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168 was lower than my PTs, I think I was thrown off by the games. Mostly because my endurance is bad, I get burnt out easily by the 5th section, but my PTs were 172-174s. If I retake, I think I will retake around June 2011, because it is 1 PM and I am not much a morning person. Maybe I'll use some LG books and a few hours of private tutoring instead of a class? Do you think I have a shot to progress? I would love to score...4 points higher.

Just based on your scores, I'd say: Don't. You've already made a substantial improvement and probably hit around the top of your "innate range" on your second administration. Taking it again you're just rolling the dice.

That said, everybody is unique. If you really have been consistently scoring in the 172-174 range on recent tests (that part is important), and you really believe that you're capable of knocking it out of the park if you prepare well and focus hard on test day, then maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. But you should definitely give it serious thought beforehand, because it wouldn't be good to score below 168 on your third try. 168 doesn't make you an auto-reject at U Chicago, although it is probably a long shot.

Either way, if you don't get in to U Chicago initially, you could go to a lower-ranked school and aim to transfer after the first year.

My 2¢...

I understand the opposite argument but I would take it again Pokerface. You've already shown a large capacity for improvement and if you stay on it like you have been and keep working I find it unlikely that you will score significantly worse the second time. With the trend accelerating towards taking your highest score, I think you stand much more to gain than you do to lose by taking another shot....good luck~

Thank you both for the responses! I don't think the first score reflected my abilities, I was robbed that time and ugh I just wasn't focused on the test like I should have been. Perhaps I should have taken an absent, but it was a bad decision I made to take the test in Dec. This time, I felt more like myself, but I have to see the PDFs to see what went wrong. Yes, I was scoring 172-174s on timed, recent diags (everything ranging from 2007---->june 2010, which was my highest).

if you were scoring 172-174 (172 was your lowest), I think you should def retake. 5 points is a big enough difference to warrant a retake imo.

Thank you! I think that something that was holding me back was my initial score, I kept on thinking "What if I don't progress even though I am studying harder?" Now I feel more confident that I can improve as long as I study better! =)

pppokerface wrote:Thank you! I think that something that was holding me back was my initial score, I kept on thinking "What if I don't progress even though I am studying harder?" Now I feel more confident that I can improve as long as I study better! =)

Godspeed!

Having 3 scores is not ideal, but you can easily write an addendum about them. I say take it again if you're up for it, but June is a LONG way away and you have to make sure you don't lose what you've learned. BUT if you hit that 174 it'll definitely be worth it.

edit

I think you should apply early. getting a 168 now and getting an ED in or an app in and getting a 169 in late September may not be a huge advantage.

Congrats. Awesome score. Now walk away from the LSAT and apply to schools.