Now what?? Scored 1 point lower

Comments

• Leah M B Alum Member ⭐

  February 2019 8392 karma

  1) It has no effect whatsoever on your applications as it stands right now. Schools won't care much about a lower score, and certainly not a score that's only 1 point lower. So rest assured, you have done no damage!

  2) That said, as you know - it obviously didn't help you either haha. Taking March is up to you. It will be too late for admissions purposes for the most part, but there's potential you could use a higher score for a last ditch scholarship negotiation. But I'd suggest only taking it if you have reason to believe you will score higher, of course (like, you are consistently PTing 5 points higher than your previous test).
• Amrina96k Alum Member

  February 2019 144 karma

  @"Leah M B" said:
  1) It has no effect whatsoever on your applications as it stands right now. Schools won't care much about a lower score, and certainly not a score that's only 1 point lower. So rest assured, you have done no damage!

  2) That said, as you know - it obviously didn't help you either haha. Taking March is up to you. It will be too late for admissions purposes for the most part, but there's potential you could use a higher score for a last ditch scholarship negotiation. But I'd suggest only taking it if you have reason to believe you will score higher, of course (like, you are consistently PTing 5 points higher than your previous test).

  Do you know if it'll have any impact on my chances of acceptance if the third score is significantly lower than the first 2 attempts?
• kpj744___ Alum Member

  February 2019 edited February 2019 231 karma

  @"Leah M B" thanks so much. Just reading your words, from a non-emotional perspective, really helped. I was worried since I'd already started applying, and am 99% sure I can't wait another year (I'm the one you wrote to once and suggested that and I explained my extenuating factors...).... so to know there's a minuscule chance that if I do really well in March -- since I haven't stopped studying -- I could maybe use that as a last ditch effort for negotiating is helpful. Would love to DM you about my thinking, however, and get more insight on your thinking because I believe you once said you did a cycle and applied -- and then waited and re-applied with better scores, etc. right?? I'm curious to how those decisions were made, why, etc. (if, of course, you're willing to share). Thanks!!
• 1 Like

  KeepCalm Alum Member

  February 2019 edited February 2019 807 karma

  I can understand how frustrating this must be As cliché as this may sound, please know that you do not need to worry. I do not think that this will negatively affect your application.

  Each exam varies, it may have either 100 or 101 questions which, of course, has an affect on the scale. I am sure that law schools consider the fluctuation. For instance, on the December 2007 exam (PT 53) a raw score of 78 converted to a scaled score of 162 whereas on the June 2008 exam (PT 54) a raw score of 80 converted to a scaled score of 161.

  (Let's say this scenario represents your situation) The second score is hardly a reflection of your improvement. Although PT 53 had 100 questions and PT 54 had 101 questions, the truth is that you did correctly answer the same amount +1 (or +2) of the questions.

  *sidenote: on 7sage's podcast featuring @"Cant Get Right" (Josh), he mentioned going through a similar situation. His first lsat score was 163 and his second lsat score was 162. (https://7sage.com/1-ama-w-7sager-cant-get-right-152-to-176/)