Retake or Apply Anyway?

bellaful1234

Hi All,

I'm having an issue deciding on whether to apply with my current score or wait until the Jan retake. A bit of history:

I took the LSAT in 2015 thinking I wanted to go straight through from undergrad to law school. After taking before I was ready and studying incorrectly, I got a 158. I decided to take time off and have been working since for 2.5 years.
Flash forward, I just took the November LSAT and scored a 158 again and am feeling pretty down. Throughout my new round of studying, I was scoring between 163-166. My BR's were 171+. Typically, my score breakdown was LR -5/-6, LG-0/-1, RC-4/-7. On the Nov test, I went LR -8 and -8, LG -6, and RC-7. Should I retake or did I reach my potential on the test?

I want to go to school in the Boston area: BU, BC, or Northeastern. My GPA is above Northeastern's median and the LSAT is above 25% but below the 50%. I think I have a decent shot at getting in with the 158, but with their deadline being a little later, could retake in January to up my score for a realistic shot at the other two schools. I want to apply this cycle and go to law school in the fall, but am worried that if I don't get into Northeastern with the 158 and under perform again in Jan, I'm stuck staying out another year.

TLDR; Should I retake with the differences between test performance and studying performance? If yes, any retake studying recommendations? Should I apply to Northeastern with the current score to try to get in earlier in the cycle?

Beast Mode

Hi there,

I think retaking wouldn't hurt if you want to guarantee your spot with scholarships. But it depends if you want to put the work in to improve for January and it's doable.

bellaful1234

@"Beast Mode" Thank you! I think what scares me is the "What if I then get 3 158's in a row?" How do I explain that away?

egrivera2

Hi @maddiefuller16. First of: you should be proud of yourself for not giving up and shooting for a retake the second time! It's not an easy road, I know, and not everyone would be willing to put in that type of effort. I'm in a similar boat. I took 1.5 years off after my first time and retook in November. I did worse than the first time. I was PTing about 8 points higher than the score I ended with. I'm still thinking about whether to take it in January as well. I'm no expert and trying to figure it out myself, but I just wanted to say you should be proud of your hard work!! Maybe some things to think about: 1- Do you have the time to put in some hard studying to really improve your score by January? 2- Schools will see all three scores you received. There is the possibility of not improving a third time around. 3- Can you identify your weaknesses on this exam (test performance vs. studying performance)? For me, I think it is test performance that gets me, which makes me hesitant towards a third retake. I wish you the best of luck!!!

Beast Mode

I agree with @egrivera2 you should be very proud of your self. A 158 is a great score and you can only go higher from that. I know it can be challenging but tune out the what if's and remain positive, like @egrivera2 said figure out your weak areas and put some work into those, do whatever you have to do to get your score. You can explain your retakes in an addendum by indicating how you wanted to improve etc. Who knows you might go above the 158 on the third try.