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Hello All!

3.99 UG GPA ( state school), Cancel/173 LSATs, average- mildly decent "softs" (legal internship, coaching, athletics, volunteer experience)

Had been averaging 175 plus on practice tests, and had bad nerves on test day ( shaking ). Normally I don't experience test anxiety, and feel like if I took it again I would be able to perform better .

My plan is to apply as early as possible (october) with school specific statements and hope to trick one of HS or C to let me in- Stanford being my dream school.

I have time and a slight compulsion to study and retake in June and can't make up my mind whether or not to do so. Any suggestions? Similar experiences? Words of caution?

Anyone care to share their reasoning?

jackjackson wrote:Anyone care to share their reasoning?

b/c your GPA is perfect, your LSAT is already high and it's likely the schools you are interested in getting into are going to take your 173 into consideration anyway

Because the score range for a score of 173 (top 1%) on the LSAT is reported as a 170-176 range, so why risk ruining an LSAT score report with only scores in the 170 range ?

flame

CanadianWolf wrote:Because the score range for a score of 173 (top 1%) on the LSAT is reported as a 170-176 range, so why risk ruining an LSAT score report with only scores in the 170 range ?

So does that mean if lucked out and got a 177, the average of 175 would be looked at as about the same as if I had just sticked with the 173?

do you want to go to HYS or CCN?

Stanford is my dream school, followed closely by Harvard. I figure I would be out at Yale.

glitter178 wrote:

jackjackson wrote:Anyone care to share their reasoning?

b/c your GPA is perfect, your LSAT is already high and it's likely the schools you are interested in getting into are going to take your 173 into consideration anyway

sorry but this doesn't make any sense. you don't know what schools he is interested in. and there is a big difference between a 173 and a 175 when you are talking about top 3 schools

jackjackson wrote:Stanford is my dream school, followed closely by Harvard. I figure I would be out at Yale.

retake for a surer bet. you are in at CCN right now but if you want to make it (more of) a sure thing i would try for a 175+ on the LSAT, especially if you think you can do better and were PTing better

of course, you could argue that HYS wouldn't be a sure thing without a 178+

You should be a strong applicant at every top 14 law school plus your 173 qualifies you to teach for all LSAT prep companies !

paulinaporizkova wrote:

glitter178 wrote:

jackjackson wrote:Anyone care to share their reasoning?

b/c your GPA is perfect, your LSAT is already high and it's likely the schools you are interested in getting into are going to take your 173 into consideration anyway

sorry but this doesn't make any sense. you don't know what schools he is interested in. and there is a big difference between a 173 and a 175 when you are talking about top 3 schools

he says which schools he is interested in ... and harvard doesn't like retakers.

glitter178 wrote:

paulinaporizkova wrote:

glitter178 wrote:

jackjackson wrote:Anyone care to share their reasoning?

b/c your GPA is perfect, your LSAT is already high and it's likely the schools you are interested in getting into are going to take your 173 into consideration anyway

sorry but this doesn't make any sense. you don't know what schools he is interested in. and there is a big difference between a 173 and a 175 when you are talking about top 3 schools

he says which schools he is interested in ... and harvard doesn't like retakers.

ah i see now. where is the information that harvard doesn't like retakers? just curious.

I, too, have read that Harvard does not like retakes. It may be on Harvard's TLS profile.

thats

glitter178 wrote:

paulinaporizkova wrote:

glitter178 wrote:

jackjackson wrote:Anyone care to share their reasoning?

b/c your GPA is perfect, your LSAT is already high and it's likely the schools you are interested in getting into are going to take your 173 into consideration anyway

sorry but this doesn't make any sense. you don't know what schools he is interested in. and there is a big difference between a 173 and a 175 when you are talking about top 3 schools

he says which schools he is interested in ... and harvard doesn't like retakers.

I already have a cancel on record too. So maybe thats reason enough to just stick with what I got...

CanadianWolf wrote:I, too, have read that Harvard does not like retakes. It may be on Harvard's TLS profile.

i could see that. it's not like they are going to impress anyone more by increasing their LSAT percentiles.

You can teach the LSAT for a year, and retake the test after teaching so you'll be getting paid to study. Talking about the test can help you think quicker when taking it.

flexityflex86 wrote:You can teach the LSAT for a year, and retake the test after teaching so you'll be getting paid to study. Talking about the test can help you think quicker when taking it.

thought about doing this, but I am from a small town ( no kaplan etc). Plus I want to apply as early as possible, so it would be June or bust.

Don't retake. A 3.99/173 makes you competitive everywhere. the only reason you wouldnt get one of HYS would be your softs. Take a year off and work on those if you want. You could retake and score a 172 and I think that would significantly hurt you at HYS. 173 is strong enough, anything could happen on a retake and even if you retake and get a 174 or something I dont think that puts you in a significantly better place at HYS.

If you cant stomach what schools you get into with a 3.99/173 you might be sorely disappointed when you graduate LS and dont automatically become the president of the US.

Sandro wrote:If you cant stomach what schools you get into with a 3.99/173 you might be sorely disappointed when you graduate LS and dont automatically become the president of the US.

ha I agree. Ill be happy wherever I end up, Stanford is just what I am hoping for.

jackjackson wrote:

Sandro wrote:If you cant stomach what schools you get into with a 3.99/173 you might be sorely disappointed when you graduate LS and dont automatically become the president of the US.

ha I agree. Ill be happy wherever I end up, Stanford is just what I am hoping for.

Thats cool. And if you feel like you left some points on the table, retaking is always an option.

Sandro gtf on fb

keep the score and apply. THe top schools average your scores- and when you are talking about 173+ it comes down to a few questions and the curve determining your score. If you get a unfriendly curve, or have a mildly bad test day your score will go down. With a cancel allready- do you want to have another??

northwood wrote:keep the score and apply. THe top schools average your scores- and when you are talking about 173+ it comes down to a few questions and the curve determining your score. If you get a unfriendly curve, or have a mildly bad test day your score will go down. With a cancel allready- do you want to have another??

Thanks, that seems to be the consensus. I think I agree, it is a different situation having had a cancel already.