Chances for UBC and UofT

[light]

CGPA/B3 (no drops): 3.91

GPA w drops: 3.96 or 85.2%

LSAT: 169

Just wondering what my chances are for UBC and UofT. Would an increase of a few points to my LSAT help me substantially or just be a waste of time/money?

[KimuraGrip]

My GPA with drops was around 84 and my LSAT was 166 and I got an offer in mid-Feb at Allard. I had to settle with 166 as it was my January take and my highest score. I might have tried to get it higher if I had another shot because I was PTing in the low 170s quite often. However, your stats put you well above Allard's medians and you'd have to decide whether the costs are worth the potential benefit of being a little higher. I wouldn't call improving your LSAT a waste of time and money but there could be significant trade-offs which make it a net negative endeavour for you. For example, the LSAT was grueling for me and I am glad I no longer have to worry about it because it not only cost a lot of money (both it terms of paying for the LSAT but also losing time to make money) but also a lot of personal time and stress. Are the costs of improving the LSAT worth the stress?  Is it worth the potential gain? Only you can really answer that, especially since your score is already high and you might be reaching a point of diminishing returns.

[light]

Thanks for the advice @KimuraGrip. A lot of people immediately scoff when you say you want to rewrite a 169, so I appreciate it.

[KimuraGrip]

1 hour ago, light said:

 A lot of people immediately scoff when you say you want to rewrite a 169

I think it's because it's already a great score. For my take, 166 was 90th percentile. So, I did very well and with your 169 I imagine that's around the mid 90s in terms of percentile which is even better. Personally, I know I could have done better and there is not really a way to say that without coming across as perfectionist and possibly arrogant as a result. Rewriting a 169 can come across similarly. However, it's really up to your personal decision regarding what you believe is the best choice to make. It's not arrogant or pompous to go "I could have done better" but that's my perspective.

There's trade-offs to every decision. Even not making a decision is a decision by omission which also has trade-offs. I think 169 gives you a great chance at any law school in Canada. I think improving your score gives you a better chance. Who doesn't want a better chance, right? However, there is a chance you do worse, and that would impact your average score negatively and thus reduce your odds for the schools that go by the average score. Allard is not one of these schools last I checked as I think they are still highest score only. But, who knows what a worse score does in the minds of the admissions committee. I'm sure they might have to say something to the effect of: we do not negatively view an applicant if they have a worse score as their most recent take. However, maybe that actually does impact your chances negatively in the sense that an admissions committee member might subconsciously go: "hmm this applicant might not be as skilled as we expected or as suitable as we thought". There's no way to prove that and it's all speculation but that's a risk to consider. Your next take might be worse and that has implications too. 

[Byzantine]

I got into allard for 2021 start date with worse stats (think around 84% with drops + 167). I think you will be admitted there. What’s your index score? (Check the sticked posts in allard section). 
 

If you think you can score better you can always retake. If you got a higher lsat it might get you a scholarship/higher one. But it’s pretty tough to improve a 169. Also takes a lot of time and money. So up to you.