UMiami or take off a year?

[Mystere]

I've been accepted to the University of Miani with no scholarship money. I got a 159 on my lsat and have a 3.65gpa. I didn't study nearly as much as I should have and I believe I could definitely achieve at least a mid 160 score (I did about 4 practice tests and studied a few logic games sections). Would it be worth it to take a year off to work/volunteer and retake the lsat in an attempt to get into a better school (possibly with scholarship money), or would I be better off just going to the University of Miami and hoping I end up in the top 10% so I could possibly receive grant money? I'm really confused and would appreciate any suggestions/opinions. 

[bl825]

Where would the grant money come from?  My understanding is that most schools determine your financial aid package when you first enroll.

I think banking on being in the top 10% of the class is problematic at best.  If you're not comfortable with going to a particular school and possibly being in the middle of the class, then I'd recommend that you retake your LSAT and try going through the application process again.

Good luck! 
BL

[nealric]

I think it's probably wise to take the year off. I always recommend a minimum of 100 hours studying for the LSAT- if you didn't do that and you didn't score in the 170 range you are selling yourself short.

[Ninja1]

Did you apply to Florida and Florida State?

[Contract2008]

Forget UF, FSU, or UM.  Get into the upper 160s and you're in at one of the top 14 law schools such as Cornell or Duke. Get up to 170, you're looking at Penn or Michigan. 

[Mystere]

    I actually just got accepted to FSU 2 hours after I posted this. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of Tallahassee, I went to UF for undergrad and have been visiting my girlfriend at
FSU for the last couple of years (I didn't get in to UF law). I think I'll spend the summer studying and doing practice tests to see if my score will actually improve significantly. That way if it doesn't, at least I won't feel any regrets knowing I might have been able to get into a better school.
   If I do decider to reapply next year, will the type of work I'm doing have a big impact on whether or not I'll be accepted or is LSAT/GPA still really all that matters? Thanks again for the help, I'm going through a really confusing time in my life and for the first time genuinely don't know what is best.
 

[bryan9584]

Dear MysteryE (Eric L.),

Here are the factors you need to calculate: where you want to work/live, what kind of legal job you want, and how much debt you want to have, and what you would do for a year if you took off. If you want to work and live in Miami after you graduate, you'd be better to go to UM regardless if you take a year off or not. Also, if you are looking to do public interest/government, then the heavy debt load will not be good. Finally, it might help if you do some kind of legal related job if you wait, because working at the mall isn't usually that attractive on a resume. Let me know what you decide.

Bryan A 

[bl825]

    I actually just got accepted to FSU 2 hours after I posted this. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of Tallahassee, I went to UF for undergrad and have been visiting my girlfriend at
FSU for the last couple of years (I didn't get in to UF law). I think I'll spend the summer studying and doing practice tests to see if my score will actually improve significantly. That way if it doesn't, at least I won't feel any regrets knowing I might have been able to get into a better school.
   If I do decider to reapply next year, will the type of work I'm doing have a big impact on whether or not I'll be accepted or is LSAT/GPA still really all that matters? Thanks again for the help, I'm going through a really confusing time in my life and for the first time genuinely don't know what is best.

The type of work you do might play a role in admissions decisions, but not a very large one.  Admissions will remain primarily a numbers game.  If you do something really interesting or meaningful, it might help in situations where admissions folks are looking for a "tiebreaker" between two candidates.