The scores from the October LSAT are out, and no doubt some of you are unhappy with the results.  What’s next for you — a retake  in December, applying with the October score, or putting off law school for another year?

To seriously answer the question of whether you should retake the exam, it’s important to first honestly assess what happened with this test administration:

• Did you prepare as well as could have been expected, given all the other constraints on your time — learning the exam inside out, repeatedly practicing individual sections, and taking several full-length practice tests?  Or did you kind of blow off your prep, especially toward the end, after school started again?  Can you realistically expect to prepare substantially differently in the six weeks remaining before the December 3rd test? (And remember that’s right before the last week of classes, heading into finals.)
• Did anything happen around the time of the test that would adversely affect your performance — a breakup, a family medical crisis, a series of unfortunately timed school assignments, extraordinary lack of sleep, a monumental hangover?
• Did you face serious unexpected test anxiety, unlike anything you had experienced in prior standardized tests?  Shaking hands, inability to focus, paralyzing nervousness?

In the absence of obviously inadequate preparation, an unforeseeable disaster, or unexpected serious test anxiety, you are unlikely to increase your score by more than the 2-3 points that is the LSAC average for retakers.  More sobering is that, historically, as many as 25-30% of retakers who scored 140-159 on their first test received either the same or a lower score the second time around. (More detail on the retake statistics available here.)

Beyond the questions above, you need to consider how law schools regard multiple LSAT scores.  Some schools average the score (as LSAC used to recommend, until about 5 years ago), while others give you the benefit of the higher score.   So a 4 point jump, at many schools, becomes only a 2 point jump. All schools see all scores.

Next you should weigh the potential benefit of a higher score against the potential cost of getting your applications in later in the admissions season.  Most law schools make decisions on a rolling basis, and earlier applications are, in general, more successful than later applications.  If you take the December test, your score will be available after the holidays, so your application will not be reviewed until January (assuming you complete the rest of your application by then). If you apply now with your October score, you should be able to complete your applications by Thanksgiving.  If you do retake the December test, you MUST notify each school that you are retaking, in order to prevent them from reviewing your application based on your October score.

Finally, take a minute to step back from the consideration of this one facet of your application process to think again about why you are applying to law school in the first place, and what you hope to get out of the experience.  Your LSAT score has an impact on where you to go law school, certainly.  But it is significantly less likely to have the power to determine whether you go to law school at all (your options only start to dry up completely if you score in the mid-140s or below).  It says nothing about what kind of lawyer you will be.  Yes, some schools are more selective than others, at least as far as that can be measured with median GPAs and LSATs.  But the 200 ABA-approved law schools are far more similar than they are different, and all will prepare you well for legal practice.  A less selective school is not a lower quality school, not by any meaningful measure: a school’s median LSAT has nothing to do with the quality of instruction, the rigor of its clinical programs, or even its reputation among hiring attorneys.

In short, your lower than expected LSAT score might send you to a different law school from the ones you’d been contemplating, but it has no relationship whatsoever to how successful you’ll be as a law student or lawyer.

Many of you are taking the LSAT this coming Monday, and I wanted to offer both my best wishes, as well as a few last minute tips.

• First off, it’s time to taper off from studying — there’s not much more that studying and/or practice can do for you now except make you more stressed out and tired. Rather, it’s time to get your mind and body in shape.
• No more alcohol for the week! (yes, that includes the weekend)
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Eat well (but nothing you haven’t tried before that might upset your stomach). Have breakfast Monday morning, and then an early lunch, and bring a snack for the break. Don’t forget to hydrate — this is a physical endurance event almost as much as a mental one, and your body needs fluids.
• If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, Monday is not the time to start! Shaky hands aren’t good during the exam.
• Make sure you know in advance exactly where you need to be on Monday and how you’re getting there (and where you’ll park, if applicable). These are not things you want to worry about on the day of the test.
• Don’t forget to breathe. I mean this literally. During the exam, tension can make your breathing patterns irregular, and interrupt the normal oxygen flow to your brain. Every 15 minutes or so, take a quick break to breathe deeply a few times and get your body back on track.
• Stretch. See above – this will get the oxygen and blood flowing again.
• Relax. I know you’re rolling your eyes at this one. But the truth is, this test does not determine the outcome of the rest of your life. At most, it helps determine which law schools you have a likelihood of getting admitted to. All 200 of the ABA-accredited law schools are good schools that will give you the education necessary to go on to be successful attorneys.
• No, I really mean it, relax. The other thing you need to relax about right now is the rest of the application process.  By taking the June LSAT, you are putting yourself way ahead of the game, so you get a break before you need to focus on the various components of the application.  Use that break wisely to recharge yourself for the adventure ahead.

Good luck to all of you!

Many of you are taking the LSAT this Saturday, and I wanted to offer both my best wishes, as well as a few last minute tips.

• First off, it’s time to taper off from studying — there’s not much more that studying and/or practice can do for you now except make you more stressed out and tired. Rather, it’s time to get your mind and body in shape.
• No more alcohol for the week!
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Eat well (but nothing you haven’t tried before that might upset your stomach!). Have breakfast Saturday morning, and bring a snack for the break.  Don’t forget to hydrate — this is a physical endurance event almost as much as a mental one, and your body needs fluids.
• If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, Saturday morning is not the time to start! Shaky hands aren’t good during the exam.
• Make sure you know in advance exactly where you need to be on Saturday and how you’re getting there (and where you’ll park, if applicable). These are not things you want to worry about on the day of the test.
• Don’t forget to breathe. I mean this literally. During the exam, tension can make your breathing patterns irregular, and interrupt the normal oxygen flow to your brain. Every 15 minutes or so, take a quick break to breathe deeply a few times and get your body back on track.
• Stretch. See above – this will get the oxygen and blood flowing again.
• Relax. I know you’re rolling your eyes at this one. But the truth is, this test does not determine the outcome of the rest of your life. At most, it helps determine which law schools you have a likelihood of getting admitted to. All 200 of the ABA-accredited law schools are good schools that will give you the education necessary to go on to be successful attorneys.
• No, I really mean it, relax. The other thing you need to relax about right now is the rest of your application materials.  This week is about the LSAT; you can turn to the rest on December 11th (after an appropriate and well-earned day of rest).  Scores won’t be available to the schools until the first week of January, so you still have several weeks to finish your personal statements, resumes, and other application materials.  I’ll be around through December and January to answer any questions and give feedback on personal statement drafts.

Good luck to all of you!

The scores from the October LSAT are out, and no doubt some of you are unhappy with the results.  What’s next for you — a retake  in December, applying with the October score, or putting off law school for another year?

To seriously answer the question of whether you should retake the exam, it’s important to first honestly assess what happened with this test administration:

• Did you prepare as well as could have been expected, given all the other constraints on your time — learning the exam inside out, repeatedly practicing individual sections, and taking several full-length practice tests?  Or did you kind of blow off your prep, especially toward the end, after school started again?  Can you realistically expect to prepare substantially differently in the six weeks remaining before the December 11th test? (And remember that’s the day after classes end, right as we’re going into finals.)
• Did anything happen around the time of the test that would adversely affect your performance — a breakup, a family medical crisis, a series of unfortunately timed school assignments, extraordinary lack of sleep, a monumental hangover?
• Did you face serious unexpected test anxiety, unlike anything you had experienced in prior standardized tests?  Shaking hands, inability to focus, paralyzing nervousness?

In the absence of obviously inadequate preparation, an unforeseeable disaster, or unexpected serious test anxiety, you are unlikely to increase your score by more than the 2-3 points that is the LSAC average for retakers.  More sobering is that, historically, as many as 25-30% of retakers who scored 140-159 on their first test received either the same or a lower score the second time around. (More detail on the retake statistics available here.)

Beyond the questions above, you need to consider how law schools regard multiple LSAT scores.  Some schools average the score (as LSAC used to recommend, until about 5 years ago), while others give you the benefit of the higher score.   So a 4 point jump, at many schools, becomes only a 2 point jump. All schools see all scores.

Next you should weigh the potential benefit of a higher score against the potential cost of getting your applications in later in the admissions season.  Most law schools make decisions on a rolling basis, and earlier applications are, in general, more successful than later applications.  If you take the December test, your score will be available after the holidays, so your application will not be reviewed until January (assuming you complete the rest of your application by then). If you apply now with your October score, you should be able to complete your applications by Thanksgiving.  If you do retake the December test, you MUST notify each school that you are retaking, in order to prevent them from reviewing your application based on your October score.

Finally, take a minute to step back from the consideration of this one facet of your application process to think again about why you are applying to law school in the first place, and what you hope to get out of the experience.  Your LSAT score has an impact on where you to go law school, certainly.  But it is significantly less likely to have the power to determine whether you go to law school at all (your options only start to dry up completely if you score in the mid-140s or below).  It says nothing about what kind of lawyer you will be.  Yes, some schools are more selective than others, at least as far as that can be measured with median GPAs and LSATs.  But the 200 ABA-approved law schools are far more similar than they are different, and all will prepare you well for legal practice.  A less selective school is not a lower quality school, not by any meaningful measure: a school’s median LSAT has nothing to do with the quality of instruction, the rigor of its clinical programs, or even its reputation among hiring attorneys.

In short, your lower than expected LSAT score might send you to a different law school from the ones you’d been contemplating, but it has no relationship whatsoever to how successful you’ll be as a law student or lawyer.