Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q-and-A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles.

If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.

[Follow this law school application timeline.]

Dear Shawn: I took the June 2015 exam, and although I spent several months preparing, I scored about 10 points lower than I had been scoring on my recent practice tests. I am going to retake the October exam, but I need some advice on how to prepare for the exam.

In my preparation for the June exam, I took all of the available tests from June 2007 on. Should I prepare using older exams or should I retake the exams I used to prepare for the June exam? -Retake Prepper

Dear Retake Prepper: Since your June score clearly does not reflect your LSAT ability, I think that you are making the right decision in taking the test again. The situation you describe is common among retakers, and it is good that you are thinking so thoroughly about your preparation for October. The advantage to taking the most recent tests is that they are the most similar to future tests. This is especially true when comparing tests from the 1990s and early 2000s with the most recent tests. First, none of those tests has a comparative reading passage, which is a set of questions in the reading comprehension section based on two passages, as opposed to the usual single passage.

Second, and equally important, the logic games from those tests are significantly different from the games on more recent tests, which tend to allow for fewer deductions in the setup phase of the games.

The disadvantage to retaking tests is that you will have some level of familiarity with those tests, making them less accurate diagnostic tools. On balance, though, I recommend retaking recent tests as you prepare for October. If you have taken at least 25 practice tests already, it is unlikely that you will remember specific questions, and the benefit of taking tests that are most similar to what you will encounter in October outweighs the disadvantage of retaking tests. -Shawn

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

Dear Shawn: I am in the process of putting together my applications for fall 2016 admission. I have my LSAT score (171), and my undergraduate GPA is 3.65. I am torn on whether to apply early decision to Columbia, the University of Chicago or New York University, or not apply early decision and submit applications to all top-14 schools.

I worry that if I apply early decision, I will give up the chance of being admitted to Harvard, Stanford or Yale, but if I don’t apply early decision I am lowering my chances of getting in at Columbia, UChicago or NYU. Should I apply early decision or not? -Questioning Early Decision

[Lean the pros and cons of applying early decision to law school.]

Dear Questioning Early Decision: First of all, congratulations on all your success so far! Your undergraduate GPA and LSAT score make you a strong candidate at almost any school in the country.

You are correct that applying early decision to law school at Columbia University, the University of Chicago or New York University would increase your chances of admission at those schools, and that if you were admitted you would give up the opportunity of attending Harvard, Stanford or Yale.

In general, I advise my clients to apply early decision only if they would be completely content attending that school and there is no other school that they would rather apply to where they have a reasonable chance of being admitted. Your numbers make you a viable candidate for law school at Harvard University, Stanford University and Yale University, although admission at those schools would still be a bit of an uphill battle since your GPA is slightly below the range for students attending those schools.

If you would prefer to go to any of those schools over Columbia, NYU, or UChicago, I would recommend strongly considering not applying early decision and trying your chances at one of the top three.

Another way to approach this question is as a question of risk management. By not applying early, you are taking the risk that applying regular decision would change your admissions result at Columbia, NYU or UChicago.

Although your numbers make you a strong candidate as a regular decision candidate, your chances of gaining admission are a bit lower. If you feel that you would be very happy at one of those three schools and you would rather have a bit more certainty about getting into a top-six program, then applying early decision might be the better course of action. -Shawn

More from U.S. News

Get Insight Into How Law Schools View LSAT Scores

Law School Case Study: Improve a Strong Application

3 Challenges for Law School Applicants With STEM Degrees

Early Decision May Not Be Right for Strong Law School Applicants originally appeared on usnews.com