Need help from 7Sage Community on what to do....

Renee M.

Sorry for the ominous title, but I'm really conflicted on what to do, and friends/family aren't objective enough to give me a solid response.
I am Canadian and applied to 7 schools across the country, I wrote the LSAT in December after delaying the September exam after studying for 4 months. I wrote in December because I felt like I had to, since I had already submitted all my applications and was dead set on attending law school in 2017.
I didn't feel great writing in December, and left the exam feeling like I would need to rewrite. I got my score back and scored 10 below my average, 155, and have a personal high of hitting 171 on a few preptests. My struggle section is LR by a long shot - average about 6-8 wrong per section, and -12 on the section on the December test. I'm not sure if my issue is stamina or lacking the fundamental knowledge for the question types. I average between 0 -4 on LG, and between -4 -6 on RC.
I recently decided, due to pressure from family/friends and myself to write the test in February because my main concern would be losing this application cycle and the money used to apply. My scores have improved slightly from taking a month long break, I came back and got 171 on my first PT since my break, and gotten 169, 168 etc since.
My main question for the community then is this, do I grind it out and hopefully save this application cycle, or sit it out and write in June or September and maybe still get accepted this year? I also emailed my schools I applied to and told them I would be writing in February and to put my application on hold, would it not look bad to then go back and tell them to change it back?

nessa.k13.0

Hi Renee,
Pressure from friends and family who often mean well is definitely tough. I think this is where you have to decide what you are okay living with score wise. If it would drive you crazy not seeing how much more you can improve your accuracy, then postpone and take it later when your skills are stronger. The biggest LSAT mistake I made was taking the test before I was ready. If it is more important to you that you start asap and you won't wonder what could have been in a way that you can live with, then go ahead and try for February.
Regarding your LSAT performance, what is your BR score? It definitely seems like you can improve your LSAT performance if you give yourself time to master more concepts of the test. Another factor I would consider is have you addressed those issues with nerves and anxiety that hurt your score during the first take? Do you know what you are going to do differently this time so that you won't be negatively affected by the same things? You are capable of getting that PT score, but it would help to hit above that score during your PT (by the recommended 3 to 5pts for that test day lower performance factor). Those are some of the questions I would want to know the answers to before deciding to take the February exam. I wish you all the best in your decision!

Renee M.

@"nessa.k13.0" thanks for your detailed response - I finally decided today that I am not writing it and withdrew. I am going to prepare to write in June, but hopefully I'll be able to get in with my mediocre score! We'll see