159: Deciding whether to rewrite, cancel, etc.

[CndnViking]

For a bit of context, my last several practice tests fell between 164 and 169, but the week I actually wrote it was temultuous. I didn't sleep well, testing conditions weren't great, etc. and I wound up feeling like the test seemed harder than I was used to. Sure enough, the score came in as a 159.

So now I'm torn as to how to proceed. Most of the schools I was looking at applying to (Toronto, Queens, UBC, even Calgary or UAlberta) have averages ranging from 164-167, so I feel like mine could be a problem. Unfortunately the next opportunity to rewrite is in January and I was told in no uncertain terms by an admissions officer from Calgary that "most schools will accept a January LSAT, but will have already been sending out offers in December, so applying with a January LSAT will diminish your chances."

So now, I'm trying to figure out WTF to do....

- Do I take the gamble and rewrite in December, and just straight up cancel this one, in hopes I get more in my normal range next time?

- Do I gamble on the rewrite, but keep the 159?

- Do I keep it but lower the caliber of schools I apply to, and assume those ones are out of reach now?

- Or do I keep it, apply at the same set of schools, and hope that things like my mature student and disability status, and a pretty solid L2/B2 GPA (despite a "meh" CGPA) might get me in anyway?

Any (constructive) advice or perspectives would be appreciated... but it's been a really, REALLY rough week for me, so please try and be respectful about it.

[Aschenbach]

Rewrite. The people who get offers in December generally have high LSAT scores AND high GPAs so you most likely won't get considered until later in the cycle. I was in the same position as you, scored lower than my practice scores due to nerves and sitting next to a dude with horrible BO the entire test. Rewrote in January and got an offer from UBC a week after my LSAT score came out.

[CndnViking]

23 minutes ago, Aschenbach said:

Rewrote in January and got an offer from UBC a week after my LSAT score came out.

That's great to hear. Out of curiosity, would you be willing to share what the respective scores were? I'm curious how big a swing you had, and how well you did that you got into one of my target schools so quickly afterward.

Edited November 1, 2023 by CndnViking

[Aschenbach]

43 minutes ago, CndnViking said:

That's great to hear. Out of curiosity, would you be willing to share what the respective scores were? I'm curious how big a swing you had, and how well you did that you got into one of my target schools so quickly afterward.

Sure - I got 164 in November and ended up with 170 in January. My GPA was a bit on the low side for UBC (81.5% with drops) so I knew I had to get a higher LSAT score. Note this was 4 years ago before they took the personal statement into serious consideration.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Aschenbach

[Dghoul]

Testing lower than PT sucks. I had the same happen to me in April and I know that's depressing. But it is not likely to happen again. My recommendation is to take a break from prepping, maybe a week to clear your mind. But definitely takes the January test.

Don't overthink it: there's no reason to accept a low score knowing you can do better while having the chance to prove it.

Oh and don't cancel the 159 unless you already have a significantly higher score on record and have already paid for score preview.

[CndnViking]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:38 PM, Aschenbach said:

Sure - I got 164 in November and ended up with 170 in January. My GPA was a bit on the low side for UBC (81.5% with drops) so I knew I had to get a higher LSAT score. Note this was 4 years ago before they took the personal statement into serious consideration.

Honestly UBC worries me cause of that weird GPA calculation system. By my math I only have around an 82.8% by their system, so I'm not sure if there's even really a point applying there - but I've kept them on my consideration list because I love Vancouver and to end up out there after grad would be great.

Thanks for sharing. Honestly if I'd gotten the 164 the first time I don't think I'd even bother re-writing, so good on you.

On 11/1/2023 at 12:58 PM, Dghoul said:

Testing lower than PT sucks. I had the same happen to me in April and I know that's depressing. But it is not likely to happen again. My recommendation is to take a break from prepping, maybe a week to clear your mind. But definitely takes the January test.

Don't overthink it: there's no reason to accept a low score knowing you can do better while having the chance to prove it.

Oh and don't cancel the 159 unless you already have a significantly higher score on record and have already paid for score preview.

I mean, there are reasons. I think I laid out my biggest one: worrying that delaying consideration until after the January results come out will hurt my admission chances - but then there's also the additional costs, another 2.5 months of stressing about this, etc. But yeah, I hear what you're saying. It's already been a couple weeks off of prepping, as I had to wait for results to come out, but rewriting is starting to feel like the way to go.

I think even if it had been a little low, like say a 163-164, I might have accepted that, but when my last practice test was a 168, that's like a 9 point drop.... and that's hard to accept.

[Dghoul]

Now, right after receiving a disappointing score, the idea of another 2 months of preping feels especially bleak. But don't let that temporary mindset affect your decision-making for the long term.

[Forever Curious]

Rewrite. Also, reflect on your performance and skills and try to think critically about what you need to improve. Are you struggling with time? Logic games? Anxiety?  

 

Whatever it is, be honest and reflective about what’s hurting you. 

[Spinnaker]

I don't think there is any benefit in canceling an LSAT score. If anything, it would only be negative because your application won't even be complete nor considered until after the end of January when your January LSAT test score comes out. Canadian Law schools only use the highest LSAT score for admissions decisions. 

[CndnViking]

@Spinnaker Just to clarify a couple things....

On 11/3/2023 at 10:50 AM, Spinnaker said:

I don't think there is any benefit in canceling an LSAT score. If anything, it would only be negative because your application won't even be complete nor considered until after the end of January when your January LSAT test score comes out. 

From what I'm told, if I say I'm writing in January, that's going to be the case one way or the other. I can't say with certainty that's the case for EVERY school, but both Calgary and Queen's told me that if your application indicates you're writing in January, they consider it incomplete until January scores come out, and don't look at it until then - whether there's other scores on it or not, and they heavily implied that's the norm across other schools as well.

On 11/3/2023 at 10:50 AM, Spinnaker said:

Canadian Law schools only use the highest LSAT score for admissions decisions. 

That's also not what admissions officers are saying. To paraphrase what the Calgary officer told me: your best score is what's considered as your actual LSAT score for hard stat purposes, which get you lumped into the group of applications with similar hard stats, but then when looking at things like resumes, ECs, essays, etc. to differentiate between them she said "other attempts are seen and considered." In fact, she indicated that even having more than one writing on your record at all is considered a mild negative mark. The example she used is even an applicant who'd written twice and got 2 165s would be considered slightly lesser than one who wrote once and got a single 165.

So it might not matter THAT MUCH, compared to other things, but it apparently does matter to some extent.

Edited November 6, 2023 by CndnViking

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

I think you're overthinking it - the 159 will not be a black stain on your record. I think you're fine if you take a few months to review previous PTs and study before January. A 159 is a strong first take (in my opinion) with test-day nerves and other auxiliary factors considered.