Immediate reaction to the score release is purely frustration... I knew from the moment I walked out of the test center on August 8th that I underperformed. It was my first official test and I'm taking the one in September, and I know that I will do so much better this time around.
But I can't help but to feel disappointed in how it all went. More motivation I guess!
Anyone in a similar boat?
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Real. Was practicing at 162-167 range and ended up scoring a 159. But I felt that the aug LSAT was not representative of what I had been taking. I mean for me the RC was mad difficult and there was so many MSS dense questions in the test and way too little conditional and the parallel reasoning was mad hard at the end. Brightside is we know what to expect going fowards and can adjust practice for that so dont give up, we will all get our dream scores one day :)
Yeah :( Took the August LSAT and scored way under what my preptests were. I didn't feel amazing after the 8th either and this was my first time taking it. I've been studying after my test but not as much, but was planning to retake regardless. However I'm not really sure if it should be in October or November now.
This same thing happened to me the first time around just due to the stress of it all, I took it again and just got an 8 point improvement and a 176 which aligned more closely with my PTs. Don't let this discourage you guys. Second time is much easier. More familiarity, less on the line (since you already have at least one score locked), etc.
@astone3 needed to hear this, thank you! how long in between your tests did you take? wondering if i should push for october or wait til november after getting my august score way lower than my PTs
@nicaves I waited quite a while doing literally no prep hoping to get off some waitlists haha. I only decided to retake the test a few months ago. Maybe 5 or 6 months in between? I was not studying during that time.
I ended up getting a 7sage subscription around June, and grinded it. That being said, personally I'm very much ADHD-brained, and I'm most productive in huge bursts, so my strategy of doing one month of intensive, obsessive studying might not be the best advice for most people.
Also, the first time I took it, it was the January LSAT. I did my applications late because I didn't even decide I wanted to pursue law school until November. I didn't retake it until now because it was already so late in the cycle and I don't think score preview could be used multiple times back then, so it was a risk.
That being said, if I was consistently getting much higher PTs and still had time in the cycle, I almost definitely would have retaken it, especially if score preview was an option. You still have plenty of time this cycle and can always just score preview it, so it really comes down to whether you think you'd realistically see an improvement or are just gambling for better variance. I will say that this time around I had much greater confidence in my answers. Even though I was able to get a 176 PT prior to my 168 in January, I had nowhere near the confidence or speed I had this time around. So yeah, the extra studying definitely helped.
@astone3 thank you for such a detailed answer! i think i will reg for october and see where my PTs are by the november deadline and an intense sept push!
@astone3 How did you gain confidence? What do you think helped in increasing your score - were you mainly doing drills and sections? I think i'm struggling with how to spend my time before taking it again this October after a disappointing August take!
@Isabella! I spent a lot of time on the live sessions, mainly LR since that's the easiest to improve. RC is definitely still my weaker of the two. I found that even working through problems that felt incredibly intuitive forced me to identify the logical structures better than I otherwise would have. I was going largely off feel before. Being able to definitively identify conclusions, premises, and even graphing out problems just for the sake of practice (even if I wouldn't on an actual PT or test day), are all things that helped me build confidence.
I got a 142 so I'm pretty frustrated too. I've been studying since February but I can't seem to break into the 150s. I feel so hopeless :(
same. I tried so hard this summer and I feel so crushed, like all that effort was for nothing. I was scoring in the 160s and dropped back to 157 on the real exam.
I got a 150, after being in the 158-160 range. Pathetically low. Just signed up for October. Definitely was not expecting that.
I was not expecting mine either! I did not get in the 150s and my highest pt was a 157. Just have to keep pushing along
@JordanPodolak I relate to both of y'all. Took it last November and literally got the same score as my diagnostic after months of studying. Took it in February and broke 150, but thought I had crushed it. Now I'm taking it again in November because I didn't get off any waitlists last round. BUT this is my first time using 7sage to prep -- we've all got this! And I had friends get in with a 150 like... 9 years ago. It's so much harder now.
@JordanPodolak same boat here and I’m thinking whether I should cancel the below 150s score or not. 😫
@qtaro I am going to keep mine! Its high enough that I could get into a lowwww ranked school so if I dont get higher in September, I have that atleast.
I was practicing at 168-173 and ended up with a 161, which was lower than my diagnostic. FWIW, I was also extremely sick when I took it. That test was crazy hard.
@sammersx 161 as well. Huge bummer
@sammersx 161 as well and it is lower than I hoped to get. I thought the exam was much harder than my PTs especially the RC with the comparative. Not sure what your doing but im retaking in October, good luck!
@sammersx literally same. 161 and I had a gnarly cold the weekend I took my test. I’m gonna partially attribute my score to that to make myself feel better lol
scored a 151 and i genuinely am crashing out
@JaidaAnderson be proud of yourself for taking the step. Some never get this far and only dream.
@JaidaAnderson I'm in the same boat and I am so proud of us. You have accomplished so much Jaida, we will continue to grow together!
this was my first try. i started studying at the end of may. i'm trying to remember that but i'm still disappointed with my 162. i felt really good about the RC and thought all of my LR practice would come together idk. trying again in october
@zora 162 on your first time after studying for 3 months? Be insanley proud of yourself!! That is amazing!!
I couldn't agree more- that test was terrible. I was so frustrated that one of the harder questions for me was an author's perspective question, where I could not choose between two words with very close meanings. I am taking the October test... I was scoring in the 169-173 range and ended with a 164. Quite discouraged.
@DK15151515 im in your exact situation! high 160s low 170s PTs consistently the past two months and i dropped a 164 on august.
@nicaves so frustrating!!
@DK15151515 same!! was scoring in the 167-172 range and got a 163. so upsetting since i sacrificed my entire summer to study
i think the real question is - how do we motivate ourselves or find motivation to grind again following the disappointing lsat score? I'm also asking for me.
PTing around 158-161 and got a 151. I took the August LSAT to prove to myself I could do it and get a decent score, now I’m just incredibly discouraged.
I honestly felt so good about this one. But I ended up dropping 6 points. I’m very frustrated. But like you said, more motivation. Good luck!
I got a 158, which was a 3 point improvement, but I felt like I could do much better. Admittedly I did take the test extremely sick, but I registered for October and can only hope I do much much better.
I got a 135 and I'm not retaking it. I'm doing JD-Next to supplement.
@pnatt I dont know you and you can do better than 135
@GManToGradSchool Thank you for your confidence. I work full-time while also managing bipolar disorder. I also tried to study during my downtime whenever I could.
@pnatt im also bipolar and working full-time and I got 163. Regular meds and therapy is important, my therapist even helped me come up with a study plan and would check in every week how it was going. Consistency is more important than time for studying I would say, like 30 mins to an hour EVERY day instead of a super long time on the weekends, but definitely take a practice test every weekend you can.
@Laurenms3935 I appreciate the advice, and I'm glad that approach worked well for you. I also take medication and regularly see my psychiatrist, and I studied consistently whenever my schedule allowed. I'm just not interested in continuing LSAT prep or retaking it right now. I'm moving forward with JD-Next and my application, and if this cycle doesn't work out, I'll reassess my options then.
@pnatt You are welcome. I also work full time but I understand how debilitating BPD can be. That being said, this test can really open some doors for you. Its worth pushing yourself for. I Wish you the best of luck.
Same. I ended up with an objectively good score, 168, but I was so certain I got a 170+, and was shooting for a 174, so I'm still disappointed. Maybe that's on me for not starting to study until 1 week before hand, though. Retaking in October!