You Just Took the June LSAT. Should You Cancel Your Score?
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The June 2016 LSAT is now in the past.
Kind of.
For those who took it Monday and are feeling pretty solid, great job! Time to get started on your applications.
For those who are less sure about their performance on Monday, this post’s for you.
So if you’re still reading this, you’re probably wondering whether you should cancel, or keep your score. The only thing worse than underperforming on the exam is canceling a solid score (though, with the latter, you’ll never really know – which can also be torturous).
The decision is a hard one to make. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to help put the decision in context.
First, how bad is it?
Well, it’s worse than having a solid score. All things considered, having a single score in or above a school’s range is the best place to be.
But having a C on your transcript isn’t the end of your law school world. There are any number of reasons things could have gone south on test day (illness, personal issues, train delay throwing you off your game), and you can always bring one up in an explanatory essay. So a C isn’t fatal; it’s not even all that bad.
Second, how can you make the decision?
First off, recognize that you’re probably imagining that it was worse than it actually was. Our brains have a tendency to hold on to the painful stuff and forget the easy stuff. So, right now, you’re probably only remembering the questions you bombed, and not all of the ones that went well.
Here’s what we want you to do:
- For each section, think back and count up the number you’re pretty sure you answered incorrectly. This is a rough number.
- Add and subtract a question from each of those numbers to get a best- and worst-case scenario.
- Now—and this is the most important part—compare those numbers to the most recent PrepTest you took. See how that test compares to these numbers. Recognize that you’re probably much closer to the middle than either extreme, and use that as a general guide for how to feel about this
- Finally, take a look at the score conversion chart from the most recent test to get an idea of your best- and worst-case scenario score. Use how you felt in the last step, when you compared this test to a test you know the score on, to gauge whether you should take a point or two off, or add some on.
At the end of the day, step 3 is really where you should make the decision. Get a sense for how this test felt compared to one where you know your score. That should give you a relative area of expectation. But don’t forget – you almost always focus just on the negative, so don’t forget to take that into account!
And remember: You can always take it again in September. Even if you don’t cancel and your score ends up lower than you want, there’s no better way to get the school to disregard it than a higher score on the next test. ?
Don’t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person LSAT courses absolutely free. We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
Matt Shinners is a Manhattan Prep instructor and jdMission Senior Consultant based in New York City. After receiving a degree in Biochemistry from Boston College, Matt scored a 180 on his LSAT and enrolled in Harvard Law School. There’s nothing that makes him happier than seeing his students receive the scores they want to get into the schools of their choice. Check out Matt’s upcoming LSAT courses here!