Hi Grace,
Thanks for the post, and good question! Ultimately, the decision is up to you, as either option is fine from an admissions standpoint. That is: if you cancel, schools will not be concerned with a single cancellation on your record. But, if you don't cancel a lower score, and then retake and receive a higher score, schools won't be overly concerned about that lower score. They really only care about your highest score.
Therefore, the answer would depend on how much lower than your goal you scored, and if you think you can achieve a higher score by your next retake. If you completely bombed the test (which won't happen, of course
) and/or are confident
for sure that you can achieve a much higher score on take 2, then consider cancelling it.
But if you're just a few points below your target score, then I'd personally keep it. This way, if you retake the test and if for some reason don't see an increase on take 2, at least you have a decent score on your record already!
You can use these resource to help make your decision (although of course keep in mind that the last two were written prior to the new score preview option):
https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/59/ 36:30 – Score preview option discussion.
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... or-cancel/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-33 ... ifference/
I hope this helps! Let us know if you have any additional questions! Thanks!
