Also reminder that LSAT internet stuff is NOT an accurate representation of the majority of test takers. Similar to social media; why would someone post a mundane boring post/score? Most posts you see are anomalies or not what the majority of people are scoring. A 170 is better than 94% of test takers. Meaning any post about a 170+ is literally the experience of only 6% of test takers max. Also scoring a 170 on a pt is not the same as actually scoring a 170 on the test. I scored 3 points above any of my pts for the official test :) keep grinding!!
Honestly I take people who say those things in bad faith. It's a very discouraging humble brag to make in public, especially in a community where everyone is trying to get better. You're basically telling everyone: "Your goal score is my prison because that's how good I am." Nothing wrong with people joyfully sharing those scores of course, just with acting like it's a bad score when they know how much effort was put into it.
Just keep in mind that people who make 170+ are more likely to talk about their score, and that you have no idea how many accomodations they have to achieve that score (no hate on accomodations, but if you don't have them and you're comparing yourself to someone with 3 sections on unlimited time for mild anxiety, that is not a fair comparision for you.)
Roughly 95% of LSAT test takers score under 170. You're not stupid.
Kind of a logical flaw type problem; you probably see a lot of posts like that because they're more willing to post their score than others who score lower.
Just work hard & focus on yourself & ignore others' scores. It'll just make you more anxious & be a roadblock to your own growth & progress.
It's easy to compare yourself because we all want to be in the same place but remember other peoples score has nothing to do with your intelligence, comparing yourself to others will only make the LSAT climb feel thousands if not millions of steps more difficult. I myself found that when I just simply focused on doing better than I did yesterday and stopped reading other peoples posts and progress I finally made progress myself.
It easy to envy people who are where we want to be, but we will reach there too one day :) When you read those posts just remember they too have struggled thousands of hours to get there, and we do not see that in their posts. Every aspect of this test can be learned. I hope this helps you out, you aren't stupid just learning one of the worlds hardest tests, but learn without comparing yourself to others, it takes a lot of pressure off yourself as well :)
Not at all. I have noticed a trend: people who took a formal logic course as undergraduates have a major advantage on LR, particularly when it comes to conditional and causal reasoning. I began pursuing law without any guidance from my parents or my peers. Had I known that I could take courses that would improve my LSAT performance while earning my bachelor’s degree, I certainly would have taken advantage of that opportunity.
Not sure if that's the case for you, but either way, don't worry. It's an unrepresentative sample ;)
Don't do what I do sometimes, which is letting the test define me...
It's not easy to do but, beyond trying to check yourself when you catch yourself envious of others, also try to ask yourself what it would take for you to get there yourself. While we can resort to the truism of "comparison is the thief of joy," comparisons can also help us reach our next levels and see what we need to do to get better. We have a built in bias to compare ourselves to people who are "better" than ourselves and to try to do more than just get self pity out of the comparison we can also try to harness that for self benefit too.
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Also reminder that LSAT internet stuff is NOT an accurate representation of the majority of test takers. Similar to social media; why would someone post a mundane boring post/score? Most posts you see are anomalies or not what the majority of people are scoring. A 170 is better than 94% of test takers. Meaning any post about a 170+ is literally the experience of only 6% of test takers max. Also scoring a 170 on a pt is not the same as actually scoring a 170 on the test. I scored 3 points above any of my pts for the official test :) keep grinding!!
Honestly I take people who say those things in bad faith. It's a very discouraging humble brag to make in public, especially in a community where everyone is trying to get better. You're basically telling everyone: "Your goal score is my prison because that's how good I am." Nothing wrong with people joyfully sharing those scores of course, just with acting like it's a bad score when they know how much effort was put into it.
Just keep in mind that people who make 170+ are more likely to talk about their score, and that you have no idea how many accomodations they have to achieve that score (no hate on accomodations, but if you don't have them and you're comparing yourself to someone with 3 sections on unlimited time for mild anxiety, that is not a fair comparision for you.)
Keep focusing on you!
@zunair "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 14:11.
Thank you for this post. Just fantastic. Good luck!
Roughly 95% of LSAT test takers score under 170. You're not stupid.
Kind of a logical flaw type problem; you probably see a lot of posts like that because they're more willing to post their score than others who score lower.
Just work hard & focus on yourself & ignore others' scores. It'll just make you more anxious & be a roadblock to your own growth & progress.
It's easy to compare yourself because we all want to be in the same place but remember other peoples score has nothing to do with your intelligence, comparing yourself to others will only make the LSAT climb feel thousands if not millions of steps more difficult. I myself found that when I just simply focused on doing better than I did yesterday and stopped reading other peoples posts and progress I finally made progress myself.
It easy to envy people who are where we want to be, but we will reach there too one day :) When you read those posts just remember they too have struggled thousands of hours to get there, and we do not see that in their posts. Every aspect of this test can be learned. I hope this helps you out, you aren't stupid just learning one of the worlds hardest tests, but learn without comparing yourself to others, it takes a lot of pressure off yourself as well :)
LMAOOO MEE
Not at all. I have noticed a trend: people who took a formal logic course as undergraduates have a major advantage on LR, particularly when it comes to conditional and causal reasoning. I began pursuing law without any guidance from my parents or my peers. Had I known that I could take courses that would improve my LSAT performance while earning my bachelor’s degree, I certainly would have taken advantage of that opportunity.
Not sure if that's the case for you, but either way, don't worry. It's an unrepresentative sample ;)
Don't do what I do sometimes, which is letting the test define me...
Anyway, good luck!
Best,
Joseph
Oh - and thank you so much for your honesty and willingness to share! This is a wonderful post!
It's not easy to do but, beyond trying to check yourself when you catch yourself envious of others, also try to ask yourself what it would take for you to get there yourself. While we can resort to the truism of "comparison is the thief of joy," comparisons can also help us reach our next levels and see what we need to do to get better. We have a built in bias to compare ourselves to people who are "better" than ourselves and to try to do more than just get self pity out of the comparison we can also try to harness that for self benefit too.