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Hi.
The January lsat was my third lsat.
I don't know if I should take both the march exam or just the June exam.
Does taking lsat too many times look that bad?
I know Yale averages LSAT scores, but does it really matter for other law schools?
Comments
Here are some helpful links below that might help you decide better.
Sources from former T14 adcomms (including former Yale adcomm):
https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/98mc3o/its_crazy_to_think_how_important_this_test_is/e4hcujh/?context=3
https://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/how-many-test-takes-is-too-many-for-law-school/
I don't think any school averages scores even if they say they do.
Rule of thumb: Only take the test if you believe you can get a good score. What does a good score mean? It means a score that you'll be satisfied with. No point taking a test you won't be prepared for, but also no need to delay if you are ready.
why Rush into March? It’s too late for this cycle anyway just focus on June and be ready to roll. You have 4 full months to study for that and If you have already taken the LSAT 3 times you should be familiar with the basic concepts so this really is enough time to hit your max. If I were you I would give everything I have until June and expect that to be my last test. If you don’t get what you want you might as well just take July because of the option to cancel but after that I think it’s time to move on. Also,multiple schools websites will directly state their opinion on multiple LSAT scores. Cornell for example says it’s their policy to take the highest score given that it is at least 3 points higher than your other score. Check the websites for the schools you are applying to and see what they say. I personally view 4 takes as the border before it starts to get excessive. I think when you start hitting 5,6,7 this is going to be frowned upon unless you are consistently improving. But even then it just shows you are taking the test before you are truly ready.
Some schools will ask for an addendum if you have multiple scores (I think it varies, but I seem to recall one school that asked for an addendum if you took it more than twice). Good advice from @"Better every day" - you should look around on the website of schools you are interested in to see if they have a policy. USC asks for an addendum if you have LSAT scores that are 4 or more points in difference (I personally find that a little excessive - 10 points I understand, but 4 is a very small margin). So, you may have to write an addendum.
I think more than 3 tries does start to seem excessive. However, if you know you can do better, it will always be to your advantage to re-take for a higher score. If you have 3+ scores that are in a small range of each other, schools may start to wonder about your judgement. Is there a reason you kept taking it? If you didn’t show significant improvement, were you taking actual steps to improve or just more wash, rinse, repeat hoping for a lucky break? Kind of that old saying about the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
You should approach the LSAT in a thoughtful way - only take it when you are fully prepared and have a reason to believe you will have a better result. In a perfect world, schools like to see 1 attempt that is your best possible score. For any number of reasons, that often isn’t the case. If you already have 3 takes, I would be judicious about how many times you take it beyond that. If you keep studying, you would undoubtedly be more prepared in June than March. If I were you, I’d maybe think about doing July instead. You may end up taking the digital version, but either way you would be able to see your score before deciding to cancel. That might be a great option.