Retake the LSAT? Forum

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Quc

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Retake the LSAT?

Post by Quc » Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:52 am

Hey all thanks for your help in everything. in my short time on the forums I've definitely gained alot.

Here is my question.
I just took the November LSAT and got a 172. My average on PT's was a 173 and I really didnt have enough time to study for this exam. I crammed alot in the last month. I felt that I did not at all reach my full potential. Additionally on the actual test I froze a bit starting out my first section.

My GPA is a 3.95 but its from a really junk undergrad (another story) and I was in a couple of schools till I earned my Bachelors- which also doesn't help. My softs are basically nil. My life thankfully has been underwhelming so my PS will probably be nothing to write home about. LOR's as well will be nice but in context they probably won't help much.

I'm Strongly considering taking the January LSAT again.
My question is do I have anything to lose by taking it? the lowest I was scoring on a pt was 170 with maybe one or two 169s thrown in there(after no sleep nights and the like). So I;m not terribly worried about getting too low of a score that will make me look bad.

I'm thinking to apply now with my current LSAT and possibly amend my application with the updated score. Is there such a thing? Does my application go on hold till then? Am I considered to have applied in late january or when I originally send in my app?
If I do get accepted with my current numbers does getting a better LSAT score help my scholarship chances at all?
TIA for your help.

albanach

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Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:05 pm

Re: Retake the LSAT?

Post by albanach » Wed Dec 12, 2018 12:50 pm

Quc wrote:Hey all thanks for your help in everything. in my short time on the forums I've definitely gained alot.

Here is my question.
I just took the November LSAT and got a 172. My average on PT's was a 173 and I really didnt have enough time to study for this exam. I crammed alot in the last month. I felt that I did not at all reach my full potential. Additionally on the actual test I froze a bit starting out my first section.

My GPA is a 3.95 but its from a really junk undergrad (another story) and I was in a couple of schools till I earned my Bachelors- which also doesn't help. My softs are basically nil. My life thankfully has been underwhelming so my PS will probably be nothing to write home about. LOR's as well will be nice but in context they probably won't help much.

I'm Strongly considering taking the January LSAT again.
My question is do I have anything to lose by taking it? the lowest I was scoring on a pt was 170 with maybe one or two 169s thrown in there(after no sleep nights and the like). So I;m not terribly worried about getting too low of a score that will make me look bad.

I'm thinking to apply now with my current LSAT and possibly amend my application with the updated score. Is there such a thing? Does my application go on hold till then? Am I considered to have applied in late january or when I originally send in my app?
If I do get accepted with my current numbers does getting a better LSAT score help my scholarship chances at all?
TIA for your help.
If your average was 173, then a 172 on test day is a decent result.

Of course, if your goal is HYS, you might have hoped for better. Retaking is unlikely to hurt unless you bomb it. That's always a risk and you should at least weigh it into your considerations.

Nonetheless, your numbers are good for large scholarships at great schools, and still give you a decent shot at HYS. For that reason, I'd be inclined to apply this cycle and see how it goes. If you're rejected, retake and apply next cycle. I'd look at the full T14 to see if you have offers of a full ride anywhere. Reach out and ask for fee waivers. Spend time on your why X essays to help avoid yield protection.

QContinuum

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Posts: 3594
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:52 am

Re: Retake the LSAT?

Post by QContinuum » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:24 pm

albanach wrote:If your average was 173, then a 172 on test day is a decent result.

Of course, if your goal is HYS, you might have hoped for better. Retaking is unlikely to hurt unless you bomb it. That's always a risk and you should at least weigh it into your considerations.

Nonetheless, your numbers are good for large scholarships at great schools, and still give you a decent shot at HYS. For that reason, I'd be inclined to apply this cycle and see how it goes. If you're rejected, retake and apply next cycle. I'd look at the full T14 to see if you have offers of a full ride anywhere. Reach out and ask for fee waivers. Spend time on your why X essays to help avoid yield protection.
I agree with albanach's advice above. A 3.95/172 is an incredibly strong set of numbers and, IMO, the value to retaking - especially when OP's expected score was a 173, only a single point higher - is minimal. OP should be in line for huge scholarships, likely including full rides, at multiple T13s from CCN and down.

To the extent that a higher LSAT might increase OP's shot at Yale and Stanford, I'd say that OP probably wouldn't get into Y/S anyway even with a 180 because, in their own words, their "softs are basically nil." A higher LSAT might help with Harvard, but I'm hesitant to suggest delaying a cycle (because relying on a January retake would effectively mean delaying a cycle) just for a somewhat better shot at a single law school.

To the extent that OP is concerned about their Bachelor's being from a "really junk undergrad," I wouldn't worry about that at all unless the school is unaccredited/online/for-profit. The T13 won't ignore a 3.95 merely because it's from an unknown/unranked college - especially not when it's paired with a 172 LSAT.

I do think that OP should try to address why they were in so many different colleges before graduating. (OP makes it sounds like an unusual number of transfers; if it was only a single transfer, I wouldn't even mention it.) If OP attended, say, 4 different colleges, I think that might raise some eyebrows and should be explained if at all possible.

Npret

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Re: Retake the LSAT?

Post by Npret » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:33 pm

Is your 3.95 GPA the LSAC reported GPA? If so I’m not sure I wouldnt necessarily bother with a retake unless you are certain you can do better.

If you are certain you can improve, then study hard and retake. It seems a bit of a waste of time to me otherwise. Definitely don’t retake unless you put in the work to master the exam.

Also- yes apply now and let schools know later if you are retaking. Don’t wait until January if you can avoid it. Schools have rolling admissions so earlier the better for your application. It needs to be well put together though- don’t throw something together just to get it in.

As to scholarships - yes a higher LSAT might help. I’m not an expert on that though and you might do ok without it. Youneed someone with more recent experience in scholarships than me.

QContinuum

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Posts: 3594
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:52 am

Re: Retake the LSAT?

Post by QContinuum » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:41 pm

Npret wrote:As to scholarships - yes a higher LSAT might help. I’m not an expert on that though and you might do ok without it. Youneed someone with more recent experience in scholarships than me.
They could rely on MyLSN:
Image'

Compare
Image

So going from, say, a 172 to a 175 would primarily help with scholarships at CCN. They wouldn't really affect OP's odds (at admissions or scholarships) at the other T13s.

Npret

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Posts: 1986
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 11:42 am

Re: Retake the LSAT?

Post by Npret » Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:47 pm

QContinuum wrote:
Npret wrote:As to scholarships - yes a higher LSAT might help. I’m not an expert on that though and you might do ok without it. Youneed someone with more recent experience in scholarships than me.
They could rely on MyLSN:
Image'

Compare
Image

So going from, say, a 172 to a 175 would primarily help with scholarships at CCN. They wouldn't really affect OP's odds (at admissions or scholarships) at the other T13s.
Yes that makes perfect sense. OP should follow that advice.

I’m a little concerned about the LSAC GPA calculation from multiple schools because sometimes, though not necessarily in OPs case, it’s not as high as students expect.

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