Retaker question

[Mw22390]

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[txdude45]

@Mw22390

So long story short, I’ll be retaking in either Oct or Dec and applying next cycle. I have already taken the test twice scoring a 155 and then a 159. My diagnostic was about a 155, so you could guess I didn’t take studying very seriously (I think two weeks for the first time and a month for the second, with no real structure). This time I will be taking studying very seriously. I’m thinking this will really be my indicator of whether I ought to attend law school, if I don’t score around 170 I don’t think I’ll be attending. My question is, is there anything I should know for applying next year? My Gpa is a 3.9. Will this being my second retake hurt me significantly? I’m sure this is a topic that has been discussed before, so please direct me to a relevant thread if you don’t feel like answering this

If the schools are just happy to see 3.9/170, you’ll probably be fine. If they aren’t happy to see 155/159 and ask you about it, you should have a better answer than that you didn’t take the test seriously. If it were only once, I think you could pass it off as not knowing much about the test, but to blow off studying twice may make them question your commitment to going to law school. If you hit that 170, you’ll want to write an addendum and need to have something convincing to say.

That being said, I think the conventional wisdom of “apply early” won’t be productive for you. Even if you have a future test on record with the LSAC, the schools will still see 3.9/155/159 and may assume the score will be similar to that. I may be wrong about this. They may see nothing until the last score is in, but someone else can clarify.

[Micdiddy]

@txdude45

@Mw22390

So long story short, I’ll be retaking in either Oct or Dec and applying next cycle. I have already taken the test twice scoring a 155 and then a 159. My diagnostic was about a 155, so you could guess I didn’t take studying very seriously (I think two weeks for the first time and a month for the second, with no real structure). This time I will be taking studying very seriously. I’m thinking this will really be my indicator of whether I ought to attend law school, if I don’t score around 170 I don’t think I’ll be attending. My question is, is there anything I should know for applying next year? My Gpa is a 3.9. Will this being my second retake hurt me significantly? I’m sure this is a topic that has been discussed before, so please direct me to a relevant thread if you don’t feel like answering this

If the schools are just happy to see 3.9/170, you’ll probably be fine. If they aren’t happy to see 155/159 and ask you about it, you should have a better answer than that you didn’t take the test seriously. If it were only once, I think you could pass it off as not knowing much about the test, but to blow off studying twice may make them question your commitment to going to law school. If you hit that 170, you’ll want to write an addendum and need to have something convincing to say.

That being said, I think the conventional wisdom of “apply early” won’t be productive for you. Even if you have a future test on record with the LSAC, the schools will still see 3.9/155/159 and may assume the score will be similar to that. I may be wrong about this. They may see nothing until the last score is in, but someone else can clarify.

I highly doubt any school will “ask” about your earlier scores (unless they have a mandatory interview they might). Retake, and apply based on your highest score and you’ll generally be fine.

[jbagelboy]

It used to always be recommended to write an Addendum to explain a significant jump in score (8+ points).

Now I feel that with hardly any schools employing an averaging method for admissions, addenda for previous LSAT’s no longer serve much of a purpose (almost always still a good idea for a low GPA though)

If USNWR went back to averaging reported LSAT scores, LSAC would lose a crapload of money from retakers. What a scam.