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Related Discussions
To cancel or not?
legallyblondeee
Alum Member
So, I took the Sept LSAT and I left feeling completely defeated. Games is normally my best section and I guessed on a whole game and I don't feel confident about any of my RC responses. I'm feeling like I should just cancel and retake in December because I'm 95% sure I got a score much lower than I want. I'm conflicted though as to whether or not I should just see what my score was so that I can learn from the mistakes I made or if I should just cancel. I just don't know what would look worse -- a potentially really low score or a cancel. Advice?
Comments
I think a cancel looks worse unless you think it will be REALLY. BAD.
but honestly they may be equal either way sooo many people re-take now a days I wouldn't worry personally.
My response from a similar thread:
There are virtually no advantages to cancelling.
No schools average [LSAT scores]. Some people claim that Yale does, but there is no evidence for this. There is in fact evidence that they do not. Schools only care about the highest.
My advice: do not cancel.
Google "Do Law Schools View Multiple LSAT Attempts as a Negative?" for a blog post by [former admissions officer Mike] Spivey. You should not care about a lower score on your record.
I'm thinking worst case scenario here though. Even if my score was in the 140s, I should keep it? I feel like that would just look horrible...
@jennamaree18 What was your PT average (like the last 5 or more PTs) going into the test? What is your goal score?
@AllezAllez21 my PT average was a 157. the week before the test I did two PT's and got a 153 (my lowest score ever) and 160 (my highest score ever) and I was consistently BR'ing in the mid-high 160s. My goal is to be in high 150's/low 160's
While it really depends on each person's situation, I wouldn't keep your score if you know without a doubt you underperformed. There's a difference between a consistent high scorer feeling nervous about their performance and an unprepared tester KNOWING they performed far below their potential on test day.
There are a variety of reasons someone could cancel their score- a terrible proctor, feeling sick on the day of the test, realizing you mis-bubbled, etc. However, it is a little harder to explain a poor score that you felt confident enough to report in the first place.
My point is that everyone's situation is different and only YOU can determine whether or not canceling your score is an appropriate course of action. I don't think it's fair to tell people to NEVER cancel or to ALWAYS cancel. Whatever you decide, don't let anyone guilt trip you all the way through.
Here's advice from 7Sage founder JY on cancelling:
https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/1442/i-think-i-f-ed-up-and-i-want-to-cancel
I think the biggest thing to know is that, especially at schools where you are likely to apply, they simply do not care about lower scores on record. They truly only care about your highest score.
So to me, it's really more like the 10% chance my perception is wrong and I actually scored just fine is worth the larger chance that I will have a lower score on record.