OFFICIAL "OMG Should I Retake, Apply, or Give Up and Become a Fry Cook?" Thread

[meggo]

I understand snickersnicker - after my June LSAT i was SO shocked at my score. I thought I was 165 at the lowest, and there you have it.  To be honest, as a re-taker, and in your case I don't think it has to do with studying. I'm sure you put in a lot of work, and I saw your PT scores and honestly - some people just do not excel at standardized testing and I've come to accept that I am one of them.  I do believe 100% that the LSAT is a learnable test, but there are a lot of other factors that happen on test day (stress/nerves/writing in a room with hundreds of others). I know that I'm capable of higher than the score I got (I don't even remember the last time I got a 163 doing a PT) and for all my courses, I in fact excel at exams, but for some reason with this little test, I overthink the questions or something. So try not to be too disheartened. A 166 is not terrible at all and you have an excellent gpa. You should definitely retake because Georgetown looks at the highest anyway don't they? And honestly, I believe the incidence of retakes will only increase over the years. Try not to look at it as the end but just a hiccup along the line, and thankfully you've got a lot of time to sort everything out.

[quepasa]

I'm kinda afraid to sign up for the December test and waste another month of my life and hundreds of dollars.

the price for lsat-to going up 

[Poetgirl80]

SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME! I need some kind of encouraging advice. I'm begging for someone to make me feel better.

I have a 3.9 at a well respected state school in Texas. I'm smart, hard working, and have no doubt I will succeed in law school. Oh yeah...except I completely MESSED UP the October test!!! I made a..cringe...156. I was scoring 163 - 167 on PTS. Am I screwed? Did this score just completely trump 4 years of hard academic work? I'm absolute wreck and I'm GOING CRAZY!! I have high expectations for myself and I feel as if I ruined them all....I'm obviously retaking it but I'm scared shitless.

I'm at SMU now (1L). My friend got a 3.9 from UTD with a 157 and got into SMU FT-day. (not a minority... no impressive work experience)... it's all a crap-shoot. Good luck!

[blairchuckalways]

Finally back on LSD! Yayyy!

So here's my two cents on this whole October LSAT retake or my life is over shizzzz:

If this is your second test, I'm not posting in reference to you, because I don't really know how to advise based on my experience having taken only one.

However, if October 08 was your first, and you performed comparably to me, which was around 7 points lower than your practice average (PT 172; Real: 165), then maybe what I say will help ease the reality check.

First, take some time off to think about whether you can do better. Did you miss questions all on one RC passage? Was your timing off? Did you zonk out in the fifth section because you practiced with four-section tests? Or was it something less concrete, something less addressable?

For me, I was devastated when I first saw my score. However, I realized that while I might not get into a T14 with it, it still is good enough to get me into a number 15/16, which isn't the end of the world. Repeat: not going to a T14 isn't the end of the world.

This realization in mind, and knowing that many of my mistakes occurred at the ends of sections (rushing, timekeeping problems), I became less stressed about the whole retake thing. I know I have a decent test score under my belt, and the world won't come crashing down into pieces if I don't hit exactly where I want. I believe this lack of pressure to perform will ironically help me do better on my retake.

I will be retaking, however, in June 09. I know that rushing to retake in December will not yield some magical 7 point increase, and I also know that postponing applying to law school for a year will help me save money to pay off that 1L year that I won't be working (probably), and will also give me additional life/job experience that actually may boost my admissions chances. Perhaps a year off for some of you could help as well?


Anyway, so that's where I'm at with this process. My 2 cents on the matter, I know this is a stressful and crazy time for many of you, and I wish you all the BEST of luck!

Cheers!

[wally2002]

Hey dudes

I am in the same boat.  Scoring around 160 during the practice tests and getting a 154 on the October test.  It through me off.  I must take it again in December.  I think ill be more prepared.

What does everyone think about how to tell this to universities.  Is that just another attachment to my application?