Should I Retake a 170?

[The Achieve Of]

My practice tests ranged from 167-178, with two 178s but mostly in the 173-175 area. On the October test, I missed 6 on logic games and 2 on each of the other sections. My plan would be to attack logic games until December, as that was kind of the last thing I got around to studying and I only nailed LG sections of about half of the PTs. My GPA is 3.7 and my ideal school is UVA. I am a VA resident. Advice?

[gdane]

Write some great essays, ED to UVA and retake if waitlisted.

Good luck!

[FuManChusco]

I'm in the exact same position. 170 with your range and average on PTs. Only I have like a 2.5 so I finally came to the conclusion that its pointless for me to retake. GPA is too low for lower T14. I don't have enough WE for NU. Plus, I'm already above the 75th percentile lsat at every school ranked outside the T14. If you wanted CCN, then I would say retake, but with a 3.7 and VA residency, you should definitely just ED to UVA. You'll probably get in.

tl;dr: listen to what gdane said.

[kpuc]

Hey, you're almost like me! Similar PT range, and same real LSAT score (except I messed up LR).

I've decided to retake because the number of LR questions I missed was abnormally more than what my PTs were indicating. I got practically no sleep before the test, and I am guessing this was a big factor. Therefore, I'm very confident that I can score higher on a re-take, as in the final few weeks before the Oct LSAT, a 170 would've been one of the lowest scores I'd get on a PT.

I think with your GPA and LSAT, you have a good shot at UVa. Why don't you just send in your app as soon as possible, and re-take? If they accept you with your 170, then great. If you get WL, then your re-take will prompt a second look.