Re-taking in December Forum

[rogueleader54]

Hey guys,

Hoping to get some advice on whether to re-take in December. I first took the LSAT in June and got a 171. I re-took in October, but ended up freezing up on the LG section and having to guess for a fair amount of the questions. I've been persuaded to not cancel, but now I'm unsure about whether I should register for the December LSAT or just get my application in now on the earlier side, and potentially re-take in February if I get waitlisted.

My GPA is strong (>75th %ile for all schools), and I have very solid recommendations and softs / work experience. I'm targeting Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, but would also be happy going to a NYU (as I want to do something in public interest law). Any thoughts on whether it's worth it to re-take again in December or whether I should just move forward with what I have?

[courtleigh24]

I'm in the exact same situation. Completely froze on the 3rd game. Moved on to the 4th game with 5 minutes left and still hadn't solved the 3rd. Super disappointing since I usually go -0 in LG and have been scoring 176 average Can't decide whether it would be best to get my applications in before Christmas or go ahead and take the December test. I'm honestly worried I did worse on the October test than I did in June (got a 170 in June). Would it be better to take in December because I know I can do better?

[Blueprint Mithun]

Hey guys,

Hoping to get some advice on whether to re-take in December. I first took the LSAT in June and got a 171. I re-took in October, but ended up freezing up on the LG section and having to guess for a fair amount of the questions. I've been persuaded to not cancel, but now I'm unsure about whether I should register for the December LSAT or just get my application in now on the earlier side, and potentially re-take in February if I get waitlisted.

My GPA is strong (>75th %ile for all schools), and I have very solid recommendations and softs / work experience. I'm targeting Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, but would also be happy going to a NYU (as I want to do something in public interest law). Any thoughts on whether it's worth it to re-take again in December or whether I should just move forward with what I have?

It depends on how you've been scoring on timed preptests, as well as how much you're willing to study and stayed focused through December. If you're aiming for a higher score, then you shouldn't attempt the test unless your PTs are consistently better than your old test score. And if you're not willing to put in the time/effort to stay at that level, it might not be worth it. A 171 is a really good score, probably not high enough to lock you into those top 3, but enough to have a shot, and be guaranteed a number of T14 options.

[rogueleader54]

Additionally, do y'all think canceling is a good / bad idea? I know the dogma around here is "GAHHH NEVER CANCEL" but looking back I would say that I guessed for every question in game #3 and made near-guesses after eliminating 1-2 answer choices on an additional 6-7 questions.

Just trying to weigh the +/- of having to write an addendum explaining why my score dropped from a 171 to the low/mid 160s vs. the extremely slim chance that I guessed correctly or unconsciously intuited the answers on a majority of the LG questions I had to rush through.

[Talarose]

I could be wrong but it seems that maybe canceling is in your favor. Don't get me wrong, I'm very anti cancel, myself wanting to have done it once. BUT I feel like since you have already taken it with a 171, a lower score might look bad. But only only ONLY cancel if you are 50000000% positive you got less than a 171. My two cents.