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Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:39 am
by t14orbust22
I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:28 am
by Milksteak
t14orbust22 wrote:I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
I took three times and luckily I hit my goal. Slightly outperformed my numbers in admissions at T-14s. Don't think it has a negative impact at all.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 4:28 am
by KMart
Not really, no. A great LSAT score is a great LSAT score.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:46 pm
by etramak
As far as I know, some schools officially say they average but they really only care about the score they report (the highest). Also, it begs the question what they would do for candidates like me who have a cancel. It wouldn't seem fair to disregard it (LSAC doesn't in terms of chances per 2 years). It also wouldn't be fair to count it as a zero or give me some arbitrarily low grade. Perhaps they could just double count my first score, but I digress. My point is if you improve your score, especially if its substantial, it's worth it.
I plan on taking it for the third time since June in February
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 8:57 pm
by galeatus
No.
/thread
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:08 pm
by Mikey
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:41 pm
by Lawschool305
I dropped several points on my third take, and currently have had a great cycle. Take it three times, hopefully you don't go down lol
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 5:37 pm
by Blueprint Mithun
t14orbust22 wrote:I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
No, getting a good LSAT score is much more important than how many times you took the test. Schools only have to report your highest score, so that's what factors into their admissions statistics. It won't put you at a disadvantage.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 3:05 pm
by SunDevil14
No, except for Yale.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 3:16 pm
by appind
Blueprint Mithun wrote:t14orbust22 wrote:I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
No, getting a good LSAT score is much more important than
how many times you took the test. Schools only have to report your highest score, so that's what factors into their admissions statistics. It won't put you at a disadvantage.
does taking the test 5-6 times also not matter
at all?
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 4:31 pm
by BigZuck
appind wrote:Blueprint Mithun wrote:t14orbust22 wrote:I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
No, getting a good LSAT score is much more important than
how many times you took the test. Schools only have to report your highest score, so that's what factors into their admissions statistics. It won't put you at a disadvantage.
does taking the test 5-6 times also not matter
at all?
Is the answer to this question going to affect your application strategy in any way?
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 5:45 pm
by appind
BigZuck wrote:appind wrote:Blueprint Mithun wrote:t14orbust22 wrote:I am debating about whether I should take the LSAT in February and hope I get my goal score and if not retake in June, or if I should just wait until June to take it for 2018 admission? I already took the LSAT in June 2015 and did not get my goal score so I did not apply. I am testing closer to my goal now, but still unsure if I will get it. If I don't, I am fine retaking in June but I am worried that having three LSATs on record would put me at a disadvantage when it comes to admissions. I would love to hit my goal score and just be done with it by March so I can get an early start on the application process. Is anyone else in a similar predicament, or what would you recommend? I guess my question is would I be put at a disadvantage by having three LSATs on record instead of two? And what would a law school consider a "significant" score improvement over a previous LSAT? Any insight would be much appreciated!
No, getting a good LSAT score is much more important than
how many times you took the test. Schools only have to report your highest score, so that's what factors into their admissions statistics. It won't put you at a disadvantage.
does taking the test 5-6 times also not matter
at all?
Is the answer to this question going to affect your application strategy in any way?
I think yes. If it does, then any outside chance I may have at H or col would disappear, and I'd rather not waste app fee if there is no shot.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 6:04 pm
by BigZuck
I wouldn't recommend not applying when you have numbers in range for a school you would like to attend
ETA: whether you have one LSAT score or 50
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 6:25 pm
by appind
BigZuck wrote:I wouldn't recommend not applying when you have numbers in range for a school you would like to attend
ETA: whether you have one LSAT score or 50
I read on forum somewhere I think that more than 3 takes is kinda negative. If I had one lsat score, it's possile that i may have had a
very very slim chance at H. but with my number of takes I am not sure if I have any to make app worth.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:30 am
by aurelian
Let's be clear -- still matters at Yale right?
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:28 pm
by Incrementalist
I always was of the belief if you had a great score that's all that matters. But I also think it depends on the point differential between the scores as well
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:42 pm
by appind
aurelian wrote:Let's be clear -- still matters at Yale right?
Interested as well
Particularly in cases where the number of takes is 5 -6 or more for HYS
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:50 pm
by Doutrinador1
take more that three times count to harvard?
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:56 pm
by appind
Doutrinador1 wrote:take more that three times count to harvard?
Curious also
Does it matter on the margins if you have 4 scores or just 4 takes (3 scores, 1 cancel)?
Similarly 5 takes but 4 scores vs. 5 takes 5 scores?
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:13 pm
by Incrementalist
I am a believer as long as you have a competitive score with significant gains that showed you put in the work to get better I don't see how it would effect someone in a negative light
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:27 pm
by Toni V
FWIW: The LSAT is not about you, it’s about the school recruiting the highest LSAT student they can, and of course, recruiting someone whose check clears.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:05 pm
by KMart
Toni V wrote:FWIW: The LSAT is not about you, it’s about the school recruiting the highest LSAT student they can, and of course, recruiting someone whose check clears.
This. The thread should've ended awhile ago.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:54 pm
by appind
KMart wrote:Toni V wrote:FWIW: The LSAT is not about you, it’s about the school recruiting the highest LSAT student they can, and of course, recruiting someone whose check clears.
This. The thread should've ended awhile ago.
This is true for vast majority of schools but may be not HYS. These schools can afford to let a low lsat or financially disadvantaged applicant in and reject a high lsat one who's willing to pay sticker.
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:21 pm
by maybeman
I remember reading something Asha wrote a while back about Yale looking down on multiple takes. A one point increase is still probably worth it for Yale if you haven't already hit 175+ though
Re: Will taking the LSAT three times hurt my admission chances?
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:52 pm
by BigZuck
Just lol@ believing anything an adcom has to say