June vs. August LSAT

[alpacapotato]

Hi! I'm wondering if I should take the June or August LSAT for my second attempt.

I took the April LSAT last week, and it didn't feel my best. Since the deadline to cancel for June is only one day after score release, I'm planning as if I'm going to have to retake (but hoping I won't have to!).

I've been PTing in the 174-180 range, but the test day stress really got to me in April. LG is my best section during practice (regularly finish -0 with time left), but it stresses me out the most with the pressure of a real test sitting--I felt very strong through LR and RC on my actual test until I hit LG and wasted too much time double checking an easy game, which then really impacted my performance on the final section (scored LR). In general, however, I worry the most about LR, because it is so much harder to tell how I feel about the section overall; my typical practice test is around -2, but it's been anywhere between -4 to -0.

I'd like to aim for June, but I have travel plans right around the test dates, and I would have to take the test the morning of a wedding. I'll also have limited time to study from now until then, though I feel like my issue is test mentality; I'd only need to maintain my skill level.

Essentially, I'm wondering if it's worth it to just go for it, using up one of my test opportunities, since LG is going away. If it went poorly, I feel like I'd have a lot of time to just focus on LR until I felt ready for the new version of the test. However, will it look bad if I potentially have two cancellations upfront, which might make it look like I struggled with LG in particular?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi alpaca,

Given that LG is usually your best section, I'd recommend planning on taking the June LSAT.

While I fully understand the desire to be "one and done" and put the LSAT behind you, the fact that laws schools use only the highest score means that there is a strategic advantage to taking the test multiple times. Especially when scoring in the mid to high 170s, there's not a lot of room for error, so one bad incident (such as getting a game that you didn't completely understand) can potentially throw off your score.

Based on your PT scores, I agree with you that any potential issues that may lower your score would be largely due to test mentality/anxiety rather than a lack of understanding or ability, so you don't necessarily need a lot of studying at this point. (To be clear, I would still recommend some studying and taking periodic PTs to keep your skills fresh, but there's no need to overdue it and risk burn out.) Taking the actual LSAT more than once usually helps with test mentality/anxiety as well.

As to your final question of whether two cancellations would look bad, it's not ideal, but it's also not the end of the world. As long as you eventually get one really good score, that's what they will use. Worst case scenario is that a law school may ask you to explain it in an addendum, but I don't think that's likely for just 2 cancellations.

However, whether you actually should cancel your April and/or June score is a completely different question. Personally, I'd only cancel your April score if it is well below your PT averages. If it's just a few points (say within 5 points, for example) below your average, then I'd keep it. For one thing, it's very typical for people to score a few points below their PT average even when things go pretty smoothly on test day just due to nerves, etc.. If you have a decent score "on the books," then the decision of whether to cancel going forward becomes much easier. If your June test is better than April (even by 1 point), then keep it. Otherwise, cancel it. The main reason to cancel a score that is significantly lower than your PTs is to avoid having to write an addendum explaining it.

Finally, by taking the June LSAT, you'll be a part of LSAT history! Years from now, you can tell younger lawyers that you took the very last LSAT with logic games! It's the end of an era.