@madelinesimpkins13 said:

This was my first time taking the LSAT and I got a 144 after PTing around 154... Honestly trying to figure out whether or not to cancel since I did the score preview. I'm seeing a lot of posts that caution against cancelling, but I know that I wasn't performing my best and that I can do much better. I will definitely be retaking later on with more study under my belt, but I wanted to know what other people's thoughts were!

Personally, I would cancel this one. 10 points below your average is a pretty big gap. You will likely do much better the second time around. With a score gap that big I would only keep it if the score was already within the range of my target schools. If that score is out of target school range, then it’s really not worth keeping. Whatever you decide, best of luck on the next one!

I have this same question!

Congratulations on the amazing score! I'm sorry you're feeling this way. I understand the family pressure. I've dealt with it myself. It's difficult, but I think you need to sit with yourself and figure out what it is you really want. It doesn't sound like you want to be a software engineer. Your parents may or may not ever be satisfied, so you might as well be doing what YOU want to do. I'm no expert, but with a score that high I think other factors will come into play. Who are you? What makes you interesting? It seems like you have all the right numbers to get money from the best schools, but what will you as a person add to the student body? I hope you are at peace with whatever decision you make. I really believe you're good no matter what you decide!

@djones2145 said:

exactly!! I can't tell if I did super well or horrible. It's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one who had this experience though. Hope you get the result you were looking for!

@haleyegan14982 said:

How do they curve the exam when there are so many variations? Do they curve specific test variations based on the performance of those who took that variation or is there one overall curve?

I am curious too. First time test taker here. Has anyone responded to this?

@paulmatheke442 said:

Don't worry too much about it. This happened to me too on my first LSAT. I went completely on autopilot during the test, and forgot everything that happened in the 1h45mins. Turned out I scored higher than I have ever scored in PTs. So, really, don't worry too much.

That said, I'm going to take my second (and last) LSAT tomorrow... Fingers crossed that it goes well.

Ah! Thank you! This makes me feel a bit better. I hope that’s the case for me too. Best of luck to you!

Today was my first lsat and I feel like I blacked out. I have no recollection of the test. I think I must have done it on auto-pilot. No idea how I did. Is this normal?? Such a weird experience. Like that feeling when you’ve been driving a while and suddenly you realize you’ve been zoned out the whole time but somehow you’ve been driving fine and end up at your destination. I’ve taken a ton of PT’s and never have complete amnesia after the test. Reading some of the other comments here is the only way some memory of the test is coming back to me. Can’t tell if this is a bad sign! Anyway, praying I don’t have to sit for another test!

@rnarayan95301 oh that's a great tip! Thank you!

Thank you all so much! Knowing there is a re-test option does make me feel better somewhat. And the statistics regarding how many people actually have issues makes me feel better as well. I've been reading so many negative experiences that it seemed to be a much more prevalent issue than it actually is. Thank you for all the tips and advice, I will definitely implement your suggestions!!

I BR the whole test. I basically more do a validation check for my non-flagged questions, because I like to confirm the processes that are working for me. That way I solidify why I got an answer right. Doing this does not take up much time for me. It’s also very rare for me at this point to change a non-flagged answer. Then, for any questions I’ve flagged, I go into an in depth look and take more time.

I had hit a plateau, but I started to see a boost in my score when I switched to this method. I think because it helped me fine tune and calibrate my instincts and knowing when they’re spot on vs uncertain. But I don’t recommend painstakingly full on blind reviewing a whole test. I tried it and it burnt me out.