<p>I've heard more than one answer on this, and it'd help to get some more opinions.</p>
<p>Apparently many law schools will now take the higher of two LSAT scores instead of just averaging them. However, I do not think taking it twice will drastically up my score. I plan on taking the LSAT either June 2007/Sept2007 (if the June test doesn't break my way), or just in Sept 07. Right now I'm leaning toward the Sept test. Does anybody have any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>Take it once. Study, prepare and do your best. There are number of recent threads on this board on this very topic that you can find with little trouble.</p>
<p>If you are well prepared the first time, you shouldn't have to take the LSAT again.</p>
<p>yeah, nobody has any idea how this new policy will be implemented. As a result, one should only plan on taking it once.</p>
<p>but, if the the evidence this year really shows that law schools take a second or third highest score without any qualms, then that might change one's strategy (taking the exam more than once, even if one did alright the first time).</p>
<p>In Feb 2006 the Law Schooh Admissions Council (which is the organization that has the LSAT) announced that it was no longer recommending that law schools average test scores when a student submits multiple tests, and believed taking the highest score was an acceptable practice. In June 2006 the American Bar Association changed its reporting rule for law schools to require them to report scores (such as their middle 50% range) based on using applicants' highest LSAT scores, which changed the prior rule requiring reporting scores based on averaging test scores of multople test-takers. Both those activities created an incentive for law schools to use highest score to determine admission rather averaging tests, which the majority have done in the past. Stanford and Boalt (Berkeley) are among those who have said they will now take highest score. However, many schools have not yet stated what they are going to do. Thus, you should not assume the averaging rule is dead quite yet and should check with each individual law school you intend to apply to determine what the actual rule is now. Either way, you should strive to take the test once and thus do full preparfation for that once.</p>
<p>As has been discussed more times than I can count, just because the LSAC states that it will allow law schools to report only the highest LSAT scores that it receives from applicants who have taken the test more than once does not mean that law schools will look favorably upon applicants who take the LSAT more than once. In fact, it appears that absent some compelling reason to take the LSAT a second time (poor testing conditions or illness, for example), law schools will continue to want to see only one scored LSAT per applicant. Putting your all into taking the LSAT once is very similar to the way that law school classes are graded and to the practice of law itself.</p>
<p>Agree with Sally. Yes, some law schools will look at the highest LSAT; many may still want a reason for taking the test twice. Also, I find it hard to believe that the psychological effects of the 2d test won't be there. For example, if you score a 162 and then a 170, and another student took it once and got a 170, I can't help but think that (all other things being equal), they would take the second student. </p>
<p>Funny thing is, studies show that taking the LSAT twice has a negative correlation with law school performance. Even when averaging the scores, those students do slightly worse than their peers. (So in my hypo above, your average of 166 would overpredict your performance.)</p>
<p>Also, this means that you shouldn't expect this policy to last forever.</p>
<p>“For example, if you score a 162 and then a 170, and another student took it once and got a 170, I can't help but think that (all other things being equal), they would take the second student.”</p>
<p>That seem reasonable, but I can’t help but think that if you score a 162 and then a 170, you beat out a student who took it only once and got a 162.</p>
<p>Maybe . . . maybe not. A law school may only look at your first test score, or a law school may actually penalize you for taking the test again without a valid reason for doing so. Remember, again, you only get one shot to do well on a law school final -- one test on which your entire grade for the semester is based. If a law school is looking to the LSAT as a predictor of success in law school, and since law school gives you only one chance to get a good grade in your classes, why would taking the test more than once help you to prove that you are an excellent candidate for law school?</p>
<p>“If a law school is looking to the LSAT as a predictor of success in law school, and since law school gives you only one chance to get a good grade in your classes, why would taking the test more than once help you to prove that you are an excellent candidate for law school?”</p>
<p>I can see that taking the test more than once could have negative connotations. However, if you have already shown the law school the worst you can do, assuming you just messed up on the first one, I can’t see how it hurts to show the best you can do. So, while you may no longer be able to prove you are an excellent candidate, proving that could be one seems better than just proving that you are not one.</p>
<p>Bar passage rate is also a big part of a law school's ranking. That is (in most states) a one-shot deal - you are expected to pass on the first try. Law schools know that they could accept a kid who doesn't do well the first time, but are (understandably) worried about that student's ability to pass the bar on the first try.</p>
<p>Remember the LSAC states that law schools will report the highest score of accepted matriculated students . Remember that all of the data that you read about law school is based on the student population currently in attendance not the applicant pool as a whole. I agree with others, how the admissions committees view the information is still up for grabs. For example I think at columbia you have to have a 6 point increase if you take the test more than once for them to consider the second score.</p>
<p>A six-point increase is about half a standard deviation. It can take you from the 50th percentile to the 70th percentile. Quite a large jump.</p>
<p>
[quote]
at columbia you have to have a 6 point increase if you take the test more than once for them to consider the second score.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This type of policy is apart of the rhetoric of Kaplan LSAT experts. According to them, Law schools are advised by statisticians to consider the highest score among more than one score only when the difference between the scores is significant. (obviously Columbia considers 6+ pt difference 'significant')</p>
<p>That seems logical. Big differences are more likely to indicate unusual circumstances during the first test (illness, marching band outside window, etc) than small differences.</p>
<p>I agree that most students should aim for taking the test only once.</p>
<p>but I'm not sure if schools really care if one takes the exam multiple times. the selection process seems very mechanical. they simply index one's gpa and lsat (using either average or highest score (MAYBE). secondly they look at soft factors, such as lors, prior work experience, personal statement.</p>
<p>anyways, it does not seem they look too negatively on multple test takers. they pretty much just care about one's gpa and lsat score, averaged or highest score (again, who knows this year).</p>
<p>"it does not seem they look too negatively on multple test takers"</p>
<p>How do you know this?</p>
<p>Ariesathena mentioned in post #7 the comparison of the 165 + 170 student vs. the 170 single test student. Do you think schools compare applicants against some standard, or do they actually compare this student vs. that student individually?</p>
<p>I talked to my pre-law advisor, and she seems pretty sure that almost all schools will be implementing this knew policy. I have my doubts though.</p>
<p>I disagree with your pre-law advisor. Most importantly, this is not a new law school admissions policy. LSAC has simply revised how it would like for LSAT scores of matriculated students to be reported back to it -- taking the highest reported LSAT score for each applicant rather than the average score. That's it. There has been no new statement by the ABA (which is the accrediting body for law schools in the U.S.) nor by any law school (at least of which I'm aware) relating to how multiple reported LSAT scores will be viewed. Morevover, you should assume that law schools will continue to view LSAT scores as they always have in the past. </p>
<p>There is no reason in the world to believe that a law school will give an edge to an applicant who repeatedly took the LSAT when, as has been stated many times before, law school and the practice law gives you one shot only for success in class (final exam is the entire grade) and in practice. Moreover, all of an applicant's LSAT scores for the five years before the applicant applies to law school will be reported, so if an applicant takes the LSAT twice there had better be a huge improvement in score, as evidence of some particular problem on the date the applicant originally took the test. If an applicant takes the LSAT more than twice, there will almost certain be negative implications drawn about an applicant's ability to succeed in law school.</p>
<p>That's all there is to it. There is no new policy that dictates how a law school will consider LSAT scores in admissions - so it should be business as usual at law school admissions offices this autumn and in the future.</p>
<p>"There has been no new statement by the ABA (which is the accrediting body for law schools in the U.S.) nor by any law school"</p>
<p>Actually, as I mentioned in post earlier, there was an ABA change. The LSAC changed its averaging recommendation in Feb; in June the ABA changed its reporting requirements for law schools to require them now to use highest test score for multiple test takers when reporting scores (such as middle 50% ranges); before June the ABA required the use of the average score for multiple test takers when reporting such scores. Also, some, like Stanford and Berkeley, have announced they will consider highest score for admission. Nevertheless, many law schools have said nothing and it is up to them what they will use and how they will view multiple test takers. Since schools switching from averaging to taking highest is occurring only now and will apply only to future applicants (entry class of 2007) it is mere guesswork how those schools that are changing are actually going to view multiple test takers. Taking it once should still be considered the preferred choice.</p>