This was my second attempt, after not doing well in the December LSAT. All round it was a much better experience today and I thought the LG section was easier than either of the two LG sections I got in December (I lucked out and got the LG experimental section last time.

I got the LR experimental section today and I think it was the first one.

Definitely feeling more confident in my performance today than I did in December anyway!

I used LSATMax to prepare. It seems decent enough, but I'm not sure how well it helped me. I used a lot of free study materials online too.

I felt my biggest mistake in December was spending too much time with the study materials and not enough with timed PTs. It's definitely the time that is killing me though, as I can score 170+ untimed, but managing to stay accurate within the time limit is what this test is all about...

My top two choice schools have application cutoffs of February 1 and the February LSAT is the last they will take for admission this year.

I believe I have a strong personal statement (I had professional editing help with it) and I'm sure my letters of reference are good. I'm also applying after working in a different career for 15 years, so my only hope, albiet a very slim one, is that these other factors will get me an offer.

I live in Southern California and there are third tier and below schools I could get into, but the idea of facing competition against graduates from the top local schools for jobs does not appeal to me.

But I'm not making any firm decisions yet. And I'm definitely not withdrawing any applications - I know my chances are slim to non-existent (at the top schools), but I see withdrawal as the only way to guarantee I would not be admitted.

Good luck to everyone else who is in a similar situation!

Well, people say that retaking does not have much chance of significantly increasing your score, so do keep that in mind.

I didn't listen. My first LSAT was in December and my score sucked. I put a lot of effort into practice tests going into February and felt much better about my performance on the February test, but just got my score and I increased by 1 point.

I'm very disappointed in myself and my top three schools are almost certainly out of the question now. Even my second and third choice schools are not that likely, so I'm considering how I'm going to respond.

I don't think I'll take the LSAT again, at least not without taking a course. But the February LSAT was the last chance for my top 2 schools, so a retake would not help for admission there this year, no matter how well I did.

I'm not trying to bring anyone down, but it's best to be realistic about prospects.