Questions on Application and Re-Taking Lsat in December

[dneuman]

Hi. Test day is almost upon us, and would like to obviously thank Powerscore for their help, in giving me a 15 point boost since my first PT, three months ago.

Just a couple of general questions... Basically I've scored 155 in my past two PT's. I am committed to taking this coming LSAT for a couple reasons. First, I would like to get the experience of sitting for the exam, secondly, there is always the hope I can surprise myself on test day, and finally, a 155 wouldn't necessarily eliminate me from some of my law school choices.
With that said, if I do score a 155 (or even a 157 for that matter) I do believe with a couple more months study, I can get into the 160's by December and would love to go for that challenge. So would it be okay to get my application ready and send them out, in order to see the responses? For example, can I send out an App with a 155 score to UM law, and re-send it in December if I get a better LSAT score (for a better scholarship?)
Also what overall advice/help would you give me for the position I'm in, as far as mentality.

Thanks! (and sorry for the broad question).

Daniel

[Clay Cooper]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your questions and your feedback. It is gratifying to hear of your progress - that's what we are here for!

As for your first question, about resubmitting your application in the event of your doing better on the December test, I do not personally know the answer, but I will make sure to mention it to our other instructors and moderators - I'm sure someone can answer it for you.

As for the second question, I will offer this input: your mentality seems to be just about perfect. I would encourage you to be confident as you go in tomorrow to take the test - you must have prepared throughly to improve your score by fifteen points (especially in the middle of the scale, where every single point of improvement denotes an especially large percentile score improvement). That your last two practice tests have yielded the same score seems to indicate that you have reached a sound and consistent level of preparedness, and I would just encourage you to remind yourself tomorrow both before and during the test that you have already worked very hard and it has definitely already shown for you. It is possible that further prep would increase your score even more, but whether or not that turns out to be the case, you have already done yourself justice and your score on the test tomorrow will very likely reflect this hard work.

So I will mention your question about resubmitting applications to those who might know the answer and, in the meantime, be confident and relaxed - you've worked hard and done well and your performance will reflect that.

Good luck, and be confident!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the questions, and congrats on the score increase—that's great to hear!

I agree with Clay's comments fully, so let me address the application question. It doesn't really work so that you can apply multiple times within a single cycle. Once you submit your app, that will be the only time you need to submit it and everything else gets updated automatically. If you apply right as the window opens you usually won't hear from them for a while. So, unless you are applying EA or ED, they probably won't render a decision until later. Plus, if you are scheduled for the December LSAT, LSAC's CAS service will provide an automatic update to the law schools you have applied to, which typically causes its own delay as they wait for the new score (unless your first score caused an instant admit). :

• Updated Law School Reports
  
  If you have a current LSAC Credential Assembly Service file, LSAC will routinely send report updates to law schools to which you have applied at no additional charge
  
  * whenever you repeat the LSAT within the same admission year;
  
  —From http://www.lsac.org/jd/applying-to-law- ... ol-reports

So, you can go ahead and apply early, and then in my experience the law schools will wait to process your app once they see that you are re-taking the LSAT.

Does that make sense? Please let me know. Thanks!

[dneuman]

Yes, this is exactly what I was looking to have answered. Thanks so much!