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Just got my dec score back and would like to have some advice about taking the test for a third time.

I scored a 168 in June and decided to retake in Oct. However, I was pretty much occupied by other commitments from then on and did not seriously prepare (took a lot of weeks off). Put it off and scored a 171 in December. I believe I can do better if to prepare more intensely. My question now is to take the test in Feb or in June.

There is one month left till the Feb test. I may devote 6 hours/day for studying. Did not do any preparation in the past month however. I think I have to take the risk of not maximizing my potential if taking the Feb test. If go for the June test, I can set aside 2 full months for lsat.

My only reason to take the Feb score is that I REALLY don't want to wait for another year. I wonder how much a Feb score can help admissions. I'm pretty much out of T6 at present. Can a better feb score help me get in schools I cannot get in now? Or it just helps scholarship negotiation?

Your advice is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

i would say it depends on your GPA, if you got a 3.95+/171, you are pretty much a lock at H and S and $$$ from other T14. then, probably you don't need to retake. on the other side, if your GPA is not that stellar, then retake will help.

Also, depends on whether you are satisfied with lower T14 or you absolutely want T6 with $$$, i wouldn't recommend february retake. you don't have enough time to improve (thus maximizing your potential) and many smaller classes (think Chicago) will be filled by then.

kadyevna wrote:if you got a 3.95+/171, you are pretty much a lock at H and S and $$$ from other T14.

Obviously February is really soon, but if you're at a 170+ level, it's certainly doable.
If you don't want to sit out the cycle, then don't. A 171 isn't going to hold you back too many places.

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote:if you got a 3.95+/171, you are pretty much a lock at H and S and $$$ from other T14.

Obviously February is really soon, but if you're at a 170+ level, it's certainly doable.
If you don't want to sit out the cycle, then don't. A 171 isn't going to hold you back too many places.

maybe not S, but yea you re right

kadyevna wrote: maybe not S, but yea you re right

How exactly is a below median LSAT "a lock" for Harvard?

kadyevna wrote:i would say it depends on your GPA, if you got a 3.95+/171, you are pretty much a lock at H and S and $$$ from other T14. then, probably you don't need to retake. on the other side, if your GPA is not that stellar, then retake will help.

Also, depends on whether you are satisfied with lower T14 or you absolutely want T6 with $$$, i wouldn't recommend february retake. you don't have enough time to improve (thus maximizing your potential) and many smaller classes (think Chicago) will be filled by then.

Thanks for posting! Unfortunately I'm a international applicant with a "Superior" LSAC rating, which I guess translate into a 25% GPA at any school I'm applying to. I'm also a KJD with no extraordinary softs. I may get into GULC/Cornell, while other schools I feel really uncertain due to my observations about past applicants from the same pool.

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote: maybe not S, but yea you re right

How exactly is a below median LSAT "a lock" for Harvard?

HLS can only be "a dream" for me with my present lsat . Do you happen to know how HLS treats a feb score update?

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote: maybe not S, but yea you re right

How exactly is a below median LSAT "a lock" for Harvard?

if you have 171-172 LSAT (25-50th) and 3.95+ gpa (>75th), then you have ~90% chance of being admitted, maybe thats not a lock for you?

kadyevna wrote:

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote: maybe not S, but yea you re right

How exactly is a below median LSAT "a lock" for Harvard?

if you have 171-172 LSAT (25-50th) and 3.95+ gpa (>75th), then you have ~90% chance of being admitted, maybe thats not a lock for you?

OP didn't even say (s)he had a 3.95, but even your hypothetical is wrong.
Don't make up numbers and mislead people.

AccountExpired wrote:

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote: maybe not S, but yea you re right

How exactly is a below median LSAT "a lock" for Harvard?

HLS can only be "a dream" for me with my present lsat . Do you happen to know how HLS treats a feb score update?

from what i heard here, lsat is pretty much the only thing that matters for international students. as long as you have a "superior", you are fine in terms of gpa (think of it as a median gpa). i dont know too much about February retake so you ll need someone else to answer that. with lower number of high LSAT scorers this year, im pretty sure you will get into some of the T14 even you don't retake.

i also saw somewhere on TLS that international students tend to get less $$$, im not sure there is enough evidence to back that up though

Dirigo wrote: OP didn't even say (s)he had a 3.95, but even your hypothetical is wrong.
Don't make up numbers and mislead people.

i said 3.95+, not 3.9 thats below 75th.

also, i said it as a hypothetical so technically there is nothing wrong, get your numbers right before you disagree

ETA: also, OP perfectly understood my point so i didnt mislead anybody

Dirigo wrote: OP didn't even say (s)he had a 3.95, but even your hypothetical is wrong.
Don't make up numbers and mislead people.

http://mylsn.info/a8jsl7/

kadyevna wrote:

Dirigo wrote: OP didn't even say (s)he had a 3.95, but even your hypothetical is wrong.
Don't make up numbers and mislead people.

i said 3.95+, not 3.9 thats below 75th.
also, i said it as a hypothetical so technically there is nothing wrong, get your numbers right before you disagree

Okay. Let's discuss a 172 LSAT when OP has a 171, because that makes sense.
You originally said a 3.95/171 was "a lock." WRONG.
Can you please chance a 175 LSAT for me as well?
You're a real treat.

OP, ask Karen Buttenbaum (former HLS adcom) in this thread about the February LSAT, but I suspect they'll consider your higher February score in pulling you off the waitlist or outright accepting you if a decision hasn't been rendered as of March.
GOODLUCK!

Dirigo wrote:

kadyevna wrote:

Dirigo wrote: OP didn't even say (s)he had a 3.95, but even your hypothetical is wrong.
Don't make up numbers and mislead people.

i said 3.95+, not 3.9 thats below 75th.
also, i said it as a hypothetical so technically there is nothing wrong, get your numbers right before you disagree

Okay. Let's discuss a 172 LSAT when OP has a 171, because that makes sense.
You originally said a 3.95/171 was "a lock." WRONG.
Can you please chance a 175 LSAT for me as well?
You're a real treat.

OP, ask Karen Buttenbaum (former HLS adcom) in this thread about the February LSAT, but I suspect they'll consider your higher February score in pulling you off the waitlist or outright accepting you if a decision hasn't been rendered as of March.
GOODLUCK!

it is a lock, you are just being funny and consciously unwilling to see my larger point. for harvard, 171 and 172 falls within the same range (25-50th) and my point is if you have a 171 and 3.95+, you are almost admitted. oh, i forgot, im talking to somebody who believes 3.9 and 4.0 are the same thing and 90% chance is not a lock, fine