Re-Apply vs Defer

[ElleofFrell]

Hey everyone,

I have a bit of a conundrum. I have gotten accepted to Queens and Ottawa (still waiting on Osgoode). But I have decided to take a year off - due to some personal reasons also I did undergrad and masters back-to-back while also working and I am quite burned out. So with that context in mind.

I am trying to decide if I want to rewrite the LSAT, this one came out way lower than expected, I am hoping to bring it to high 160s lower 170s. With the intention of reapplying and shooting my shot with UofT, or at least Osgoode. Toronto has been my dream school for a long time and I am hoping to fulfil that dream

I am wondering if it is worth it. Should I just defer one of the other schools and not bother? And if I reapply, would it be okay to use the same application and just add the most recent developments in my life or would that be frowned upon.

I am happy to provide more info if that will help - Thanks!

[Ben]

What are your grades like? What were your usual PT results and what was your actual LSAT score? 

[Ice]

2 hours ago, ElleofFrell said:

 

I am wondering if it is worth it. Should I just defer one of the other schools and not bother? And if I reapply, would it be okay to use the same application and just add the most recent developments in my life or would that be frowned upon.

I am happy to provide more info if that will help - Thanks!

I think schools only grant deferrals for extreme cases, so I'm not sure that would work, but it's worth a try. Using the same application material won't hurt you at all, but if you do re-apply, you might wanna explain what you did in your year off in your PS to avoid raising any potential concerns (not that there should be any but you never know)

If you feel like you under-achieved on the LSAT and you're deadset on taking a year off, which I think is the wise decision in your case, then absolutely go for a rewrite. You're already a competitive applicant because you've gotten into two schools so even if you screw up it's not all that serious. Give it another month or so until you make your decision, Osgoode will still be rolling out offers so hang in there

[ElleofFrell]

22 minutes ago, Ben said:

What are your grades like? What were your usual PT results and what was your actual LSAT score? 

Grades are iffy. cGpa is 3.3ish L2 3.7/3.8 B3 3.7. LSAT 160. PT were ranged between 168-175, I think nerves got to me.

12 minutes ago, Ice said:

I think schools only grant deferrals for extreme cases, so I'm not sure that would work, but it's worth a try. Using the same application material won't hurt you at all, but if you do re-apply, you might wanna explain what you did in your year off in your PS to avoid raising any potential concerns (not that there should be any but you never know)

If you feel like you under-achieved on the LSAT and you're deadset on taking a year off, which I think is the wise decision in your case, then absolutely go for a rewrite. You're already a competitive applicant because you've gotten into two schools so even if you screw up it's not all that serious. Give it another month or so until you make your decision, Osgoode will still be rolling out offers so hang in there

Thank you for such a thoughtful answer, it is scary taking a year when next cycle may not turn out the same, but I am worried that 1L won't be good for me if I am burned out. I have a good federal government job that I started about 6 months ago, which I hope to keep throughout the next year - so I won't be doing nothing 🙂

I will definetly consider a rewrite, I am weird and I actually liked LSAT - so I hope with my first summer off school ever I cna actually focus on getting that 170s score. 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by ElleofFrell

[Ryn]

My understanding is that deferrals, if granted, typically come with a commitment to not apply anywhere else during the deferred year. It's basically a delayed acceptance: i.e., I want to attend your school but let me go next year instead of this year. It's not a provisional acceptance so you can see what your chances are elsewhere in the interim.

My general thought is, all law schools in Canada are generally good schools. To delay going to one, to which you have already been accepted, because you might get accepted at another one, is in my view pretty foolish. This is particularly true if you still need to get a higher LSAT to become more competitive at your target schools. Plus, the opportunity cost of delaying your lawyer's income by an additional year on its own is probably not worth it.

But, if you have a job you like that pays well in the meantime, then perhaps the risk is manageable. I personally still wouldn't do it though. There are too many variables not in your favour. Both Queen's and Ottawa are great schools and I highly doubt the opportunities you would miss going there over U of T or Osgoode are worth nearly as much as you feel they are. Certainly if you're looking at biglaw, there is no shortage of Queen's or Ottawa grads on Bay.

Good luck in any event.

[GreyDude]

Reading this thread, the only expression that comes to mind involves a bird in the hand—though I'm also thinking of the informal reasoning fallacy of rejecting the good because it isn't the perfect.

OP, I see that you need a year off, and I'm not going to contradict that; you need what you need. But also, you have excellent options before you, and you seem to be considering the possibility of putting them aside on the optimistic assumption that something better will follow. And it might follow! But it also might not. 

You were accepted by two excellent schools this year, but rejecting an offer of admission and re-applying does not guarantee a similar or better result next year. You also can't be certain that your next LSAT score will be as high as you need. Deferral, if granted, keeps the current positive situation in play.  Withdrawal and reapplication has its risks, though it's possible it could work out just as you hope. I know what I would do, but I'm not you. All I can suggest is to think carefully before you decide. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by GreyDude

[Philosophy]

Also you should consider the fact that U of T cares about CGPA a lot more than they say they do. I know officially they are B3, but if you look at the available data points on this thread the combination of (high cgpa / low 160s LSAT) appears to be much more common than (low cpga / 170s+ LSAT)