Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
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Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
I was hoping we could set up a place where people can post the info theyve gathered on which schools adhere to which policy regarding highest vs average LSAT score, especially in light of the new ABA ruling that only highest scores need to be reported to them.
I know someone mentioned that berkeley and stanford will take the best. I think this is a departure from berkeley's previous stance. so if we can keep a running tally on what people find, it would be v helpful.
I had a rough go of it 2 years ago, took the test about 45 minutes after i found out I had thyroid cancer. I worked at the hospital and checked my own pathology report saturday AM, thinking it would clear my head and charge me up, as my doctor gave me a 5% chance it would come back with a bad result. well, the 5% won and it really screwed me for the test. In hindsight, I probably should have cancelled my score, but I had no idea I did as poorly as I did. just took it again last week. thinking I did 10+ points better. now preparing to apply to some top 20's.
thanks
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doesn't matter
I think regardless of the schools' new policies concerning how to deal with multiple scores, the new ABA rule will have very little effect on the admission process due to the fact that schools will still be able to see the previous score.. I mean LSAT is considered as the best indicator of law school success therefore the reason law schools tend to average the multiple scores was not only because of the ABAs rule and usnews rankings but because they wanted/want the most promising students in their classes.. so I think this is not going to change despite the fact that they are now not obliged to report the lower score..but maybe it might help to encourage the schools to admit students like you. obviously your previous score does not reflect your real performance and if you write an addendum explaining your situation I am pretty sure they will consider your most recent score as a better indicator. the thing is I believe they would have done this even ABA did not change anything.. also, you say you expect 10+ points increase and that means even without an explanation and/or ABA's intervention your highest score will be the decisive one for most schools anyway...
good luck!
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Yale: No change in policy; still averaging. "We don't base admissions on your numbers..." Yeah...
Harvard: No final decision. Advised to contact jdadmiss@law.harvard.edu for further developments
NYU: No change in policy as yet. However, "it is definitley possible our policy could change before the next cycle."
UMich: Now accepting highest score
Georgetown: Originally stated that they would not change policies. After deliberation with other counselors the representative I spoke to said that they would being accepting the higher score. However, she noted that Georgetown (as well as other law schools) would look much more favorably upon students who took only one LSAT.
Duke: No change in policy. "This only has to do with the ABA, why would we change our own policies?"
USC: Accepting higher score [But they implied that they always have. I'm not sure this is the case.]
UCLA: Now accepting higher score
Boalt: Now accepting higher score
Stanford: Pretentiously ambiguous answer
Columbia: No change in policy. 6+ points for higher score consideration.
Schools already accepting higher score:
UPenn
Northwestern
Cornell
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Colorado - high score
Bloomington - high score
University of North Carolina - high score
I disagree with Ceylan's early post. No matter how much law schools like to say they don't care about the rankings and where there scores match up to other schools, they do. My prediction is that the first year or two a few of the schools will use the average scores, drop in the rankings and immediately start using the high score. Only using the high score isn't an foreign concept. For undergrad admission when i applied (i dont know what it's like now) they not only didn't they average your SAT scores, but you could mix and match your best verbal and math scores.
The real question is how this will (or won't) raise the standards at specific schools. With more pay off for people who take the test multiple times (up to three) you can expect many students to use all three times to improve their score if necessary to reach their target. Scores submitted to the law schools should be higher all around. Also, scoring in the the top percentile might mean getting more questions correct as the test presumably will have more repeat testers than the past.
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Personally, I took the test one time (170) and I remain confident that with all other things being equal, most adcomms will look at me favorably compared to candidates who achieved this score with two or three attempts. I really don't care what they report to the LSAC as long as they apply some common sense logic when comparing candidates.
Polo06
- MagicMurdock
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- Ken
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LSAT score - top score is key
I now believe that law schools are very focused on how they fare in the rankings game that they will heavily focus on your best LSAT score, which is what gets reported to the ABA. Thus, I think if your second score is a bit below your first, they will solely look at your first (higher) score. I think you would really have to bomb the second LSAT and have it be noticably lower for them to take notice.
The risk vs. reward outcome clearly favors taking the risk. Good luck.
I think you will find that the second time you are much more calm and at peace with the LSAT gods and will score above a 167!
- sophia.olive
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
Will that carry the same strength as a 178. or would it be more like a 176

Will the ad-minion think said person is incredibly unpredictable and could put the other students at risk if they sat him/her in a class room.
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
More like a 171+...
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
- SullaFelix
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
Fact is, even if a school says they're only concerned with the highest score, they're still going to think more highly of someone who got a high score on the first attempt than someone who took three tries. So while it would give you an edge over everyone with a score lower than your final mark, you're still at a disadvantage compared with those who scored just as highly on one take.sophia.olive wrote:What do you guys think about a 170/166/178.
Will that carry the same strength as a 178. or would it be more like a 176![]()
Will the ad-minion think said person is incredibly unpredictable and could put the other students at risk if they sat him/her in a class room.
- sophia.olive
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
Well, I didn't mean an actual average, just the fact that a point or two may be knocked off because it was the third time.rklafehn wrote:How do you get a 176 out of 170 / 166 / 178?
More like a 171+...
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?

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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
In case you're interested, the schools were:
Berkeley
UCLA
UC-Davis
UC-Hasings
USC
Pepperdine
Like someone mentioned before, these schools care about their rankings and now that they only need to report the higher score it would make sense that taking the test twice wouldn't count against you (unless they are trying to decide between you and someone with your same stats and they only took it once--then maybe). If you have a score that will improve their rankings they'll want you.
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
- tryster0
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
- im_blue
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Re: Highest vs Average LSAT; new ABA policy; which schools?
"If I take the LSAT more than once, which score does UT use?tryster0 wrote:anyone know if UTexas takes average or highest?
Candidates with multiple LSAT scores will be evaluated using all reported scores. However, the Law School will no longer solely consider an applicant’s average score in the admissions review process. The ABA recently revised its survey reporting requirements; all law schools are being asked to report an applicant’s highest LSAT score."
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