LSAT Retakes Forum

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Soup2Nuts

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LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sat May 27, 2017 2:27 pm

Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.

Npret

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Npret » Sat May 27, 2017 2:45 pm

Soup2Nuts wrote:Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.
No limit on retakes (very recent rule change)but score is only valid for 5 years.

Mikey

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Mikey » Sat May 27, 2017 3:12 pm

Soup2Nuts wrote:Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.
there's unlimited retakes now.

but the bolded confuses the hell out of me. are you about to enter into your freshman year of college?? if so, you do not need to worry about the LSAT just yet. get a good GPA..

Soup2Nuts

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sat May 27, 2017 3:41 pm

Mikey wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.
there's unlimited retakes now.

but the bolded confuses the hell out of me. are you about to enter into your freshman year of college?? if so, you do not need to worry about the LSAT just yet. get a good GPA..
Lmao I'm 30. Was in the military shortly after high school. Got out and had a lot of "life" happen. I wont have to work because of GI benefits, savings, and a little bit of FinAid to cover the remainder, which isnt much. Im not worried about getting a good GPA. Im approaching school like I do my full time job. Plus im good at school yadda yadda. But I figured I could take the opportunity of no work to focus on the LSAT and have "my" score already set and then just coast my last year of undergrad where I may have to work a part time job once the GI benefits run out. I will need to cover that loss.

Basically Im doing the whole process backwards because I feel like this will be one of the lowest points of stress in my life to where I can focus on it. Not having to worry about any form of work or money or anything like that. Thats why im approaching it the way I am.

That way if I do just completely blow I would still have the following year to really polish my weak points and take it on the "preferred schedule", if you will.
Last edited by Soup2Nuts on Sat May 27, 2017 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Soup2Nuts

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sat May 27, 2017 3:43 pm

Npret wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.
No limit on retakes (very recent rule change)but score is only valid for 5 years.
But does it look bad if your retakes start reaching 6 or so?

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Npret

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Npret » Sat May 27, 2017 3:47 pm

I would wait because schools are going to start taking the GRE. What you are planning to do could backfire. Anyway, why take it over 6 years?

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sat May 27, 2017 3:53 pm

Npret wrote:I would wait because schools are going to start taking the GRE. What you are planning to do could backfire. Anyway, why take it over 6 years?
My understanding is that you can take it 2 times a year? June, Sept/oct. 2 times a year x my 3 years in school = 6. At most 4 for me, since I wont take it the first year I enter. But mainly the number is arbitrary. Just using it as an example.

I read about the GRE. I would rather take the LSAT. Seems, to me, people will be frauds if they had to use GRE to get in. Kind of similar to going to basic training with active duty people and guard people. Active duty look down on guard because they are just doing it for the benefits. Meaning its more apparent if you are in guard. At least the active duty hide it better if that is all they are doing. Probably wrong mentality but its a culture. Same concept would apply here I believe. Plus I could never look at other T14 law school LSAT takers and not feel like im a fraud. Just my personal thing.

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blackmamba8

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by blackmamba8 » Sat May 27, 2017 4:51 pm

Would you be able to take a summer to study for the LSAT full-time? Studying for it during UG kinda sucks but it's not impossible. They administer the test four times a year. February, June, September/October, December. I think they're looking into offering it more often though. What are your career goals?

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Npret » Sat May 27, 2017 5:06 pm

Soup2Nuts wrote:
Npret wrote:I would wait because schools are going to start taking the GRE. What you are planning to do could backfire. Anyway, why take it over 6 years?
My understanding is that you can take it 2 times a year? June, Sept/oct. 2 times a year x my 3 years in school = 6. At most 4 for me, since I wont take it the first year I enter. But mainly the number is arbitrary. Just using it as an example.

I read about the GRE. I would rather take the LSAT. Seems, to me, people will be frauds if they had to use GRE to get in. Kind of similar to going to basic training with active duty people and guard people. Active duty look down on guard because they are just doing it for the benefits. Meaning its more apparent if you are in guard. At least the active duty hide it better if that is all they are doing. Probably wrong mentality but its a culture. Same concept would apply here I believe. Plus I could never look at other T14 law school LSAT takers and not feel like im a fraud. Just my personal thing.
Do what you want but you should consider maximizing your admission chances. There is nothing about getting accepted with a GRE that makes a student a fraud compared to others. It's a numbers game primarily.

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Soup2Nuts

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sun May 28, 2017 12:19 am

Npret wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:
Npret wrote:I would wait because schools are going to start taking the GRE. What you are planning to do could backfire. Anyway, why take it over 6 years?
My understanding is that you can take it 2 times a year? June, Sept/oct. 2 times a year x my 3 years in school = 6. At most 4 for me, since I wont take it the first year I enter. But mainly the number is arbitrary. Just using it as an example.

I read about the GRE. I would rather take the LSAT. Seems, to me, people will be frauds if they had to use GRE to get in. Kind of similar to going to basic training with active duty people and guard people. Active duty look down on guard because they are just doing it for the benefits. Meaning its more apparent if you are in guard. At least the active duty hide it better if that is all they are doing. Probably wrong mentality but its a culture. Same concept would apply here I believe. Plus I could never look at other T14 law school LSAT takers and not feel like im a fraud. Just my personal thing.
Do what you want but you should consider maximizing your admission chances. There is nothing about getting accepted with a GRE that makes a student a fraud compared to others. It's a numbers game primarily.
What I was planning on doing is applying with both scores. Not really picking one over the other, however if I HAD to choose, I would choose LSAT only.

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sun May 28, 2017 12:26 am

blackmamba8 wrote:Would you be able to take a summer to study for the LSAT full-time? Studying for it during UG kinda sucks but it's not impossible. They administer the test four times a year. February, June, September/October, December. I think they're looking into offering it more often though. What are your career goals?
I dont think my UG is going to be that rigorous so that is why I feel like I could do both. The only way I could take a full summer to study is if I had some type of job for that two months to cover all my bills. Not impossible to find, but pretty difficult.

As far as career goals. I want to get into the best school I can so that when I leave law school I can break into any big/big-ish city. I figure the better the school the better the odds. Say all that goes as planned, then i would want to work 2-3 years in "big law" to get a feel for how "real world" law is and how to submit various documents etc etc. OJT you can call it. Then after those years, again if it all goes as planned, open up my own firm. If it grew to more than me Id be ok with that; if it was just me I would be ok with that too.

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it's allgood

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by it's allgood » Sun May 28, 2017 8:15 am

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Last edited by it's allgood on Sun May 28, 2017 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by it's allgood » Sun May 28, 2017 8:23 am

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it's allgood

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by it's allgood » Sun May 28, 2017 8:26 am

it's allgood wrote:
it's allgood wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:
Npret wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:
Npret wrote:I would wait because schools are going to start taking the GRE. What you are planning to do could backfire. Anyway, why take it over 6 years?
My understanding is that you can take it 2 times a year? June, Sept/oct. 2 times a year x my 3 years in school = 6. At most 4 for me, since I wont take it the first year I enter. But mainly the number is arbitrary. Just using it as an example.

I read about the GRE. I would rather take the LSAT. Seems, to me, people will be frauds if they had to use GRE to get in. Kind of similar to going to basic training with active duty people and guard people. Active duty look down on guard because they are just doing it for the benefits. Meaning its more apparent if you are in guard. At least the active duty hide it better if that is all they are doing. Probably wrong mentality but its a culture. Same concept would apply here I believe. Plus I could never look at other T14 law school LSAT takers and not feel like im a fraud. Just my personal thing.
Do what you want but you should consider maximizing your admission chances. There is nothing about getting accepted with a GRE that makes a student a fraud compared to others. It's a numbers game primarily.
What I was planning on doing is applying with both scores. Not really picking one over the other, however if I HAD to choose, I would choose LSAT only.
I don't think you can do both the GRE and LSAT, if that is what you meant. If you take the LSAT, you can't use the GRE--this GRE option is for those without a LSAT. I'd say if you are aware of the 5 year rule for the LSAT score and want to start studying and take the test so you don't have to worry about it in your last undergrad year, then go for it! But you may want to see how rigorous undergrad is first--you may need to devote more time to getting a high gpa than you think. If you really want to start studying, take the June 2007 PT that is available online timed and get your diagnostic score. Then you could start with the Logic Games Bible and mastering logic games and go from there. You have the time, so I would suggest that if you start studying sooner than later--wait to take the official test until you are PTing at 175+. Many schools look at the highest score but others look at all scores.

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by Soup2Nuts » Sun May 28, 2017 7:35 pm

it's allgood wrote:
I don't think you can do both the GRE and LSAT, if that is what you meant. If you take the LSAT, you can't use the GRE--this GRE option is for those without a LSAT. I'd say if you are aware of the 5 year rule for the LSAT score and want to start studying and take the test so you don't have to worry about it in your last undergrad year, then go for it! But you may want to see how rigorous undergrad is first--you may need to devote more time to getting a high gpa than you think. If you really want to start studying, take the June 2007 PT that is available online timed and get your diagnostic score. Then you could start with the Logic Games Bible and mastering logic games and go from there. You have the time, so I would suggest that if you start studying sooner than later--wait to take the official test until you are PTing at 175+. Many schools look at the highest score but others look at all scores.
Ya im not going to go jumping into studying day 1 of UG. Ill ease my way in and once im comfortable, start dipping my toe into LSAT prep. My thinking is the same, I have the time to make sure I have a really good score.

how long do people who follow the "regular schedule" take to prep for LSAT, normally?

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it's allgood

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by it's allgood » Mon May 29, 2017 6:45 pm

I don't really think there is a "regular" schedule because it varies from person to person. Some people take the time to devote solely to studying for the LSAT and others study while still in school or working full time. It seems, generally, people spend 2-6 months studying. The important thing is to create the schedule that works for you. Since you have the time, you could spend an entire 6 months mastering logic games, 6 months mastering logical reasoning, and then another year just doing regularly schedule practice tests and reviewing and still have time to take the LSAT several times before your senior year (if you need to take it more than once). You may want to check out the free 7 sage online videos and see if that style of learning works for you. If it does, for $700 you can get access to all their materials (I think this is the ultimate package) and if I remember correctly you have access to them without a time limit. I would also get the Logic Games Bible by Powerscore and the Logical Reasoning Bible by Powerscore--these are both on Amazon. If I remember correctly, you are older and not the traditional undergrad, so just do what works for you. Just make sure to keep your GPA as high as possible because that will definitely matter when applying to law school!

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Re: LSAT Retakes

Post by laqueredup » Mon May 29, 2017 8:24 pm

Soup2Nuts wrote:
Mikey wrote:
Soup2Nuts wrote:Long story short, my first 2 years of school I wont have to work, no I dont have rich parents, so I believe that would be the best time for me to prep and take the LSAT. That way during my third and final year when I have to get a part-time job, I will be able to have a "break" before law school. My question is, how many retakes are you allowed? Does more retakes look bad to law schools? I figure if 2 retakes looks acceptable then worst case scenario I would have to take it again the next cycle. I would still come out on top because I would at least "know" what the test is like and do better the next go around. Any advice to this line of thinking? Good or bad is welcomed.
there's unlimited retakes now.

but the bolded confuses the hell out of me. are you about to enter into your freshman year of college?? if so, you do not need to worry about the LSAT just yet. get a good GPA..
Lmao I'm 30. Was in the military shortly after high school. Got out and had a lot of "life" happen. I wont have to work because of GI benefits, savings, and a little bit of FinAid to cover the remainder, which isnt much. Im not worried about getting a good GPA. Im approaching school like I do my full time job. Plus im good at school yadda yadda. But I figured I could take the opportunity of no work to focus on the LSAT and have "my" score already set and then just coast my last year of undergrad where I may have to work a part time job once the GI benefits run out. I will need to cover that loss.

Basically Im doing the whole process backwards because I feel like this will be one of the lowest points of stress in my life to where I can focus on it. Not having to worry about any form of work or money or anything like that. Thats why im approaching it the way I am.

That way if I do just completely blow I would still have the following year to really polish my weak points and take it on the "preferred schedule", if you will.
You might want to consider saving your GI bill for law school... It is likely to be much more expensive than undergrad, and gi bill + yellow ribbon will cover it at most top law schools.

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