Obvious cancel???? Forum

[logicfreak]

In retrospect, it has become clear that my LSAT prep for December was extremely misguided. Having been told that LG is the easiest section to improve, I made the stupid decision to focus entirely on RC and LR for almost all of my prep. I spent a solid 3 months perfecting LR and RC--and by late November, I was scoring anywhere from 158-162 based on my raw score from these three sections alone!

At this point, I realized that time was running out and I needed to get to work on LG. I went at it for like 2 weeks and made some solid progress. However, I realized I needed another 2-3 weeks to come close to maximizing my LG potential. But I had simply run out of time.

So I go into the exam and performed exactly as expected: convinced that I crushed LRs and RC, but ran out of time and guessed on virtually all of the LG section. As such, my December score will inevitably have an artificially low ceiling--I literally blindly guessed on about 14 questions. LG is not particularly hard for me, I just did not spend nearly enough time practicing, and so I was still wayyyyyyy too slow.

As long as I can get to the point where I am scoring less than -5 on LG by February, my chances at scoring 170+ seem exceptionally strong.

So do I cancel this score and retake in Feb, or do I keep it and retake in Feb? I am determined to apply this cycle.
I feel like there would be no benefit in keeping a score with so many points clearly "left on the table".

[northwood]

obvious retake and reapply NEXT CYCLE, yes... but depending on what schools you are targeting it may be fine to just keep the score

[logicfreak]

obvious retake and reapply NEXT CYCLE, yes... but depending on what schools you are targeting it may be fine to just keep the score

im looking for anything t-14 or BU, BC, GW, UCLA, USC, ND, UNC; would settle for some others as well.

problem is, I really can't sit out a cycle. so how deadly would it be to apply this late, assuming I did end up getting a 170+ in feb?

[northwood]

the earlier you apply, and the higher LSAT you have when you apply increases both the likelihood that you will be offered a scholarship, and the amount of said scholarship.

As an aside, you are applying to a wide range of regions. Law school is mostly regional ( minus 6 schools) so I would focus on where you want to practice and establishing ties to that region before you make a massive investment ( either a combination of time and money, or time). Unless you have a very strong reason, sitting out a cycle and working is a good idea ( while yea, it does suck, but if you sit out a cycle, dominate the Feb, or June test, and get a scholarship of 75K+, then you really just earned 75K+ by waiting > 10 months or so ( or 7.5k/ month/ $1,875 a week).

[jd2121]

cancel and retake

[sublime]

..

[logicfreak]

Fwiw I ended up with a 166 missing as many on LG as I did on the three other graded sections COMBINED. So you can still get a solid score when bombing LG.

If this is your first take, I say leave it.

fair enough. it is my first take, but remember--i am not concerned that I misread a rule on a game or two; i literally left 2.5 games UNTOUCHED and blindly chose one letter to circle for the corresponding 13 or so questions. no way in hell i go more than +10 on this section.

on the other hand, i probably went somewhere in the neighborhood of 67-70 on the other 3 sections. that would effectively establish a 164-ish as a ceiling for this exam.......with a floor of like 157.

knowing that I can dramatically improve my LG, do you really think there would be any benefit in keeping?

[sublime]

..

[redsox]

Advice: Start describing how you did in terms of questions wrong, not questions right. It will make it easier for people on this forum to talk to you.

[logicfreak]

Advice: Start describing how you did in terms of questions wrong, not questions right. It will make it easier for people on this forum to talk to you.

given the relatively fixed number of questions on this test, "questions wrong" can easily be inferred based on the info i provided regarding "questions right"; nonsensical distinction. but okay.

[redsox]

Advice: Start describing how you did in terms of questions wrong, not questions right. It will make it easier for people on this forum to talk to you.

given the relatively fixed number of questions on this test, "questions wrong" can easily be inferred based on the info i provided regarding "questions right"; nonsensical distinction. but okay.

Sadly, there aren't very many speculative subtraction questions on the LSAT...

But seriously, I was just trying to let you know what 99.9% of people do around here. I'm not saying it's inherently right or wrong. Do what you want.

[jkm]

Hi, just wanted to share my thoughts since your situation sounds EXACTLY the same as mine. I started with LR and RC for a couple of months, and was averaging -2 for all three sections. Based on this, I got my heart set on applying for NYU/Columbia (I'm only applying to NYC schools). Then I started working on LG and just could not get through them all in time. I mostly understood them, and would get almost all right if un-timed, but in 35 minutes I didn't have a hope. I sat the December LSAT, with LG as my first section. I completed the first game fine, half the second one, and then I panicked and ran out of time, guessing about 14 questions in total. Like you, I'm predicting between the mid 150s and the low 160s. And, like you, I am determined to start law school in September (I'm 30, currently working as a freelance writer/editor and cannot take the thought of coasting in my current job for another 20 months!).

Anyway, I obviously had to abandon all hope of NYC/Columbia in September (even if I got 180 in Feb, neither accepts Feb scores). Instead I'm going to shoot for Fordham (median around 164) and Cardozo (around 162) to start in September. If I manage to make top 10% at either school, I'll have a shot of transferring to NYU/Columbia after my first year. If not, they are both still schools with good career prospects. Weighing up the pluses and minuses, I have decided not to cancel my December score. Best case scenario: I lucked out with my LG guesses, and scored a 165 - I can apply for Fordham/Cardozo in January, getting in mid-cycle. Worst case scenario: I score a 155 - I will register for a February retake, get some LG tuition and work my butt off for the next couple of months. I think I have a shot at 170+ if I get LG up to par, and since I don't have any previous scores on my record, and I have a strong BA and MSc, I feel confident that Fordham and Cardozo will view the 155 as an anomaly and put more weight on the recent 170+ score (neither has a policy on only accepting the average of multiple scores). Obviously I will have to apply late in the cycle, but with a strong enough application I think I would still be in with a shot.

So, my advice to you, would be the same as my advice to myself: lower your expectations slightly about your first year law school; focus in on schools that accept Feb scores and don't explicitly take averages of multiple scores; a) hope for a stroke of luck with Dec LSATs; b) prove that Dec was an anomaly by bringing home a solid 170+ in Feb. Good luck!