If you took the LSAT but don’t think that you did as well as you should have, you have the option to cancel your LSAT score. LSAT cancellation is a difficult decision, but it is always an option if something goes terribly awry on exam day.
If you have already decided to cancel your LSAT score, there are two ways to cancel your LSAT score:
LSAT Cancellation
There are 2 ways to cancel your LSAT score
- Cancel LSAT score on exam day (not recommended)
- LSAT score cancellation by writing within 6 days (recommended!)
Method 1 – Cancel your LSAT score at the end of the exam
First, your LSAT answer sheet will contain a section that allows you to cancel your score on the day of the exam. This option should only be used in extreme circumstances. In general, you shouldn’t cancel your score on the day of the exam. Emotions are usually running high on the day of the LSAT, and you may have done better than you are thinking in the heat of the moment. If you are considering canceling your LSAT score, I highly recommend sleeping on it for a couple of days to make SURE that you are making the right decision.
Method 2 – LSAT cancellation by written request within 6 days
Which brings us to the second option. If you leave the test center and after a couple of days you still feel as though you would like to cancel you score, you may cancel your LSAT score by written request within six calendar days of the exam. Simply send your LSAT score cancellation form to LSAC via signed fax or overnight mail.
LSAC must RECEIVE your LSAT cancellation within 6 days of the date of your LSAT exam, so you need to make sure that you send your LSAT score cancellation form to LSAC with enough time for it to arrive at LSAC within that time frame. I think that your best bet would be to send the form via fax in order to ensure that it makes it there on time, but I might also consider sending an overnight letter as well just to be sure.
The fax number to send your score cancellation to is: 215-968-1277
The address to send your score cancellation to is:
Law School Admission Council
Score Cancellation
662 Penn Street
PO BOX 2000-T
Newtown, PA 18940-0995
According to LSAC, Valid score cancellation requests MUST include:
1) Your statement that you wish to cancel your LSAT score
2) Your name and LSAC account number
3) The test date and test center name and code number
4) Your signature.
Source: http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/lsat-cancellation.asp
The Effect of a Cancelled LSAT Score
So if you ultimately decide to cancel your LSAT score, what effect does that have? Do law schools see that you cancelled an LSAT score?
- If you took the exam in June, October, or December, LSAC will provide you with a copy of the exam.
- However, you will not get a score back or a copy of your answer sheet, so you will not know how you would have done.
- Your LSAC report will show that you took the LSAT and requested to have your LSAT score cancelled, so law schools will have this information when you apply.
- LSAC does not give refunds for cancelled LSAT scores. You’ll have to pay to take the test again.
- LSAT cancellations are not reversible. Your decision is final, so don’t take it lightly!
How do law schools view LSAT cancellations?
If you cancel your score, I don’t believe that Law Schools are likely to think much of it. It is certainly better to have a cancellation and then a great LSAT score when you retake the exam than it is to have a really low score on your record. If you truly bombed the exam, perhaps because you were ill on the day of the test or because a family emergency inhibited you from staying focused while you took the LSAT, then LSAT cancellation might be a good option for you.
However, if you cancel multiple LSAT scores, that might raise some eyebrows in law school admissions offices. The option to cancel your LSAT score should be used only in rare cases, and it would look very strange, indeed, if you cancelled more than once.
Study hard, work through plenty of LSAT preptests, and go into the exam ready to CRUSH the LSAT! That way, you won’t ever have to worry about making an LSAT cancellation decision. Good luck!
