Cancel or Keep Score? Forum

[albatross92]

Hi everyone,
I took today's LSAT, and I'm fairly sure I bombed it. I had been PTing anywhere from 175-179 last week, but I think the importance of today set in, couple that with usual test anxiety, and I genuinely believe I fell below my initial diagnostic of 163 back in November. I haven't made peace with the fact that I will be retaking in October just yet (but I will), mainly because so many on this board have said this test was easier - it just proved how severe today's panic attack was. I have a 4.0 GPA, and I know that by retaking I'm already likely to have lost HYS and maybe some of CCN; however, I'm wondering if you all think I should cancel outright or keep the score. If my score turns out to be in the low 160s, can this be counterbalanced with a good score in October for the lower half of the T-14?
Thanks in advance for any advice you have.

[Micdiddy]

You should have a decent sense of where your score is at. With those pt's even a 169 you should auto-retake. Cancel.

[sublime]

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[albatross92]

I really hope I'm wrong with HCCN, because I'm planning on applying to all four contingent on my October score. I've heard conflicting opinions of how generous those schools are with retakes, so that is something that is certainly debatable. I'm just horrified that a score report with "cancel" on it will impact my viability in a negative way, but I suppose it's better than the score I think I got.

[NoWorries]

I really hope I'm wrong with HCCN, because I'm planning on applying to all four contingent on my October score. I've heard conflicting opinions of how generous those schools are with retakes, so that is something that is certainly debatable. I'm just horrified that a score report with "cancel" on it will impact my viability in a negative way, but I suppose it's better than the score I think I got.

I'm in the exact similar situation to you except I don't think I got anything lower than maybe a 168. A look at this years' H LSN graph indicates that a retake doesn't completely ruin you. No chance all those green dots are first takes.

ETA: In fact I think I saw somebody just the other day who went something like 160,161,171 and just got in.

[albatross92]

That's a very hopeful sign from Law School Numbers, but do you think it would be better for HCCN to see "cancel" rather than a score in the low to mid 160s? I know that I would rather hide that score, but if they would rather see an upward trend versus the questions that might arise with a "cancel," that's a consideration, as well. I'm struggling with those two different ideas - not to mention that I haven't yet gotten over how badly I let down my GPA yesterday. Any thoughts on what you think the schools might want to see more would be appreciated.

[MrBlueSky!]

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[efin12]

Unless you think you misbubbled an entire section or messed up an entire logic game, I really think you should hold off on canceling. When I finished taking the LSAT for the second time, I put my pencil down and thought "well, I'm not going to law school." Then I went home and hid under my covers and cried. Once I calmed down a few days later, I realized I might have been overreacting. When I got my score back, I received the highest score I'd ever gotten on a PT. It's really hard to determine how you did when you're under so much pressure. If you didn't do as well as you wanted, at least you would be able to see what you did wrong and learn from the first test.

[francesfarmer]

You're probably just freaking out dude. On my retake I thought I bombed an entire section but I still got near my target score.

It might also be helpful to avoid thinking of a single LSAT administration as what's going to make or break you for HCCN. That's a crazy amount of pressure to put on yourself! Take it one step at a time.

[jingosaur]

Unless you really fell apart on a section, you should keep your score. I thought I got a -6 my LG section in December and ended up with a -2 and finished 2 points below my target score (I usually get -0 on LG). As far as retakes go, I don't think top schools really care anymore. YHSCCN say that they "consider" all scores, which I believe is true, but with a 175-179 on a retake and a good addendum, I don't think a lower score matters, especially for CCN because they need to keep up their LSAT medians in such a bad market. Wait and see what you get and if it's bad, retake in October. With a 4.0 you could probably snag 2 or 3 of the top 6 schools with even a 169 (though you should retake if you get a 169).

[albatross92]

Well, to elaborate on what went wrong:
My test followed the LR LG LR LR RC pattern. My anxiety kicked in, and the first section seemed hopelessly vague. I am not confident in that section at all. In fact, I was so miserable after that I carried that negative energy into section 2, where I guessed on 2-3 questions because of time issues. Otherwise, I think there weren't any other mistakes in that section. Sections 3 and 4 seemed easier, and I think I adhered more to my average 2 wrong per LR section pattern in my PTs. The last passage of RC was hard and I was pressed for time, so I'll guess that I maybe got 3 wrong, much more than my average of 1-2 wrong in RC.
The problem is that there seems to be debate in the June thread as to which LR was experimental - I'd love if it was the first, but the fact that practically everyone is going back and forth between the second and third, I'm especially worried. That could make the difference between mid to upper 160s and mid to high 150s, especially if the curve is less forgiving.
Either way, I'm retaking October, but I'm trying to decide whether any schools I'm looking at should even see that score, give the uncertainty of LR1.

[squeebz]

LSATSCORES2012, Elterrible, and I crunched some numbers based on self reported data on LSN, and we all came to the conclusion that retakes only matter at NYU. The chance of being admitted at a school was not significantly different if you were a retaker or not at any other school. Plus any negative effects of retaking where largely mitigated by an increase in score. Thread here - http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=209878

I wouldn't cancel. Worst case scenario you have to retake, but at least you get to see your mistakes and learn from them.

[sublime]

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[gottago]

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[sublime]

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