171 on October, score way below preptests, retake? Forum

[retakeorno]

Hi guys. I just got my score back and while I am so thankful to have a high result, I was crushed to see that it was well below the preptests I had been taking. The last 10 were consistently going between 174-179, usually at 175 or 6.

The night before the test my house mates and their guests were banging around drunkenly from one to three am, and I didn't get to sleep until four. They are nice, reliable people, and I had asked them to be quiet and not have visitors, but there was a big event on campus and I guess they forgot. The next morning I drank a lot of coffee, which I don't do normally, and was jittery, but I think the coffee helped overall. Being exhausted didn't.

Lg was rougher than usual, I made two groggy mistakes between the LR sections, and I did the worst I have ever done on RC, which was my last section. I was just tired and missing connections.

I need to work to pay off student loans while taking a pretty brisk course load, so it will be hard to study before the December or Feb Lsat dates. The December date also falls during my finals. That said I worked very hard (10-20 hours a week) in the months leading up to the October administration on prep, and feel that I might be able to get back in form with a bit of studying.

My gpa will be something like a 3.65 due to some interesting decisions in the past. I would really like to go to Columbia, Harvard or Yale but think it might not be possible even with a retake. On the other hand I will hate myself for a while if I don't try. I could have just bought earplugs or gone to a different place to sleep and been fine the night before.

Should I retake?

Thanks for your input.

TLDR: Score 3-5 below high 170s average, test day went as badly as it reasonably could have, retake or no?

[countercouper]

A similar thing happened to me, I got a 171 in June and immediately signed up to retake this past month, and did significantly better. However, since Columbia and Harvard have more or less rolling admissions and Yale would definitely be a reach with those numbers, I'd recommend sitting out a cycle if you don't want to end up at NYU, or worse.

[retakeorno]

Out of curiosity what were your grades, when did you apply, and how did it go Countercouper?

I'll definitely consider waiting a cycle. As of now I am planning to work prior to law school for at least a year anyways.

[benito]

only on TLS will you ever hear the phrase "if you don't want to end up at NYU".......crazy

[retakeorno]

I definitely appreciate that a school like NYU is amazing. The economy is disconcerting right now though and so doing everything to ensure future employment seems like a major stress reducer. Who knows what the future and its robotic legions may hold for legal practitioners. Wooooo scary.

[retakeorno]

I definitely appreciate that a school like NYU is amazing. The economy is disconcerting right now though and so doing everything to ensure future employment seems like a major stress reducer. Who knows what the future and its robotic legions may hold for legal practitioners. Wooooo scary.

[retakeorno]

I definitely appreciate that a school like NYU is amazing. The economy is disconcerting right now though and so doing everything to ensure future employment seems like a major stress reducer. Who knows what the future and its robotic legions may hold for legal practitioners. Wooooo scary.

[tennisking88]

only on TLS will you ever hear the phrase "if you don't want to end up at NYU".......crazy

This. Repeat after me....NYU = Columbia. NYU = Columbia. You are pretty much at both medians.

[Curious1]

NYU = Columbia. NYU = Columbia

No.