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Hi, longtime lurker here, was hoping to get some people's thoughts on my situation.

I attended HYPS and graduated with a 3.78, and had a 170 on my first LSAT. I wasn't especially prepared for my first one because I wasn't as aware of the importance of the LSAT and got some bad advice on whether a cancel would look bad, so I retook this October. I was consistently PT-ing 177-180, so you can imagine I was pretty bummed to get a 171 yesterday. My softs are pretty normal.

I was aiming for Columbia or NYU, but now with my current score, I'm considering retaking again, since I know I can do better (I also had some minor stomach issues at the test and briefly considered canceling, but felt okay enough about it that I didn't end up going through with the cancel).

Do I have any chance with my current profile for Columbia or NYU, or should I retake and apply next cycle? I'm not in a huge rush to go to law school, as I'm okay with my job now and wouldn't be averse to staying for another year, but I was wondering if having three scores on my profile would be considered a negative. In particular, if I retake and the third score ends up being something like 177, would schools see 170-171-177 and assume that 170-171 is more reflective of my abilities and discount the 177, making a third retake not even worth it?

Obviously, with a 3.78 / 171 you're a borderline candidate at CCN.

You only have one more retake, so don't waste it in December unless you think you can be very well prepared.

IMO, make sure your PS and the other parts of your application are perfect, apply this year with a 171, and see what happens.

If things go badly, retake in June or October with plenty of preparation. I'm sure that if you score over their medians the third time, your LSAT score wouldn't be holding you back at C + N (after all, you were so close the first and second times).

One more year will also give the legal market a little time to improve (hopefully).