169 - Worth Retaking? Forum

[RamTitan]

Context - I spent a year studying for the LSAT; never made it past the 167-171 range on a fresh test, but got as high as a 178 on a retake. I took the June LSAT for my first official take, and scored a 169. I'd obviously love to score a 180 and go to Harvard, but if that's not feasible then my next ideal place to go would either be Penn or Duke. My GPA is a 3.66.

Test Breakdown:
LR: 23/25, 23/26 (left one blank!!! Had no idea I did this); this is a pretty typical breakdown for me though
AR: 21/23; I usually go -0
RC: 23/27; this is the crazy one, as I usually went 19 or 20 out of 27. Because of this score, I feel like I should be happy with I got.

With that said, what if I had gotten those two additional games questions correct, and had answered the forgotten LR question? Maybe the RC was a fluke on this occasion, but an additional 2 1/2 months could make that score more consistent.....

However, I have used all of the testing materials, and I did score smack dab in my average. Is chugging out retakes for the next few months worth it for a couple of additional points? I don't know, which is why I ask for the wisdom of Top Law School Forums.

[RamTitan]

P.S. I was also amped and stressed out of my mind for the test....now that I know what to expect, and already have a decent score under my belt, I wonder if I would do better?

[xtremenite]

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[RamTitan]

I got 169, was PTing at 175. Planning on retaking in September. It was my first time taking the test so I'm hopeful that I can improve a few questions just by having more experience dealing with the logistics, nerves, etc.

175 on fresh tests? I scored that on retakes.

Is a 171 substantially better than a 169?

I haven't studied in about 3 1/2 weeks, so that distance from the material might help me from remembering problems

[xtremenite]

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[ctl95]

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[criminaltheory]

I had a 169/3.6 several years ago; similar PTs to yours, I averaged 165-167 but hit 172 on a couple practice tests. Didn't retake. I got into plenty of fine schools. If I had to do it all over again, I would have applied and also re-taken for my own piece of mind. I didn't have the ability to put in a good study period again which was the primary reason I didn't retake. If it's feasible to put a strong effort into a retake, it's probably worth it. Good luck!

eta: 171 is substantially better than a 169

[Clemenceau]

Always worth retaking a 169, especially on the June test.

[RamTitan]

I feel so stuck, like I've wasted a year of my life chasing some pipe dream (quit my job two months away from the test to study for a 180). Should I continue to waste more time for something that is most likely unattainable, or let a year of hard work go to waste? Decisions decisions decisions......

Also, I started at a 146, so Idk if I've reached some sort of natural limit

Edit - if a 169 and a 3.66 GPA got me into Penn early decision, then I'd bite the bullet and sit out on a retake

[RamTitan]

I'm honestly starting to lean towards not retaking. It'd be great to get into Penn or Duke, but I might do ED at Northwestern and get that 150k scholarship.

My reasons for not retaking - I've already done LSATs 60-77 2x; never scored above a 171 on a fresh test and was stuck in the 167-171 range for 8 months, and feel like I'd just be spinning my wheels; I honestly can't imagine putting myself through the ringer again

My reasons for retaking - I don't want to give up on my dream of going to Harvard/be a 175+ scorer; I've already put in a year, might as well get more out of a year's worth of studying than a 169

[KunAgnis]

You should retake this score. It is a gamble, but your logic games has room for improvement and it's the easiest section to consistently get a perfect on. FWIW, I retook my 169 and scored a 171. Just focus on perfecting your logic games and LR and I think you could be easily in mid 170's. Good luck OP!

[RamTitan]

You should retake this score. It is a gamble, but your logic games has room for improvement and it's the easiest section to consistently get a perfect on. FWIW, I retook my 169 and scored a 171. Just focus on perfecting your logic games and LR and I think you could be easily in mid 170's. Good luck OP!

What scares me is that I was getting consistently perfectly on games. However, I got sort of a trade-off with RC as I typically miss a lot more than that.

I guess I am very hesitant because I haven't improved in a long time, and don't know if it's worth banging my head against the wall to see if I can squeeze out a few more points when I'm not sure if I can in the first place....

But then again I lost my job, so maybe I should say fuck it and go all out....

[runinthefront]

I'm honestly starting to lean towards not retaking. It'd be great to get into Penn or Duke, but I might do ED at Northwestern and get that 150k scholarship.

My reasons for not retaking - I've already done LSATs 60-77 2x; never scored above a 171 on a fresh test and was stuck in the 167-171 range for 8 months, and feel like I'd just be spinning my wheels; I honestly can't imagine putting myself through the ringer again

My reasons for retaking - I don't want to give up on my dream of going to Harvard/be a 175+ scorer; I've already put in a year, might as well get more out of a year's worth of studying than a 169

? What makes you think you're a lock for $150 at NW?

[RamTitan]

I'm honestly starting to lean towards not retaking. It'd be great to get into Penn or Duke, but I might do ED at Northwestern and get that 150k scholarship.

My reasons for not retaking - I've already done LSATs 60-77 2x; never scored above a 171 on a fresh test and was stuck in the 167-171 range for 8 months, and feel like I'd just be spinning my wheels; I honestly can't imagine putting myself through the ringer again

My reasons for retaking - I don't want to give up on my dream of going to Harvard/be a 175+ scorer; I've already put in a year, might as well get more out of a year's worth of studying than a 169

? What makes you think you're a lock for $150 at NW?

Well, I'm not a lock, but MyLSN puts me at 67%. And I'm still 50% at Penn and 71% at Duke.

[RamTitan]

Am I entering this in right? These are the stats I'm getting at MyLSN

http://mylsn.info/012to5/

I included it all the way to May, but I would submit my apps in September

[RamTitan]

Can I retake in September, and still submit my apps before sitting again for the test? And then just send the score when I get it? And if the score is lower than a 169, will it hurt my admissions chances?

[somethingElse]

just retake bro

[RamTitan]

just retake bro

What makes this harder is that all the people I know in real life say I shouldn't (including my school's pre-law adviser), but all the people online are saying do it lol

It all keeps coming back to this - if I didn't get better in 8 months of studying, why would I get better now? It's a depressing thought....so Idk what to do

[criminaltheory]

just retake bro

What makes this harder is that all the people I know in real life say I shouldn't (including my school's pre-law adviser), but all the people online are saying do it lol

It all keeps coming back to this - if I didn't get better in 8 months of studying, why would I get better now? It's a depressing thought....so Idk what to do

obey the hive mind. the people in your life don't care about you or your future success. listen to TLS.

just think - if you had bubbled in that one you left you might have a 170. at this point you're not learning, you're honing your test taking instincts.you don't need 8 months, you need to stay prepped, be well rested and eat a good breakfast.

[Barack O'Drama]

just retake bro

What makes this harder is that all the people I know in real life say I shouldn't (including my school's pre-law adviser), but all the people online are saying do it lol

It all keeps coming back to this - if I didn't get better in 8 months of studying, why would I get better now? It's a depressing thought....so Idk what to do

obey the hive mind. the people in your life don't care about you or your future success. listen to TLS.

just think - if you had bubbled in that one you left you might have a 170. at this point you're not learning, you're honing your test taking instincts.you don't need 8 months, you need to stay prepped, be well rested and eat a good breakfast.

Hell yeah man! Get that 170+ you worked so hard for

[RamTitan]

I think what I'll do is take preptest 60 (have only taken once, back in December) this Saturday and see how it goes.

[sehunter]

I was in exactly the same position you were two years ago. Had just under a 3.7 with a 169. I decided to take the year and actually teach the LSAT (among other things) ended up getting a 174 and got into almost everywhere I applied (including nearly full scholarships to UVA, Cornell and Berkeley and half tuition at Columbia). Don't regret it for a second. The extra year of work has helped me with getting my summer internship as well. Feel free to pm me if you want to talk.

[RamTitan]

I was in exactly the same position you were two years ago. Had just under a 3.7 with a 169. I decided to take the year and actually teach the LSAT (among other things) ended up getting a 174 and got into almost everywhere I applied (including nearly full scholarships to UVA, Cornell and Berkeley and half tuition at Columbia). Don't regret it for a second. The extra year of work has helped me with getting my summer internship as well. Feel free to pm me if you want to talk.

Were you in undergrad when you earned a 169? I am a year out already, and will be taking another year before going to school (fall 2017), so I'll be 25 when I start school again. Not sure if I want to take another year to study for the LSAT.....if anything I would retake in September, otherwise I'll go forward with what I have.

Though teaching sounds like a great idea. Did you work for Princeton Review or something?

[sehunter]

I took three years off total (I'm 25) but that's about the average so if you take an extra year, I wouldn't worry about it. If you think you will be ready in a few months, that should be fine. I took the extra time because I figured an extra year of relevant work experience would make me a stronger candidate. I worked with Kaplan, which I don't necessarily recommend, but I think the process of teaching really helped. I don't think I would have gotten into the places I did with my lower score, and definitely would not have gotten the scholarships. Having to take out fewer loans is no question worth it. The way I think about it is that i basically earned 130k by taking the time.

[RamTitan]

I took three years off total (I'm 25) but that's about the average so if you take an extra year, I wouldn't worry about it. If you think you will be ready in a few months, that should be fine. I took the extra time because I figured an extra year of relevant work experience would make me a stronger candidate. I worked with Kaplan, which I don't necessarily recommend, but I think the process of teaching really helped. I don't think I would have gotten into the places I did with my lower score, and definitely would not have gotten the scholarships. Having to take out fewer loans is no question worth it. The way I think about it is that i basically earned 130k by taking the time.

Idk, I'm looking through my tests right now and I remember so many of the problems.....I've done the most recent ones quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I'm going to get anything out of doing test retakes after having already retaken so many of them.