Release of December 2014 LSAT Scores: What do I do now?!

If you took the December 2014 LSAT, you probably received your LSAT score this past week. As always, some people are pleased, some are disappointed, and some have mixed emotions. Here are my suggestions for all of you:

1. If you are happy with your LSAT score, congratulations! Remember that law schools are eager to get students these days – so you may want to consider applying to law schools that are more competitive than you previously had planned. All of that depends upon your gpa, your LSAT score, and your “soft factors,” of course.

2. If you have mixed feelings, remember to focus on your ultimate goal: getting into a law school that you like. If your score is good enough to do that, you should be happy about that. See below, though, for some thoughts on retaking the LSAT in February or later.

3. If you are disappointed, remember that you can retake the LSAT in February – all law schools these days accept the February LSAT.  Although taking the February LSAT will cause you to be late in the 2015 law school application cycle, that is not necessarily that big a deal, especially if your gap and LSAT score are solid for the law school(s) to which you are applying.

4.  The bigger issue is how to do better next time. You may simply have gotten unlucky. You may want to review your old work to see areas where you are struggling. You almost certainly will want to take more practice tests between now and the next time you take the LSAT. You may want to do some personal tutoring.

5.  If you feel that you may need a lot more preparation before taking the LSAT again, you may want to consider postponing law school for a year.  You could then prepare to take the LSAT in June or October, give yourself a very substantial amount of time to prep thoroughly, and you will be early in the enrollment cycle for 2016.

6. Whichever route you go, don’t let yourself get discouraged – instead, think about what to do next time. Remember, the (very) good news is that almost all law schools focus almost entirely on your highest LSAT score, so taking it again may have minimal adverse consequences!

Questions? Please feel free to email me at mark@scoreitup.com or call me at (949) 355-1413.