LSAT Offering me a letter explaining test center problems?
October 14, 2014 10:01 PM Subscribe
So there were some problems at the testing center for my Law School Admission Test. They are offering me a letter for my application that would explain this with my score. Can this look bad for me?
So when I was taking the LSAT at my university, there happened to be a Greek Life event going on outside the building that involved a lot of loud music, shouting, and bullhorns. So for the people that complained, LSAC is offering a few things. If we cancel our score (Law Schools see this and it looks bad), we can retest for free. We also of the option of them writing a letter (this is even if we cancel or not) that would accompany our application. "Should you choose, LSAC can include a letter in your file to inform the law school(s) to which you apply of the circumstances under which you took the test and your concern of their effect on your score. "
I feel decently confident about my score and I feel better about it than my several practice exams. I'm not really considering cancelling my score. However, should I accept the letter? The event outside was definitely distracting, but I don't think it hurt me too much. Would any Law Schools look down on this? Any chance that if I don't retest they would assume I could've done better and then that I was too lazy to retest?
So when I was taking the LSAT at my university, there happened to be a Greek Life event going on outside the building that involved a lot of loud music, shouting, and bullhorns. So for the people that complained, LSAC is offering a few things. If we cancel our score (Law Schools see this and it looks bad), we can retest for free. We also of the option of them writing a letter (this is even if we cancel or not) that would accompany our application. "Should you choose, LSAC can include a letter in your file to inform the law school(s) to which you apply of the circumstances under which you took the test and your concern of their effect on your score. "
I feel decently confident about my score and I feel better about it than my several practice exams. I'm not really considering cancelling my score. However, should I accept the letter? The event outside was definitely distracting, but I don't think it hurt me too much. Would any Law Schools look down on this? Any chance that if I don't retest they would assume I could've done better and then that I was too lazy to retest?
do you know what your score was? it doesn't sound like it. demand that they give you the information you need to make an informed decision. your uni was responsible for permitting a loud frat party right outside your professional gateway, so you could apply pressure to it too. you have one advantage, the circumstances are already on the record via the letter. an alternative means of demonstrating your promise to law schools would be if you could get the uni to knock at least 20 grand off your student loan balance on account of this affront. for future reference, if you retest and this happens again, there are other things you can do right at the start to demonstrate lawyerly promise "hey mister proctor, you shut that event down right now or i will shut your event down right now."
posted by bruce at 10:44 PM on October 14, 2014
posted by bruce at 10:44 PM on October 14, 2014
Response by poster: Unfortunately there is no way to find out the score. This is standard LSAT procedure. Anyone has the option of cancelling the score before they find it out, they are just offering the free retest and/or the letter as compensation. They also said that based on their analysis, they believe that it didn't adversely affect us as a group, but they understand it may have affected us as individuals so this is their offer.
The LSAT is also not administered through the University, instead the Law School Admissions Council hosts the exam and it just happens to be on my University campus. The proctors and the exam aren't sponsored/affiliated with the university.
posted by Deflagro at 10:49 PM on October 14, 2014
The LSAT is also not administered through the University, instead the Law School Admissions Council hosts the exam and it just happens to be on my University campus. The proctors and the exam aren't sponsored/affiliated with the university.
posted by Deflagro at 10:49 PM on October 14, 2014
a sine qua non of being a lawyer is knowing that you don't have to accept the options offered to you, you make them accept the options that you offer. it's irrelevant that the uni doesn't administer the LSAT because they were the institution that permitted the frat party to happen outside the testing room. they had a duty of care to provide you a distraction-free testing environment, and they breached that duty.
posted by bruce at 11:14 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bruce at 11:14 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Any chance that if I don't retest they would assume I could've done better and then that I was too lazy to retest?
Almost certainly not. Retesting is a big deal, and most people don't do it regardless of circumstance. Moreover, it's hard to know how much attention would be paid to this letter anyway. Generally speaking your LSAT data is the numerical score itself, full stop, and anything else (writing sample, cough-cough) is a barely visible footnote. I would be surprised to hear about a letter like this making any difference pro or con at any halfway decent law school. I would be very, very surprised if anyone on an admissions committee saw the letter and thought, "Wow, what a lazy ass for not retesting." Very surprised.
It's hard to give you more specific thoughts without knowing your target schools and in what range you have been scoring. But purely for conversation's sake, I think that hypothetical is pretty far-fetched. Nobody is going to think you're lazy. I generally advise people to trust their gut; if you are feeling confident, don't let this shake you. That confidence will prove right or wrong, but I doubt this letter will be why.
posted by cribcage at 11:21 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
Almost certainly not. Retesting is a big deal, and most people don't do it regardless of circumstance. Moreover, it's hard to know how much attention would be paid to this letter anyway. Generally speaking your LSAT data is the numerical score itself, full stop, and anything else (writing sample, cough-cough) is a barely visible footnote. I would be surprised to hear about a letter like this making any difference pro or con at any halfway decent law school. I would be very, very surprised if anyone on an admissions committee saw the letter and thought, "Wow, what a lazy ass for not retesting." Very surprised.
It's hard to give you more specific thoughts without knowing your target schools and in what range you have been scoring. But purely for conversation's sake, I think that hypothetical is pretty far-fetched. Nobody is going to think you're lazy. I generally advise people to trust their gut; if you are feeling confident, don't let this shake you. That confidence will prove right or wrong, but I doubt this letter will be why.
posted by cribcage at 11:21 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Here's some specifics for a better picture.
Final prep-test one week before exam: 163
Aiming: 165 (Dream would be 167)
Target school: Vanderbilt (Lists their middle 50% for their latest incoming class as 162 - 168)
Felt more confident on LR and on Logic Games than on practice exams. I completed all the sections (experimental section was Logic Games) with time to spare. I've never completed all the Logic Games before and felt very confident on both the sections when I finished all the questions. Reading Comp is usually very high for me. My weak points following the prep tests were LR with Strengthening/Weakening questions (and I focused on those following the final prep test) and time management on Logic Games. I also used a professional prep course to study.
posted by Deflagro at 11:51 PM on October 14, 2014
Final prep-test one week before exam: 163
Aiming: 165 (Dream would be 167)
Target school: Vanderbilt (Lists their middle 50% for their latest incoming class as 162 - 168)
Felt more confident on LR and on Logic Games than on practice exams. I completed all the sections (experimental section was Logic Games) with time to spare. I've never completed all the Logic Games before and felt very confident on both the sections when I finished all the questions. Reading Comp is usually very high for me. My weak points following the prep tests were LR with Strengthening/Weakening questions (and I focused on those following the final prep test) and time management on Logic Games. I also used a professional prep course to study.
posted by Deflagro at 11:51 PM on October 14, 2014
Best answer: It sounds like you did everything you could, your expectations were reasonable, and you don't feel you were rattled by the shouting and bullhorns. If that were me, I'd say no thanks to the letter and focus my attention on finishing my applications. I have no specific knowledge about Vanderbilt but at that tier generally, you're much better off including a letter from some prominent alum (work the phones and shake the trees; I'm not kidding) than a form letter from LSAC.
Part of the law school application process is letting go of each piece. It's a control issue. Last month, you had studying you could do. The day before, you could get a good night's sleep. Day of, you could eat a good breakfast. Day after, you could still cancel your scores and really sharpen your game for December. And now LSAC is annoyingly giving you one final, unexpected bit of control...after which it's out of your hands.
Letting go can be difficult. It's true for many of us. We like control. But it's also part of legal practice. The scariest part of writing a brief isn't the blank page; it's the moment right after you drop the finished product into the court's box. Ten seconds earlier, you could still add a citation or restate an argument. Now it's out of your hands. It's like pulling out of the driveway to begin a road trip, except without the ability to turn back.
We've all been there. You'll be fine, Vanderbilt or not. Finish your apps. Good luck.
posted by cribcage at 12:13 AM on October 15, 2014 [7 favorites]
Part of the law school application process is letting go of each piece. It's a control issue. Last month, you had studying you could do. The day before, you could get a good night's sleep. Day of, you could eat a good breakfast. Day after, you could still cancel your scores and really sharpen your game for December. And now LSAC is annoyingly giving you one final, unexpected bit of control...after which it's out of your hands.
Letting go can be difficult. It's true for many of us. We like control. But it's also part of legal practice. The scariest part of writing a brief isn't the blank page; it's the moment right after you drop the finished product into the court's box. Ten seconds earlier, you could still add a citation or restate an argument. Now it's out of your hands. It's like pulling out of the driveway to begin a road trip, except without the ability to turn back.
We've all been there. You'll be fine, Vanderbilt or not. Finish your apps. Good luck.
posted by cribcage at 12:13 AM on October 15, 2014 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I don't think a cancel looks as bad as you're afraid of unless you're reaching for something really high end. But if you didn't feel like this hurt you, I wouldn't cancel. I'm kind of vocally anti-law-school these days, but I will say that I know some people who've had good admissions results even with two tries in a pinch. I'd take the letter and then retest if it doesn't turn out great. People so overthink this. I think the place where the letter would potentially help most is if it turns out your score is iffy, you've got that and the second try doing better will look more like it really reflects your ability. But you're probably fine. I agree with the "learning to let go" thing. You really have to start learning to relax now, or 1L will kill you. Consider the application process your practice run.
posted by Sequence at 1:33 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sequence at 1:33 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Are they forcing you to commit to including this letter in your application before you find out your score?
posted by telegraph at 5:13 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by telegraph at 5:13 AM on October 15, 2014
Response by poster: Yeah Telegraph, I have to decide before they will release my score.
posted by Deflagro at 7:47 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by Deflagro at 7:47 AM on October 15, 2014
Best answer: Law school admissions officer here: One canceled score is generally not the end of the world, especially if you were to include an addendum explaining why you canceled it. If you have time to take the December test (like if it won't mess up any deadlines you have to abide by) and if it's relatively easy for you to retake it, I might consider it.
If you accept the score and apply, I don't think the letter from LSAC is going to help much. Different law schools will evaluate this differently, so take my advice with a grain of salt--but depending on how your law schools evaluate applications, it could put you at a disadvantage at both the admissions stage and the financial aid stage if your score is not where you want it to be.
But if you accept the letter and the score, AND you decide to take it again in December, then I think including the letter can't hurt. In that case, the law school will have a score taken under ideal conditions and a score taken under disruptive conditions, so they may be more likely to evaluate your application in light of the (presumably) higher score.
Bottom line is this is a totally reasonable question to ask the admissions officers at the law schools to which you're applying. Don't be shy--call them up and ask to speak to someone about your situation.
posted by soonertbone at 6:26 AM on October 16, 2014
If you accept the score and apply, I don't think the letter from LSAC is going to help much. Different law schools will evaluate this differently, so take my advice with a grain of salt--but depending on how your law schools evaluate applications, it could put you at a disadvantage at both the admissions stage and the financial aid stage if your score is not where you want it to be.
But if you accept the letter and the score, AND you decide to take it again in December, then I think including the letter can't hurt. In that case, the law school will have a score taken under ideal conditions and a score taken under disruptive conditions, so they may be more likely to evaluate your application in light of the (presumably) higher score.
Bottom line is this is a totally reasonable question to ask the admissions officers at the law schools to which you're applying. Don't be shy--call them up and ask to speak to someone about your situation.
posted by soonertbone at 6:26 AM on October 16, 2014
Response by poster: I decided to go ahead and accept the letter. Sounds like it's better to have it and not need it than to decline and have a bad score.
Thanks everyone for the help! If it randomly comes up down the line, I'll update.
posted by Deflagro at 12:05 PM on October 16, 2014
Thanks everyone for the help! If it randomly comes up down the line, I'll update.
posted by Deflagro at 12:05 PM on October 16, 2014
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posted by John Cohen at 10:35 PM on October 14, 2014