Taking the LSAT once Forum

[Tom Joad]

Any speculation on how schools view applicants that have taken the LSAT once. I have seen the threads where admissions officers are quoted as saying their school averages the tests, they only consider the highest score, etc. I am more wondering if the cycle of a hypothetical person with a 172 would look more like the cycle of a multiple test taker with a 174.

[thelawschoolproject]

IMO, that's going to depend on what the other score was that the 174 received and what the reasons behind the alternative LSAT score were.

For example, if the person had a 173 then a 174, then no, the 172 looks worse. However, if it was a 161 and then a 174, then things start to get more difficult to determine. Maybe it's been 6 years and a PhD later that person scored the 174. Or, maybe it's only been two months.

Bottom line, it's a case by case situation. You want to get the highest score you can the FIRST time around.

[Tom Joad]

IMO, that's going to depend on what the other score was that the 174 received and what the reasons behind the alternative LSAT score were.

For example, if the person had a 173 then a 174, then no, the 172 looks worse. However, if it was a 161 and then a 174, then things start to get more difficult to determine. Maybe it's been 6 years and a PhD later that person scored the 174. Or, maybe it's only been two months.

Bottom line, it's a case by case situation. You want to get the highest score you can the FIRST time around.

I took it once and I did fine. I am just entering my cycle and would like to understand where I stand compared to applicants on LSN, etc.

[2014]

By and large a better score is going to be better. A first time 173 is going to be better than retake 173, but a 173 will probably always be better than a 170.

The discrepancy could come if someone has taken the thing like 4 times over a 2 year period and goes 159, 161, 158, 173. A school would probably look at that with a little more scrutiny.

Since USNWR and the ABA only care about the highest score though, most schools aren't going to be any pickier than they have to be.

[LSAT Blog]

Some of the top law schools do average or "consider" multiple scores.

Scroll down in this link for school-specific policies, and check the schools' websites for the latest info:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

[JamMasterJ]

I think the only way this could be a consideration is if both applicants' top scores are above the 75th. If a school's range is 166-171 and one guy has a 172 and the other guy has a 165 and a 174, there might be a different result than if one has a 170 and the other is 165/172

[coldshoulder]

Some of the top law schools do average or "consider" multiple scores.

Scroll down in this link for school-specific policies, and check the schools' websites for the latest info:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Does anyone know if this is still current info?

[JamMasterJ]

Some of the top law schools do average or "consider" multiple scores.

Scroll down in this link for school-specific policies, and check the schools' websites for the latest info:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/retaking-the-lsat.html

Does anyone know if this is still current info?

Not definitively, but if anything, schools have probably gotten looser

[zozin]

I doubt schools, with the possible exception of T6, will admit a 172 one time LSAT versus a 165/173, with everything else being equal. They might have had that luxury a couple of years ago, but with the decreased number of LSATs administered, they'll probably take what they can to maintain medians without drastically decreasing class size.

There were ~300 less +170 scorers between the Class of 2013 and 2014. With 18% less people taking the 2011 June LSAT over last year, if that trend continues for the Oct/Dec tests, that's possibly 500-600 less +170 scorers for the 2015 Class.

[sumner]

There were ~300 less +170 scorers between the Class of 2013 and 2014. With 18% less people taking the 2011 June LSAT over last year, if that trend continues for the Oct/Dec tests, that's possibly 500-600 less +170 scorers for the 2015 Class.

In a typical year do more people take the October or June LSAT? or is there no difference?

[SA1928]

There were ~300 less +170 scorers between the Class of 2013 and 2014. With 18% less people taking the 2011 June LSAT over last year, if that trend continues for the Oct/Dec tests, that's possibly 500-600 less +170 scorers for the 2015 Class.

In a typical year do more people take the October or June LSAT? or is there no difference?

http://www.lsac.org/LSACResources/Data/ ... stered.asp

[gogogadgetlaw]

.

[jamnhct]

Would schools even see LSAT scores that are more than 5 years old? If so, would these older scores be factored into admissions decisions at all?