Retake or no?

Comments

• __Juj_Sax__ Member

  August 2022 edited August 2022 90 karma

  I am in a similar boat of hoping for advice on whether to re-test (in my case in October), but don't want to totally poach your thread without offering some things to consider at the very least!

  1) If you re-test, what would your target score be? What feels achievable given that the September test is right around the corner? I imagine this would primarily be informed by your average PT scores rather than your highest score.

  2) How much does that target score improve your chances at T-4 schools over your current score? (plugging into 7sage's admissions calculator, for example).

  Here's where I pivot to my own dilemma in hopes of some advice in return I scored 172, have a 3.83 UGPA, nURM, 7 years non-profit work experience. Top choice is Berkeley. I'm right at their entering class of 22-23 median GPA and 75th percentile LSAT score. 7sage's calculator puts me at 61% chance of admission with ED/applying October. Over my last 20 PTs I averaged 172.6 (with a high of 180). As I'm writing this out I'm slowly convincing myself that re-testing is a bad idea because any gains would be marginal, right? Right? I should be happy with my 172 and get over my ego/dissatisfaction of knowing I could score higher, right?
• Steven_B-1 Member

  August 2022 800 karma

  Just got a 169 but will retake because my PTs are constantly higher than that. I think if you're mentally up for it, you might want to retake if your average score is higher than 170. All it takes is one good day and you could either get more scholarship money for yourself or give yourself a better chance at those schools.

  I''m retaking september and signing up for October as well.
• gcarter5924 Member

  August 2022 edited August 2022 49 karma

  TL;DR: Do it. You have nothing to lose if you do score preview and everything to gain.

  So, from my point of view (for what that is worth) is that if you think you could do better (your average is higher than your actual test score, or you just know that the August test wasn't what you wanted) then retake it... I mean if you are already signed up for the September, like I am, then why not? We aren't getting our money back for it at this point, so might as well take the chance to improve!

  Worst case scenario is that you do worse (Lets hope you decided to get that score preview) and you cancel the September score. It'll be like you never took that one and you ride with the solid scores you have!

  I know it is a 3 hour dump of time that you won't get back, but my thoughts is that it is worth it if you improve even by 1 point. But take that with a grain of salt coming from someone who is in the same boat as you! 1 point isn't much but think about it this way: you got waitlisted. It's April, and they are running through the leftover slots. Your fairly matched with someone else, then that 1 point could be a difference maker. And if you don't get it on your next real test, then it is what it is, you still have a solid fighting chance! But I always look at it as being able to knock the competition down a peg any chance I get. Give yourself the advantage out the gate, because right now that is what we have going for us is the ability to improve this score.

  For me, GPA is locked down, not too much room for improving that given that I graduate in December. So the only piece left that is easily graded is the LSAT. I can improve my other pieces like essays, but the LSAT is truly the last graded event that can be improved. Why not give it a chance. Shell the $45 bucks upfront incase it comes back and you had a migraine through the whole test, but on the off chance that it comes back and you knock it out to gain yourself a point or a few, then it was all worth it in the long run.
• Matt Sorr Alum Member ⭐

  August 2022 2245 karma

  If you’re almost always scoring over 170 and you’re set on HYS, I’d strongly consider retaking. A 4.0 while being a D1 athlete and a URM makes you a near perfect applicant, not including LSAT. With just two or three more points on the LSAT, you’d have just about a good a shot as anyone at getting into one of those schools. I may be wrong, and you should definitely plug your numbers into the admissions estimator, but I’d imagine it’s relatively difficult to get into any of those schools with a 170. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible by any means, but it’s toward all of their 25th percentile scores. With this being said, because of your super high gpa and soft factors, there’s a great chance you could still get into one of them with your current score!