URM SEEKING APPLICATION/RETAKE ADVICE

ynattirb95

It has taken me while to post this because I was extremely disappointed and partially in denial but I have to come to terms with the reality..... I bombed the October LSAT.

I scored the EXACT SAME THING (158) as I did in July. I have all of my application materials ready to go and was not even entertaining the thought of a retake but now... I'm reconsidering.

I would be happy to apply with at LEAST a 163 which I was hitting consistently weeks before the exam. Suddenly the week before, my scores dropped which resulted in me panicking and possibly over-drilling.

SO what I would like to know is
1) If I should sign up to re-take in January (timelines considered, could that hurt my application & receiving scholarships)
2) If i DO retake, should I go with a tutor or use the 7Sage common core???
FULL DISCLOSURE: My first take I used Kaplan, second I used Kaplan & Powerscore (+7pt jump), 3rd Take I used SOME 7 Sage lessons but mostly used 7sage for help with blind review method & digital testing.

Being that the deadline to register to sit in January is next week, I would GREATLY appreciate it if I could receive some advice as sooooon as possible. Thank you all in advance!!

RealLaw612

First, 158 isn’t exactly “bombing” the LSAT. A lot of people would be very happy with that score. You, however, have high expectations and I relate to that and respect it. I always tell people who need a few extra points to focus on LR translation drills (the best resource for this is the book “The Loophole”) and skip/flag your problem questions and come back to them after you successfully nail the rest of the section. Additionally, foolproof LG every day. Be relentless in your efforts to score 23/23 every time because LG is the most learnable section there is. Practice low-res memorization with RC passages and you will see improvement there as well.

If you won’t get into your target school without a higher score then, yes, plan to retake and go hard HARD on your studies. I was scoring mid/high 170s on PTs and I’d be happy to help if you have questions; feel free to PM me.

Woodsy_567

I'm in a very similar situation and have the same questions. I don't know if it's better to submit applications in December or retake the LSAT in January and apply afterwards. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

MambaMentality93

If your PTs show that you can score higher, you should definitely retake. Your cycle will be quite different with a 163, mate!

taschasp

Applying later with a higher LSAT is virtually always better--even if you can improve your score to a 160, it would be worth it to apply later. Remember, a 158 jumping to a 163 means going from 70th to 87th percentile. That's a huge leap.