigan/Penn?” essay prompts (as well as a handful of other T14s). </p>
<p>In any field, whether it’s applying for schools or for jobs, it always helps if the entity to whom you’re applying knows you want them (of course, there’s a line between desire and desperation; so long as the applicant isn’t in the latter category, it’s fine). Even if the school/employer is not your top choice, articulating why you want to be there and having demonstrable interest in them can be a boost (and one way to show demonstrable interest is to apply multiple times; I would know… I was on an admissions committee for a very competitive UG, and we definitely took note of applicants who had applied before).</p>
<p><a href=“As%20a%20side%20note,%20I%20once%20received%20some%20excellent%20advice%20from%20a%20partner%20I%20admired%20when%20I%20was%20but%20a%20young%20baby%20associate%20at%20a%20BIGLAW%20firm%20in%20NYC.%20This%20partner%20told%20me%20that%20when%20asked%20for%20a%20draft%20of%20anything%20–%20a%20memo,%20an%20agreement,%20a%20brief%20.%20.%20.%20anything%20–%20make%20sure%20that%20you%20have%20read%20it%20twenty%20times,%20made%20sure%20that%20the%20legal%20analysis%20and%20citations%20are%20correct,%20that%20there%20are%20never%20any%20typos%20and%20that%20you%20would%20be%20happy%20to%20present%20your%20work%20as%20a%20final%20product.%20Why?%20Simply%20because%20a%20draft%20is%20not%20a%20draft.%20You%20need%20to%20always%20put%20your%20best%20foot%20forward%20and%20never%20anticipate%20or%20expect%20another%20bite%20at%20the%20apple.%20This%20same%20principle%20applies%20to%20applying%20to%20law%20school.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I really think this betrays much ignorance of the admissions process. The fact is that the process is so numbers-heavy. If your LSAT/GPA was previously in the range for a school, and you were outright rejected, I would agree with the above. However, if the applicant retakes and is now in contention, I disagree with the above entirely. The fact that schools are willing to take 2nd attempts at the LSAT pretty much throws a wrench in your “revisiting philosophy.”</p>
<p>I think this is a fairly localized circumstance in law, though; you are certainly right about the rest (though I dare say that some BIGLAW employers will accept a 2nd bar attempt if you fail the 1st one; in this economy, however, I wouldn’t take that chance).</p>