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I think I'm in a bit of an unusual situation. I took the LSAT nearly 4 years ago and scored a 171. I took it again Dec 2014 and got a 169. I just took the Sept test and am sure I did much worse. I ended up guessing on 9 or 10 in logic games (in part due to another test taker having issues and becoming a distraction right in front of me). I've never had to guess on more than 4 in games before. I felt moderately confident on the rest of the test and am usually -1 to -3 in each section (I've done every published practice - used to teach lsat).

I know and understand the advice is almost always don't cancel. But I've never seen a discussion of cancelling when your higher score is 4 years old. There is no way I got over a 171 on the September test, so I would only be keeping my score out of curiosity and to learn from my mistakes in other sections.

clamence01 wrote:I think I'm in a bit of an unusual situation. I took the LSAT nearly 4 years ago and scored a 171. I took it again Dec 2014 and got a 169. I just took the Sept test and am sure I did much worse. I ended up guessing on 9 or 10 in logic games (in part due to another test taker having issues and becoming a distraction right in front of me). I've never had to guess on more than 4 in games before. I felt moderately confident on the rest of the test and am usually -1 to -3 in each section (I've done every published practice - used to teach lsat).

I know and understand the advice is almost always don't cancel. But I've never seen a discussion of cancelling when your higher score is 4 years old. There is no way I got over a 171 on the September test, so I would only be keeping my score out of curiosity and to learn from my mistakes in other sections.

I suppose it depends what you're using your score for.

If it's to apply to schools that average (the about 2 that do), cancelling might be a plan.

If it's to prove continued eligibility to teach, cancelling might be a plan if you're that sure it went badly.

If it's to apply to almost any school, why would you? Assuming you took a disclosed test, surely you'd need a significant down-side reason to cancel, and lose the information you get on what you got wrong?

My goal is to apply to non YS top 10 schools. I have been unable to attend such in years past do to family circumstances and obligations. I guess my worry is that they might think that abilities change as you age and the current score may be more representative of my current abilities. I think its very likely that I got in the 164-166 range given that I had to guess on almost every question the last two games.

There was another major problem at the testing center too that affected multiple people, which I reported and apparently LSAC is investigating, so they extended my time to cancel until the conclusion of their investigation.

clamence01 wrote:My goal is to apply to non YS top 10 schools. I have been unable to attend such in years past do to family circumstances and obligations. I guess my worry is that they might think that abilities change as you age and the current score may be more representative of my current abilities. I think its very likely that I got in the 164-166 range given that I had to guess on almost every question the last two games.

There was another major problem at the testing center too that affected multiple people, which I reported and apparently LSAC is investigating, so they extended my time to cancel until the conclusion of their investigation.

They don't need to report your number attached to a date, just the highest number they're using. Which makes the highest one you have on file the one that matters.

I can see your concern, but I think you're crediting the adcoms with too much - altruism, almost. If your still-valid 171 would help their median, or better their 75th, they're likely to want you, assuming that isn't undone by your GPA.