Would it be crazy to retake a 173? Forum

[PDX4343]

During my prep I scored above 173 in 5 out of my last 10 PT's.
My last 5 tests had an average of 175.
I'm a splitter with a 3.5 GPA, mostly interested in doing this for additional scholarship opportunities.
I originally studied for 3 months, I think if I had given myself more time, I very likely would have scored higher.

I'm hesitant because of the possibility that I have a bad test day or something like that and end up doing worse. What would the costs be if that happened? Are the benefits to possibly doing better worth it?

[WaltGrace83]

I am not an authority on this matter but I don't think your LSAT score would give you any noticeable bump in anything. THE thing holding you back is your GPA it sounds like. I don't think a high 170s would offset it as, with the exception of people with a 3.8/3.9+ going for a Hamilton or a Ruby or something like that, anything above a 172-173 and you will get serious diminishing returns.

As I said, I could be wrong! However, I think it would be best to just leave it as is. You already have a 99+% score.

[BuddyHoller]

I am not an authority on this matter but I don't think your LSAT score would give you any noticeable bump in anything. THE thing holding you back is your GPA it sounds like. I don't think a high 170s would offset it as, with the exception of people with a 3.8/3.9+ going for a Hamilton or a Ruby or something like that, anything above a 172-173 and you will get serious diminishing returns.

As I said, I could be wrong! However, I think it would be best to just leave it as is. You already have a 99+% score.

Thanks for asking this; I've often wondered if I should consider retaking and my situation is very similar to yours.

FWIW I decided not to retake but after this cycle I am wondering if I should have given it more consideration.

[transferror]

I think the only value in retaking would be if you're CCN or bust, since a few extra points will ensure you're >75% (although you're right on it as of now), and even then I'm not sure how much value a higher score would add.

If you're looking to go lower T14 with big money, I don't think the extra points add much, if any, value.

[bombaysippin]

Doesn't seem like there's much to lose though since schools take the highest. Only thing you'd have to really do is brush up on your skills and make some time to take the test again (forgot about paying for the test too).

[PDX4343]

Thanks for the responses. Yeah ideally I would go to one of CCN on a scholarship, but after looking at mylsn the average scholarship amounts didn't change much with a higher-score. If I can't get CCN on a decent scholarship then it's most likely lower t14 with $$. Sort of leaning towards not retaking at this point.

[WaltGrace83]

Doesn't seem like there's much to lose though since schools take the highest. Only thing you'd have to really do is brush up on your skills and make some time to take the test again (forgot about paying for the test too).

While schools DO take the highest score, I don't believe that it is best to simply rely on that. I would rather have a 173 than a 173/170 if you know what I mean. The problem is that we are not talking about retaking a 16x. We are talking about retaking a 173! The margin of error is VERY small. A tough RC passage or game can be the difference in that case!

[FSK]

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[PDX4343]

Doesn't seem like there's much to lose though since schools take the highest. Only thing you'd have to really do is brush up on your skills and make some time to take the test again (forgot about paying for the test too).

While schools DO take the highest score, I don't believe that it is best to simply rely on that. I would rather have a 173 than a 173/170 if you know what I mean. The problem is that we are not talking about retaking a 16x. We are talking about retaking a 173! The margin of error is VERY small. A tough RC passage or game can be the difference in that case!

Yeah that's what I'm most worried about. Although If I feel I messed up a section I suppose I could always just cancel.

[bombaysippin]

Oops I must've deleted some of what I thought I wrote in my reply. I agree with Walt that I'd much rather have a high score with only 1 take than multiple with the possibility that some of them might be lower because of one particular game or passage that throws you off. I meant to add that you should only retake if you're being completely honest with your abilities and feel as if you've underperformed.

Idk when you plan on trying to retake, but with more PTs (hopefully fresh ones), if you can consistently score higher than your 173, then I think retake. Otherwise, you're already at the 99th percentile lol.

[AbhiJ]

You are the best judge. The very reason you are thinking about retake is because somewhere you believe you left some points on the table. A 177-180 may not improve your chances of admissions at the very elite schools but provided you are admitted a 180 certainly can make you an attractive candidate for scholarship.

[Pneumonia]

4+ points higher would without question help you in the scholarship game

[phillywc]

If you are 100% confident you can beat 173 and maybe get some solid WE, that would give your application a boost. But I had a 3.5ish gpa/173 LSAT and ultimately decided against retaking because I didn't see the benefit. I didn't study very much and a lot of my PT scores were over 173, but schools know you are good at the LSAT. It is the GPA that is the problem.

[Nonconsecutive]

Depends on a lot of variables already mentioned ITT. Would retaking push you back a cycle, or allow you to get good work experience that you wouldn't have otherwise? If so I think it could be worth it for more than just the possible LSAT increase.

[nothingtosee]

If:
A. You're confident you will do better (based on 5 section PTs)
B. it won't hold you out a cycle
C. You don't mind taking the test again
D. You don't mind dropping $2xx dollars

I say go for it. I think a couple points will definitely get you more money from at least one of CCN. (Although I haven't checked mylsn and this is just a hunch). I retook a 17x score and am glad I did (although I didn't have a 173, which is median everywhere)

[bondja]

While schools DO take the highest score, I don't believe that it is best to simply rely on that. I would rather have a 173 than a 173/170 if you know what I mean. The problem is that we are not talking about retaking a 16x. We are talking about retaking a 173! The margin of error is VERY small. A tough RC passage or game can be the difference in that case!

I agree that you shouldn't take the LSAT 16 times, I don't think taking it a second time will hurt you one bit. You submit the score you receive to the school. If you earned a 179 and a 142, I don't think you'll be sending both scores to the school. They'll receive the 179 and you'll look to always hide the 142 just like your regrets from college.

Edit: If you have two chances to take the LSAT (for the majority of cases) why not use it? If someone came up to you and said, "I'll give you two chances to win a million dollars by rolling a strike. It's 100k per pin and I'll let you take your best roll!", would you not?

[PDX4343]

I think what I'm going to do is just refresh my skills a bit and see where I'm at with a few pt's. If I can get to a point where I'm consistently scoring 177-180 on Pt's then I'll probably go ahead and retake. I would retake in October if I do decide to, and I won't have to sit out a cycle since I'm still in undergrad.


Does anyone know if you cancel an LSAT, will that cancellation show up on your record when applying to schools?

[transferror]

Does anyone know if you cancel an LSAT, will that cancellation show up on your record when applying to schools?

Even if it showed, I can't imagine it would matter

[PDX4343]

Ok good to hear. Just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot here in anyway.

[bombaysippin]

While schools DO take the highest score, I don't believe that it is best to simply rely on that. I would rather have a 173 than a 173/170 if you know what I mean. The problem is that we are not talking about retaking a 16x. We are talking about retaking a 173! The margin of error is VERY small. A tough RC passage or game can be the difference in that case!

I agree that you shouldn't take the LSAT 16 times, I don't think taking it a second time will hurt you one bit. You submit the score you receive to the school. If you earned a 179 and a 142, I don't think you'll be sending both scores to the school. They'll receive the 179 and you'll look to always hide the 142 just like your regrets from college.

Edit: If you have two chances to take the LSAT (for the majority of cases) why not use it? If someone came up to you and said, "I'll give you two chances to win a million dollars by rolling a strike. It's 100k per pin and I'll let you take your best roll!", would you not?

I couldn't help but laugh at the bolded. Not making fun of you bondja, but if anyone ever took it 16 times to try and get into law school...thats like taking over 10+ years on retakes...

[PDX4343]

[bombaysippin]

Just to be clear, don't go that route, no matter how much you might want that 180 before submitting your apps lol.

[PDX4343]

Just to be clear, don't go that route, no matter how much you might want that 180 before submitting your apps lol.

You're right. Anything under 20 tries is just TTT.

[bondja]

I couldn't help but laugh at the bolded. Not making fun of you bondja, but if anyone ever took it 16 times to try and get into law school...thats like taking over 10+ years on retakes...

Ha! No, you're not making fun of me! 16 retakes is a little too much. I was quoting Walt Grace's exaggeration in his post before.

Although, I did meet someone who has retaken the LSAT 4 times. They, apparently, received the exact same score on each try. Boggles my mind.

[bombaysippin]

I couldn't help but laugh at the bolded. Not making fun of you bondja, but if anyone ever took it 16 times to try and get into law school...thats like taking over 10+ years on retakes...

Ha! No, you're not making fun of me! 16 retakes is a little too much. I was quoting Walt Grace's exaggeration in his post before.

Although, I did meet someone who has retaken the LSAT 4 times. They, apparently, received the exact same score on each try. Boggles my mind.

lolol well if you mean Walt saying "16x" that meant a score of one sixty something.