Do people recommend signing up for multiple back to back LSATs before getting your first score back? I hope to apply to school this Fall as early as I can, but am taking my first ever LSAT in August and am not sure how I will score since I'm currently scoring within a wide range (158-169). I am hoping to break at least a 165. Should I just sign up for the September LSAT too to have something lined up in case I am not satisfied with my August score? Or wait for my first score and maybe sign up for the October one later?

Part of me doesn't want to lose momentum and I want to have a better idea of what score I'm applying with earlier on so I can tailor my school list to that (meaning I would sign up for September too), but I also don't want to rush the process to the point where I am sacrificing my best possible score. Trying to find the balance between applying early and getting a decent LSAT score. I also don't want to push off applying another year... so am trying to get the LSAT out the way :)

I recently decided I want to apply to law school this coming autumn of 2026. I have never taken an LSAT and just started studying for the first time this month. My diagnostic score was a 154 but I hope to break at least a 165. Should I take the June LSAT even though I won't feel fully prepared by then, just to give it a shot and get a feel for the testing environment after some intensive studying over the next month? Or should I wait for the next August LSAT, when I'll feel much more well studied but I'll have less time to improve my score and I fear the testing anxiety of needing to get a good score quickly for applications may be a stressor. Do the top law schools get swayed by a potentially really low starting score even if you improved on your second or third attempts? Should I not risk having that potential low score on my score reports?