Dear Shawn: I have already submitted all my applications for this admissions cycle and have begun to hear back from schools. In my applications, I mentioned that in a previous job I played a significant role in the research and drafting of a few academic papers which had not yet been published but were forthcoming.

This information was in both my resume and some of the essays I wrote as part of my application. Last week I found out that my previous employer no longer plans to publish these papers, and I am nervous that schools will think that I was dishonest in my application if they learn that these papers will no longer be published.

Is there anything I can do at this point? —

First, you should rest assured that you have not been dishonest in your applications. You provided information that you had good reason to believe was true at the time you submitted them, and only after they were submitted did you learn that the plans for publishing the papers had changed.

[Read about how a drop in applications is spurring law school changes.]

Even though you were not at all dishonest, you should reach out to the admissions offices of every school to which you applied to update the information you gave them. I recommend writing a letter to each school and attaching an updated resume, which should reflect the change in the status of the papers.

In the letter, you should tell the school that you only recently found out that these papers will no longer be published, and that you wanted to inform them of that fact. If anything, schools that are still considering your applications will view your honesty and willingness to proactively provide them with updated information as a positive.

Note that you should let every school to which you applied of this change, even schools that have already let you know of their decision. This will almost certainly have no effect on their decision, but it is important to be honest and transparent with every single school.

Dear Shawn: I am looking for advice on whether or not I should retake the LSAT in June. I took the LSAT in February for a second time — I had also taken it in September — and both times I received a 167. I am currently a junior at an Ivy League school, majoring in philosophy, and my GPA is a 3.94 (for both the Law School Admission Council and Columbia Law School). .

I have prepared for the LSAT for about a year, and I would be excited to continue preparing if you think that is the best option. At this point, I would like to maximize my chances of attending a T-14 law school, and I want to make sure I do it correctly.I think given my resume and academic achievements I would have a strong chance at a top law school. The only other possibly relevant information is that I am a member of an underrepresented minority. Should I retake the LSAT in June or would the extra time and energy not be worth it? -LSAT Retaker

In order to answer this question, I encourage you to think only about whether or not retaking the LSAT would result in a meaningful score increase. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to make this decision in the context of the entire admissions process and your chances of attending your dream school, but the only issue here is whether you should expect to see an increase in your LSAT score.

At this point, I think taking the LSAT a third time is not worth it. Since you already have two scores on your score report, most schools — especially top 14 schools — will almost certainly average a third score with the other two, significantly diminishing any benefit you would have from getting a higher score.

[Get tips on studying effectively when retaking the LSAT.]

Furthermore, it sounds like you were well prepared for both these tests, which suggests that it is unlikely that you will experience a significant score increase. An increase of even five points will likely be averaged by most schools you’re planning on applying to.

Even with a 167, though, your stellar GPA and a thoughtful admissions package will make you a strong candidate at all top 14 schools. You are correct that a 167 is at the low end of the spectrum the very top law schools, but your GPA is at the very high end of the spectrum for all law schools except Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University. So, even though my advice is that it is not worth it to retake the LSAT, I think you are still a strong candidate at all top 14 law schools.

More from U.S. News

Use Rankings, Statistics to Narrow Your Law School Choices

3 Ways for Law School Applicants to Brainstorm a Long List

3 Ways to Boost the Chances of a Late Law School Application

Q&A: Update a Law School Resume, Retake the LSAT a Third Time originally appeared on usnews.com