Should I skip the September LSAT and take only the November one?

LAWYERED

Hi all,

I've been studying since mid-May and I feel that I really need more study time. I'm not done with the CC of 7sage (I'm almost done--I'm at 60% and am skipping the Reading Comp sections for the moment (since I'm pretty good at reading comp) and will complete them before I take the November LSAT).

I am set to take the test this September 8th. Should I still take it and get the test jitters out or should I just delay taking the test until November? I plan on only testing in September and November so if I don't take the September LSAT, I will be relying 100% on the November test and that gives me anxiety just thinking about it. But scoring poorly on the September LSAT also gives me anxiety so really it's a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" emotional turmoil situation...

But, at the same time--I've only taken one diagnostic practice test and I'm quickly running out of time to study so I am pretty sure that I will not get the goal score I've been shooting for (160-165). I am planning on taking a practice test this weekend to gauge where I am and...idk I think that practice test will help me decide what I need to do but I would really appreciate any advice from people who are in the same situation/ experienced the same thing.

P.S. I am currently in the midst of a gap year before attending law school and I REALLY do not want to/ can't afford to take another gap year so there's really no way I can delay the test another year.

P.S.S. I think I will probably get a 155-ish test score when I take a practice test this weekend but idk yet.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

Ohnoeshalpme

Only take the September LSAT if you would be happy accepting the score you get in September. The strongest argument for taking in September is that it acts as a hedge for a doomsday scenario in November (fire alarm goes off during the test, you get sick etc).

josephabdin23

I am on the same exact boat as you. I personally plan to take the September Lsat and see how I feel after, I’m just now finding out you can cancel the score if you feel as if it would be a poor representation of your potential.

Talebiii

I would say take the Sept one if it's your first go and if the law schools you are applying to take your highest score. Taking the Sept one will calm your nerves as test day conditions differ from ones you surrounding you while you take prep tests. Additionally- canceling your score post-doing the exam is also an option! I am sure that whatever you decide will be best for you! Best of luck

Leah M B

If you're not going to score what you need to get into the schools you want to attend, then taking the September LSAT really does nothing for you. If you have reason to be particularly nervous about test day (have experienced test anxiety in the past), then I'd say you could take September and just plan on canceling.

But really, if you need a 160 to get into the school you want, what good does having an early 155 do? It doesn't. If you're not PTing where you need to be by test day, I'd highly recommend either pushing it back or if you really want to, taking it and canceling. If you don't have a history of test anxiety though, there's no reason to take September. Just withdraw. The November test is early enough to still get in an on-time application. You can even submit apps before you have your LSAT score, and then they'll get processed faster than if you wait for the score before submitting.

ad_coelum

I am in a similar boat as you. I took the July test but initially was only going to take the September test. I am so glad that I took the July test because I got a better feel of what test day is like. I felt less pressured and just did the best that I could. I am still taking the September test for a score increase. Taking July helped me see where I stand, so to speak. Like you, I didn’t want to rely on just one test. So, I bit the bullet and decided to do both. I say, go for both!

ksdenos

I am in the same boat as you and I will be taking both tests! I think using September as a gauge will be helpful.

tekken1225

It's pretty late, but there's always the absolute last option: the January LSAT. It's very late so it's literally the last option, but it's still there.

I'm in the same boat. I literally cannot afford to take off another year, it's basically required of me to get in this application cycle, because of a host of financial and personal reasons.

So, all my eggs are in on this November LSAT, but if I do very poorly on it for some reason, I will probably take the January one and hope it's not too late for this application cycle.

LAWYERED

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all your comments and messages!

I have ultimately decided to take both the September and November LSATs.
I am going to take two practice tests soon to gauge my progress and I will probably not cancel my September LSAT score because I'd like to know what I get and if I do poorly it'll set a fire under me and if I do well, I'll gain confidence and feel less pressure. At the very least, the September LSAT will give me the relief of knowing I've scored well-enough to at LEAST 100% be able to get into my back-up schools.

Plus, I've already paid for the September LSAT so I feel that I might as just try to do my best. The only reason I might not take it is if this weekend I take a practice test and have seen ZERO improvement but I'm pretty confident (fingers crossed lol!) that that won't happen. Furthermore, I think the testing experience will be valuable to me and I like the idea of having a safe-guard in place in case I were to get sick in November.

@tekken1225 do you know if we're allowed to submit our applications in December (thereby not late) and then register to take the January LSAT to bolster our chances? Or do they not look at our application until after the January LSAT comes through? Could taking the January LSAT help get us off the wait-list, worst-case scenario? @"David.Busis"

Thanks again, everyone.

David Busis

Schools will know if you're registered for another LSAT, and different schools have different policies. Some default to considering your application when you submit it; others default to waiting for a future LSAT score report before considering your application, and at least one—Georgetown—asks which option is better for you. Most but not all schools will honor a request to, for example, consider your application now even though you're registered for another test.

Yes, an improvement on your January LSAT score could help you get off a waitlist.

Good luck!

tekken1225

@LAWYERED, looks like @David.Busis summed it up.

Guess it's do or die for us, in November. No pressure, haha.

Seriously, though, we still do have the January to fall back on. But personally, I'm not going to count on it. I'm going to pretend November is all I have.

LAWYERED

Thank you @"David.Busis" !
And yes, lol @tekken1225
It's nice to know that I can test again in January worst-worst-worst-case scenario to get off the wait-list!!!

LAWYERED

@"David.Busis"
If we submit our application in December with our September and November scores and ask that admissions consider our application as-is (despite being registered for the January LSAT), do we need to call or email Admissions to let them know that our January score has been released (i.e. around Feb. 16th?)

Furthermore, if we've been rejected from a school, is it worth emailing them to let them know that our score has increased on the January LSAT? Or should we just touch base with law schools that put us on the waitlist?

Thank you. (I hope I made sense.)

David Busis

@LAWYERED No, you don't need to let admissions offices know that a new score was released. They'll get it. That said, the new score could be an occasion for a LOCI.

If you're planning on reapplying to a school that rejected you, don't contact them after they rejected you. It's quite unlikely that they'll reconsider, and you might harm your chances for the next cycle. If you're not going to reapply, I suppose you have nothing to lose by contacting them.

Bamboosprout

Take them to get experience and get comfortable with the feeling of anxiety on a real test. Make sure you don't burn yourself out. I remember taking two PTs the week before my first actual test and that exhausted me. People often stress that you shouldn't do anything too strenuous on test week, and that advice is very sincere. Don't take more than one, unless you feel like it's really easy doing the PTs, and you don't have anything to work on from the first PT. No point taking two. After taking the first PT, just go to the LSAT analytics and choose one or two sections of the CC that you are weak on, and do those over the week instead. Don't do more than 2 or 3 hours a day though. Seriously, just take it easy on test week.

_oshun1_

Wow LSAC sure is making money off of all these people who say “I’ve only taken one PT” or “i’ve taken numerous PTs, new reached my target, and my average is 10 points below my target score and my score has dropped substantially in the past 5 recent tests” so I’m just going to blindly go for it anyways and hope that a magician grants me my target.

There is no reason to take September.

samantha.ashley92

I'm in the same position as you and just withdrew from the September test. There's no reason for me to shoot my confidence down when I wind up with a score way lower than what I want.