158 on August LSAT after scoring 165–172 on recent PTs. Looking for advice for upcoming administrations
Hi everyone! I took the August LSAT, which was my first official LSAT after starting my LSAT journey in May 2025.
I've been studying consistently almost every day (except Saturdays) while attending school full-time, interning part-time, and participating in a weekly extracurricular.My PT progression looked roughly like this:
April 2026: consistently low 160s/June: consistently mid 160/ July: consistently mid-high 160/ Early August: 172 on PT 157: August LSAT: 158
Since the exam, I've taken PT 158 and PT 159 and scored 165 and 169, respectively. So I don't feel like my underlying ability has suddenly dropped to the 150s. Normally, my LR sections are around -1 to -4, and RC is around -3 to -6. On the August exam, however, I ended up missing around 22 questions overall.
What went wrong on test day? (based on personally journaling my experience)
1. Sleep/anxiety: I've always struggled to sleep before major life events. I anticipated this happening before the LSAT, and unfortunately, I barely slept despite being in bed for 10+ hours attempting to sleep. By halfway through the exam I was exhausted, and I caught myself rereading the same words repeatedly. I was also experiencing significant anxiety during the exam (I was literally shaking, crying, and breathing heavily toward the end of each section). I really tried to prepare myself before test day by not going any over any LSAT material the day before, eating protein in the morning, avoiding too much caffeine, etc.
2. RC was extremely difficult for me: The first RC passages were already difficult, and I believe the August RC section I was administered was considered particularly difficult according to Powerscore recap. The comparative passage was especially bad for me. It was extremely philosophical/scientific and unlike the types of RC passages I had practiced. I had a bit less time than I wanted left for that final passage.
When I realized I was running out of time on that passage, I started shaking and nearly hyperventilating. Also, because the RC section was my first section of the exam, it definitely affected my mindset going into the rest of the exam.
3. I started overthinking answers: Even on questions that I normally would have considered manageable, I found myself second-guessing answer choices and talking myself out of answers. This is something I've noticed in my recent review as well. I'll sometimes identify the correct answer initially, but then convince myself another answer is better as I read through the rest of questions or if I'm in between two questions. The only questions I get wrong are ones that I flag.
What I've done since the exam: I took about four days off after the exam, and since then I've been studying again. I've been specifically trying to: stop overthinking earlier questions, trust my reasoning more, pay closer attention to details while reading, practice taking PTs at approximately the same time of day as the actual exam, review my mistakes more carefully rather than simply looking at the correct answer. My recent PTs were: PT 158: 165/ PT 154: 169, so I'm still performing in the range I was before the August exam.
My situation going forward
I'm currently registered for both September and October. I'd really like to apply this cycle because I feel that I have a strong overall application (GPA, significant life experiences, internships, extracurricular involvement, etc.).
However, my semester is starting this week, so my schedule will become:
Monday: Free / Tuesday: Internship 9–5 + ~1 hour total commute / Wednesday: Internship 9:30–1:30 + extracurricular 4:30–7:30 + ~1 hour commute / Thursday: Free / Friday: Free / Saturday: Free / Sunday: Free/ 5 asynchronous classes (workload likely to be completed on mostly on Monday, any remaining could be finished later in the week). I also have ADHD, so I made sure to get all of the accommodations I needed. I am medicated.
What I'm trying to figure out: Given that I scored a 172 only a couple days before the August exam, then scored a 158 on test day, but have since scored 165 and 169 again:
How would you recommend I approach the September and October exam? I'm registered for both.
I'm especially interested in advice about:
Whether my recent PT scores are enough evidence that the 158 was an outlier.
What you think I should specifically work on over the next few weeks based on this experience.
Whether anyone has experienced a similar large gap between PT performance and an actual LSAT score, and what helped them close that gap.
I'm aiming for the 170+ range eventually, so I don't want to rush into September just because I want to apply this cycle. At the same time, I don't want to unnecessarily delay if the evidence suggests that August was simply a bad administration for me.
I'd really appreciate any advice!
1 comments
Hi there! Looking at your scores right before and after August, it really does seem like the 158 was an outlier, not a sign that your ability suddenly dropped. Lack of sleep, feeling anxious, and having trouble focusing can definitely throw off your performance on test day. Still, I’d keep “the 158 was an outlier” separate from “170+ is my consistent range” for now. Hitting a 172 shows you can get there, but I’d want to see a few more recent PTs in that range before calling it your new normal.
At this point, I’d suggest focusing on how you approach test day, rather than trying to relearn the LSAT itself. Keep working through tough RC passages, but also try setting a rule for yourself about overthinking: read every answer choice, pick your answer, and only change it if you can clearly spot what was wrong with your first choice and explain why the new one is better. It’s also helpful to keep track of when you change answers, so you can see if second-guessing is helping or hurting your score.
I wouldn’t take the September test just because you’re already signed up. Instead, use your next few fresh PTs as a way to check if you’re ready. If you’re hitting your target scores and can get through the tests without major anxiety, then September could make sense. But if you’re still struggling with sleep or panic, it might be smarter to aim for October. I’d also recommend talking with your therapist or prescriber ahead of time to make a plan for the night before and test day, rather than trying anything new at the last minute.
August might have just been a fluke, but it did highlight something to work on for test day. The encouraging part is that your practice tests since then show your skills are still solid.