Do Law Schools Take Your Highest LSAT Score?

Do Law Schools Take Your Highest LSAT Score?

Five of the eight law schools we checked on November 3, 2026 say they use or rely on the highest score, but all of them receive every reportable score. LSAC sends your scores "including absences and cancellations". Harvard says it considers both of two scores. "Highest score" describes how a school reads your file, not what is on it.

That difference decides two things: whether an earlier score needs an addendum, and whether a cancellation is worth it. The answer is usually no addendum. When a gap between sittings does have a datable cause, a free addendum review reads a short explanation for exactly that job.

Every LSAC and school page quoted below was checked on November 3, 2026. Where a school's page names no cycle, the table says so. Policies can change between cycles, so recheck before you register for a retake.

What LSAC sends with your application

You do not choose which LSAT scores a school sees. Three LSAC rules set what goes out:

• Every score, absence and cancellation. LSAC: "Your most recent LSAT scores (including absences and cancellations) are now available on the LSAT Status page of JD Services and are provided to law schools when you apply." (LSAC score reports)
• Old scores drop off. "(Any score earned before July 2021 is considered nonreportable, as it is no longer valid for use in applying to law school.)" (same page)
• A retake reaches schools automatically. LSAC sends updated CAS Law School Reports at no charge when, among other events, "You repeat the LSAT." It also says: "LSAC will not send law school reports at your request." (LSAC law school reports)

There is also a cap on retakes. LSAC permits the test "Five times within the current reportable score period (i.e., since July 2021)" and "A total of seven times over a lifetime." Cancelled scores, "including those canceled with the Score Preview option", count toward those limits, "whereas absences and withdrawals will not." (LSAC limits on repeating the test)

What each school says it does with more than one score

Quoted from each school's own page on November 3, 2026.

Read the verbs. Berkeley and Cornell use or consider the highest score. BU and Georgia view or consider all scores and then use or rely on the highest. South Carolina says the highest is "typically" used and that all scores are considered. Temple says only that it does not average and considers all scores. Harvard considers both. NYU's instructions page does not say.

South Carolina also gives a reason: "The American Bar Association requires law schools to use the highest of multiple LSAT scores when reporting entering student credentials, so for that reason the highest score is typically the one used in making admissions decisions." That is South Carolina's account of a reporting rule. Harvard makes the same distinction from the other side: "(In case you are wondering, the scores you see in our class profile are the highest scores of our 1L class.)" A class profile reports the highest score. That does not mean the committee ignores the others.

Our view: plan around what your report shows, not around a school's promise to take the highest. Every school above receives all your reportable scores, and five of them (BU, Georgia, South Carolina, Temple and Harvard) say they view or consider all of them. The countercase: if every school on your list says it uses the highest score, and your earlier score has no cause you could date, there is nothing to address. Leave it.

Cancelled scores: the six-day rule and what schools see

LSAC's cancellation rules (LSAC score cancellations):

• Without Score Preview, you "may decide to cancel your LSAT score within six (6) calendar days after your test date".
• "Once your score is released, it becomes a permanent part of your record, and you will not be permitted to cancel that score unless you have purchased LSAT Score Preview."
• "Valid score cancellation requests are irreversible and cannot be rescinded."
• A session terminated for missing the Section 3 check-in "will be recorded by LSAC as a Candidate Cancel and reported to any school to which you apply for admission that utilizes LSAC's Credential Assembly Service (CAS) reports."

So a school sees that you cancelled, not the score you cancelled. Two schools say what they do with that:

• Berkeley: "We will not penalize you for canceling scores in accordance with LSAC policy."
• Cornell: "A single canceled score has no impact on the evaluation of an application, but please feel free to explain the circumstances surrounding your cancellation."

Cornell's wording is about "a single" cancellation. Remember too that a cancellation still counts toward LSAC's retake limits.

Absences on the report

LSAC lists absences among the results "provided to law schools when you apply". None of the eight school pages in the table mentions absences. None asks you to explain one.

Our recommendation: write nothing about an absence unless a school's own application question asks about it. An absence is not a score. If you missed a test because of an event that also disrupted another sitting, the LSAT addendum guide's skeleton for an interrupted administration is the place to start.

When more than one score earns an addendum

Among the eight pages in the table, South Carolina's and Harvard's invite an addendum about your scores, in different words. Berkeley's application page, which is not its LSAT page, also allows one; that sentence and six other schools' are quoted in who actually asks for an LSAT addendum.

"if there are significant differences between your scores on different administrations of the LSAT and you have any information to help explain the disparity — illness, poor testing conditions, or the like — you may wish to include it in an addendum to your application." (South Carolina)

"If there is any context you think we need to know about your scores, you can tell us why in a short addendum." (Harvard)

Temple goes further: "If you have taken the LSAT or GRE more than once, and if there is a large disparity between your scores, we recommend that you address the disparity in a separate statement to be included with your application."

A decision rule built on those three:

1. A significant gap between sittings, with a cause you can date (illness, a disrupted session): write two or three sentences. Give the date, what happened, and the other score.
2. A significant gap with no cause: no addendum at a school that only invites an explanation. At Temple, which recommends a statement for a large disparity, write one or two plain sentences that state the scores and the dates without excuses.
3. Scores close together: nothing to write.
4. A cancellation: nothing unless you want to give Cornell the context it invites, in one or two sentences.

The skeletons for each case are on LSAT addendum examples; this page does not repeat them. For where an addendum fits among your other documents, see the law school addendum examples. If your LSAT is your weaker number overall, the splitter document plan covers what else to write.

Questions about LSAT score reporting

Do law schools see cancelled LSAT scores?

If a retake would push you past an early round, compare the binding early decision terms before you register.

They see that you cancelled, not the score. LSAC reports scores "including absences and cancellations". Berkeley says it will not penalize a cancellation made under LSAC policy; Cornell says a single cancelled score "has no impact".

Do law schools average LSAT scores?

None of the eight pages in the table says it averages. Temple says it "does not average LSAT or GRE scores". The others describe using, relying on or considering the highest score, or considering all of them.

Can I apply with the GRE and hide my LSAT?

Not at Georgia or NYU. Georgia: "An applicant cannot withhold an LSAT score if they have one regardless of whether they have a GRE score." NYU: "LSAC will send all valid LSAT scores to NYU regardless of whether an applicant submits a GRE score." The wider question is on can you replace an LSAT score with the GRE.

Do schools see LSAT scores from before July 2021?

Not through LSAC. LSAC calls them "nonreportable". Some schools set their own window: Georgia accepts scores "beginning with the June 2022 test administration".

When does a retake reach schools I already applied to?

LSAC sends an updated report at no charge when you repeat the LSAT within the same admission year of your application, if your CAS file is current. Cornell adds that the scores in your report when it is released are "the only score(s) considered during the initial review of your file". Test dates per school are on the law school application deadlines page. A retake reaches schools you have applied to through an updated CAS report; see what LSAC sends to schools after a retake before writing to anyone.

Get a free review of your addendum

Get a free Quick Review of your addendum against GradPilot's law school application addendum rubric. It reads whether an LSAT addendum names the exact issue, lets a reader follow the dates, gives the context and current status, and stays no larger than needed.

More in the law school essays hub.

Sources

Retrieved November 3, 2026.

• LSAC, Official Candidate LSAT Score Reports: scores, absences and cancellations go to schools; pre-July 2021 scores nonreportable.
• LSAC, Law School Reports: automatic updated reports on a repeat; no reports on request.
• LSAC, Limits on Repeating the Test: five and seven limits; cancellations count, absences do not.
• LSAC, LSAT Score Cancellations: six-day rule, irreversibility, Candidate Cancel.
• Berkeley Law, LSAT: highest score; cancellations not penalized.
• Cornell Law School, J.D. FAQ: highest score; initial review; single cancelled score.
• Boston University School of Law, Standardized Tests (2027 entering class): all scores viewed, highest considered.
• University of Georgia School of Law, How to Apply (2027 entering class): rely primarily on the highest; cannot withhold an LSAT; June 2022 window.
• University of South Carolina School of Law, Taking the LSAT: highest typically used; ABA reporting reason; disparity addendum.
• Temple Beasley School of Law, J.D. FAQ (fall 2027): no averaging; disparity statement recommended.
• Harvard Law School, So how do we think about test scores anyway?: both scores considered; class profile uses highest; short addendum.
• NYU School of Law, Admissions Information and Instructions: all valid LSAT scores sent regardless of GRE.