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I've taken the LSAT once one and a half years ago, scored a 163. And prior to this June LSAT, I was scoring up to the mid 170s, with a good upward trend.

Historic Score Breakdown:
- Reading Comp: I'd get -2 to -5
- EACH Logical Reasoning: I'd get -1 to -3
- In all the history of all PTs I've taken, I've never gotten lower than -2 on Logic Games. In the past 5+ exams, I got -0, almost always completing the section in <31 minutes.
So the games section is usually what clinches the 170 score for me, and there's a greater possibility for variability in the other sections.

On the June LSAT, for some weird reason, I froze on the games section; after the exam, I sat and thought about the game I messed up on, and I realized within 15-20 seconds how to set up and solve the game, which would have honestly taken me 3-4 minutes to run through the questions, had I done this on the actual exam. (crazy mad frustration)


(1) I am applying to law school this coming fall, so I have opportunities to take the October/December LSATs. Do you guys/girls think I should cancel? If so, what is your reasoning?
Some Factors to Consider:
- Were the reading/reasoning sections hard/easy in June (if you've taken the exam) compared to for instance, the Dec 2009 exam?
- My having taken the LSAT once before, 1.5 years ago
- Past 3 months of time investment into this June LSAT
- Future time & effort in the Oct LSAT
- May need to forgo opportunity summer opportunity
- Time/effort in preparing LSAT apps/recs in Fall '10

(2) And where should I go from here to prepare for the October LSAT, regardless of whether I cancel/receive a <170 score? (I've done like...all of the last 10 years' worth of PTs already)



Input much appreciated

Hey glewz,

I feel your pain! I also have a decent previous LSAT score, and I too froze up on the logic games section last Monday. I've never done that poorly on a games section! I don't think I even finished half of the problems. Because I knew the score I got would be much lower than the one I have now, I canceled my score. I'm not at all sure that's the right thing to do in your situation, but I just thought I'd let you know there was someone else out there in the same boat.

I'm thinking about enrolling in a prep course and retaking in October. For the June test, I kind of crammed; I think my brain was exhausted on the day of the test. On the other hand, if I retake, it will use up my last test until late next year, and I run the risk of then having a decent score followed by two cancellations!

Best of luck to you, and I plan on following this post closely.

Regards,
CR

I haven't taken the LSAT for real yet, so I may not be the best person to give advice, but I would probably cancel if I were in your position, mainly because of the previous 163. Going off of your averages from PTs, say you scored -3 on RC, -2 on each LR, and -5 on LG (because of the game you froze on). Depending on the curve, that could easily give you a score in the very high 160s, maybe 170 or 171. If you would be happy with a 168 or 169, then don't cancel. But if you would retake in October, I think a 163, cancel, 173ish would look better than a 163, 168, 173ish.

Thanks to both of you for your replies : )

CR, I'm so there with you - best of luck in October.

Kat, do you know how this figures into the application period? --> because I'd like to get my app out ASAP, at the very beginning of the app cycle.
I'm a bit iffy on applying with a score below 170, but if I take the October exam, would law schools be able to see that score even after I send in my app in September?

http://www.lsac.org/Applying/lsdas-law-school-reports.asp wrote:If you have a current LSAC Credential Assembly Service file, LSAC will routinely send report updates to law schools to which you have applied at no additional charge

* whenever you repeat the LSAT within the same admission year;
* when LSAC receives an updated transcript within the same admission year;
* when LSAC receives an additional letter of recommendation within the same admission year up to the limit set by the law school. (Each law school can specify at what point in its admission process it will receive letters. Therefore, if you apply to multiple schools, some may receive your letters sooner than others.); and
* when an error in a transcript or its summarization is reported and corrected within the same admission year. A revised official transcript clearly marked as “corrected copy” is necessary to correct transcript errors.

Yeah, they'll see all your scores. It would be nice if they couldn't see it unless you wanted them to though.