Confused over whether taking LSAT more than once is harmful to your application? Forum

[EbisuMae]

Hey guys,

I've been hearing different things regarding whether or not taking the LSAT more than once is looked down upon by law schools.

First I heard it wouldn't matter if I retook it as the schools would just take my highest score, but then other people told me schools average all of your test scores together and unless there's a strong chance your score will rise dramatically, it will be detrimental to your application.

This question is in regards to how T14 will view the application.

Does anyone know?

Thanks so much for the help.

[BasilHallward]

Generally speaking, it hurts your chances if you don't retake

[BigZuck]

They only look at the highest score

Eta: someone will come along and say "But Yale!" Maybe Yale or Stanford cares about multiple takes but that's not reason enough to not retake

[Dcc617]

Most schools explicitly state that they only take the highest score.

[hairbear7]

it wouldn't matter if I retook it as the schools would just take my highest score

[SemperLegal]

About ten years ago it was common for all the schools to average your scores, then because that's dumb, USNWR started reporting only the highest score of applicants. So, now they all only care about the highest score'

[Mack.Hambleton]

Most schools explicitly state that they only take the highest score.

Harvard does this now

[SPerez]

Up until around the turn of the century, the ABA (and, in turn, USNWR) required schools to report the average of test scores. According to the test wizards at LSAC, the average of multiple scores provides the greatest predictive power.

Then the ABA changed their policy to require schools report the highest score, and the USNWR followed. This goes for ALL LAW SCHOOLS. I don't actually recall why this change was made. Cynics say it was to help schools post higher medians. I've also heard rumors that a significant number of law schools were already reporting the high score, despite the ABA rules.

That said, I think where people get confused and what causes this confusion to persist is just people using imprecise language. The question is always "Which score do law schools look at?" or "What score do schools consider?" Literally speaking, law schools will see ALL your scores. In the majority of cases scores are usually pretty close and don't really indicate a difference in ability. So yes, schools "look at" all the scores, but in the end it usually doesn't make a difference. Of course, if you have three low scores tightly grouped, it makes it a bit harder to argue your LSAT score doesn't represent your true ability.

If a person's scores are both below median, but one is WAY below median that might give an adcom pause. The question becomes can this student do the job at our school? What is the student's true ability level?

At the end of the day, a higher score is always better. This is one of those things I don't think is ever worth worrying about. If you think you can do better, and have the time and money, just retake.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law