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1 Like
Retaking a low 170s score
WHYLSATWHY
Free Trial Member
I took the June exam as my third stake, and got a score in the low 170s.
I feel ecstatic, but I’m looking for full scholarships at T14 schools.
I’m planning on retaking: would the 4th vs 5th take make a difference?
Ideally, I would like to take September and November as a back up.
But if a 5th take is too risky, maybe I should wait until November, so that I know that I can consistently hit high 170s~180 in PTs. My PT average before June had been mid-170s, and I’m not sure if a couple of months is enough to bring my average up to high 170s~180.
I’m just wondering if a 5th take would be considered as too many.
Comments
I retook a 172 for a 180 last cycle.
Those were my only two takes though so I can't offer personal experience with whether a high mumber of takes actually matters. However it is my sense which I believe the number on Law School Numbers bear out that it doesn't.
I think waiting to Novemeber might be a good idea simply because if I were you I would take a brief break from studying right now to get my application all ready to be sent in right when they open. You want to get your letters of rec, write your essays, write supplemental essays, ect. One of the few things I regret about my cycle is not applying the second things open. No one will reject you early in the cycle with a low 170's score so there is plenty of time to retake in November and even December or February and update your application.
If you can get the app ready while stilll studying for the September test then take that one too. But don't wait for the good score to come in to apply. You already have a damn good score and you'll find a way to get an even better one before the cycle is over. So make sure you tame what ever advantage an early app can confer.
@"Seeking Perfection" nailed it. Since you already have an excellent score, it's not risky that you might get rejected up front. You can apply with your low 170s and retake in November hoping for higher. No harm done. Everyone should still be sitting on your application anyway, not a lot of decisions go out before then, besides ED.
@"Seeking Perfection" How was your admissions outcome? Do you think the retake was worth it? I'm in a similar situation (2018 June 173 first take) thinking about retaking. I heard that some people say retaking a 173 might actually look bad because it makes people think you're overly perfectionistic. I've been PTing around 175-176 prior to june test; really just wanna give it one more shot.
Thanks in advance!
I'd like to add that retaking a score in the 170's could potentially send a message to a school with a median in the 169 range (mid-lower t14) that you're not that interested in attending and they might YP you. If you are in the HYS or bust kind of boat then yeah a retake is a good idea. Obviously this is contingent upon other elements of your application, namely GPA which could necessitate a retake in this case. If your GPA is around median or above, what I have stated above should hold. If you are below a 3.5 ish then retaking could definitely help.
@"Seeking Perfection" @"Leah M B" @Ohnoeshalpme Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses!!!
I guess one concern I have is that even if I apply to law schools in September, they might not consider my application if they see that I’m registered for November. Do you think it would still be advantageous to apply in September? My GPA is right around median/ above median for most T-14 schools.
I think the retake was worth it although I had mixed results. I think it got me my scholarship though I can't know for sure. If you look at law school numbers it seemed to me that people with about my GPA could get my scholarship with a 172 or 173, but were really likely to get it if they had a 175+ score.
I had a 3.78 which turned into a 3.81 after fall grades.
I am attending University of Michigan Law School with a $150,000 Dean's Scholarship and in-state tuition since I'm from here. I also have the option of staying at home and commuting since its about an hour away, but have decided to stay in the Lawyer's Club on campus for 1L year.
I was accepted at Columbia, Duke, and WUSTL. Duke and WUSTL both also offered $150,000. Columbia offerred substantially less. I hit the waitlists everywhere else in the top 14 except Georgetown and Berkeley which I didn't apply to and Stanford where I was rejected. I turned down all the waitlists except for Harvard and Yale which I might wait out or get off of sometime soon.
I think better Why Xs could have helped. My best by far were at Michigan and Duke. One of my recommenders got his PhD at Duke and I had a personal story related to U of M. I also think getting my apps in earlier could have helped. I got my 180 on the September test, but got most of my apps in in late December because one of my recommenders was slow in getting me his letter and I didn't really rush him that much. I also think some scholarships like the Darrow, Ruby, Hamilton, Levy, ect. were probably looking for people with better GPAs, better work experience, and better leadership ability.
Anyways, I got a good outcome and I got it at the place where it was best for me to get it (in state tuition and potentially could save by commuting). I probably could have got that outcome without the retake, but it seemed more secure with the retake. Basically I was going to get $150,000 at Michigan if I could get past the waitlist unless I got lucky enough to get the Darrow which I didn't.
I think it would still be advantageous to apply early. They probably won't accept you before December or so at the earliest anyway. Plenty of people waited from October to April last year on decisions. But you want to be first on their list and have shown early interest by applying early when they get around to you.
@"Seeking Perfection" Thank you so much for sharing your story and congratulations! You've worked so hard for it and you deserve every bit of what you got!
I had a similar issue with taking the December LSAT and I signed up to re-take in February as a backup/to raise scholarship offers. The best thing to do is get your application in early and then email each of the schools that you apply to and tell them that you are registered in November but would like them to go ahead and review your application with the September score.
I did that myself and every school I applied to responded and said that was fine, they would mark the app as complete. 1 school did however tell me that their policy is firm, they will not review an application if you have a pending LSAT score. I scored well on December and didn't really need the February test, so I made the call to withdraw from Feb to get my app reviewed. Most schools should be ok with it and you could do the same as me if you want, make a judgement call if one of your schools won't budge. But even if they wouldn't process your app until late November or December, you shouldn't be at much of a disadvantage. That's still relatively early in the cycle. Well, maybe not early but on time. Not too late.