I actually had a very similar situation, except mine worked out. I scored a 171, and I was averaging 177, so I retook it and scored a 176. But when I scored the first one I considered canceling and did some research. From what I gather anything under 3 tests they don’t really care for any besides the highest. However there’s 2 things to consider. One is that you may want to take it again, in which case if you mess up a third time and you kept all 3, you won’t be able to take a 4th one. The second thing to consider is that it seems like it probably matters if the second was higher than the first or vice versa. If you got lower on the first they just assume you improved, but if you got lower on the second they don’t really know what to think. So I would recommend canceling, especially if your considering taking it a third time, which I think you absolutely should (after studying for another month or two to boost your confidence). A 171 would not give you a great chance at NYU, and it seems like you can do much better, it’s just a matter of nerves. They happened to me, and I took a month or two to study old tests, even though I knew everything perfectly, just to boost my confidence, and I got a 176 (my dream school is Harvard). So I would recommend canceling, and taking it a 3rd time after a short break. Either way, best of luck!

@ said:

STEM major in one of the top tech institutions but no CAS GPA before December (haven't reached 60 credit hours). Cumulative GPA is 4.2 out of 4.3. Not a US citizen.

This is my second take. First one was in April, 174. PT-ing 175-180, average 178 ish.

My mom is so upset, I can't even believe it. help

Edit: I'm sorry if this post makes anyone unhappy. I know I should be satisfied with a 174 or 176. And I am. Family pressure for absolute perfection is another story, though. My mom is literally asking me to forget about law school. Go to work as a software engineer, she says. I am so sad.

That is hilarious man, and pretty freakishly similar. I also got a 176, and my parents where also crushed, and my dad also suggested a different field, get this, software tech (he's a computer guy for Goldman Sachs, this was his big proof that I'm making a big mistake). I would run through all the numbers I told him, but I see someone already did. Either way, just know 176 is great, and besides for there being no practical difference in college admissions there's also no difference in your skills; from 176-180 seems to just be a matter of luck/nerves. I was also averaging a 178. Best of luck, and hopefully your parents will come around (mine aren't), but regardless, be happy with it. You did great!

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Retaking a score this high can really only hurt you and not help you, IMO. I would not do it -

Statistically, the risk is a lot higher than the reward solely from the standpoint of "will I improve" - the difference between a 176 and 178 is one question. Charts published from LSAC have found that the majority of test-takers who retake a score above a 173 actually do worse on a retake. This is my LSAT-specific reason to not do this - speaking as someone who was consistently PTing in the high 170s but scored in the mid 170s, there's just too much variability on the real day (and even in PTs). This is borne out by conversations I've had with 7Sage colleagues who scored 180s, scored 175s, and everywhere within that range - I have colleagues who PT averaged a 175 but scored in the high 170s, who PT averaged a 177 but scored in the mid 170s, who PT averaged high 170s and scored in the high 170s, etc. Where you land on the real day is really, truly a matter of chance when 1-2 questions is all it takes - there's too much variability on the margins here.

IMO, the peak of LSAT excellence is hitting that benchmark of "I'm averaging somewhere from 175-180" - where you land in that range is just whether or not you had a good day or not. There isn't a difference between a 176 scorer and a 178 scorer, or even really a 175 scorer and a 180 scorer.

There's very little upside and in fact may be downside, even with a higher score. I'm not an admissions expert, so I'm very reluctant to offer specific advice here, but you're above all 75ths, so admitting a 180 or 178 vs 176 doesn't do anything for their numbers. Besides, the 75th isn't nearly as significant as the median because it doesn't go into ranking calculations - this is why retaking a 173+ is pretty much never worthwhile. Adcomms from top schools have also indicated in podcasts/on Reddit they frown upon people retaking anything above a low 170s/173ish score because they view it as an unhealthy degree of perfectionism that you feel the need to retake when already above medians. In other words, you getting that 180 won't help your admissions profile but could raise a red flag about "why did this person decide to retake"

I'm sorry to hear about the family pressure - that's frustrating, but I hope you can take comfort in the realization that it's not based on admissions facts - a 176 is statistically the same as a 180. But your scores are incredible and you have a lot to be proud of. Don't do something with little upside and significant downside.

Man, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you. I'm in the exact same boat as this guy (got a 176, my parents where crushed), and I brought up literally every point you did, including the stat that 175 plus tend to do worse. I am so happy someone else send the exact same thing as me, can't wait to show my dad this. Thanks bro!

for question 26, it isnt true that the oxygen rate is higher than in the rest of the brain, the passage only says that its higher than it would be when the action is not taking place. Normally that would be a flaw to say that if something is RELATIVELY bigger than its also overall bigger, what changed here? #help

Don’t know the exact diagnostic but it was pretty high, around 165. I studied for about 5 months. I did the whole course, and nearly every practice test twice, some timed some untimed. I’m not in school though, so I was able to do more hours a day then most people, to be really good it would probably take much longer if your only doing an hour or two a day. Friendly tip btw, it’s really tempting to keep taking tests again and again, especially if you get a bad one once to reassure your self that your making progress, but if you do that you end up burning through them, and theirs only a limited amount of practice tests. I’m sure I could have done better if I hadn’t studied like that. Rather take one, study everything you got wrong (and even right) for a while, than maybe wait a day or two to take another. Good luck!

Congrats! Just got my mark back this morning and I got a 176! So happy for you!