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Retake?

Better every dayBetter every day Member
in General 246 karma

Looking for some advice and general thoughts from others who may be considering a retake. I just took the LSAT for the 2nd time in January and scored a 168. This was a 4 point improvement from my first try in September and I am fairly happy with it but I really wanted to break the 170 mark especially since my PT average was right around that so I know I can do it. I currently work full time and have one year left in a 2 year rotational analyst program with a bank so I plan on applying early next cycle. Since I have all this time I feel like I should keep grinding and give it a 3rd go for the 170 in the summer. However, I am worried about doing worse. I know law schools only need to report the highest score but I still feel like regressing on a 3rd attempt would look bad. I have also burned through most recent PTs and am not exactly sure how to go forward.

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Comments

  • eRetakereRetaker Free Trial Member
    2043 karma

    Anecdotal, but friend also had score drop and is having an amazing cycle and outperforming her numbers. Really don't think it should be a worry of yours. Also my advice is in my username and go ahead and reuse PTs.

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    You have a lot of time (like six months if you want to take in September) to boost your score. In that amount of time I would be confident that you can improve your skills and your PT/BR scores enough to feel good about a retake. You don't want to be relying on luck to just happen to score a couple points higher, but I don't think that in your situation you should worry too much about regressing. If you haven't made any progress over the course of a few months, you can decide if you really want to retake or not. Either way, 168 is a really strong score and you'll get into some solid schools!

  • Lawster9Lawster9 Alum Member
    393 karma

    My friend is actually in almost exactly the same situation as you, 164 in September and then a 169 in January (he was PTing in the 170s). I told him that maybe he should consider July because you have the option to see your score before you decide to cancel. July may be a good option if you are worrying about regressing. Here's a link to the info on the July test (scroll all the way to the bottom): https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-digital-lsat

  • Better every dayBetter every day Member
    246 karma

    @Lawster9 said:
    My friend is actually in almost exactly the same situation as you, 164 in September and then a 169 in January (he was PTing in the 170s). I told him that maybe he should consider July because you have the option to see your score before you decide to cancel. July may be a good option if you are worrying about regressing. Here's a link to the info on the July test (scroll all the way to the bottom): https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/about-digital-lsat

    Thanks for the advice. This is what I’m going to do. Having the option to cancel really takes the pressure off. However, not a huge fan of the fact that we don’t know if our test will be electronic or paper.

  • KeepCalmKeepCalm Alum Member
    807 karma

    Hello! I believe you are in a great position to continue studying and retake the exam. You seem to be very diligent and, considering that your PT average was around the 170 mark, your goal is realistic. I think you should go for it! You have the gift of time which is just awesome! By the way, I commend you for being able to work full-time and make such great improvement in just four months :smile:

    I understand the anxiety that comes with this. You mentioned that you are worried about possibly regressing and receiving a lower score. You also mentioned something that really struck me: "I know I can do it." I admire your confidence. The LSAT journey is such a humbling experience. So humbling, that we often feel discouraged. With so many reasons in your favor, the fear of not performing well should not stop you.

    “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from coming up to bat.”
    -Babe Ruth

  • Better every dayBetter every day Member
    246 karma

    @KeepCalm said:
    Hello! I believe you are in a great position to continue studying and retake the exam. You seem to be very diligent and, considering that your PT average was around the 170 mark, your goal is realistic. I think you should go for it! You have the gift of time which is just awesome! By the way, I commend you for being able to work full-time and make such great improvement in just four months :smile:

    I understand the anxiety that comes with this. You mentioned that you are worried about possibly regressing and receiving a lower score. You also mentioned something that really struck me: "I know I can do it." I admire your confidence. The LSAT journey is such a humbling experience. So humbling, that we often feel discouraged. With so many reasons in your favor, the fear of not performing well should not stop you.

    “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from coming up to bat.”
    -Babe Ruth

    Thanks for the uplifting comments. Since I’m a yankee fan, I don’t think I can argue with the Babe.

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    First, I don’t think you should worry about a score decrease. I did the exact opposite of you - I got a 168 and then re-took and got a 164 🤦🏼‍♀️. Wanted to attempt a third try but ran out of time. I’m re-applying now and it’s early but it seems as though things are playing out how you’d expect with a 168. No school has inquired about the drop either.

    That said, I think you should 100% sign up for July. There is the uncertainty of not knowing if you’ll have digital or paper, but just make sure you are prepared for both and do it! It’s the only time you’ll ever be able to take it and see your score before deciding whether to cancel. Plus if you cancel, they’re giving you a free retake! It is a win-win. You can have 2 more tries for the price of 1, plus get to cancel if you do happen to drop. It’s a no brainer in my book.

  • _oshun1__oshun1_ Alum Member
    3652 karma

    @"Leah M B" said:
    First, I don’t think you should worry about a score decrease. I did the exact opposite of you - I got a 168 and then re-took and got a 164 🤦🏼‍♀️. Wanted to attempt a third try but ran out of time. I’m re-applying now and it’s early but it seems as though things are playing out how you’d expect with a 168. No school has inquired about the drop either.

    That said, I think you should 100% sign up for July. There is the uncertainty of not knowing if you’ll have digital or paper, but just make sure you are prepared for both and do it! It’s the only time you’ll ever be able to take it and see your score before deciding whether to cancel. Plus if you cancel, they’re giving you a free retake! It is a win-win. You can have 2 more tries for the price of 1, plus get to cancel if you do happen to drop. It’s a no brainer in my book.

    I second this. You sound really motivated to retake and it sounds like you have a good job situation. If I had a sliver of motivation and had an interest in staying at my job, I would retake my 168 as well. Since you’re applying next cycle anyways, you have nothing to lose. Good luck, I know you’ll hit that 170!

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