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I've been a long-time lurker on this site, but just joined b/c I could use some advice.

I'm 4 years out of undergrad (3.51 LSDAS gpa) and just took the LSAT in October for the first time. I ended up with a 170, which I'm a bit disappointed with. My last three PTs (#62-64, all taken under timed conditions) were 177, 178, and 179 respectively. I'd taken all the PTs in the 40's and 50's I could get my hands on, and hadn't scored under 175 since PT #45. I'm thinking about a re-take, but at this point my confidence is shot/ I'm not sure I can really get myself psyched up to jump back into studying. Plus, I feel like I've exhausted most of the official LSAT questions.

Should I re-take in December and apply as soon as I get my scores back? Or should I just apply now (I can have all my apps in by Nov. 15th) and hope for the best?

And if I just stick with my 3.5/170, should I even bother applying to CCN? (or MVP for that matter)

Hopefully the combined wisdom of TLS will guide me...

Here's my opinion:

You were scoring great- congrats! That's awesome. Now, I am going to assume that you did this under honest, 35 minute timed conditions. If that is the case- then yes, I would retake.

Maybe it was test day nerves or something else that got to you. But, you have a good score, and you can do better. You're not crawling up from a 160-range.

Keep your apps going, and study and retake.

There's always a possibility of scoring lower, but I do not think that would be the case for you. A few points could help you get into CCNMVP, and maybe get you some $ or at least reduce stress during the waiting period.

You totally have the capability of scoring higher. So why not?

Thanks for the input, austinyo. It's nice to get some feedback.

I'd like to re-take since it's nice to have options (and for me, getting some money at a lower T-14 would be great). I think a lot of my drop was due to anxiety. I couldn't sleep the night before the test, felt super nervous, etc. But I also didn't walk out of the test feeling too much different from how I felt after finishing my PTs.

If I decide to re-take, would it make sense to submit a few apps to the lower part of the T-14 and ask them to evaluate my app without a new LSAT score? Provided I can get into one, it would be nice to have the security of submitting a few applications relatively early (especially if I don't significantly improve upon retaking the test). Is that even something they'll do?

I'd like to get some opinions on how I might fare if I don't re-take, so I think I'll throw out a "What are my chances?" thread in that forum.

You can certainly apply and let them know you'll be retaking. But really I just came here to say great username. And good luck on the retake.