10 replies to this topic

[Xlaw]

I'm in a silly position that I placed myself in because I under estimated LG. I am registered to write the LSAT tomorrow and am an applicant for this cycle. The problem is that I'm just not fast enough with LG yet to score a 160+, and am considering dropping the LSAT and writing it in June, then applying all over again next year...

This is hardly an ideal solution but I have done many timed preptests and I always bomb LG; I frequently score -13-15, and always run out of time and have to guess. I did a few preptests for fun and COMPLETELY ignored the LG section, i.e, I timed myself for the other three just like any preptest and I keep scoring around 55-57 raw with exactly 0 on LG (since I skipped it). That's about a 151 scaled.

So my dilemma is this: do I just suck it up and write tomorrow's test anyway, despite the fact that I will GUARANTEED score sub optimally and probably not get an acceptance letter. Or is there a chance I get lucky and get curved upwards to a 157 ish or something, assuming others screw up? My concerns with writing it tomorrow, despite gaining valuable experience in official writing atmosphere, is that I am not sure it's worth the -1 rewrite penalty, a potentially abysmal score and/or a cancelled mark on my record; all of my schools look at the "best" LSAT, but still, a 14x is filthy.

With a best-two gpa of 3.6 and a fairly strong application with very unique experiences to say the least, do I stand a shot at Osgoode and Western, even with a weaker LSAT? Just write it and take my chances since I paid $450 anyway, or be smart and keep my record taint-free?

Any thoughts are HIGHLY appreciated. You can call me an idiot of you wish

[antioppressivepractice]

I think you should go and write it to get the experience, it will help you if you need to re-write again. Also at the end of the exam or even during the exam you can cancel your score if you feel bad about it. You just have to fill in the special section to cancel it then follow up online. So you have nothing to lose by going and writing it as it will be valuable to get the experience. Also if you are applying to schools that factor in LSAT averages then you should cancel it at the end of the exam if you are certain you won't do well.

[Enhance]

I'm lazy to write a paragraph so lets go point form.

Why you should write:
-You gain familiarity (very important)
-You already paid for it the sitting
-You already paid for your applications
-Miracles can happen

Why you shouldn't write:
-Losing a rewrite chance (I really think this is nothing to worry about. Contrary to popular practice, few people exceed the rewrite limit.)
-Possible lowered LSAT average (Only Alberta averages LSATs. Are you applying there? If not, take this off the list of cons.)

Pros exceed the cons. Further, I'd say the familiarity aspect is worth more points than anything else. Like the above poster said, you can even cancel at the end if you don't like it. There's little reason for you not to write it.

Goodluck.

Edited by Enhance, 10 February 2012 - 07:12 PM.

[antioppressivepractice]

Also just wanted to add you don't have to cancel during the exam you can wait and go home and think about it. I think you have almost a week to cancel and all the information is on their website, and the Proctors mention it after the exam!

[Xlaw]

Some good advice, thanks a bunch.

Alright, suppose I write it and feel confident that I did much better than I anticipated (but may be wrong) and suddenly feel accomplished and do not cancel my score. The only two schools I will be interested in are Osgoode and Western.

How do law schools treat this scenario? Do they frown upon cancellation at the last minute with an application hanging in the balance, and will it make me look bad in future applications? In other words, does an active and deliberate rejection of my application harm me more in comparison to my application decaying passively? So, if I write the test and decide to take a risk at keeping the score and get rejected, when applying next year do I have to make significant amends to my application/PS?

Or worry about "previous applicant" stuff. I'm paranoid about a rejected app versus an incomplete app harming me because it's unknown what actually goes in in admissions with cross-comparisons of apps etc, despite their claims.

[KER_2012]

If you've come this far, I would write. As Enhance mentioned, the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. If you don't do well your first time that's nothing to be concerned about, many people don't. No school (except those that average, which I'm pretty sure is just Alberta) is going to hold that against you. If you decide to not show up it'll be recorded as an absentee notation on your LSAC score report, so schools will know that you were registered and didn't show up. I honestly don't know how schools view that, but I would imagine that a low score that you then improve upon looks better than an absentee notation. If you do decide to write, don't cancel your score. In my opinion, there are only two reasons to cancel:
1. You don't think you did well and you applied to a school that averages LSAT scores
2. You get ill during the test

Best of luck!

[Xlaw]

KER_2012, on 10 February 2012 - 08:30 PM, said:

If you've come this far, I would write. As Enhance mentioned, the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. If you don't do well your first time that's nothing to be concerned about, many people don't. No school (except those that average, which I'm pretty sure is just Alberta) is going to hold that against you. If you decide to not show up it'll be recorded as an absentee notation on your LSAC score report, so schools will know that you were registered and didn't show up. I honestly don't know how schools view that, but I would imagine that a low score that you then improve upon looks better than an absentee notation. If you do decide to write, don't cancel your score. In my opinion, there are only two reasons to cancel:
1. You don't think you did well and you applied to a school that averages LSAT scores
2. You get ill during the test

Best of luck!

Thanks m8!

I've done some thinking and I probably will not get a high enough score to be accepted for this cycle, despite none of my schools taking an average (Alberta isn't even a possible consideration). So with pragmatic regret, I will defer my law education until 2013. Being 25 y/o, it's not the end of the world. I can withdraw my LSAT and be safe from an absentee notification as well as score cancellation; the money invested and lost into this whole application process, while seemingly wasteful and painful, have done the most important thing of all: given me insane motivation to really do this right the second time around and not be an idiot. With proper perspective to boot. Despite being somewhat ready for the LSAT as we speak, it's well below my own personal standards as well as basically any law school's. At this point I just hope that taking a poorly calculated plunge into the application process will not harm my chances next year. It would suck to have a dumb mistake haunt me later when I'm actually worthy.

As far as test centre experience and procedure goes, I will find out for the first time in June; I'm also not one to ever be flustered by atmosphere and environment, I can pretty much do a test in a war zone. But come June I will be equipped to get ~160 on my FIRST attempt while gaining experience simultaneously; if that fails, I will have June experience to guide me for October as a backup. If October fails, February will be my final straw. This approach is just more logical given the tight corner I'm in. Despite withdrawing from tomorrow's test being a copout, it's the rational thing to do. Writing it tomorrow for the sake of writing it will only remove one rewrite from the above and limit me to a 2/3 combination. Even if needing all three writes may be unlikely, I still like having the option (for situations like these).

Thanks for all the advice you guys are evidence that this forum is all it's cut out to be.

[staffer]

I agree that you should write tomorrow.

However...

In my experience, failure to properly prepare for the LSAT is often an indicator of an applicant who isn't fully committed to law school. Try your very best tomorrow, but after, you should do some serious soul searching.

[attellis]

Xlaw, on 10 February 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

Despite withdrawing from tomorrow's test being a copout, it's the rational thing to do. Writing it tomorrow for the sake of writing it will only remove one rewrite from the above and limit me to a 2/3 combination. Even if needing all three writes may be unlikely, I still like having the option (for situations like these).

Thanks for all the advice you guys are evidence that this forum is all it's cut out to be.

I wouldn't say your plan is rational at all. You have 0 chance to get in this cycle if you don't write the test tomorrow. You have a chance of getting in if you do. You paid a whole bunch of money already. It's not rational to skip out, it is a cop-out. The experience of being at the LSAT and writing it is totally worth it. I read these forums, had written 100+ midterms/exams in every condition I thought possible, and I was still surprised by the test. For example - thought I'd get in the room early to get a good seat, ended up waiting for an hour for the rest of the people to get in, and all the sudden I'm running out of the 2nd section (thankfully games) to go pee. If I wrote the test again I would know to get in the room last and would probably score 1 or 2 higher rather than feeling like I was going to explode through first two sections. Plus I learned it was all assigned seating.

If you are that comitted to studying next cycle then you won't need 3 writes. Logic games are the most learnable of all sections, if you need to learn them in 4 months you can easily. You aren't making the rational choice, just the easier one.

Edited by attellis, 10 February 2012 - 09:35 PM.

[Enhance]

I also don't think you're picking the rational decision. I've already noted the reasons why in my previous post (simply, pros > cons) so I won't go through it again.

It seems like the biggest thing that keeps you from writing it is the impressions of a withdraw/cancel/rejection and the negative attitudes associated with it from the school's standpoint. I can tell you right now that many people stumble and face adversity; you aren't unique. While I cannot be certain as I'm not apart of an adcomm, I'd wager confidently that schools care little about these little hiccups like an LSAT cancellation or a rejection. For all they know, the reason for LSAT cancellation could be for illness -- they have no idea of knowing the real reason why. As for facing a rejection, schools only fill ~150 students a year, they reject tons of people and they fully well expect them to apply again next year.

With you being decided on skipping this writing, I'd assume all the pressure is off right about now huh? Ironically, I'd say this is probably a good time to write it. Again, when pros > cons, the rational decision would be siding with the stronger side. I assume you probably rationalized it in a different way in your head though.

Oh, and just to leave a little nugget of info: If you head on over to the Western "in" thread for 2012, many people (including myself) were quite surprised at the seemingly lowered standards for admissions this year. As reminded to you throughout this thread, anything can happen so long as there's a chance.

Edited by Enhance, 10 February 2012 - 11:27 PM.

[Crim Bob-Omb]

First, of course you should write it. If you can get that score up a little you`ll be in the ball park for some schools (and I think UNB has a March application deadline... at least they used to)

Second, here is all you need to know re: LG.

One of those LG questions is going to be an "ordering" type. That means A before B, C after A... etc. You will diagram like this A > B, A > C. You will do this all before answering any questions. Your will get %100 on that q type. You will dedicate all time necessary to get that right. Then look for the second simplest section.

Remember conditionals - If A then B, A, then B. If Not B, then Not A, HOWEVER, it is not (necessarily) the case that if Not A then Not B (you can actually write (a) and (b) over them so you remember) [Contra-positive].

You can do this. You only need to boost that section a couple points. You will get lucky.

Best of Luck!