Any good reasons to move test from June to Oct? Forum

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Obviously, for someone wanting HYS and PTing at 150 now, there is good reason for the delay. But for myself? I sit at 3.89 and avg. mid to upper 160s with the occasional 170 breach (and a max of 173). My diag was 153 several months ago so I'm happy to be where I am but want $ at T14 and am pushing for 172+. I've considered rescheduling for October so I can be at a point where I'm consistently 170+ before writing. A family member has argued that I would be dumb not to take June, even if my scores aren't precisely where I want them to be by the cancellation deadline. To him, there is absolutely no risk in me taking in June, even if I bomb (I admit, I don't really expect a bomb, but for the sake of argument). In that case, I get experience of a real LSAT and won't be hurt on admissions bc many schools take your highest reported. If I do well, then great, enjoy a fun summer. To him, a win win. But is this the case; is it a win win? My question: What are some risks in taking in June? Seems so basic, but I am yet to really pin solid reasons down besides the person that is genuinely miles behind their goal. Thx

[JamMasterJ]

I think that if you think you will do better, wait.

[achilles1234]

June is a great time to take it!

1. you still have a month to study....
2. if you do for some reason bomb it, then you'll retake in october, whereas if you take it in october (and bomb it) and retake in December then you wont have a completed app until January, which is very late in the rolling admissions process.
3. you also get to take the test around noon for June, which for me, is a big deal since i'm not a morning person.
4. lastly, there is NO guarantee that you will do better in October. in reality, it could be that you get saturated and stop learning anything new.

[Eichörnchen]

I love that I searched posts to try and figure this problem out too and this thread pulled up. I'm reading and thinking, "perfectttt...this person sounds just like me." Scroll over and see that it was you. Hahaha

Not that you'll see this cause you've cut back on TLS but I am still amused.

edit: Oops I should say that if anyone else has insight it would be much appreciated. I'm in the same boat. To sum it up, basically I could do it by June. Would I feel like I am taking it at my peak? Definitely not. Trying to work out pros and cons here, because June and retake = fallback score, being more comfortable second time around, but then don't HYS average? So with a 3.9 it would suck to get a 174 second time around and have it averaged with a 167ish.

[blink]

holy shit OP are you me?? I just spoke with my dad, and have the identical issue, only my PT scores are higher and my gpa is much lower lol i would love to hear what people have to say on this.

[lavenderb181]

Sort of related - what schools average LSAT scores and what scores take the highest one? (in T14)

[northwood]

If you think you can hit your target score by the day of the test consistentl- then keep practicing. If by the week of the test you arent- simply take an absence. Sure you will be wasting the cost, but iit wont count towards the 3 tests in a 2 year timeframe.

[Dany]

So I think the big risk of taking it in October for the first time is that if you mess up and need to retake in December, your whole cycle can be screwed. I was going to take it in June no matter what so that if I needed a backup try, it would be October at the latest. Also, it's only the beginning of May. I did most of my prep in May alone (though I did spend a lot of time on it) so I think there's still plenty of time to get to where you'll get a great score in June (especially since you're PTing well now.)

Re: averaging scores - I didn't retake so I wasn't following retake applicants too closely this cycle, but it seemed to me that there were a lots of people accepted to great schools (CCN on down)* with multiple scores and lower average scores. Just anecdotally.

*No idea about HYS because I didn't pay too much attention to those schools as I knew I probably would get rejected.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

I've seen a few HYS retakes and just saw one off the waitlist with a 160, 161, 174 and 3.7(not sure if URM or other circumstances) for this cycle. I've decided to definitely take in June

[Dany]

I've decided to definitely take in June

I think this is a good call. Best of luck to you!

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

So I think the big risk of taking it in October for the first time is that if you mess up and need to retake in December, your whole cycle can be screwed. I was going to take it in June no matter what so that if I needed a backup try, it would be October at the latest. Also, it's only the beginning of May. I did most of my prep in May alone (though I did spend a lot of time on it) so I think there's still plenty of time to get to where you'll get a great score in June (especially since you're PTing well now.)

Re: averaging scores - I didn't retake so I wasn't following retake applicants too closely this cycle, but it seemed to me that there were a lots of people accepted to great schools (CCN on down)* with multiple scores and lower average scores. Just anecdotally.

*No idea about HYS because I didn't pay too much attention to those schools as I knew I probably would get rejected.

Thanks for the advice Dany, hope to see u in Hyde Park in '12 . PT avg the past 2 weeks is up to 169.3 and yesterday was 174, so hopefully I can pull something similar in a few weeks

[Eichörnchen]

So I think the big risk of taking it in October for the first time is that if you mess up and need to retake in December, your whole cycle can be screwed. I was going to take it in June no matter what so that if I needed a backup try, it would be October at the latest. Also, it's only the beginning of May. I did most of my prep in May alone (though I did spend a lot of time on it) so I think there's still plenty of time to get to where you'll get a great score in June (especially since you're PTing well now.)

Re: averaging scores - I didn't retake so I wasn't following retake applicants too closely this cycle, but it seemed to me that there were a lots of people accepted to great schools (CCN on down)* with multiple scores and lower average scores. Just anecdotally.

*No idea about HYS because I didn't pay too much attention to those schools as I knew I probably would get rejected.

Thanks for the advice Dany, hope to see u in Hyde Park in '12 . PT avg the past 2 weeks is up to 169.3 and yesterday was 174,so hopefully I can pull something similar in a few weeks

Woot woot! Keep it up

[zanzbar]

Good luck I hope you get the score you want in June so we can have a more forgiving curve in October haha.

[Cupidity]

You can adequately prepare for the LSAT in 2-3 weeks, despite what some on this site seem to hint at. It mostly tests innate talent, so outside of learning the basic inns and outs of the test, there isn't much for you to do.

Take it in June, have a score in your pocket, and retake it September if necessary. Nearly no schools will care about your lower score, and if you can post a major gain, they will care even less.

[Eichörnchen]

You can adequately prepare for the LSAT in 2-3 weeks, despite what some on this site seem to hint at. It mostly tests innate talent, so outside of learning the basic inns and outs of the test, there isn't much for you to do.

Take it in June, have a score in your pocket, and retake it September if necessary. Nearly no schools will care about your lower score, and if you can post a major gain, they will care even less.

Ehh....disagree. I guess it depends on your definition of "adequate" is. For me it is getting the highest score I can possibly get on this test because it's so important. I got a diagnostic of 160, but I want firmly 170+, so I know that will take time for me (hell of a lot longer than a few weeks. Maybe I'm just "slow" ). You're right that almost no schools care about a retake though.

And I know our pal Florida has put in a lot more than a few weeks He's gone up lots since his diagnostic and he is going to kill it in June. (he has this tattooed on his back:)

[pkrtbx]

I am having this internal debate as well. I studied some in the fall and through January but when the semester picked up I just did not have time. I got a 167 on a proctored practice test in Feb but hardly even opened my study materials again until the past week. I would much prefer to have my score in hand at the beginning of the semester and get all the apps in early but I just don't know where I am at. If I decide to wait for October is there any cancellation deadline or should I just not show up?

[CoriOlivia]

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