Retaking a High LSAT

[feisty-nail]

Hello! I recently took the LSAT and got a pretty high score, but a couple points under what I had been averaging. I was wondering at what score it looks bad to law schools to retake? I imagine that retaking, say, a 179 shows questionable judgement, but where is the line? And if any staff members see this, at what score would you still recommend someone retake? Thanks in advance!

[Dave Killoran]

Depends on where you are applying. If you are above the 75th at a school, they don't care about another, higher score. Usually to them it looks like you are retaking to get into an even "better" school.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi feisty-nail,

First, a "pretty high score" means different things to different people, so the first question that I would ask you would be what exact score did you get and how does it compare to the laws schools that you are considering.

For example, if you are scoring in the high 170s, retaking it to shoot for that perfect 180 may be overkill, although I understand the temptation, especially for people who are perfectionists by nature. I don't think that the most competitive law schools would necessarily view that as a bad thing, as high-achieving, Type A personalities are in many ways qualities that they expect.

Second, it is very typical for students to score a few (i.e. 2-3) points lower on the real LSAT compared to their practice tests, even when things go relatively smoothly on test day, probably due to test anxiety, stress, etc.. Of course, this doesn't happen to everyone, but it is a general trend and therefore really isn't surprising. (Ideally, students practice test scores should be a few points higher than their target score to have a bit of a "cushion" for this very reason.)

However, students do generally score better the second time, partly due to additional studying/practice but partly due to increased comfort level/familiarity.

If you've only taken the LSAT once and believe that you have a good chance of improving your score (even by a point or two, because every point counts), then retaking it makes sense. If you've already taken the LSAT multiple times, then it may become a more difficult decision, but is still worth considering if you are under LSAC's limit.

If you do decide to retake it, you definitely should get score preview because the worst thing that could happen is that you retake it, have a bad day for whatever reason, and your score actually goes down (and you don't cancel it). This would look bad and may require an addendum explaining what happened. If you do cancel that score, however, no harm, no foul (assuming that is your one and only score cancellation).

Below is a link to Dave Killoran's blog post on this very topic. (Be sure to also check the comments section where Dave answers student's questions regarding specific situations that may be similar to yours.)

https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/should ... -the-lsat/

[feisty-nail]

Hi feisty-nail,

First, a "pretty high score" means different things to different people, so the first question that I would ask you would be what exact score did you get and how does it compare to the laws schools that you are considering.

For example, if you are scoring in the high 170s, retaking it to shoot for that perfect 180 may be overkill, although I understand the temptation, especially for people who are perfectionists by nature. I don't think that the most competitive law schools would necessarily view that as a bad thing, as high-achieving, Type A personalities are in many ways qualities that they expect.

Second, it is very typical for students to score a few (i.e. 2-3) points lower on the real LSAT compared to their practice tests, even when things go relatively smoothly on test day, probably due to test anxiety, stress, etc.. Of course, this doesn't happen to everyone, but it is a general trend and therefore really isn't surprising. (Ideally, students practice test scores should be a few points higher than their target score to have a bit of a "cushion" for this very reason.)

However, students do generally score better the second time, partly due to additional studying/practice but partly due to increased comfort level/familiarity.

If you've only taken the LSAT once and believe that you have a good chance of improving your score (even by a point or two, because every point counts), then retaking it makes sense. If you've already taken the LSAT multiple times, then it may become a more difficult decision, but is still worth considering if you are under LSAC's limit.

If you do decide to retake it, you definitely should get score preview because the worst thing that could happen is that you retake it, have a bad day for whatever reason, and your score actually goes down (and you don't cancel it). This would look bad and may require an addendum explaining what happened. If you do cancel that score, however, no harm, no foul (assuming that is your one and only score cancellation).

Below is a link to Dave Killoran's blog post on this very topic. (Be sure to also check the comments section where Dave answers student's questions regarding specific situations that may be similar to yours.)

https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/should ... -the-lsat/

Thanks for the detailed response! I got a 174 to be exact, which is either perfectly on par or one point below my top schools’ 75th. My GPA is around the 25th, so i’m hoping I can really make up for it with my LSAT. It’s only my first take, and I do think I can do better, my only real concern is if that would make my target schools think I am aiming for HYS and lower my chances.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi feisty-nail,

First, congratulations on the 174! That is an excellent score!

Given the fact that your GPA is around the 25th percentile of your target schools, I think it makes complete sense to consider retaking the LSAT if you think you can get a higher score.

Personally, in that situation, I don't think that any law schools would necessarily assume that a retake would only be for the purposes of shooting for HYS. Even if they did make that assumption, I would be surprised if that were held against you (assuming that you didn't apply to a binding early decision somewhere).

To be clear, I don't have any data on this specific situation; this is merely my personal intuition.

[feisty-nail]

Depends on where you are applying. If you above the 75th at a school, they don't care about another, higher score. Usually to them it looks like you are retaking to get into an even "better" school.

Okay, good to know. Is there much of a difference between being exactly at the 75th vs. being above it? Both for admission chances and for how they look at a retake?

[feisty-nail]

Hi feisty-nail,

First, congratulations on the 174! That is an excellent score!

Given the fact that your GPA is around the 25th percentile of your target schools, I think it makes complete sense to consider retaking the LSAT if you think you can get a higher score.

Personally, in that situation, I don't think that any law schools would necessarily assume that a retake would only be for the purposes of shooting for HYS. Even if they did make that assumption, I would be surprised if that were held against you (assuming that you didn't apply to a binding early decision somewhere).

To be clear, I don't have any data on this specific situation; this is merely my personal intuition.

Thanks! I appreciate the advice.

[Dave Killoran]

Depends on where you are applying. If you above the 75th at a school, they don't care about another, higher score. Usually to them it looks like you are retaking to get into an even "better" school.

Okay, good to know. Is there much of a difference between being exactly at the 75th vs. being above it? Both for admission chances and for how they look at a retake?

Nope, there is no difference there. Essentially there's no "extra credit" for going above the 75th, assuming the 75th stays static.

Thanks!