Should I take the November test next week?

LawschoolhereIcome

HELP!

I took the October exam, scored 168 which wasn't too surprising since that had been my score on several PTs leading up to the test. I am signed up for next week & goal is to score 171+. Took the newly released PT 93 today & scored my highest ever, 175!!!!

I am super conflicted because if I take the test next week, it will be my 4th time & if I score lower than 168, I don't want admissions to think that the score is a fluke and not something I worked hard for. If I score higher than 170, great! However, is this a risk worth taking? For reference, I would like to attend a T20 school with substantial scholarships, looking at USC Law for which I fall right at the median LSAT but lower than median GPA.

claremont

Schools mostly only care about your highest score. I don't think scoring lower would negatively affect your chances much if at all... and the rewards are potentially huge. I say go for it! You know you have what it takes!

dhommy24

I'd recommend investing in Score Preview. If you get your exam back and the score dropped, you can delete the lower score to instead show a cancellation. Law schools will take at least minor note of a score decrease, but will more or less overlook a cancellation.

Matt Sorr

Let me preface all of this by saying that I don't mean to be blunt/sound like a jerk. I just want to be as straightforward as possible with you because admissions officers surely won't sugarcoat:

If you're eyeing USC and you're currently at their LSAT median and below their GPA median, there is almost no shot you'll receive a significant scholarship from them. Why would they offer you one? Unless they have a rough admissions cycle, you're probably not going to help their LSAT median and you'll probably hurt their GPA median. If you're strongly leaning towards them and want/need a big scholarship, then it seems you need a higher LSAT.

If, however, you'd be cool with attending a different school in the T20 and you're above at least a couple of their medians and hopefully above at least one of their 75ths, you may be able to receive a scholarship. Also, I don't know your soft factors, URM status, personal statement, etc, so you may be in even better position than it seems at first glance. Additionally, if USC is known for being generous with scholarships, even for people that probably won't raise their medians, you may be totally fine. If any of these are the case, then perhaps don't consider what I'm saying.

Regardless of whether or not you feel you need a higher LSAT score, though, I'd only take the November LSAT if you're currently averaging at least a couple of points higher than a 168 on PTs. If you're not, there's no real reason to expect you'll randomly score higher than usual, particularly since you'll have the added pressure of a real test. It sounds like you may very well be PTing higher than 168 on average, in which case I'd say go for it!

Again, I say all of this in an attempt to be as realistic as possible! I hope it helps.