What happens if you retake the LSAT and get a lower score?

Asked by: Ignatius Anderson MD  |  Last update: January 7, 2023
Score: 4.2/5 (15 votes)

If you are deciding whether to retake, the good news is that law schools currently put very little if any weight on any lower LSAT scores you have. This means that if you improve on a retake, you'll be judged by a higher score. Even if your score gets worse, you still aren't substantially worse off.

Do law schools care if you retake LSAT?

Law schools will know if you retake the LSAT, but they won't care.

Does retaking the LSAT hurt you?

If it's your first time taking the LSAT, no pressure. Taking the LSAT twice or even three times is totally fine. If, come the week before LSAT test day, you're not scoring something that would put you in contention for the schools you want to go to, well, you can withdraw if you like.

Is it OK to take LSAT twice?

This is the timeframe in which an LSAT score can be used to apply to law school. If it has been more than five years since you took the LSAT, that score won't be usable if you are trying to apply now. You cannot take the LSAT more than 7 times over the course of your entire lifetime.

Should I retake a 166 LSAT?

If you get your official LSAT score back and it is significantly lower than your practice test average, you should retake. For example, if your last 3 practice test scores were a 165, 167, and 166, but on test day you scored a 158, you should definitely retake the LSAT.

Should I Keep My Score or Retake the LSAT?

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Can I get into Harvard with a 168 LSAT?

The T-6 are Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of Chicago, Columbia, NYU, and the University of Pennsylvania (there are currently seven schools in the T-6 due to ties). A good LSAT score for the T-6, and what one should aim for in order to get in, is a 172 or higher.

Should I retake the LSAT if I got a 155?

If you are deciding whether to retake, the good news is that law schools currently put very little if any weight on any lower LSAT scores you have. This means that if you improve on a retake, you'll be judged by a higher score. Even if your score gets worse, you still aren't substantially worse off.

What is the average LSAT score for first time takers?

What's the average LSAT score for first-time takers? The LSAC found that first-time test takers typically scored a 151, while second-time test takers scored a 151.7. Mean LSAT scores were highest for second-time test takers, while third-time test takers had the lowest score.

What LSAT score do I need for Harvard?

So let's take a look at what it actually takes to have a chance of being admitted to the most prestigious and preeminent law school in the world. As you can see from these numbers, an LSAT score of 170 or higher and a GPA above 3.75 will give you a chance of gaining admission to Harvard Law School.

Is 154 a good LSAT score?

The traditional LSAT test has approximately 94-106 questions, with each correct answer counting for one point of your raw score. The average LSAT score is about 150. To get into a top 14 law school, you need to score above 162, and to get into a top 50 law school, you need 154 or above.

Is a 167 LSAT score good?

The average LSAT score for law schools at the top of the rankings ranges from 167-172. On the other hand, scores of 145-155 are generally good enough to be accepted into less prestigious law schools.

Is a 157 a good LSAT score?

Among the 192 law schools ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2019, the average median LSAT score was 156. If we were to speak about a good LSAT score in very broad terms, 157 or above would be a reasonable place to start. Anything above 160 is not a bad LSAT score.

Can law schools see all your LSAT scores?

Law schools do read files holistically and they do read/see every LSAT score/withdrawal/cancellation of each applicant. However, no matter what anyone says, the reality is that the only score the ABA receives is the highest score and is therefore the only score USWNR will ever see.

What was Obama's LSAT score?

Unraveling the secret behind Obama's LSAT Score

Only two of them scored over the 63% mark; and in fact scored between 94-98%, which would be equivalent to a score of 166 – 171 in today's grading system.

What is the lowest LSAT score accepted?

While you may be able to apply and even be accepted into a law school with a lower LSAT score, there is a cut-off for acceptable application scores. If you are consistently scoring lower than 145, you may need to consider significant studying and a retake before applying to law schools.

What did Elle Woods get on her LSAT?

In the film, Elle scored a 179 on her LSAT. That is one point away from a perfect score of 180. This means she scored in the 90th overall percentile. The average student's LSAT score is a 150.

How hard is a 155 LSAT?

A score of 155 on the LSAT is a classic 'in-between' score. While the score is not too low, it will also not put you in the cream of LSAT test takers. An LSAT score of 155 can at best be classified as an average score which will put you in the hunt for a decent law school. The LSAT is scored on a scale of 120-180.

Can I get into law school with a 145 LSAT score?

Equally concerning is that law schools are admitting and then graduating students who might not be able to pass the bar exam. Five years ago, no American Bar Association-accredited law school had an entering class with a median LSAT score of less than 145. Now, seven law schools do, according to Jerome M.

Is it worth it to retake the LSAT?

One of the most obvious benefits of retaking the LSAT is a higher score—we're talking two to three points on average, for most test takers. Of course, results will not only vary depending on how many prep hours you've logged, but on how ready you are to give it another crack come retest day.

Is LSAT more important than GPA?

While LSAT is the most important factor, GPA is still significant. When you get down into schools lower in the rankings (outside the top 10 schools), numbers alone become an even better predictor of how likely you are to get into a specific school. LSAT is still the more important number than GPA.

Is 153 a good LSAT score?

According to Kaplan, the average score on the LSAT is 151. That means if you score 152, you answered more questions correctly than 50% of the students who took the test. Now that you have some background regarding the LSAT, you might be thinking that a score between 145-153 actually pretty good.

Is a 3.8 good for law school?

However, among the highest-ranked law schools, the norm is to admit people with near-perfect college grades. All of the top-10 law schools had median GPAs of 3.7 or higher. Seven of these 10 schools had a median GPA that was at least a 3.8, and among those three had a median GPA that was a 3.9 or above.