LSAT Round 3??

[cmscott20]

Hi Powerscore!

I recently took the LSAT in October, receiving a 157. I aimed to increase this score in November, but when I took the November test my score went down by 2 points. I was pretty discouraged, and I fear that waiting to apply in January (and taking the January test) could hurt my chances of getting in to schools since it is later in the cycle. I think I could do better in January but again not sure if bumping up that LSAT score by 4 points or so is worth it. I am leaning towards taking my 157 and pressing on with applications. My GPA is a 3.62. Any advice?? Most schools I am looking at put me in the GPA range but the 157 score is slightly lower than the middle 50%.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi cmscott20!

If you think you can score better in January, take the LSAT again! A 4 point increase would significantly increase your chances. Check out the percentile table here: https://www.lsac.org/lsat-interpretive-guide/2019-2020. A 157 puts you at about the 66th percentile. If you could get that up to a 161, you'd be in the 80th percentile. That means you will have jumped over about 14% of test takers! It makes you a much more competitive candidate. Even a 1 point increase in your LSAT score would be more helpful to your acceptance chances than applying earlier. This is especially true in those scores in the middle of the bell curve where you're currently at. And January definitely isn't too late. In fact, look at what Dave tweeted just yesterday: https://twitter.com/DaveKilloran/status ... 07139?s=20. But if you want a more in depth discussion of how to decide whether or not to retake, check out this blog post: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/should ... -the-lsat/ and this podcast episode: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/2/.

The key, however, is that you need to increase that score in January. Here are a couple of resources to help you figure out how to study differently so you get that score increase you want:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/retaki ... our-score/
https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/3/. And here's a list of resources to help you review your performance on practice tests and practice questions: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... urce-list/. But if you feel like you're having trouble honestly assessing your weaknesses, you may benefit from a few hours with a tutor who can help you figure out what to focus on in your studying.

And I always like to remind people to focus on test mentality. Here's a list of blog posts about test mentality that you can pick and choose from, but I especially recommend the webinar at the top of the list: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... urce-list/

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey