LSAT Admissions Question

hawaii50210

Ok so I'm planning on applying to schools this cycle with the LSAT I have on file from October, however I am also retaking in January. If I get accepted to a law school, and then my January Lsat comes back, can I leverage the hopefully higher LSAT score for scholarship money even though I would already be admitted?

andrew.rsn

I think you can definitely do this if you are trying to convince a school to give you more money than their original offer. However - Schools will keep your application on hold if they see that you are registered to take another test. You will have to contact each school individually and ask them to review your application with the current score on file.

Selene Steelman

Former admissions officer here. You can use a higher LSAT score to request a reevaluation of a scholarship award or to request a scholarship award. If your score is attractive to the school, they may offer a scholarship to incentivize you to deposit. Schools have their own policies when it comes to future test registration. Some schools will consider a candidate incomplete until all test results have been received. Others will move forward with review so long as the file contains an LSAT score. Others will ask the candidate in the application what they want the school to do. You should find out from each school on your school list. Good luck!

ledkarly

Unrelated, but what are your thoughts on canceled scores?

@"Selene Steelman" said:
Former admissions officer here. You can use a higher LSAT score to request a reevaluation of a scholarship award or to request a scholarship award. If your score is attractive to the school, they may offer a scholarship to incentivize you to deposit. Schools have their own policies when it comes to future test registration. Some schools will consider a candidate incomplete until all test results have been received. Others will move forward with review so long as the file contains an LSAT score. Others will ask the candidate in the application what they want the school to do. You should find out from each school on your school list. Good luck!

Selene Steelman

Canceled scores? It depends on how many there are and when they took place. One canceled score is understandable and wouldn't necessarily require an explanation (unless the school instructions require an answer). If you have two or more canceled scores, this could imply a pattern of not following through with an important goal. In that case, I think an LSAT addendum would be appropriate. Was a score canceled because technical difficulties, health reasons, natural disaster, emergency, or work obligations prevented you from performing to the best of your abilities? An explanation would clarify the situation and prevent the admissions reviewer from assuming that you can't deal with the pressure of taking a standardized test. They are looking to see if anything in your application might prevent you from succeeding in law school or on the bar exam. Good luck!