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I wrote a 171 last year after minimal study. Thought I could do better, have studied muuuch harder this time around. Despite this, my last five practice tests (timed, 5 section) have resulted in the following scores: 172, 174, 171, 170, and 173 (with 173 being the most recent).



What would you do in my place? I don't think it's likely that I'll fall below 171 on test day, but it seems like scoring a 171 or 172 is very possible. I'd be hoping to get a 173/174, but is this worth the risk? What sort of signal do two very similar scores send?



Very frustrated right now, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

10ply wrote:I wrote a 171 last year after minimal study. Thought I could do better, have studied muuuch harder this time around. Despite this, my last five practice tests (timed, 5 section) have resulted in the following scores: 172, 174, 171, 170, and 173 (with 173 being the most recent).



What would you do in my place? I don't think it's likely that I'll fall below 171 on test day, but it seems like scoring a 171 or 172 is very possible. I'd be hoping to get a 173/174, but is this worth the risk? What sort of signal do two very similar scores send?



Very frustrated right now, any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

It depends on what your GPA is, and what schools you want to go to.

A 3.8+/171 is competitive at YHS, likely in at CCN and has money after that. If you want big-law, either retake for a full ride somewhere (you can get it now possibly) or apply as is. If you want something crazy prestigious such as academia, it might make more sense to retake... but YHS is a black box either way, you might be able to get in now, and not later.

The worst outcome is you score lower than a 171, and you still have a 171 showing up. (this really all depends now on your GPA)

Change your studying methods and retake. You'll have plateaus, but there's always potential for your score to increase. Do some intense studying this summer and retake in September. Those few points can be thousands of dollars in scholly. (retake is always TCR)

You don't have much to lose by retaking in September and applying after that

Thanks for all the responses. I have a 3.97 cGPA calculated using the LSAC scale. I guess ideally I'd keep studying through the summer, but right now it's hard to imagine spending the rest of the summer in the library. I was hoping for 175+ and HYS or money at CCN, but the chances of that are seeming low at the moment.

What are you asking? Should you retake if you think you can score higher? Yes. Based on your score distribution, are you at the point where you're ready to think that? Not really.

How long and how have you been studying this time?

Play around with http://mylsn.info/fbz604/ and pay close attention to the scholarship amounts for each LSAT point. It's almost always worth it to retake if you think you can improve even 1 or 2 points, especially with that GPA.