LSAT/ Law School Questions

[Riverman]

Im taking the test Saturday. I have been told that if you think you did poorly you can cancel your score and law schools will never know you took it. Is this true, how long after do you have to do this, and how does one go about canceling a score?

Also, is it true that applying this late will hurt my chances of getting into a good school? My practice tests are between 165-170 so I'm gonna apply to some good schools

[TiK]

My understanding was that law schools will know that you took it, but not the score you got on it. If you cancel though, you won't know the score you got on it either.

[freekobe]

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My understanding was that law schools will know that you took it, but not the score you got on it. If you cancel though, you won't know the score you got on it either.

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This is WRONG. Plain and simple. Law schools know you took it before, and, in most cases, will AVERAGE your scores. Trust me. It happened to me.

Some schools will take your best score, but those schools are few and far between.

If you think you did poorly, cancel it. Plain and simple. There is no other alternative. A low LSAT score will kill your chances of getting into a top school.

[TiK]

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My understanding was that law schools will know that you took it, but not the score you got on it. If you cancel though, you won't know the score you got on it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is WRONG. Plain and simple. Law schools know you took it before, and, in most cases, will AVERAGE your scores. Trust me. It happened to me.

Some schools will take your best score, but those schools are few and far between.

If you think you did poorly, cancel it. Plain and simple. There is no other alternative. A low LSAT score will kill your chances of getting into a top school.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you read the OP, he asks "I have been told that if you think you did poorly you can cancel your score and law schools will never know you took it. Is this true," to which I replied "My understanding was that law schools will know that you took it, but not the score you got on it. If you cancel though, you won't know the score you got on it either." I assume you didn't cancel the scores that the law schools you applied to averaged together.

I apologize though if I was not clear. If you cancel your score, then the school can't see your score, but they know that you took it. I am unsure as to how that would influence the application process. I'm not sure as to how many days you get to cancel, it was definitely less than two weeks.

[SL__72]

I'm pretty sure you can cancell it right away if you feel you did bad...


Isn't 165-170 really good? I've also always found that I got a higher score on a real test then I did on practice ones because I was more focused/cared.


As for applying late, I'm sure it doesn't help your chances, but if you have a good GPA/LSAT score I'm not sure it really matters.

[Jesse Kidd]

170-173 on test scores, 164 on real....I ran out of time on the real one because I was rechecking crap way too much. Took it again and got a 172.

Most schools will average if the scores are close, but will give more weight to a higer score if there is a big difference, especially if you attach a note with your application explaining away the old score. Tulane even came right out and told me they were using my higher score in their evaluation.

Jesse

[OtisTheMarsupial]

Oh my god, try reading the LSAC website (http://www.lsac.org/)
Download the information book here http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=lsac/download-forms-guidelines-checklists.asp#usatitle=on

And the answer to your question is yes, but you only have like 3 days or something. I can't remember. And you can't see your results before you decide - you never see them. Basically, only do this if you just couldn't finish the test at all and you're really sure you did poorly.

If you don't do it in time and just retake the test, most schools will average the results. That's what I hear. I just took it once.

[RiverTheNuts]

I am a 4th year at the University of Arizona. It will probably take me 5 to graduate because I have slacked through my first few years. I am in a difficult major (Engineering Management) and was planning to graduate with a little under a 3.0 and thought about going to law school. I have taken practice tests and have scored consistantly over 170, most times 175+ ...

The fact is that I dont enjoy engineering all that much so I am unmotivated in classes alot, but I am a very good test taker with a pretty nice IQ and can do very well at these LSAT type reasoning tests.

What chances to I have to get into the different tiers of law schools, (if any) with a 2.9 from a public university, even if my LSAT is a frigging 180?

[Riverman]

If you get over 170 you can make up for a poor GPA from what I have been told.

I do know a guy (now at NYU) who had mediocre grades from Miami, OH and got into NYU and Columbia Law with a 172.

Being black helps the most- a black friend of mine from college got in to Harvard Law with a 158

[Black Aces 518]

I was in your spot, River.

I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a 3.55. I got a 176 on the LSAT and got into the University of Texas School of Law, with tuition reduced to in-state, and a stipend of $1000. So you can definitely still hit the top-tier schools. I also got admitted into NYU Law and waitlisted at Columbia. I got a very good scholarship offer from Vanderbilt.

[joker122]

http://www.chiashu.com/cgi-bin/lsac.cgi

it's a little overly optimistic because it uses old data, but it should give you a better idea.

[joker122]

yes you can cancel - you have 9 days to decide after taking the test.

applying late hurts a little bit, but schools leave spots open for the people who took the dec lsat. it won't hurt you that much at all.

[man]

is there something I'm missing? there's no information on this page, and nowhere to enter anything.

[beta1607]

I had a friend at UCLA who was a engineering major and graduated with like a 2.9 but got in the low 170's on the LSAT. He is at Georgetown Law now.

Being a engineering major will help you because the admissions people understand that your engineering GPA will be lower then the average English major's GPA who is applying.

[MasterShakes]

I don't think you're applying all that late. Ideally, yes, you want to apply earlier, but this doesn't strike me as late.

If you actually score 165-170, you'll get into a good school, assuming your undergrad grades were reasonably good (i.e. at least a 3.2 or so). You could actually get into some pretty good law schools with a lot less than that.

[joker122]

sorry, here's the right link.
http://www.chiashu.com/lsat.html

[Go_Blue88]

How do you not know the answers to these questions one week before you're taking the test? And ya, from what I've read, the earlier you apply, the better.

And to the guy who commented on his UCLA friend, getting a 170+ on the LSAT is 99%tile.
Also, I'm pretty sure Georgetown isn't a top 10 school.

[man]

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sorry, here's the right link.
http://www.chiashu.com/lsat.html

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thanks. this calculator is pretty money. of course it doesn't take into account that I go to a second-tier school, but meh.

[man]

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sorry, here's the right link.
http://www.chiashu.com/lsat.html

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courtesy of wackitywhiz. http://membres.lycos.fr/theczar/jimcarrey/photos-films/dumbanddumber/dumbanddumber10.jpg
so you're telling me there's a chance.

[cokehead]

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Also, is it true that applying this late will hurt my chances of getting into a good school?

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I didn't apply until the absolute last minute and did ok, prolly wasn't ideal though.

[joker122]

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sorry, here's the right link.
http://www.chiashu.com/lsat.html

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thanks. this calculator is pretty money. of course it doesn't take into account that I go to a second-tier school, but meh.

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contrary to popular belief, law schools take the caliber of your UG school into little consideration. i've done a ton of research on the admission process - it's pretty clear that numbers are numbers in the eyes of addcoms (admission board people). http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php#5 this message board is a great source of information and a place to get your questions answered.

edit - also, like i said, that calculator tends to be a little optimistic with its predictions. a more reliable calc is the one lsac.org provides, but i can't find a link to it.

[joker122]

lol

[cokehead]

http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/schools.php

has good info too

[OtisTheMarsupial]

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a more reliable calc is the one lsac.org provides, but i can't find a link to it.

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Here it is (http://officialguide.lsac.org/docs/cgi-bin/home.asp)