Should I take the LSAT again?

[gordonma]

Hey guys... in June I got a 152 on my lsat... now im debating whether or not to take it again... In my kaplan course, my practice tests were 153, 155, 151, 156, 157 in that order. Come test day I somehow got a 152. i want to apply to schools like syracuse, penn state, seton hall, rutgers, etc, but im wondering if its worth taking the lsat again. Say i get a 157 (the best i pretested) it only averages to 154.5... is a 2 point increase really worth a second test, granted thats if i even top my score out. What do you guys think? should i go for it, or use my 152 and my 3.6 and cross my fingers? any advice would be helpful thanks!

[RockyMarciano]

Are you a URM? Anything special for example you did the Peace Corps or something? Do you want full time or part time?

[gordonma]

No urm, nothing too special... coming straight from college, tons of extracirriculars, great LOR from county judge and law school professor.

[GLOBALgal]

Kaplan sucks.  Try PowerScore or TM180.

[supergirluw]

you have plenty of time, assuming you aren't a single mother with 5 kids working full time as well, to study, even on your own. if you have money, take a course (powerscore, not kaplan, i have some choice words for them.) devote a set time of day for a set amount of time to studying. make it a habit. you'll improve. good luck!

[gordonma]

you have plenty of time, assuming you aren't a single mother with 5 kids working full time as well, to study, even on your own. if you have money, take a course (powerscore, not kaplan, i have some choice words for them.) devote a set time of day for a set amount of time to studying. make it a habit. you'll improve. good luck!

see thats the thing tho, i studied my ass off for this June test, i think i may just be a bad test taker... i studied practically 4 hours per day for the last month... which is why i was so suprised about my horrible score... im worried if i take the oct test, and i study my ass off again, i wont improve much, thus wondering if it will hurt me rather then help me. Pretty much im wondering is it better to take the chance for the possibility that i will improve, or will it look worse on my transcripts if i show little to minimal increase in scores?

[little_i]

i studied my ass off for this June test, i think i may just be a bad test taker... i studied practically 4 hours per day for the last month... which is why i was so suprised about my horrible score... im worried if i take the oct test, and i study my ass off again, i wont improve much, thus wondering if it will hurt me rather then help me.

Well, assuming that you're not just a bad test-taker, maybe you're studying hard, not smart. That's where PowerScore really helped me: learning to identify what the questions are actually asking, and shortcuts to finding the solutions. If you have drive (and it sounds like you do) this sort of guidance could be very beneficial.

[supergirluw]

you have plenty of time, assuming you aren't a single mother with 5 kids working full time as well, to study, even on your own. if you have money, take a course (powerscore, not kaplan, i have some choice words for them.) devote a set time of day for a set amount of time to studying. make it a habit. you'll improve. good luck!

see thats the thing tho, i studied my ass off for this June test, i think i may just be a bad test taker... i studied practically 4 hours per day for the last month... which is why i was so suprised about my horrible score... im worried if i take the oct test, and i study my ass off again, i wont improve much, thus wondering if it will hurt me rather then help me. Pretty much im wondering is it better to take the chance for the possibility that i will improve, or will it look worse on my transcripts if i show little to minimal increase in scores?

how bad were you sats/acts? how did you do on standardized testing in k-12? if you have a consistent record of scoring in the lower 50% percentile, then start working on an addendum and forget a second attempt. otherwise, get the lrb and lgb, look at where you were weak in june, and start studying.

[Atlas429]

Studing longer =/= studying better.

Just because you put in four hours a day prior to June, does not mean it was all quality work.

Did you use the LGB or LRB? I'm guessing not based on the fact you mentioned Kaplan. If you are serious about improving significantly, you owe it to yourself to check out those two books. Too many people have had positive exepriences with them to not include them in your prep.

My adivce: work through both bibles then take as many timed real prep tests as you can. After that, if you're seeing an improvement, retake.

If not, don't risk it.

[SCgrad]

I say don't retake it and apply to the schools you want to go to.  If you don't get into any of them, you can plan on taking a year off (advised by many of my current law school student friends and something I am now doing) and take the test again in June (which is the ass kickin time to take it anyway because it is at 1 PM.  If you get in, great, your set, if not, take the risk that you don't do much better.  If you do better, reapply with your one year work exp. and a complete transcript, you will improve your chances regardless. If you know you want to go to law school next year, apply to schools you think you can get into early (earlier is always better, at least after Oct., and take the test again.  You won't get your results until Dec., but if you do improve, you can apply to the schools you want to go to.  I don't know much about those schools, so I can't say anything about your chances.  As a white male without significant EC or any WE, I would look at the median LSAT and GPA at the schools and if yours is not at least at that level, your chances are not that great, but remember, there is no chance to get in if you don't apply (I know that is obvious).  Anyway, good luck and I hope at least something I said helps.