If I decide to retake a 169 in June... Forum

[KatyMarie]

...for a potential scholarship increase/negotiating power with the schools that I've been accepted to for this Fall, do I have to let the schools I'm currently considering know that I'm planning to take the LSAT in June? Could a lower LSAT do anything to hurt me at this point? Is it worth it to retake if I'm not considering reapplying next cycle (barring exceptional circumstances)?

Sorry if these questions have been beaten to death or if I'm asking in the wrong place.

Thanks.

ETA: And by "Good luck! Follow your dreams!," I obviously mean re-take

[alexrodriguez]

edit

[KatyMarie]

WTF does "If I decide to good luck" mean?

type "r e t a k e" into a post (put the letters together), and see what happens.

[beepboopbeep]

WTF does "If I decide to good luck" mean?

type "r e t a k e" into a post (put the letters together), and see what happens.

retake

edit: awesome.

[Pneumonia]

retake

dang, looks like that particular feature is gone. I was enjoying it.

[Joeshan520]

Don't, just don't. This seems to be the prevailing wisdom on this forum and in reality it will only hurt you if your score lower especially if the school you were accepted to still averages scores (and yes, some still do). These are the questions you should consider with regard to negotiating a scholarship increase.

When did you apply? Late, early? This may have affected your scholly package if the school admits on a rolling basis.

What other offers do you have on the table ($$wise) and how can you leverage them against this school's offer?

Do you know any alums that are connected to board/admissions faculty directly or indirectly?

Have you written a letter of solidified interest? When ranking schools one factor that is considered in conjunction with LSAT medians, GPAs etc is the school's yield rate. Sure, they can admit a lot of 165+ test takers, but how many are actually going? If you affirm your commitment to going and present your other offers (which I assume you have), you'll have plenty of bargaining power with the admissions office.

The percentile difference in scores beginning at 168 is negligible, so there is a diminishing rate of returns even at the "coveted" 170+ range. Be happy that you scored better than ~97% of test takers and enjoy this last spring/summer of freedom.

[transferror]

Don't, just don't. This seems to be the prevailing wisdom on this forum and in reality it will only hurt you if your score lower especially if the school you were accepted to still averages scores (and yes, some still do).

I hope you're joking, because the prevailing wisdom on this forum is so geared towards "retake" that it has become a running joke to answer "retake" to any question about any topic. Unless you absolutely tank the retake, no one is going to hold it against you, and even then I doubt it.

The percentile difference in scores beginning at 168 is negligible, so there is a diminishing rate of returns even at the "coveted" 170+ range.

The fact that the percentile difference is negligible means that every point over a 170 is even more coveted, because there are so few in that range. Raw score is what's averaged by USNWR, not percentile. Thus, schools care about raw score, not percentile. There is a huge difference between a 172+ vs. 169.

[03152016]

Don't, just don't. This seems to be the prevailing wisdom on this forum and in reality it will only hurt you if your score lower especially if the school you were accepted to still averages scores (and yes, some still do). These are the questions you should consider with regard to negotiating a scholarship increase.

When did you apply? Late, early? This may have affected your scholly package if the school admits on a rolling basis.

What other offers do you have on the table ($$wise) and how can you leverage them against this school's offer?

Do you know any alums that are connected to board/admissions faculty directly or indirectly?

Have you written a letter of solidified interest? When ranking schools one factor that is considered in conjunction with LSAT medians, GPAs etc is the school's yield rate. Sure, they can admit a lot of 165+ test takers, but how many are actually going? If you affirm your commitment to going and present your other offers (which I assume you have), you'll have plenty of bargaining power with the admissions office.

The percentile difference in scores beginning at 168 is negligible, so there is a diminishing rate of returns even at the "coveted" 170+ range. Be happy that you scored better than ~97% of test takers and enjoy this last spring/summer of freedom.

I haven't heard of a school rescinding a scholarship offer due to a lower retake. Whether OP should retake depends on the school and the numbers. If OP is at medians and underperformed on test day, retaking seems obvious to me. If OP is already above LSAT 75ths, that might be a different story.

[transferror]

If OP is already above LSAT 75ths, that might be a different story.

I hadn't thought of that, but it's a valid point, OP. Especially if you are below median, TCR is retake. Above median, go ahead because it can't hurt. Above 75th percentile, I can't imagine it would change anything.

[KatyMarie]

I'm dead on median for LSAT and above 75 for GPA. I have 90k right now to my number 1 school, and not GREAT cards to play with in terms of negotiations (but I am going to try that route as well). I'm pretty happy with that number (although another 30k or so would of course be great )

[jk148706]

I'm retaking a 170 in June for the same reason

[Nova]

Don't, just don't. This seems to be the prevailing wisdom on this forum and in reality it will only hurt you if your score lower especially if the school you were accepted to still averages scores (and yes, some still do).