Two LSAT Cancellations? Keep or Cancel?

[stressedaboutlaw]

Hello! So.. my worst case scenario came true. I took the January 2023 LSAT for the first time, did not do great, and cancelled my score. I took the LSAT for a second time in September and managed to score TWO points WORSE than the Jan LSAT I cancelled. I am really stressing out about if I should cancel my score or keep it - only if it would really look that bad to T-14 schools to have two cancellations. For context, I am also registered for the October 2023 exam. My September score is MUCH lower than any of my target school averages, and so I want to cancel the score but don't know if there's any merit to avoiding having two cancellations on my record. The September test was a bit of a fluke for me as I panicked and really got in my head during the exam.
I have to decide before October 3rd if I'm cancelling my September score... I appreciate anyone's help!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Stressed,

So I'm thinking here that your PT average must be higher by at least a few points than your two prior attempts. Assuming so, I'd cancel this one. At the least you KNOW you can do better than this past attempt because you did better in January. Does that put the pressure on in October? Yes a bit because you don't want three cancels, but even that wouldn't be the end of the world. Cancel this and focus on October without worrying about the so-called "permanent record."

Btw, if your PT average isn't typically higher than this score, then I'm wondering why you cancelled January, but that's a different conversation.

Thanks!

[stressedaboutlaw]

Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for replying, it's hugely appreciated!
I'll elaborate here because my initial post was a bit vague. I took the January 2023 LSAT for the first time, got a 162, and cancelled my score. Maybe in retrospect I shouldn't have cancelled the 162, but I didn't have too much information understanding cancellations at the time, and I'd taken the Jan LSAT before I was properly prepared for the exam because I originally thought I was going to try to apply last admissions cycle.
After a lot more studying and scoring 166-170 on PTs, I took the LSAT for a second time in September and got a 160, which was extremely disappointing because I had been so much more prepared than I was in January, but I panicked during the exam.
I am planning on keeping the October LSAT score no matter what.

I'm definitely leaning towards cancelling my September score based on your advice, but is it a huge red flag to law schools to have 2 cancellations on my record? I am planning to submit all my law school applications before Nov 1st (when October scores come out), so my biggest fear of keeping my Sept score is that they'll judge my file based on a 160 LSAT which is MUCH lower than any of my target school averages.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Stressed,

I see from your original post that the deadline to cancel has passed.

The good news is that I don't think either decision (whether you canceled or chose not to cancel) will have a significant negative impact on your admissions, so long as you finish strong with a great score in October.

I would have recommended canceling based on the information that you provided, but keeping a 160 is fine too. Keep in mind that it's quite common/normal for people to score a few points (about 2-3) lower on the real test even when things go relatively smoothly, but if you score 5 or more points below your PT averages, then that's a good reason to consider canceling.

While some law schools may require an explanation regarding two cancellations, I expect most will not really care.