Should I apply now or wait a year and strengthen my application

[HaciM36]

Right now I'm kind of in a tight spot. I'm not thrilled about settling for a school thats not in the top 40. (usnews ranking) I go to Temple University undergrad and have a 3.47 overall and 3.97 in Criminal Justice major and 3.5 in Psychology major. Temple law is a good school but its not the best I could do and I really want a change of scenery. My dream school really is Fordham or George Washington U.

Right now I'm registered for the Sept LSAT but my diagnostics are only hitting high 150s. I know I pretty much need mid to high 160s for a school like Fordham. Should I just cancel taking the test in Sept and wait, take a year off, and practice for the LSAT? In addition my senior year grades will be averaged in bringing me up to a 3.57. (This is assuming I get all As which I have been doing the past 2 years, my freshman year was an array of Cs in sciences) I was thinking of still taking the Sept LSAT but I'm too worried of still only getting in the high 150s and having that score linger around for such a long time and then have to be averaged in with any subsequent test scores. Should I just take the test and see how I do or just wait til the June 07 or October 07 LSAT to take it the first time?

Finally, I would really have to find something to do in the year off between  undergrad and law school. Any suggestions about this and the previous? Thanks for your input!!!

[pikey]

Right now I'm kind of in a tight spot. I'm not thrilled about settling for a school thats not in the top 40. (usnews ranking) I go to Temple University undergrad and have a 3.47 overall and 3.97 in Criminal Justice major and 3.5 in Psychology major. Temple law is a good school but its not the best I could do and I really want a change of scenery. My dream school really is Fordham or George Washington U.

Right now I'm registered for the Sept LSAT but my diagnostics are only hitting high 150s. I know I pretty much need mid to high 160s for a school like Fordham. Should I just cancel taking the test in Sept and wait, take a year off, and practice for the LSAT? In addition my senior year grades will be averaged in bringing me up to a 3.57. (This is assuming I get all As which I have been doing the past 2 years, my freshman year was an array of Cs in sciences) I was thinking of still taking the Sept LSAT but I'm too worried of still only getting in the high 150s and having that score linger around for such a long time and then have to be averaged in with any subsequent test scores. Should I just take the test and see how I do or just wait til the June 07 or October 07 LSAT to take it the first time?

Finally, I would really have to find something to do in the year off between  undergrad and law school. Any suggestions about this and the previous? Thanks for your input!!!

It sounds like you could really benefit from taking a year off.  Your GPA will increase, your LSAT would increase and you could use the extra time to really polish up your essays.  I'd recommend taking the LSAT in June or even February.  Sure you could take it now, but it's always better to have one high LSAT than one high and one not so high (schools still see all LSAT scores, even if they only consider the highest).

As for what you could do, there are great programs like Teach for America(2 years) and City Year (1 year).  You could get a paralegal or other entry-level administrative job.  You could also travel, teach in Japan or something like that.  Whatever you do, make sure that you get your recommendations before you go.  If you get them in spring of 07 they'll still be pretty fresh if you apply in fall 07.  Good luck!

[CILover]

I agree with the previous poster. Take some time off, get more WE, and practice like crazy for the LSAT!

I am taking the year off as well (to get my Professional teaching certification and practice for the LSAT).

[tju09]

I'm in the same situation in that I graduate in a year, and want to apply to law school, but I also know that I don't necessarily want to jump right from undergrad to law school. I plan on taking a 1-2 year break probably along the lines of teaching abroad, teach for america, internship abroad, peace corps and the like. Not only would these things look great on school apps, but they would also be amazing experiences.
My gpa will also be around a 3.6 and my dream schools are fordham and gwu so we're in the same boat.

[pikey]

I'm in the same situation in that I graduate in a year, and want to apply to law school, but I also know that I don't necessarily want to jump right from undergrad to law school. I plan on taking a 1-2 year break probably along the lines of teaching abroad, teach for america, internship abroad, peace corps and the like. Not only would these things look great on school apps, but they would also be amazing experiences.
My gpa will also be around a 3.6 and my dream schools are fordham and gwu so we're in the same boat.

Another program that only requires a year's committment is City Year.  A friend of mine did it and loved it so much that she signed up for a second year.