When To Wait To Reapply For Law School

There’s a right time for everything.
And that notion also applies to law school.
Experts say waiting to reapply to law school may pay off in the long run—especially if you’ve been placed on a waitlist or have been rejected to your top choices.
Daniel Waldman, a consultant at Stratus Admissions Counseling and contributor at US News, recently discussed instances when taking a year off to try reapplying to law school next year might make sense.
Strengthening Your Application
Waldman says taking a year off to strengthen your application may give you a better chance at getting into your dream law school.
For those fresh from undergrad, it may make sense to take some time to gain relevant work experience.
“Similarly, you can address the weaknesses in your application during this year,” Waldman writes. “Giving yourself more time to prepare for the LSAT – and perhaps doing so while out of school or not working – is likely to improve your score, and even a few points could be the difference between rejection and admission.”
Experts say even a small increase in your LSAT score could make a huge difference in which law schools accept you.
“A student who scores 166 on the LSAT is below median for all top 14 law schools,” Ishan Puri, of Huffington Post writes. “Conversely, a student who scores just 3 points higher and gets a 169 on the LSAT is at or above median for 9 of the top 14 schools. Every point counts, and the higher the score, the stronger the application.”
Don’t Look At Reapplying As A Disadvantage
Waldman says applicants shouldn’t see themselves at a disadvantage if they’re reapplying to a law school.
“I have never heard a law school Dean or admissions officer even imply that a reapplicant is at a disadvantage, and many schools, including top ones, like Michigan, explicitly echo the sentiment,” he writes.
Rather, Waldman suggests, reapplying could be used to an applicant’s advantage.
“If you were admitted to a school you weren’t entirely happy with, you could discuss that in an addendum during the next cycle by pointing out that you were admitted to other schools, but you turned them down because you were so excited about a specific school that you decided to wait a year,” Waldman writes.
Sources: US News, Huffington Post