I’ve taken the LSAT 3 times. The first was in Sep. 2017, went in somewhat blind and got wrecked by reading comp, scoring 157. Panicked, I registered for the Dec. 2017 test with only days before registration closed. During the 6 weeks I had to prepare I took advantage of all the free materials 7sage has to offer and obtained a 161.

I applied to schools with this score and my 3.4 GPA. I’m the son of immigrants and the first in my family to attend college, which allowed me to write purposeful statements that got me waitlisted at Berkeley, USC, and Michigan. Unfortunately I didn’t get in off the waitlist at any of these schools, but it inspired me to believe that with a better LSAT score, I could attend a top school.

I didn’t enroll at schools that had offered me admission and retook Nov. 2018, feeling hopeful about this next cycle. For a solid 3-4 months I went over the free logic game videos, multiple times, and took PTs, making sure to review after. My performance range was between 163-167, but only scored a 162 on test day: -4 in LG, -3 RC, and -16! in LR (when I was averaging -10 max).

I’m disappointed, but have applied to schools with this new score nonetheless. I told friends and family that last time was the last time I was taking the LSAT, but... March 2019. This test would allow me to potentially get off waitlists, get better scholarship money, finally get the score I’ve been chasing (even if that means delaying for another cycle), or finally realize that the low 160s are my limit.

So I’ve just signed up for the premium course and plan to upgrade in a few weeks when I have more money, as I want access to the harder questions. I’m going to do what I haven’t done, complete the CC and do all the drills. Time to find out if this will be a story of perseverance or arrogance.