Can retaking hurt me?

polscken

So, I've been accepted to two great schools one in the 20s and one in the 30s in the rankings. However, I am trying to get into a top 5 school. I have a 161 now, but am seriously thinking about retaking in February. Can retaking hurt my chances at all? I also have a 3.87 GPA and very strong softs on my resume.

joegotbored-1

Well first off, congrats on doing so well already! Second... the answer to your question is a big fat no! Maybe in the past retaking would have been a sour mark, but these days, it's standard operating procedure. Schools' rankings depend on highest scores submitted, so it's in their interest to focus on your highest score.

Also, you should not waste that big sexy GPA on a 161 if you think you can do better on a retake. That said, applying with a February score is not likely to help your chances in the top 5. They have almost filled their classes by then. If you can wait until the next cycle, you can probably shoot for June (an extra 6 months of practice under your belt) and aim reaaaaaallly high and apply early, as soon as the window opens since you'll already have all your stuff done.

Good luck either way. It's always nice to know you have a T20 already in your back pocket

jdawg113

as posted above it will not hurt you to retake... if your score would have allowed acceptance(or waitlist) at schools your aiming for I would say go for Feb and go hard, but this seems it is not the case.
What was your PT avg leading up to Dec? and are you BRing in the 170's? Take a breather, and when your refreshed hit the LSAT hard and get the score you want/need for your goals... it is possible

polscken

I was PTing at 165, but know that my question stem ID was weak, and I did not hit -0 in logic games. I actually did pretty poorly in the Logic Games on my LSAT which was September's exam.