Tough one. Apparently numbers of applications and even high scores/GPAs are up by a lot this year. Read this: https://www.lawschoolexpert.com/the-most-competitive-law-school-admission-cycle-ever/.

If you absolutely MUST go to law school in 2021, I would send now. While applying later with a higher score may get you in to those school, you'll miss out on scholarship money. Is it possible for you to wait to apply Day 1 of next cycle? That way you can take the pressure off, get in to those schools AND get scholarship money to attend.

Same! Oh LSAC, get your shit together

@daniellewhite140 glad I could help in some small way. And it looks like @ashlymarieyamat125 is right! The change fees don't apply to Flex. Sweet. That being the case, I say hold off on deciding until you absolutely need to. Take a mini break and see how you do on the next one. And don't sweat it if you decide to hold off until January. You want that high score!

I say take November. If you switch your test date, you'll still have to pay $125 to reschedule or you'll get a $50 refund. That's $325-350 spent on one test vs. $400 spent on two. If you have the money, I would take November as scheduled. You can always cancel the score if it goes really horribly, but even that probably won't be necessary. Many students take the test multiple times and most schools care only about your highest score.

This will benefit you in several ways: first, it'll take a little pressure off knowing your future doesn't hinge on the results of the November test. You'll be more calm during the study process and a little more calm during the test as well. Counts for a lot. Besides, you might surprise yourself!

Second, because November is not the end of the line you can feel more comfortable taking a break now. 2 days. 2 weeks. Whatever you think you need. It sounds to me like you've been pushing pretty hard. That's awesome, but you don't want to burn out.

Regarding your choice to work primarily on your stronger areas: I think it's smart. Throw in an RC passage at least every other day though. Get more comfortable reading at that breathless speed. If your problem is timing, make sure that the answers you do attempt are correct. Maybe you don't get to the last passage... so, what? As long as you got -0 on those you read you'll be solid. You need good testing strategy here. I would recommend getting a sense of the subject matter you feel best about/tend to perform the best on. Read that passage first when you PT to get that low hanging fruit. And in your free time, read articles about subject matter that is less comfortable for you.

As for the BR/PT gap... that's gonna be a reality for probably as long as you study. As you get better at answering the questions both your BR and PT scores will go up. You may not even see that gap close until you're testing 165 and beyond. Don't fret. What's important is that you're able to recognize when you've made an error. This is where you'll make your greatest gains.

Hope all this helps =)

@kpugh7582 LSAC says approximately 2-3 weeks

I think they're just fishing for candidates, but who cares! Why couldn't that candidate be you? I've gotten a few myself. Whatever they're playing at, it's a free opportunity to apply... I say go for it!

In a question like this, the author will rarely explicitly state their position or feeling about the subject matter... rather, you'll need to deduce how they feel using key phrases. While reading, it may help you to highlight anything that expresses an opinion or situates the relevant facts. During my read I highlighted the phrases "should abandon retribution," "should focus on," and "not worth punishing" in passage A. I highlighted "it has long been argued," "he argued," "Ayer argued," and "one could make the analogy" in Passage B.

This is what I did when running through the answer choices...

Is Passage A engaged? Very. The author is emphatic about their position, arguing not only that a course of action should be abandoned, but that another should replace it. Passage B certainly isn't MORE engaged. So answer choice A can't be it.

Is Passage A dismissive? Yes. The author dismisses the current approach to crime prevention. Is Passage B dismissive? Not really. Passage B seems concerned only with presenting the philosophical argument that free will and determinism are not mutually exclusive. It doesn't dismiss anything out of hand.

Is Passage A detached? Not really. The author seems pretty gung ho about their whole point (note the highlighted phrases). Passage B, alternatively, only offers up their own view in the last highlighted phrase "one could make the analogy," and even that is pretty wimpy. This looks like it might be it.

Is either passage ironic? No. Not at all. Both passages mean what they say. There is no double meaning.

Is Passage A skeptical? Sure. You could say Passage A expresses skepticism about the present use of retribution as a criminal deterrent. But I would say it's more than skepticism - it's outright disavowal. Passage B, alternatively, expresses very little skepticism. The only hint of it is found in the first sentence, and even that is not the author himself being skeptical, but presenting an argument that may cast doubt on the facts that follow.

@rachelh940491 I imagine they will be curved independently... the curve wouldn't serve its purpose otherwise

@ajay400998 said:

@armanc74710 said:

@rachelh940491 said:

So it seems like many of us found LR and the last game of LG a little difficult.. this may be a dumb question but does this mean the whole test will most likely get curved more?

The curve doesnt really work like that. I won't bore you with details but essentially a -7 on the Flex would get you around a 170. Depending on the difficulty of your section, you may be able to get a -8 to still hit the 170. If your section is easier then it would be like a -6. Overall, the curve really doesn't help too much, only for one-two very difficult questions

Hi I was just wondering but how do you know this is the case. Surely this cant be correct. Because all of the other LSATs (granted not flex) are based on a curve. If the test is absolutely difficult and the test takers collectively do horrible it would absolutely change how many you could miss, would it not?

I think what @armanc74710 is saying is that while the curve does account for variations in test difficulty, it is unlikely that anyone will see a major jump in their score as a result. But yes, you're right: if the test was difficult for everyone who took it and those reporting in this forum are not an unrepresentative sample of test takers, then it's possible to have missed several questions and still gotten a perfect score. I guess we'll see...

@mbe1030966 Shit. That absolutely sucks. I really hope you get what you asked for. So frustrating.

@sakethsaran1998111, it's difficult to say. You shouldn't lose time, but obviously @mbe1030966 didn't have that experience. Luckily I got disconnected after I had already submitted the test...

@dianapark0461, I can't speak for @mbe1030966 but I certainly had a lot of technical difficulties yesterday. Our experience may not be the norm, but you should be prepared for anything.

Wait times to hook-up with a proctor can be very long, ranging from 20 min. - 1 hr. My test was scheduled for 9:10 AM and I didn't get started until 9:30. I got disconnected from my proctor at the very end and as a result did not “check out” until 4 PM! I had some technical glitch that no one at ProctorU could seem to figure out. Eventually I was able to get reconnected with someone, but obviously it was a very long and frustrating day.

I would just recommend that you try to stay calm if it happens to you. It's not the end of the world if you get disconnected. They will give you the time you need to complete the exam. I would also recommend scooping up an Ethernet adapter if you have the time and are planning to use a device that lacks an internet cable hookup. I would not recommend relying on a WIFI connection. I can only imagine how much more difficult that would have made things.

Definitely chain when you can! You're exactly right. It'll help you to make crucial inferences more quickly. I wouldn't give any weight to JY's choice not to...

Same, same, same. Technical difficulty nightmare. I wrote about my experience on a post yesterday.

Just breathe... it's behind you now and it'll be alright...

Still... so sorry it was so frustrating for you.

It does look like the June 2017 LSAT may have been a little easier than some. According to PowerScore, perfect scorers needed to get a 100/101 correct on that test (perfect scorers can get as few as 98/101 correct and still come out with a 180, depending on the test).

You can check it out here...

" rel="nofollow">https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/correct_targeted.cfm

But if you didn't guess at all, it can't be a complete flute! Good work!

I second what Lsat175 said. For the next 2 weeks, take every LG on PTs 1-35. Take them one at a time. If you get -0 within the target time and feel good about the game, move on. If you got any wrong, did not meet the target time, or felt uneasy about the game in any way, take it again. Do not move on from the game until you've met those requirements. Once you have, take the game the following day to make sure you're still comfortable. Along the way, compile a list of games you continually have the most trouble with. After you're done fool-proofing, take at least one game from the list a day to keep yourself solid. Add in a few new games periodically to make sure you don't panic when you're introduced to something new (but I swear, every game will begin to feel like you've taken it before).

For context, on my diagnostic I got -13. Now I consistently get -0 to -2.

One more thing: LR questions began to seem much more formulaic and predictable to me after spending a few weeks simply articulating out loud to myself the characteristics of a given stimulus. Without timing myself I would look over the stimulus (forget the answer choices and question stem) and dissect it completely. If it was just a bunch of facts, I would state what kind of inferences I could make (what do I know is true?). If it was bad argument, I would come up with one or two reasons why, thus identifying what might help fix it. You get it. Take as much time as you need for each one and you should begin to see improvement. At the very least, wrong answer choices will become so much more obvious.

Don't give up! I felt the same when I started this journey just over a year ago. I'd consider the following before jumping ship...

If you are seeing improvements in your score outside of the testing conditions, then I imagine the test is beginning to make sense to you. This is what you need. Take as many PTs as necessary to normalize the process and I guarantee your ability to focus on the task at hand (rather than on the clock) will improve.

Pay close attention to your habits and YOUR skill set. This is a skills-based test and most of the highest performing students did not get there without putting in the work, but part of the battle here (especially for those of us with testing anxiety) is fighting our own inner antagonist. What an asshole. Once you've become more comfortable with the material, you'll need to develop efficiencies, personal tips and tricks, that will save you time and keep you feeling good.

Examples include:

a) Paying close attention to when you are waffling between answer choices - don't waste your time. We know you could get the answer correct if you had even 15 more seconds. You don't. Don't punish yourself. Select one and move on.

b) When an abstract conditional phrase is difficult to understand, it is not because you're stupid, but likely because it is a challenging question. Flag it and come back. Or don't. Just don't get sucked in.

c) The same goes for answer choices that seem abstract or confusing - they are confusing and seem abstract because they are likely the WRONG answer choice. Don't eliminate it yet, but don't waste your time trying to understand it. You're not stupid. It is. The correct answer choice, which will be much more obvious to you because you're awesome, will be just a few answer choices lower.

You're familiar with all of these tips. JY has mentioned them throughout the course. But you should take them very seriously. And work to develop your own. Doing well in law school and on the LSAT is as much about knowing the material as knowing yourself. I really think this is the key for those of us who struggle to succeed in timed conditions. For more inspo, listen to this: http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/31-puzzle-rush

Maybe you've taken on too much and should back it up and relax. I began studying last summer with the hopes of sitting for the August 2019 LSAT. When the time to test rolled around, I wasn't ready. I was overloaded with work and school. I decided to take a year off, finish my degree, and study again when I had more time available to me. Best decision I ever made.

Meditate. Do audible, breath-conscious yoga every day, multiple times a day. You need to calm your nervous system. This test requires tremendous mental discipline and meditation will help you get there, while reducing your blood pressure and making you less anxious over all.

I hope that this helps. I really do. I struggled in much the same way in the beginning, but have improved my score by 60% so far. I have now surpassed my goal and am aiming higher. You've got this.

Another reason it's difficult is that the answer choice also makes an assumption (albeit a fairly reasonable one): if you think someone is guilty of corruption, you do not support them.

I thought the very same thing. I think the reason why (D) is incorrect has to do with the fact that the lines we're meant to evaluate begin with the phrase "part of Augustus' response to the disharmony and disorder was..." This implies that Augustus was "regulating thought and action" through marital law because he was the Emperor of an unhappy populace, not because he possessed masculine traits. If, alternatively, lines 50-54 (the part about him crowning himself Father of the Fatherland) had started off this passage, implying that Augustus perceived himself to be the patriarch of a fallen state as early as 30 B.C.E., then (D) might have been correct.

(D) is a trappppp yo

I've used ProctorU in the past and maybe it's changed since, but what they did then was ask you to show them the space you're in by moving the camera around, to ensure that it's enclosed on all sides. They'll also ask you to show them the desk you're working at to ensure that there are no books or papers within reach. Then you'll pick up each piece of scrap paper and show them the front and back, to confirm that they are blank. Once you start the test, the proctor will be looking only at your face and your screen, which you will have screen shared.

We should be contacted by LSAC soon. They said we would be able to sign up for a proctor slot approximately 2 weeks prior to the testing date. I feel you though... trying to plan ahead and they're not making this easy!