I don't know what to do.. Testing limit

jzhengesq-1

I currently have a 154 on the lsat with a 3.43 GPA. I took the November exam two weeks ago, but was interrupted by the proctor. so LSAC gave me a retest today. However, I was distracted by people talking from each side of the room and flunked my logic games section. I doubt I made a score higher than 154 and already took the lsat three times this year. I usually score around the high 150s and low 160s which is why I was so disappointed in how things turned out. What should I do at this point? Should I just attend a lower ranked law school? How much will my personal statement or resume help with my admission? Thanks!

Matt Sorr

I don't think there's a correct or incorrect answer here, as what you "should" do is highly dependent on your goals, desires, and situation. I'll say this, however: If your LSAT score is so far below your target school(s) median that it'll preclude you from getting in, I'd strongly recommend you wait until you can take the test again and apply next cycle. With an extra year (or however many months until you're eligible to test again) to study, you can almost certainly raise your score multiple points or, at the least, become more consistent with where you're scoring. In my opinion, with how saturated the legal market is and how expensive law school is today, settling for a significantly lower ranked school than what you'd prefer is extremely risky. This is just my recommendation without any knowledge of your background, however, so if you have circumstances that don't line up with what I'm advising, totally disregard what I'm saying.

As far as how much your personal statement and resume will help your application, that's also highly dependent on how well-crafted your personal statement is and how impressive your resume is. They have the potential to help quite a bit, particularly in light of the recent rankings boycott, or the potential to do very little. The only way to find out, truly, is to apply to various schools and see how you perform.

jzhengesq-1

Thank you very much for your insight Matt! I emailed LSAC and explained what happened, hoping they would give me an exception to take the test for a fourth time.

Matt Sorr

I hope things work out for you! @jzhengesq-1