Should I retake? 4-5 points lower than PT

[vsting]

With a 160 / 3.9 I'm pretty sure my current LSAT score takes me out of the running for UCLA/USC
From what I hear, 4-5 points lower on the real LSAT is pretty standard... Does this mean I probably shouldn't retake?

[ilikefood]

well...i dont know how to give u advice but to give you my own situation.

i was testing 169-171 (very tight range, i know) before the sept 2006 LSAT. i got a 166. decided to retake after much consideration. hardly studied. maybe did 3-4 prep tests again before the test and reviewed powerscore bibles. got 173.

i dont think i'm an anomaly or anything...so if you felt unusually stressed during the LSAT or feel you ddint perform as well as you could have...then maybe you should. if you test your preptest range in the mid 160's you have a pretty good shot at USC.

[Ersatz]

How many PTs have you taken? Is your ~165 LSAT average based on 5, 10, or 20 prep tests?

Without knowing how consistent you are in your scores, and especially without knowing how you behave under real testing conditions, no one will be able to tell you whether you should retake or not.

How did you feel while / after taking the real LSAT?

[vsting]

I've taken about 10 prep tests and also a prep course.

I felt pressed for time on the LR (which along with RC is one of my strengths, weakness is LG no matter how much practice I do), and like many people on this board I was averaging about 2-3 wrong on RC only to end up with -6 on the real thing.

During the test I was focused and there weren't any major distractions during the test. Afterwards I was disappointed because I felt like this particular LSAT played to my strengths (LR experimental and LG in one of the later 2 sections), but I did feel like I did what I could with the time I had. (But I might be like many people on this board who found out a couple days ago that this LSAT might have been harder than it looked at first glance.

[Hey Now]

Well the RC seems to be getting harder, so older tests may not accurately predict future performance if you cannot adjust to this change.  You also need to determine how accurately you are simulating testing conditions.  The smallest things can have an impact on the accuracy of your practice tests (for me, drinking water during the test helped keep me sharp in practice, and had an impact when I was in the real test).  There's no hard rule that says you drop 4 points on the real test, so if you think you can do better then retake.

[bobknob]

I don't think the 4-5 thing is a true rule at all. And if you spend more time studying, you'll definitely become better and more consistent. It's more of a question of whether you want to wait another year than anything.

[ciao-a-bunga]

I don't think the 4-5 thing is a true rule at all. And if you spend more time studying, you'll definitely become better and more consistent. It's more of a question of whether you want to wait another year than anything.

I don't know if this is necessarily true... I suspect that sometimes over-studying is the culprit, and you get burned out come test day.  At least, I think that's what happened in my case.

[StudentUVA]

It depends. What happened on the test that made you score lower? Did you mess something up that you think you can improve on by next time?

[Slumdog Lovebutton]

well...i dont know how to give u advice but to give you my own situation.

i was testing 169-171 (very tight range, i know) before the sept 2006 LSAT. i got a 166. decided to retake after much consideration. hardly studied. maybe did 3-4 prep tests again before the test and reviewed powerscore bibles. got 173.

i dont think i'm an anomaly or anything...so if you felt unusually stressed during the LSAT or feel you ddint perform as well as you could have...then maybe you should. if you test your preptest range in the mid 160's you have a pretty good shot at USC.

we're numbers twins