How did you decide if you should retake the LSAT? Forum

[Dingus69]

I studied very hard for a month this summer and scored a 169 on the July LSAT. 169 was slightly higher than my best practice test, but I only answered 15 questions on the Analytical Reasoning section on exam day. I also had to randomly fill in a few answers at the end of another section because I was running out of time. In short, speed is the main thing holding my score back. I miss very few questions I actually attempt. I should be able to devote 15-35 minutes a day to LSAT prep before October.

What do you y'all think my chances of improving my score are? How did y'all decide to retake the test or not?

Thanks!

[totesTheGoat]

If you have the time, there's no harm in retaking. The worst that happens is you wasted a few months of your life studying for a lower score. The best that happens is you get a score in the mid- to upper- 170s, and your outcome improves by tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars (GPA dependent, of course)

[albanach]

I studied very hard for a month this summer and scored a 169 on the July LSAT. 169 was slightly higher than my best practice test, but I only answered 15 questions on the Analytical Reasoning section on exam day. I also had to randomly fill in a few answers at the end of another section because I was running out of time. In short, speed is the main thing holding my score back. I miss very few questions I actually attempt. I should be able to devote 15-35 minutes a day to LSAT prep before October.

What do you y'all think my chances of improving my score are? How did y'all decide to retake the test or not?

Thanks!

You studied for a month? Countless folk study for a year or more. And still you scored very highly.

You have great potential to score well into the 170s with some dedicated studying. You have a 3.8 GPA (thanks for filling in your profile - it makes advice much easier).

So looking at where you stand now, with a slightly conservative bent:



Now lets look at what happens if you knock out those Analytical Reasoning misses:



I don't know what your dream schools are, but Columbia with $90k sounds good. Or an evens shot at going to Harvard.

If you can't devote the time right now, and have goals on big law, big fed or prestigious non-profits, I'd sit out the cycle. If you're still in school - I'd almost ignore the LSAT to focus on preserving and, if at all possible, boosting that GPA.

I've repeated this ad nauseum, but the return on investment from boosting your LSAT is massive, and for most candidates really won't decline until you're above the 99th percentile.

[HopefulSplitter0000]

I have a low GPA, so I just asked myself one question:

Will my score be above the 75th percentile of every school I want to get into? After I took the exam with little preparation, I realized the answer was no. Thus, I cancelled my score and retook.

With a good GPA, your question should be, "is my LSAT score at or above median at the schools I want to attend?" If the answer is yes, you do not need to retake. If the answer is no, you should retake.

If money is a concern, your question should be, "will the schools I want to attend pay for my LSAT/GPA combination?" This usually means an above median GPA/LSAT, but a >75th percentile score would be better (unless you are worried about being yield protected by your dream school).