Do law schools care if you retake? Forum

[bb8900]

Hi,

I was wondering if law schools care if you take the test two or even three times?

Since law schools are supposedly looking only at the top score, it shouldn't matter if you take the test all three times, right?

On the other hand, I'm sure some top schools will care.



Basically if you canceled your first score, and did decent on the second. Would it hurt you to retake a third time or would law schools care too much?

[redsox]

Depends on the school, the scores, the circumstances, and who you ask.

[romothesavior]

For the vast majority, no. It may be marginally better to be a straight 173 rather than a 166, 173, and the really elite schools may take it into account (HYS), but most do not seem to even bat an eye.

[BigA]

Hi,

I was wondering if law schools care if you take the test two or even three times?

Since law schools are supposedly looking only at the top score, it shouldn't matter if you take the test all three times, right?

On the other hand, I'm sure some top schools will care.



Basically if you canceled your first score, and did decent on the second. Would it hurt you to retake a third time or would law schools care too much?

You might want to do a search. There's been a lot said about this. My feeling is if you're below 170 you don't have much to lose by re-taking.

[LSAT Blog]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

[cyxdev17]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Some schools ask for an addendum if there's a significant change in score. If this happened (say, 165 to 175, not something crazy like 140 to 180) and you wrote one, why couldn't you just say you got sick or had a traumatic event happen, even if it wasn't true? Would a "good" addendum actually cause them to place greater emphasis on the higher score?

[romothesavior]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Even for most of those that say they are holistic or that they average, the evidence suggests otherwise.

[HiLine]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Even for most of those that say they are holistic or that they average, the evidence suggests otherwise.

I wouldn't say so. A 173 by itself is still better than a 173 and a 165.

[Grizz]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Even for most of those that say they are holistic or that they average, the evidence suggests otherwise.

I wouldn't say so. A 173 by itself is still better than a 173 and a 165.

The evidence suggests otherwise.

[HiLine]

TLS compiled a big list of various schools' policies on retakes (scroll down in this article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Even for most of those that say they are holistic or that they average, the evidence suggests otherwise.

I wouldn't say so. A 173 by itself is still better than a 173 and a 165.

The evidence suggests otherwise.

Elaborate on that please?

[Grizz]

Elaborate on that please?

People from TLS reporting back about their retakes and info on LSN. I guess it would technically be "better" to have the straight 173, but in almost any admissions situation (save HYS, if at all), straight 173 seem to perform just as well as 165/173.

[romothesavior]

The evidence suggests otherwise.

Elaborate on that please?

For example, my LSAT average is 165.5. WUSTL claims to be holistic about the LSAT, and they gave me 75k. Georgetown says they average, and I got on the priority waitlist there. If they were really taking my first LSAT score of 162 into account, I would not have stood a chance at either of those schools.

There are hundreds of other stories just like this on TLS. Those who claim to be "holistic" or average usually don't actually look at it this way. Some of the elite schools (like Harvard) seem to be an exception, but for the most part, schools always take the highest score.