Is my desire to retake justified? Forum

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cmob

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Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by cmob » Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:42 pm

Hey all,

Need your input again for an upcoming cycle. Graduating in May, year off to work, planning on October LSAT. Already have 164, 168 with what TLS would consider to be poor preparation. Prior to 168 score, I was testing in the low 170's. Assume I will legitimately prepare for October.

Will schools (low T-14 to the mid 20's) really throw away two scores and consider a 171+ for the sake of their numbers? Are we walking into addendum territory at score number 3? In the event I get 168-170, does the lack of improvement = bad?

If possible, go a little utilitarian with your answers and list any pro/con you might see, because I probably don't see all the variables right now. I am attracted to the opportunity to put myself on a higher tier of schools/scholarships, but I want to make sure this cant seriously backfire on my cycle.

Thanks, you guys are the best.

dissonance1848

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by dissonance1848 » Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:45 pm

Schools don't average scores, meaning that bumping up from a 168 -> 170 matters, especially depending on your GPA. You should retake, those extra 2, 3 points can mean scholly money amd higher schools that are currently closed to you.

bk1

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by bk1 » Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:48 pm

Very few schools care about retaken LSATs (generally the T6 or so). Especially at lower schools (non T14's) they are so desperate to raise the LSAT median that they really could not give a shit whether you were a 169 or a 160/160/169. You aren't risking anything at lower schools and have the chance to get into better schools. Schools only have to report the highest score to the USNWR and the ABA so that is why they only care about the highest (this is different then it used to be when they used to have to report all scores and so they averaged).

Pros - Possible higher LSAT which will lead to either more scholly money or a better school.
Cons - Time spent studying for the LSAT.

You should retake the LSAT, this isn't even a question. Even scoring worse won't hurt you at the schools you could get into with your 164/168.

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cmob

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by cmob » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:04 pm

You guys just brought my optimism to a whole new level. My family and friends never saw the point of test #3, but then again they don't religiously study the admissions process like we do here.

If I take in Oct, would November be early enough to update my LSAT score on the applications? Reason I bring it up is because I will be applying ASAP and don't want the preemptive reject from reach schools.

Looks like making a comeback over at LSAT Prep and Discussion.

And thanks again.

bk1

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by bk1 » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:07 pm

cmob wrote:You guys just brought my optimism to a whole new level. My family and friends never saw the point of test #3, but then again they don't religiously study the admissions process like we do here.

If I take in Oct, would November be early enough to update my LSAT score on the applications? Reason I bring it up is because I will be applying ASAP and don't want the preemptive reject from reach schools.

Looks like making a comeback over at LSAT Prep and Discussion.

And thanks again.
If you take in October, just have the school's hold your application until your pending LSAT results. Or if they won't do that, you could just apply when you get the result. Applying in early November isn't late at all and I would imagine the difference between Sept 1 and Nov 1 is marginal.

I applied in early Sept and I don't think I got any decisions until late November.

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kapital98

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by kapital98 » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:15 pm

Asking TLS users if you should retake is like asking obese women if they want another piece of cake. You're not going to find much resistance.

If you think the extra time spent on the LSAT, and the opportunity cost that entails, can realistically get you an extra 2+ points you should retake.

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YaSvoboden

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by YaSvoboden » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:24 pm

I haven't taken the lsat yet and I don't think I'll be full prepared by June, but from some of the advice here it sounds like I could take it in June, get an ok score and get apps in a little earlier, then update with my October score and have this not be detrimental at all. The reason I would want to do this is to get apps in a little earlier and get to go through the full experience of the test a couple times, because even a proctored practice isn't a perfect simulation.

Am I erroneously applying this to my situation?

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FuManChusco

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by FuManChusco » Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:32 pm

YaSvoboden wrote:I haven't taken the lsat yet and I don't think I'll be full prepared by June, but from some of the advice here it sounds like I could take it in June, get an ok score and get apps in a little earlier, then update with my October score and have this not be detrimental at all. The reason I would want to do this is to get apps in a little earlier and get to go through the full experience of the test a couple times, because even a proctored practice isn't a perfect simulation.

Am I erroneously applying this to my situation?
getting your apps in earlier won't help if they're waiting for an Oct. score. take it when you're fully ready.

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northwood

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by northwood » Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:37 pm

if you take it in october and have everything ready then send in your applications 5 calendar days from the test ( or sooner if you know you will cancel or keep it). The schools will hold your app until they get the score. With your current score of 168- you should be allright. Just apply to a few safety schools, and send the rest to schools where you are comfortable with applying to with your projected ( estimated) score. YOu should know the scoring band( within 3 points ofyour pt average- say if you average a pt o 174- that would put you at around a 170, 171) and use that as a rough estimate. IF you end up doing better than expected- then you have plenty of time to send out more apps. If you end up scoring within that band range, or below- then you can adjust your target schools and send out more accordingly- and consider the other schools to be your "reach".

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YaSvoboden

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by YaSvoboden » Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:59 pm

FuManChusco wrote: getting your apps in earlier won't help if they're waiting for an Oct. score. take it when you're fully ready.
Thanks

sea change

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by sea change » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:52 pm

kapital98 wrote:Asking TLS users if you should retake is like asking obese women if they want another piece of cake. You're not going to find much resistance.

If you think the extra time spent on the LSAT, and the opportunity cost that entails, can realistically get you an extra 2+ points you should retake.
MORE CAKE -> YUM YUM

sarahlawg

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by sarahlawg » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:22 am

just as an anecdote.. there is someone on TLS who I think has grossly underperformed her numbers and the only thing I can think of that killed her app is that before her 170+ score she had two scores in the high 150s. You're not that split, but just saying. An addendum probably wouldn't hurt.

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northwood

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by northwood » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:29 am

if you score better than 4 points on a re take you need to explain

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JamMasterJ

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by JamMasterJ » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:32 am

If you're already planning a year off, the schools that take 168s won't care and the schools that you could get into with a higher score would never consider you without that higher score. So you should definitely retake.
As far as being on time, i don't know when the Sep/Oct test is or when the score release date is but anything Nov 1 or earlier is going to be considered early.

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romothesavior

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Re: Is my desire to retake justified?

Post by romothesavior » Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:56 am

Definitely retake if you think you can do better. bk pretty much nailed it, and I know people who would flat out tell you that a 1-2 point increase helped them get more $. So yes, retake.

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