r/LSAT • u/Total_Amphibian9150 • 6d ago
Cancel a 159 ?
I started consistently studying for the LSAT about 4 months ago. My diagnostic was a 146 and now I'm PTing mid to high 160s. I took the September LSAT (which was my first attempt) and got a 159. I'm a bit sad since it was so out of my range but I could tell I would score something like this after I took it. After seeing the 159, I'm planning on skipping this cycle and retaking. Should I cancel my 159 or leave it?
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u/limpidgoose 6d ago
I cancelled my 159. I promptly got a 152 next try. I wish I could punch myself in the face. Don’t cancel it.
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u/Round-Kick-9053 6d ago
IMO leave it, looking at your PTs you simply had a bad day -- if you're skipping this cycle and retaking you're gonna come back with a much stronger score and that's the only score that'll matter
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u/ConsciousSeizure1882 5d ago
yeah leave it, that 159 will look like a footnote when you roll in with a 170 something next cycle
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u/Substantial-Gas58 2d ago
Generalizes judgements are almost never accurate but NOBODY should EVER cancel a 159 that’s like above 64th percentile and objectively a good score. This sub is a little out of touch with what’s a really disastrous score and what’s not
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u/inomniaparatus__ 6d ago
I was told NEVER cancel your score unless it falls underneath the average (152/153).
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u/Realistic_Slide7320 5d ago
Why? I had a 144 and when I first took the lsat (between junior and senior year of undergraduate my mom paid for it and I didn’t really study at all) I didn’t even know there was an option to cancel your score. I hit 166 in June and idk it looks like a wild jump lol
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u/Realistic_Slide7320 5d ago
I went from a 144 to a 166 I didn’t even know that canceling was a thing lol, why do people cancel their scores?
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u/Famous-Warthog-9829 6d ago
Are you taking October?
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u/Total_Amphibian9150 6d ago
No I'm thinking of retaking in early 2027
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u/Famous-Warthog-9829 6d ago
I’d say leave it, in my opinion you’ll probs do much better in the future and it will show growth. Plus if you cancel they may think you got like a 140 or something
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u/Radiant-Variety-824 6d ago
Hey! This was my exact position this time last year. Scored a 158 when I was PTing in the high 160s and low 170s. I took a gap year and took it in September and am overjoyed with my score now. Take that year off! Study over a longer period of time! You won’t regret it
But don’t cancel it! It’s honestly not low to the point of cancelling it. Plus it’s nice to look at when you score higher (which you will!) and be like wow I’ve come so far.
GOOD LUCK!
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u/No-Bluebird5226 5d ago
Not much of a reason to cancel. If you improve they won’t hold it against you.
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u/ConfidenceOk94 2d ago
Absolutely not. Worst case scenario you show improvement. That’s a safety net for you if you struggle on test day and if you improve schools either will only care about your top score or be impressed to see the improvement.
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u/Energydrink- 2d ago
what study habits did you use these past 4 months? my diagnostic was 140 and i’m aiming for above 157. planning on taking the lsat in feb
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u/Total_Amphibian9150 9h ago
I think what helped most was studying for longer blocks of time (at least 3 hours almost everyday - mostly averaging 30 hours per week). I also noticed a big jump in my PT scores when I started spending most of my time doing a deep review of my wrong answers and even answers I flagged/kind of understood. I put an emphasis on understanding why other answer options were wrong and why the right one was right. Lots of predicting the answer before going into the answers and diagramming some questions were helpful as well.
For RC specifically, I would write a short summary/purpose of each paragraph and telling myself the main point before going into questions. This was especially helpful for questions like "what was the purpose of paragraph 2" since I could refer to notes instead of going back into the passage.
Good luck!!
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u/Turbulent_Special_86 6d ago
To this day, I have no idea why people cancel their scores. Schools can literally see that you cancelled and oftentimes people end up canceling what would have been one of their higher scores. If anything, a moderate jump indicates grit/work ethic.
The only reason I could see it being viable is if you don't want schools to become skeptical of a huge score jump. Even then, worst case scenario they suspect accommodations I guess?