September or November LSAT?

[rach9577]

I made the mistake of taking the December LSAT last year shortly after a very close family member died and ended up completely choking (I only completed one game in my LG section), scoring a 159. I started studying again a couple months ago and am currently registered for the September LSAT. I am scoring in the mid 160s (and occasionally in the high 160s) on practice tests, but my biggest issue is speed, which I admittedly haven't been focusing on enough -- I typically only get a couple questions wrong out of the ones I get to, but don't usually finish LR and LG, so I lose additional points on those sections by randomly guessing in the last few seconds. I think I have a strong chance of improving my speed with more practice and should be able to score higher by the November test (hopefully in the 167-168 range).

I graduated in 2017 with a 3.98 GPA and decent extracurriculars and am currently working with kids at an elementary school as I hope to go into child advocacy or education law. My top schools are Berkeley and UCLA, which I realize are reaches for me. I have scored 168s on a couple practice tests so I know it is possible although not typical for me to do at the moment, so I'm wondering if I should take the September LSAT with the hopes that I can score well and apply earlier in the cycle or wait until I can more consistently reach 167-168 and apply in early/mid December after taking the November LSAT? Is that too late in the cycle to be competitive for those schools with my stats? Or should I take the September test and see what happens, but still register for November? My only worry with doing that is I have already taken the test once, so that would mean I'd potentially be taking the LSAT three times. Would it be better to wait and only take the test twice?

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Rach9577,
Generally you can expect your LSAT score to be within 5 points of what you are averaging on your practice LSATs. Since it seems that stress and time may be major factors, it sounds like you will probably be within the 160 range. However, since you are looking for high 160s and above it could make sense to delay. If the schools you want to go to average their LSAT scores you will need higher scores to raise the average that will include your December 2017 score of 159. If they simply take the highest score you just need to get to a point where you are somewhat consistently scoring around the score you want.
If you want to apply for early admission the June/Oct LSATs are usually the primary tests of that cycle are generally the tests you need to take. But early admission is not necessary to make you a competitive candidate for admission. Please keep in mind that your LSAT score is not the only thing that the admissions folks focus on when admitting students. Certainly higher scores will help with admissions and scholarships, but they are not an absolute bar that you need to cross in order to gain admission to the schools you want to attend. Your GPA, which is stellar, along with your personal statement (and other writing samples) as well as your your recommendations, are all important to your admission status.
It sounds like you have put in a lot of time and effort, and you are ready to take the test now. It may or may not result in the exact score that you are looking for, but it should be very close.
Hope that helps!
-Malila