Should I cancel my LSAT score?
December 4, 2011 8:58 AM Subscribe
Should I cancel my LSAT score? I got a nosebleed during the last section.
So I took the LSAT yesterday. Things went very well until during the last section, I had a nosebleed during the test. I ran to the bathroom for 5-6 minutes and when I got back my concentration was completely shattered (I also bled onto the test: sorry, I know, gross, but it's part of why I just completely fell apart). I feel I did very well on the first 4.5 sections and then in the last half-section, I had to scan the text and questions very quickly and was really on shaky ground.
Relevant detail: I canceled a score in September 2009 because I was really just not ready at all for that test.
Questions:
- Should I cancel? I have 5 calendar days from today for them to receive a notice, which I can overnight.
- Should I wait and see for the December score to come out?
- In the future: If I cancel, when I apply to law school should I mention this in a note? I'm concerned about the effect of two cancels, although they are far apart (over two years in time). Alternatively, if I keep the score and it is not as high as I would have expected due to the nosebleed (e.g., I get my score report and it's good all the way until the last section where it falls apart), is this something I should also mention?
I know there are boards out there a la Top Law Schools or whatever, but I'd like to think that Ask Metafilter has more sensible/less hysterical advice.
Finally, please, please don't make this a referendum on whether or not I should go to law school. That's a very valid discussion point, concerning the saturated legal market, etc., but it really isn't what I'm concerned with here. I'm still so upset about this that I am up at 5:30 am on a Sunday writing this, and I'm trying to focus my battles on one thing at a time.
Throwaway email: lsatnosebleed@gmail.com. (Heh, I'm sort of surprised it wasn't taken.)
So I took the LSAT yesterday. Things went very well until during the last section, I had a nosebleed during the test. I ran to the bathroom for 5-6 minutes and when I got back my concentration was completely shattered (I also bled onto the test: sorry, I know, gross, but it's part of why I just completely fell apart). I feel I did very well on the first 4.5 sections and then in the last half-section, I had to scan the text and questions very quickly and was really on shaky ground.
Relevant detail: I canceled a score in September 2009 because I was really just not ready at all for that test.
Questions:
- Should I cancel? I have 5 calendar days from today for them to receive a notice, which I can overnight.
- Should I wait and see for the December score to come out?
- In the future: If I cancel, when I apply to law school should I mention this in a note? I'm concerned about the effect of two cancels, although they are far apart (over two years in time). Alternatively, if I keep the score and it is not as high as I would have expected due to the nosebleed (e.g., I get my score report and it's good all the way until the last section where it falls apart), is this something I should also mention?
I know there are boards out there a la Top Law Schools or whatever, but I'd like to think that Ask Metafilter has more sensible/less hysterical advice.
Finally, please, please don't make this a referendum on whether or not I should go to law school. That's a very valid discussion point, concerning the saturated legal market, etc., but it really isn't what I'm concerned with here. I'm still so upset about this that I am up at 5:30 am on a Sunday writing this, and I'm trying to focus my battles on one thing at a time.
Throwaway email: lsatnosebleed@gmail.com. (Heh, I'm sort of surprised it wasn't taken.)
If you go with k8t and cancel, you probably won't be able to apply this admissions cycle and won't be able to start law school until 2013.
On the other hand, you can apply this cycle with a score that isn't your best. You might get into your dream school regardless. This could also be an overcoming adversity story. If you don't get anything you like, just decline admission, take the test again, and apply for 2013. IIRC, most schools take your highest score rather than averaging them.
P.S. A nosebleed is not the grossest thing to happen at an LSAT test. A guy I knew had to pee during his and decided to go on the chair rather than take the time to go to the bathroom.
posted by mewohu at 9:45 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
On the other hand, you can apply this cycle with a score that isn't your best. You might get into your dream school regardless. This could also be an overcoming adversity story. If you don't get anything you like, just decline admission, take the test again, and apply for 2013. IIRC, most schools take your highest score rather than averaging them.
P.S. A nosebleed is not the grossest thing to happen at an LSAT test. A guy I knew had to pee during his and decided to go on the chair rather than take the time to go to the bathroom.
posted by mewohu at 9:45 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Were you able to finish the section? Was it a strong or weak section for you generally? What were you scoring on practice tests before the exam? I actually would advise you not to cancel. You may have done better than you think. Also, you may *never* have absolutely perfect circumstances for the exam. If the rest of your sections were solid, you may be fine. While k8t is right that every point counts, you can still miss several questions and score very high.
posted by shannonigans at 9:51 AM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by shannonigans at 9:51 AM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
I do think you need to consider whether you want to go to law school. I'm not saying "don't go," but why do you want to go? When?
This can't be a question just about whether you harmed your score with the nosebleed section. You surely didn't help it. Only you can guess whether you will do better in the future, although it is worth keeping in mind that things always can come up.
The thing is, if you want to go to law school to be a lawyer, you're delaying that process. By delaying entering law school, you're delaying becoming a lawyer, and you're delaying the expected pay-off of law school (which could easily negate the loss of a few scholarship dollars because of a few LSAT points).
Do you want to be a lawyer? Go be a lawyer. For most things, the name-brand quality of your law school doesn't matter nearly as much as people seem to think, anyway. So find out your score and apply. If you don't get in anywhere you would go, then, as mewohu suggests, re-take the LSAT and apply again.
posted by J. Wilson at 9:51 AM on December 4, 2011
This can't be a question just about whether you harmed your score with the nosebleed section. You surely didn't help it. Only you can guess whether you will do better in the future, although it is worth keeping in mind that things always can come up.
The thing is, if you want to go to law school to be a lawyer, you're delaying that process. By delaying entering law school, you're delaying becoming a lawyer, and you're delaying the expected pay-off of law school (which could easily negate the loss of a few scholarship dollars because of a few LSAT points).
Do you want to be a lawyer? Go be a lawyer. For most things, the name-brand quality of your law school doesn't matter nearly as much as people seem to think, anyway. So find out your score and apply. If you don't get in anywhere you would go, then, as mewohu suggests, re-take the LSAT and apply again.
posted by J. Wilson at 9:51 AM on December 4, 2011
Yes - double check if the schools where you're applying take the February score. Not all of them do.
posted by k8t at 10:48 AM on December 4, 2011
posted by k8t at 10:48 AM on December 4, 2011
IIRC, most schools take your highest score rather than averaging them.
That is not an accurate statement. OP, please do not assume that if you take the LSAT in the future your prior score won't matter.
posted by John Cohen at 11:07 AM on December 4, 2011
That is not an accurate statement. OP, please do not assume that if you take the LSAT in the future your prior score won't matter.
posted by John Cohen at 11:07 AM on December 4, 2011
I would not cancel.
You get three tries in (don't remember how many) years. That means you get one more if you're unhappy with the score, and can take the February test or reapply next year. Since it sounds like you think you did well on 90% of the test, I would not cancel this one. My impression (anecdotal) is that schools generally will not be prejudiced by one cancel but may be by two. Either way, you are going to have to write an addendum on your applications, explaining either why you cancelled or why you don't think this score reflects your capabilities. The choice, then, is between having the admissions people see a cancellation with the explanation "my nose was bleeding," or a suboptimal score with the explanation "my nose was bleeding." Given that you might be pleasantly surprised by your score, I think the latter scenario has higher upside and not much more downside.
My understanding is that schools have changed, in the past two or three years, to looking primarily at the highest score, because US News has changed their formula to only count the highest scores in their data. It used to be that they would average them as a matter of course, but now, while they will see the lower score and take it into account as sort of a "soft" factor, it isn't the score they have to report and thus it isn't a major concern for them. Any major score increase will need to be explained in an addendum, but you have a good reason that will pass muster.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 11:29 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
You get three tries in (don't remember how many) years. That means you get one more if you're unhappy with the score, and can take the February test or reapply next year. Since it sounds like you think you did well on 90% of the test, I would not cancel this one. My impression (anecdotal) is that schools generally will not be prejudiced by one cancel but may be by two. Either way, you are going to have to write an addendum on your applications, explaining either why you cancelled or why you don't think this score reflects your capabilities. The choice, then, is between having the admissions people see a cancellation with the explanation "my nose was bleeding," or a suboptimal score with the explanation "my nose was bleeding." Given that you might be pleasantly surprised by your score, I think the latter scenario has higher upside and not much more downside.
My understanding is that schools have changed, in the past two or three years, to looking primarily at the highest score, because US News has changed their formula to only count the highest scores in their data. It used to be that they would average them as a matter of course, but now, while they will see the lower score and take it into account as sort of a "soft" factor, it isn't the score they have to report and thus it isn't a major concern for them. Any major score increase will need to be explained in an addendum, but you have a good reason that will pass muster.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 11:29 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Either way, you should probably plan on taking it again. LSAT is everything and a 5 point swing is worth tens of thousands of dollars or ten spots in the rankings. (You probably know this already.) As stressful and annoying as the LSAT and application process feels, this is actually the single biggest and most certain return on a relatively small investment of time and energy you are likely to ever have access to at any point in your legal career.
Personally, I would rather have a score in my back pocket when I went in for the retake than two cancellations and the pressure of knowing that whether happens on the third try is going to be the score that stands.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 11:36 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Personally, I would rather have a score in my back pocket when I went in for the retake than two cancellations and the pressure of knowing that whether happens on the third try is going to be the score that stands.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 11:36 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know much about the LSAT specifically but maybe my experience with the MCAT can be useful to you. The highest score I ever got on a practice exam (which is just an old exam- same number of questions, same timing, format, etc. as the real thing) happened when I got interrupted in the middle of a section and flipped out. I was halfway through the section when my internet crapped out. I didn't want to lose all the progress I'd made by taking most of the test already so I hauled ass to a coffee shop with internet to finish it before my time ran out. I figured, well, I completely bombed that section but at least I can finish it off and see how I scored on the rest of it. To my extreme surprise, I did just as well on that section as the rest of them. (Better, if I recall correctly.) I can't prove this, but I always suspected that the panic I felt due to the interruption caused an adrenaline rush, which sharpened my focus to allow me to plow through the rest of the exam. Even though I FELT like I was bombing it, I wasn't at all.
So, based on my experience with standardized tests but not the LSAT, I'd keep it. Even though you may have felt shaky, your brain still possessed the knowledge it needed to answer those questions post-nosebleed and I'm betting that you did a decent job of answering them. Especially if you did well on the other sections, it doesn't seem like this would be enough to really make a big difference between the score you got and the score you "would have" gotten had it not happened. Then again, I'm biased and I really believe that adrenaline is a brain-helper, even if you feel crazy when it's happening.
posted by GastrocNemesis at 1:20 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
So, based on my experience with standardized tests but not the LSAT, I'd keep it. Even though you may have felt shaky, your brain still possessed the knowledge it needed to answer those questions post-nosebleed and I'm betting that you did a decent job of answering them. Especially if you did well on the other sections, it doesn't seem like this would be enough to really make a big difference between the score you got and the score you "would have" gotten had it not happened. Then again, I'm biased and I really believe that adrenaline is a brain-helper, even if you feel crazy when it's happening.
posted by GastrocNemesis at 1:20 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, I meant to say it's pretty significant that you "felt good" for 90% of the time when you were taking the exam, and it's entirely possible you won't even feel that good the third time. You could be sick, or have trouble sleeping the night before or just have bad anxiety knowing it's your "last chance." You could get stuck testing next to someone who smells distractingly bad or is tapping their foot on their chair the whole time. Any number of things. The nosebleed was bad but if you felt good for most of the test I think that's still pretty promising. I'd definitely get the score- worst case scenario you have to retake. Best case scenario, you don't.
posted by GastrocNemesis at 1:26 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by GastrocNemesis at 1:26 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
1) You only get 3 attempts to take the test within x years before you have to wait y years. Look up what x and y is, I forget. Let's say you cancel, then bomb the test in February. You now are stuck with that score unless you wait y years to take it again. I think this means you should not cancel.
2) I believe most schools now will take your highest score, because US News now lets them report only the highest score. So I would lean towards not cancelling. Now, if there are two IDENTICAL people, one of who has one less cancel, that person might have a slight edge. But if they can report the highest score to US News, that's all they really care about.
3) If it was the experimental section, it's not even an issue. You might be able to figure out if it was the experimental by reading through the forums at TLS.
4) What score were you aiming for? What do you get on practice tests? How much will you need to rely on loans? These are all things to consider.
At the end of the day though; don't stress to much.
posted by User7 at 2:02 PM on December 4, 2011
2) I believe most schools now will take your highest score, because US News now lets them report only the highest score. So I would lean towards not cancelling. Now, if there are two IDENTICAL people, one of who has one less cancel, that person might have a slight edge. But if they can report the highest score to US News, that's all they really care about.
3) If it was the experimental section, it's not even an issue. You might be able to figure out if it was the experimental by reading through the forums at TLS.
4) What score were you aiming for? What do you get on practice tests? How much will you need to rely on loans? These are all things to consider.
At the end of the day though; don't stress to much.
posted by User7 at 2:02 PM on December 4, 2011
Also, I think a very small number of schools might still average scores rather than take your highest. Is that school your dream school or one you don't care about?
This is the kind of thing TLS can help you decide since they are so anal about everything.
If you don't want to get into the nitty gritty over-analysis: keep your score.
But if it were me, I'd get into the nitty gritty.
posted by User7 at 2:06 PM on December 4, 2011
This is the kind of thing TLS can help you decide since they are so anal about everything.
If you don't want to get into the nitty gritty over-analysis: keep your score.
But if it were me, I'd get into the nitty gritty.
posted by User7 at 2:06 PM on December 4, 2011
I'd lean towards not cancelling, because you just don't know what's going to happen the next time you take the test (will you feel sick during it? Sleep poorly the night before? etc.).
But, also think about what you scored on the practice test and the score range for the schools you are applying to.
posted by insectosaurus at 2:07 PM on December 4, 2011
But, also think about what you scored on the practice test and the score range for the schools you are applying to.
posted by insectosaurus at 2:07 PM on December 4, 2011
Mod note: From the OP:
Some things that I probably should've thought of to make clear and responses to earlier thoughts:posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:20 PM on December 4, 2011
I can't and am not planning to apply this cycle for a variety of
reasons, so February or June are both fine retake dates. My plan has always been to apply for fall 2013 entrance.
It was a strong-suit section and for certain not experimental. FWIW, in case this helps, on practice tests I generally score from ~168ish to ~174ish (depending on the horrific logic games and with outliers of course. I felt like I did very well on the games yesterday.)
I also have a GPA in the low 3.8 range. While I wasn't aiming for the HYS by any means, if I did well I was planning to apply to at least some elite schools/competitive scholarship programs.
(I know of course that numbers are only part of the story. But I
wanted to give some context to the question.)
I am leaning towards not canceling at this point, but I definitely welcome continued thoughts. Thanks so much everybody.
If you hit the top end of that range, you're a serious candidate for HYS, a shoo-in everywhere else, and stand to get significant scholarship money wherever you go. So congrats on that, and know that you're in that narrow band of applicants who can still make a decent case for attending law school.
I still say keep the score. It never feels good when you walk out. It's true of law school exams, too. If you think you definitely hit below the mid-160s, then maybe you're better off cancelling, but I think if it felt like it was within or even near your practice range, definitely keep it and see what happens.
Three scenarios if you keep the score: 1. It turns out you managed to get a score you're satisfied with; great, you're done. 2. You get your score back, you're unsatisfied, and you retake and hit your potential range; great, you're getting into a number of top ten schools. 3. You get your score back, you're unsatisfied, you retake, and you're still unsatisfied; well, that sucks, but you're not really any worse off with two sub-par scores and one cancellation than you are with one sub-par score and two cancellations. You know what I mean?
Unless you honestly feel confident you bombed it, I would not cancel.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 9:26 PM on December 4, 2011
I still say keep the score. It never feels good when you walk out. It's true of law school exams, too. If you think you definitely hit below the mid-160s, then maybe you're better off cancelling, but I think if it felt like it was within or even near your practice range, definitely keep it and see what happens.
Three scenarios if you keep the score: 1. It turns out you managed to get a score you're satisfied with; great, you're done. 2. You get your score back, you're unsatisfied, and you retake and hit your potential range; great, you're getting into a number of top ten schools. 3. You get your score back, you're unsatisfied, you retake, and you're still unsatisfied; well, that sucks, but you're not really any worse off with two sub-par scores and one cancellation than you are with one sub-par score and two cancellations. You know what I mean?
Unless you honestly feel confident you bombed it, I would not cancel.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 9:26 PM on December 4, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you are in such need of a high score (for scholarship or trying to get into the best), CANCEL.
2 cancels will draw attention, but you can put a note in your application to the effect of 'unfortunately I had a bad cold both in 2009 and 2011' and that looks better than a bad score.
1 point really matters on this test. A few points makes the difference between getting into a great school and a good school. Half of a section is too much to mess with.
Sorry.
posted by k8t at 9:30 AM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]