I'm upset it had to happen, @ @, but I did it. I canceled my December sit.

After much debate within myself, I finally made one of the hardest decisions I can possibly remember... I canceled my December sit. Canceling my December sit means having to take a year off after I graduate in the upcoming Spring, something I told myself I'd never do, but here I am. Although I'm a perfectionist who can't bear to come to terms with the current harsh reality, I'm starting to accept that it's okay to know that I'm not fully prepared at the moment because I know for a fact I'm not hitting anywhere near my LSAT potential. Thank you for the encouraging words, @ . On the road to a 180!

@ You raise several good points and definitely drive a hard bargain. What you're saying about people changing their actual target schools because of the scores they're currently getting couldn't be any more true. My three dream schools that I'd love to go to are all T20 including UCLA, Vanderbilt, or Texas, but obviously I've had to adjust my schools with the scores I've been getting. I hate that I've had to do that and hate having the mindset that I won't go there because of the scores I'm getting with just two months to study.

With all that said, I still have some concerns about canceling December. Maybe you can help me out with these questions and concerns, and maybe @ could help out with this as well. As I mentioned before, I'm very involved around campus, I'm very socially active, I'm a member of Greek life, and I'm generally constantly busy. I cancelled my June test because I was taking four pretty difficult classes and was focusing on not tanking my GPA, I was a high up position in my fraternity, and I was taking a TestMasters course, but with trying to juggle all of this at once, I wasn't giving the LSAT nearly as much attention as it deserves, consequently, scoring even lower than I am now. Because it's becoming more evident I'm going to have to take a year off, I'm worried that because I will still have other responsibilities during my year off such as a job or an internship, I will continue to not be able to find sufficient time to give the LSAT as much time/attention as it deserves. Do you have any recommendations on how much studying one should do for how long? Or is it really just up to the person to find how much time it takes to really understand things? I didn't want to take the year off because I don't want to be away from school too long, so I don't want to waste any time out of school trying to continue to find time to study for it.

Also say if I was to continue studying over the next several days and take a couple more PTs utilizing the various new strategies I've been taught in the earlier comments, in turn, sticking with the December sitting. I'm thinking if I score relatively well, I could weigh my options and see if I find my score good enough to go to schools I began considering when I saw I wasn't reaching my previous target schools' numbers. If I don't do well, I could use it as an example to know what test day is like and maybe get out some kinks/stresses that my anxiety might take advantage of. What I'm wondering is if I absolutely bomb it for some reason, say get in the 140s, is that going to count against me? Obviously when I eventually take it again once I'm scoring where I'm capable of, I know I'd have to write an addendum for it. But does having that score next to me scare law schools away? I also read somewhere (those words never end well) that law schools don't like to see you take it a bunch of times, especially 3 times. What do you know about that?

Thanks again for all your help. You have no idea how much it means to me.

@ I have a technique that really helped me with timing on LR - maybe it will help you?

Just like @'s timing strategy, I've also been trying to do this more often! When I was scoring really low in the beginning I realized it was because I would get stuck on questions taking way too long trying to figure them out. I just physically couldn't skip questions due to my perfectionistic traits. Thankfully I've gotten out of that obnoxious habit and begin to skip around! I didn't realize that is what very high scorers do, so that helps a lot to know that is the best way to make sure you get to all the easy ones.

I try to bounce around on LG to find the games I know I can complete much more rapidly than others, but I've never tried it for RC. Maybe that will help boost my RC as well! Your advice has been amazing and I thank you for it.

@ You're probably trying to make up for time by moving really really fast--physically and mentally--and this is almost certainly costing you points.

That's exactly what's happening. Once I start getting off pace, I try to get back as quick as possible and sometimes forget that I can simply skip the harder ones I don't get right way instead of wasting time trying to decipher them.

Like I just told annaantonova1009, it's good to know that the high scorers use skipping techniques to get to all the easier questions because for some reason I didn't think it could help as much as it does!

@ I think checking your timing after each question or two is inadvisable. Checking your timing, ironically, takes time, since you are frequently glancing at a clock and breaking concentration. Thus, by always checking the timing, you might be making your timing issues worse!

I definitely agree it's been making both the timing and anxiety worse for me! I have been trying to devise a very similar strategy to the one you use. On my last PT I tried to make sure I did the first 10 in the first 10 minutes, but I kept glancing after every couple to make sure I was on track but obviously we're establishing the fact that even though I had a guide, I was still looking at the time too much to make sure I was sticking to it. I only have time for maybe 2-3 more PTs before the test but I'm definitely going to try to work on the strategy. Thanks for the advice!

@ I've been signed up for the December one since I postponed the past June sitting for the same reason. I was going to take it in September but I studied abroad and would have only had a month to study, so I put it to December thinking I'd have more time. Unfortunately I can't ever catch a break because I'm a very involved and very busy person, so from the time I got back to the US in the beginning of August to now, I've really only been intently studying for about 2 months. I'm a senior and can't really push it back any further without taking a year off, which I was extremely against for my own sake. Although I wanted a year off after I graduate in this upcoming Spring to be my last resort, if I don't do well on the December one, it'll be inevitable.

@ It's unfortunate that we often do forget that this is merely a test, but it also doesn't help that this test demands as much as it does while holding as much weight of our future as it does. I'm going back and trying to devise ways to memorize and understand the correct ways to attack each question types as well as take more times PTs, although I feel my time running short with the December test coming up here in just 8 days. And lastly, I have been prescribed medication for my anxiety but I don't take it. I've weighed the benefits as well as the drawbacks of taking anti-anxiety medication and I feel as though I would be better without it. But hey, that could just be my anxiety making me anxious about taking an anti-anxiety medication :)

@ I've been catching myself looking at my watch almost after every question, maybe sometimes after every couple if I felt I took too long on a question

This was very helpful! Thanks!

Anyone else have any input on this? Would like to hear as well.