Retaking the LSAT

[elavoy]

Hello,

I first took the LSAT in June 2014 and scored 157, which is not a bad score just not in the range of some of the schools I want to go to. I'm registered to retake the LSAT in October 2015 but I'm wondering how big an increase of my current score will be balanced by taking the test a second time. And when is an addendum is appropriate for multiple LSAT scores.
My GPA is just average at a 3.39 which is in the 25th percentile of my ideal schools. My current score is just on the outside of the 25th percentile of the schools I really want to go to. Currently, my practice test scores are in the 160-162 range. If my score increase is 5 points which puts my score into the median range, how will the schools look at the two test scores?

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Elavoy,

Thanks for the question! It's a key question, and it's one that has been the subject of some misunderstandings over the years, primarily because the ABA and law schools have changed the policy on interpreting scores.

It used to be that taking the LSAT multiple times was a concern. Law schools almost exclusively used your average score for admissions purposes, and so even if you had a big increase, you were often held back by a lower previous score. And if for some reason you scored lower on that second test? Ugh, you just shot yourself in the foot. Here's the good great news: all that has changed, and law schools now use just your high score when examining your application. So, if you score a 162 on the October LSAT, then law schools will use that 162, and they won't worry about the 157. It will be on your score report, of course, but these days the lower scores are a non-factor. For more on this, read the guest post on our blog from our friends over at Spivey Consulting: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/do-law- ... a-negative. Mike Spivey has worked at multiple top law schools in the admissions office and as a Dean, so when he says "the high score means everything and the only thing to a school's median LSAT and rankings, and all other scores/takes are meaningless," you can take it as fact

Bottom line is that when you score higher, it won't be an issue at all, you won't need to write an addendum, and it will only help you.

Please let me know if that helps out. Thanks!