Withdrawal and a Cancel an issue?

[ehilliard]

Hello,

I was curious if there were any potential negatives to having both a withdrawal and a cancel on my record.

Pretty simple story -- I attempted to take the LSAT the first time my senior year of college (2014) while finishing my thesis and interviewing for jobs. I ended up traveling a lot for interviews and it threw my study plan off track. Decided to withdraw.

I just took yesterday's test and the logic games section threw me for a loop. I actually love games but the section was difficult and I feel like it went poorly enough to strongly impact my overall score. Additionally, while I saw improvement in my scores over the last few months, I still am not where I ideally want to be and I don't want to run the risk of posting a score much lower than I feel is indicative of my potential.

I went to a very good school, have strong grades, strong work experience, good letters lined up... I know the rest of my application components will be strong. However, I don't want the withdrawal and cancel together to be seen in a negative light. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

[Morgan O'Donnell]

Hi ehilliard,

Thank you for your post! The good news is, a "withdrawal" does not show up on your record-- it's as if you never signed up to take the LSAT in the first place. The only person who knows you withdrew is you (and your bank account).

So, when it comes to deciding whether or not to cancel your June score, that is entirely up to you! Here is a recent blog post Jon Denning wrote regarding the pros & cons of cancelling and some things to consider before doing so.

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/do-not- ... lsat-score

Please let us know if you have any further questions!

Best,

Morgan O'Donnell
PowerScore Test Prep

[ehilliard]

Oh wonderful, I didn't realize the withdrawal wasn't visible. Thanks so much for you help! I did read that post but will make sure I do consider it carefully in the next few days. Appreciate it!

[Morgan O'Donnell]

My pleasure!

Best of luck to you

Morgan O'Donnell
PowerScore Test Prep

[cecilia]

Hi Morgan and thanks for the link to Jon's post. It really helped answer some questions. I thought I'd keep to this thread rather than start a new one on the same issue. That being said, here' my question: I'm signed up for the December exam and I absolutely 100% know that I will not score the best that I can, simply because I haven't taken hardly any TIMED exams. Yes, I know . Please everyone do not throw things at the screen. Given the three-test limit, does the value of going in to take the test with the full intention of canceling shortly after - still stand? Would it perhaps be better to withdraw and then take when fully confident and ready?? That way, I will still have two more chances if things go bad for some reason?


Thanks again for your time.

[David Boyle]

Hi Morgan and thanks for the link to Jon's post. It really helped answer some questions. I thought I'd keep to this thread rather than start a new one on the same issue. That being said, here' my question: I'm signed up for the December exam and I absolutely 100% know that I will not score the best that I can, simply because I haven't taken hardly any TIMED exams. Yes, I know . Please everyone do not throw things at the screen. Given the three-test limit, does the value of going in to take the test with the full intention of canceling shortly after - still stand? Would it perhaps be better to withdraw and then take when fully confident and ready?? That way, I will still have two more chances if things go bad for some reason?


Thanks again for your time.

Hello cecilia,

Re "Given the three-test limit, does the value of going in to take the test with the full intention of canceling shortly after - still stand?", do you mean that you are definitely going to cancel it, or just that you are ready to cancel it if you don't feel you did well? I haven't previously encountered anyone who said they would take a test and definitely cancel it. What would the point of taking that test be, then?
But if you are just ready to cancel it if you feel you didn't do well, that's up to you. If you somehow absolutely must go to law school right now and won't easily be able to take the test in the future, that could be one factor in moving you to take the test right now. But if you aren't under that time deadline, then of course, it could be prudent to take the test only when you feel you are ready for it.

Hope this helps,
David

[cecilia]

Sorry, wrote that post a little too quickly. What I meant was that I have already signed up for the exam and since I have already paid for it, even tho I am not ready to do my best on it, I thought what the heck, just take it for the experience at least. That was the "value" I was referring to. But then I worry that come retake time, when I am actually 100% psyched and ready that I will only have one more chance to take should something go wrong.

So, as the title of the thread alluded to, I was weighing whether to simply withdraw vs. going to take it and canceling it.
Thanks.

[David Boyle]

Sorry, wrote that post a little too quickly. What I meant was that I have already signed up for the exam and since I have already paid for it, even tho I am not ready to do my best on it, I thought what the heck, just take it for the experience at least. That was the "value" I was referring to. But then I worry that come retake time, when I am actually 100% psyched and ready that I will only have one more chance to take should something go wrong.

So, as the title of the thread alluded to, I was weighing whether to simply withdraw vs. going to take it and canceling it.
Thanks.

Hello cecilia,

"even tho I am not ready to do my best on it, I thought what the heck, just take it for the experience at least." That isn't something I'd recommend to anyone. If you want to take a practice test, you can do it at a Starbucks, or some other environment where people are around, if you want to simulate taking the test in a room with people. That would make much more sense than taking a real test when you know you're not going to do too well, "just for the experience". In fact, a bad experience could stress you out on any future tests, as you may "flash back" to the horrible test experience you had.
And if you're going to cancel the test anyway, it would be bad to, as you say above, throw away one of your three chances to take the test.

Hope this helps,
David

[manchas]

Thank you David. It does help. I much appreciate your candor!