There are 5 sections?!! I don't think I knew that. Is 1 experimental?

lol well I'm 35, married with 2 kids and on 3rd career although hoping to be a public defender. Well, if at first you don't succeed... With the career I'm choosing I imagine I'll be taking lots of hits.

@ because he doesn't go to court, as I said AND he does not have a visible wrist tattoo. I am concerned with small visible tattoos that may not be covered by a jacket. I mentioned my brother in law because there are some people who seem to think that you can't have ANY tattoos, which is funny. @ - not a joke thread at all. I mentioned a specific kind of small, visible tattoo, then gave an example of someone who had different kinds of tattoos. My original question is still one I wanted an answer to- are we or are we not studying for the LSAT! LOLZ! I appreciate all your answers.

Lolz you guys are funny. My brother in law is a HLS grad and practicing corporate lawyer and has full sleeve tattoos and front/ back. He doesn't go to court though and a long sleeve shirt covers them all.

I do think there is such a thing as 'overstudying.' It blows my mind that some on here have been at it for over a year! How long have you been studying?

@ - yes for sure, having strong reading comprehension skills helps so much on the LSAT, although it's somewhat discouraging that the section I haven't studied for is my strongest!! haha

I'm in the same situation as you (2 kids, job, house, etc.). I skipped the advanced logic, but spent a lot of time on the basic logic. My husband took the LSAT, got an amazing score, and is an 'advanced logician' in most respects, so he helps me out a lot, and in his opinion, one does not need the advanced logic to do well on the LSAT. This being said, I have found that one of my main concerns now, along with doing PT's, is getting a firm grasp of conditional logic, and how to diagram, invalid arguments/ valid arguments, etc. Without knowing this, I find it impossible to do SA questions. Reading in English and not 'Lawgic' can sometimes get me to the right answer, but more often than not, I just get confused and flustered. (I also skipped RC, and it is my highest section by far! I have my English degree to thank for that)

Yes, thanks!

I'm not a lawyer, but I"ve been to grad school for another subject and already incurred a hefty debt. I'm also 35, so you can say I've been around the block a bit in terms of paying debts, etc.

Here's my opinion:

The 'I'll just work a few years in big law, then do what I really want' method rarely works out for people in the real world. Why? Because once you get used to a 6 figure salary and all the perks that come with it, it is extremely difficult to scale down into a job making $50 or $60k a year. You get used to having nice things and it becomes impossible to chuck all that out. In addition, life goes on while you are paying off the debt. You may very well find yourself married with a family (which costs money) during this time in big law and then it becomes even harder to walk away from the money. I know many people (including lawyers) who thought this might be a good method, and once they got a taste of the 6 figure lifestyle, could not see making any less. Some of them continue to practice big law and are miserable but want (and feel that they need) the money.

My advice is, LSAT aside, do you really have to go to NYU or another top tier school that comes with a top tier price tag? State schools offer a way better value, and if you really want to practice public interest law, I don't think you need to go to a T15 school to do this. I also want to be in government, hopefully as a public defender, and my top school is UNM, which has an in-state tuition of $16k. Paying low tuition is the only way I'll be able to practice the kind of law I want. Otherwise, it would be a huge risk for me and I'd not only resent the loans I had, I'd be financially unable to work in the field I want. Reassess why you really need to go to a top tier school. If it comes with the sacrifice of having to work in big law, and that's not what you want, do not do it. You will be miserable.

What's particularly discouraging is I got a 150 this test which was the same as my pre curriculum score! On the last pt I took I got 155 with a br of 161. I ran out of time for the lg this time which was a big drop but I also didn't do very well in lr. I'm getting discouraged!!

Would it be very odd to have the headmaster of a private school who I know well and have volunteered for in the past write a reference? She has provided job reference for me, as well.

@ - That's an awesome book! I am obsessed with reading books about social justice and mass incarceration. I also recommend 'American Furies: crime, punishment, and vengeance in the age of mass incarceration' and 'Hard Time Blues; how politics built the a prison nation,' by Sasha Abramsky. Also, 'No Matter How Loud I Shout: a year in the life of juvenile court' by Edward Humes. I have lots more book recommendations like this for anyone interested in reading about criminal justice and mass incarceration. Also, the documentary 'The House I Live In' is amazing. (I told you, I'm obsessed with this subject!!!)

@ It's an honor to get a comment from you. I'm not a stalker, but I LOVE YOU.

@.gencarella i took it in London. I had an experimental lg section.

Yeah for the public defenders. And I'm from Fresno!

Just took the London exam. Had 2 LG so 1 must have been experimental. Lg is my weakest section so was not happy with two sections of it! I ran out of time for games definitely did not do well,

However I found LR and RC to not be that difficult. Hard to say what I could have scored. Did anyone get a LR question about bats and hearing? For some reason this question has stuck with me.

@ - the exam is tomorrow, June 7th. Funny that it's a day later than the American exam, not sure why.

I skipped RC and that is my highest section.

Taking tomorrow in London- thanks!!!!!

Hi! I live in London (am an American) and I will be taking the LSAT in London tomorrow! What type of advice are you looking for?

Same happened to me! (I got a lower score than on all my PT's). Totally demoralising.

@ @.ames - thanks for the help. I'm honestly so much further than I ever thought I could go on this test. I remember getting an LSAT book many years ago and being completely scared off by the games. I opened the book, saw the games, closed it, and never thought about law school again for another few years. I literally thought I would be intellectually incapable of taking this test. If I had the luxury of spending another few months, I know I could get even better, but right now my kids need their mother at night (and not the beast yelling 'get away from me, I need to study!').

Thanks, all. Probably not a great question to ask right before the test, but I can handle the truth! At the end of the day, this test is a means to an end for me. I'm not aiming for a top tier school (the school I want to attend isn't even in the top 50!) and with 2 kids, a job, a husband with a very busy career, and me living in London far from friends and family, I've done as much as I can do for now so I'm sucking it up and taking my chances. I probably could study for over a year trying to eek out every point but that's not feasible for me at the moment and the goal isn't to master a test it's to gain entrance to law school and be a lawyer! I know many many people who scored in the 150s and are in law school or are lawyers now. As long as this score gets me in, that's pretty much the goal!

@ I'm asking because a lawyer friend of mine insists people's scores go up a few points on the actual test. Not sure where she got that info, probably just anecdotal.

Same happened to me, although I pretty much knew I wasn't ready for the June but due to external pressures, I took it anyway. Glad to see I'm not alone. It's hugely demoralising, but I am trying my hardest to keep in mind that we learn the most when we fail. Grit is taking a hit, and getting back up to do it all over again. Keep going!