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Hello,

I'm in a bit of a unique position and need some advice. Today I finished my third sitting for the LSAT. I cancelled in March, scored a 163 in June, and left this sitting feeling as though I potentially equalled that score or even got worse (had to guess on 5 for a tough LR section, which has never happened in probably 30-40 practice timed tests, and the RC was rather difficult). Problem is, I know for a fact that I can do better. I usually average 167-174 and was scoring in the low-mid 170s for all three practice tests conducted the week prior to July's exam.

My question is, since I'll be able to see July's score and THEN decide whether to cancel, how bad does a second cancelled score look to admissions offices? I see two scenarios: 1) I receive a 164+, keep, and likely retake, or 2) I receive a 163 or lower and consider canceling and then retaking in October. Thoughts?

Goal is at least a 168 to have a chance at some T14s. I have a 3.7 from Harvard, master's degree, work experience, LGBT/rural diversity, and overall good softs.

I can't see two cancellations being a problem. Conventional wisdom is that aside from perhaps Yale and Stanford, schools only care about your highest score. I would think that holds true regardless of what else is on your record, be it cancellations or lower scores.

As an aside, my LSAT experience mirrors yours almost to a T, so know you're not alone. I too am merely trying to have an average performance on the LSAT but it has eluded me to this point, very likely including the July exam. I take it the Logical Reasoning section you had to do guesswork on was the 26 question one. That was my experience as well, and from doing the rounds of the various LSAT forums, the experience of a lot of people. And most everyone took an L on that Reading Comprehension section, or at the very least the comparative passage.

What have you found has been the biggest obstacle to performing up to your capabilities on the test? Going by your practice test scores, it sounds like you know what you're doing. Is it more to do with nerves?

Thanks for the kind and understanding reply! I think nerves on test day likely influenced it somewhat (as in, going -4 on LR instead of a typical -2). I really screwed up on RC (my hardest section) for the June test, otherwise I would have probably scored in the high 160s. But honestly it just feels like I can’t win. I have done so many practice tests, yet that 26 question LR on Monday just came out of left field. RC was tough, but despite having 5 minutes remaining when I started the 4th passage (!), I somehow ended being relatively confident on all but one of the questions. And RC for me is always the unknown variable. In the past I thought I had done terribly and ended up with -1 or -2, and other times the opposite has occurred. So I’m really hoping that I bested the 163 score from last time, even if by a point of two, so that I won’t have to cancel. But it helps to hear that it won’t likely have a really detrimental impact.

Good luck to you as well!