Advice on cancellation? Forum

[ihansen25]

Hey TLS Forum,

I'm a newcomer looking for some advice after taking the December LSAT yesterday.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should cancel my score. Here's some context on my situation: I'm not going to law school for a few years still (I'll be doing Teach For America in Philly first), so there is no pressing application deadline need for me to keep this score. I have a 3.7 GPA in political science (stupidest major of all time), and have been scoring regularly in the 170s on PTs for the past 3 months. During the last month, I have consistently scored between 175 and 178.

I left the testing center feeling really shaky and pretty adamant that I should cancel. LR is usually my best section, and it just didn't feel quite right yesterday. I finished the games but felt somewhat jittery during them, as it was my first section, and those two substitution questions were not helpful. I do, however, feel like RC went extremely well. Today, I am less sure about what to do.

I'm really debating whether or not I should cancel and retake in February. Does anyone have any advice on this? Pros/cons to consider? Am I just freaking out, or does my initial impression that I should cancel hold weight?

I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks a lot.

[Philafaler]

Hey TLS Forum,

I'm a newcomer looking for some advice after taking the December LSAT yesterday.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should cancel my score. Here's some context on my situation: I'm not going to law school for a few years still (I'll be doing Teach For America in Philly first), so there is no pressing application deadline need for me to keep this score. I have a 3.7 GPA in political science (stupidest major of all time), and have been scoring regularly in the 170s on PTs for the past 3 months. During the last month, I have consistently scored between 175 and 178.

I left the testing center feeling really shaky and pretty adamant that I should cancel. LR is usually my best section, and it just didn't feel quite right yesterday. I finished the games but felt somewhat jittery during them, as it was my first section, and those two substitution questions were not helpful. I do, however, feel like RC went extremely well. Today, I am less sure about what to do.

I'm really debating whether or not I should cancel and retake in February. Does anyone have any advice on this? Pros/cons to consider? Am I just freaking out, or does my initial impression that I should cancel hold weight?

I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks a lot.

Are you shooting for HYS? If not, then definitely don't cancel. It doesn't matter at all.

If you're shooting for them, I still wouldn't cancel. I don't think you should cancel on the grounds that it didn't feel right; it's probably just test-day anxiety.

[ltrego]

Don't cancel! Most schools only really look at your highest score anyway. There's really no reason for canceling unless you royally messed up.

[Philafaler]

Don't cancel! Most schools only really look at your highest score anyway. There's really no reason for canceling unless you royally messed up.

Yeah, I revise my advice to this.

[A.Taarabt7]

Don't cancel! Most schools only really look at your highest score anyway. There's really no reason for canceling unless you royally messed up.

Yeah, I revise my advice to this.

what if this was your 3rd attempt and would not be a significant increase only perhaps a 4-5 point increase?

I'm considering canceling this attempt and taking in June or Feb. Probably June so I can get a material increase for my 3rd attempt because 1st two attempts are pretty close to each other ( 5 point difference)

[RCO2012]

OP- don't cancel. You're PTs were high enough to think that you did just fine. Like most have said your highest score is what matters, and while there is some idea that HYS do not look favorably upon LSAT retakes, I think you could still make a case to them if you had to. Nobody leaves the LSAT feeling like they killed it (if they did, something is probably wrong, honestly). DON'T CANCEL.

[ihansen25]

Thanks to all for their advice.

I have yet to find a single person who has advised me to cancel. I guess I should take that as a decent signal, yeah?

The info that most schools look at high scores these days is helpful; my top choice is UChicago, does anyone know if this is true of them specifically?

Anyway, maybe it won't matter. Maybe I did fine.

[Puffin]

Thanks to all for their advice.

I have yet to find a single person who has advised me to cancel. I guess I should take that as a decent signal, yeah?

The info that most schools look at high scores these days is helpful; my top choice is UChicago, does anyone know if this is true of them specifically?

Anyway, maybe it won't matter. Maybe I did fine.

Their policy is to take the highest score.

[Philawsophy]

OP,

I'm in the same exact boat regarding post-test anxiety and practice test scores (although I never quite made it to 178 ). I know for a me a big part of the anxiety is that I might still be able to get into great schools, but a 1-3 point difference could be the difference between scholarship money and not.

Not sure if that's part of your anxiety at all. For what it's worth, I decided not to cancel and would recommend the same for you. The conditions of the real test were much different than the practice tests, and that's probably at least part of the reason we feel like this.

Good luck!

[ltrego]

Don't cancel! Most schools only really look at your highest score anyway. There's really no reason for canceling unless you royally messed up.

Yeah, I revise my advice to this.

what if this was your 3rd attempt and would not be a significant increase only perhaps a 4-5 point increase?

I'm considering canceling this attempt and taking in June or Feb. Probably June so I can get a material increase for my 3rd attempt because 1st two attempts are pretty close to each other ( 5 point difference)

I think the answer to this question depends on what those previous scores were and where your shooting to go. But, if you post your own thread, you might get better luck with replies specific to your situation.

[ihansen25]

Thanks again to everyone. I've decided to keep the score, and if it turns out to have gone well, I will have you guys to thank, in part.