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Good chances at C, small chance at S, slim chances at HY
I would retake for HYS.

slim shots at HY, S is always random, and ok shot at C

Honestly, I don't think that you need to retake -- rather, I recommend that you write some amazing essays, get great LORs, and apply early. That being said, if you are confident that you can get a significantly higher score (and I mean 175+) you might as well go for it.

FWIW, I have your exact (and I mean exact) stats and I was lucky enough to get Y and S.

BioEBear2010 wrote:Honestly, I don't think that you need to retake -- rather, I recommend that you write some amazing essays, get great LORs, and apply early. That being said, if you are confident that you can get a significantly higher score (and I mean 175+) you might as well go for it.

FWIW, I have your exact (and I mean exact) stats and I was lucky enough to get Y and S.

Yeah but you have a 3.82 from a top 3 engineering school, which OP's math/econ BA from Hopkins can't compete with, IMO. Stanford definitely loves tech majors with high GPAs.

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what do I need on the LSAT retake?

I would retake for Harvard. You are below (albeit slightly below) both medians -- look at the LSN graphs, a non-URM candidate almost has to have at least one number at or above median.

slee wrote:what do I need on the LSAT retake?

I'd say at least 50% chance at Harvard if you hit 173-174. YS are harder to predict since you'll need good softs regardless of LSAT, but an increase would certain help too.

im_blue wrote:

slee wrote:what do I need on the LSAT retake?

I'd say at least 50% chance at Harvard if you hit 173-174. YS are harder to predict since you'll need good softs regardless of LSAT, but an increase would certain help too.

Doesn't Harvard average though? So going up 1 point wouldn't make any difference.

I have almost identical stats to the OP and decided retaking wasn't worth it, because my score was high enough for all but the top 3-5 schools and the top schools average or consider both scores anyway, so going up from 173 to 175 wouldn't help much, if I even got as high as 175, which was no guarantee. And I got into Columbia, for what it's worth, and haven't yet been rejected by HYS (probably just a matter of time though). So unless there is a huge difference between a 172 and 173, I don't think it makes sense for the OP to retake.

democrattotheend wrote:

im_blue wrote:

slee wrote:what do I need on the LSAT retake?

I'd say at least 50% chance at Harvard if you hit 173-174. YS are harder to predict since you'll need good softs regardless of LSAT, but an increase would certain help too.

Doesn't Harvard average though? So going up 1 point wouldn't make any difference.

I have almost identical stats to the OP and decided retaking wasn't worth it, because my score was high enough for all but the top 3-5 schools and the top schools average or consider both scores anyway, so going up from 173 to 175 wouldn't help much, if I even got as high as 175, which was no guarantee. And I got into Columbia, for what it's worth, and haven't yet been rejected by HYS (probably just a matter of time though). So unless there is a huge difference between a 172 and 173, I don't think it makes sense for the OP to retake.

Schools can claim to average (e.g. NYU), but the highest LSAT is reported to ABA and used by US News. And there is indeed a huge difference between 172 and 173, since HLS has a median of 173. A 3.82/172 will probably get thrown in the trash (below both medians), but a 3.82/173 will have a decent chance.

Here's an update. Did a retake more than a year after first sitting, and did worse by one point. I was working full time and could not bring myself to focus on prepping as much as I did the first time (even though I only had 3 weeks to study for the first test...LSATs was a last minute decision at the time). Even the girl who sat next to me was surprised at how relaxed I was during the second sitting - I just didn't care and felt like I've been there, done that.

My cycle went very, very well for my numbers: Got in to Columbia, Berkeley, NYU, and Chicago.

Waitlisted at Stanford and Harvard.

Rejected at Yale.

Got off wait list from Harvard and will be moving to Cambridge in less than a week.

In hindsight, I think my softs were relatively strong given my WE and unique life experiences.

slee wrote: Got off wait list from Harvard and will be moving to Cambridge in less than a week.

Congrats!