+15 from first to best; +14 from first to my 5-test average.

And just because sometimes we all miss the obvious, double confirm that you are logged in :-)

The general consensus has been that over the past few years now, even those schools which claim to take an average are really only looking at the high number. This is primarily because it is the only score which they are required to report to USNews rankings. DEFINITELY do not worry about that; if you feel confident you can get a better score, retake; with that said, most people would advise against taking in February unless you are hitting your target score pretty consistently.

Time-wise, bubbling at the very end is much, much more efficient -- I highly recommend that. Regardless of where I am, I start bubbling when I have 1:30 remainding (less on LG because I find it's quicker to bubble).

I wouldn't worry too much about filling the whole bubble in -- use your dullest pencil for bubbling, start in the middle, and bubble 2/3 or more of it. It should take less than half a second for each bubble :) It's definitely overkill to fill up the entire space; the scanner will go right through the center; just make sure you don't leave the center unmarked, and you should be good to go.

Also, a second reason why NOT to waste a lot of time bubbling: In the event that the scanner doesn't read all of your bubbles, You can pay a bit extra for them to re-grade it by hand -- in which case it will be very, very obvious what answer you chose, even if it isn't "perfectly" bubbled.

Yep, agreed. All sections can be improved, but with dedicated drilling and following these (7sage's) methods, LG can get to near perfect pretty quickly.

Keep it up, guys :) lookin' good for February.

A much-favored method that I'm fond of is, when drilling complete sections, give yourself 40-45 minutes/section until that's comfortable, decrease time when you consistently have time left, until you hit 35.

Blind review is great, but if you aren't able to consistently complete sections on time, you're wasting valuable PTs and should drill under time with older test sections :)

I'll tell you this -- I know that if I don't do something, I'll have trouble sleeping. Not anxiety, just excitement.

I'm going to go on a long run, or hit the gym extra hard or something -- I want my body to be so tired that I can fall asleep at 8. We shall see :)

Torah, gosh I wish I could have felt that way about tht dream :-P but not, alas, this was just a nightmare. I was physically stuck on a linear sequencing game without a solution. No fun :-P

Melatonin, Marryam -- it seems to be the thing most highly recommended. Try it once or twice before then though, to make sure you know how you react to it.

I definitely hear you all on how life consuming this test is. Few nights ago I was trapped in a sequencing game all night long. Kept waking up and falling back asleep into it. Awful.

On the other hand, at least this test is interesting. We could be studying for months for the GRE (been there, done that. Not fun.)

Well, the short answer is it felt average; LR1 felt super easy, LR2 felt medium-hard, RC felt hard, LG felt medium.

On the other hand, it's always important to remember the curve =) if a test is "easy", that doesn't typically translate into a better score -- just a tougher curve!

I'm ALL about making sure to max out your potential :)

Err yeah, and as you pointed out, the LSAC website says it there clear as day. You answered your own question, mate :)

Hmm, I guess I'll disagree with TniA -- everything I've read and every conversation I've had points to a September test this year. Generally speaking, I would call that good news for anyone shooting for that test -- you should have your scores back before application season officially begins.

I might add that is is precisely why it is SO important to absolutely kill the LSAT, and why 7sage is so valuable: scholarship money -- sometimes full rides -- can come from a halfway decent GPA and a great lsat -- and both are definitely necessary to attend the schools with the best job placement rates.

I will say this: anyone who is going to law school who hasn't done their research on the ACTUAL bar passage-required job placement of any and ALL of the schools they are considering attending is not taking law school -- and its utterly enormous monetary and time expense -- seriously.

While many of these websites and opinions seem extreme (and some of them may be), the reality is that a great many people are attending law school, taking out loans of between 100k-200k, and are unable to find a job to show for it -- and many of those who do are unable to find jobs which pay enough to make a substantial dent in that kind of loan.

Take these websites with a grain of salt, but listen to the core of what they are saying: that for many people, law school is a very poor investment -- and unfortunately, a particular school's job placement rate is generally at the core of things.

Statistically, that is almost exactly the difficult range -- 12-20 are tougher by and large.

I have a friend who swears by doing 1-12, 21-25/26, then coming back around for 13-20. I personally just prefer to race to 12-15 then slow waaay down :)

Everyone is different. As a general rule I believe in the suggestions above, but you ought to do what works for you. Do you burn out easily? Or are you the sort who improves with familiarity?

I'm one of those who can benefit from back-to-back PT and testing days. I even did some PTs back to back for endurance training -- and consistently, the second test was a few points higher.

Know thyself. If you think you would benefit from a day off, take a day off. If not, then take a PT the day before.

A happy compromise might be taking a PT the day before but removing one of the LR sections and not doing an experimental -- kind of a "half PT" to keep your head in the game without inducing burnout.

Cheers!

Jaguar, that's wonderful it's so inexpensive wherever it is you are (I assume Canada). Yes, it's that expensive here in the states. After COL, it's this expensive for almost all schools; before COL, many schools' tuition alone is this much or more.

http://lawschooltuitionbubble.wordpress.com/category/original-research/national-statistics/tuition-data/

scroll down; there's a chart that shows the mean tuition rates for American law schools from 1999 to 2012; the average (average!) in 2012 was over 40k annually.

It just doesn't work out that way for so many. There are so many very disheartened dreamers out there who chased (and are still chasing it) without success.

sweet, It isn't that I disagree with your fervor -- it's just that with law, the data just don't support that. The jobs are going to graduates from prestigious scools in the middle or better of their classes. I'm not making this up; it isn't my opinion as to how it should be, nor is it simply the opinion of some law school slackers who are bitter about their lack of success. This is the reality.

The things that you describe above can rightly be considered necessary conditions for successful employment -- but they are by no means sufficient in the market today. No matter how you look at it, debt in the 150k+ range is debilitating for someone making anything less than 70 or 80k/year, and jobs that pay this not only are not guaranteed -- they are downright difficult to get.

This shall be my final post on the matter; for all of you reading these, don't take anyone's word for it here; do your own searches -- deep, detail-oriented fact-based searches. You owe it to yourself one way or another -- either to absolve yourself of doubts and prove me wrong, or to make yourself aware of the potential hazards.

Best of luck to you all in your pursuits; be careful. Make educated decisions, and make smart investments.

Edit: Caveat. Your number 5 is dead-wrong. One of the big things that all of you should inquire about with respect to the schools you are considering is, "how much job placement support do you get from the job placement department (which all respectable law schools have)?" YOU ARE PAYING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. They sure as hell DO owe you some help in seeking employment -- you just gave them a quarter of a million dollars.

Good schools support you in this way, because not only is it ethical, it helps the school keep their employment numbers high. If a school has a reputation for shitty job placement assistance, write it off as a diploma farm unless it has other qualities which strongly stand against this.

I'm not a downer on this. Live your dream -- just please be careful and make certain you are making a wise investment. Get that killer LSAT so that a scholarship can mitigate the risk, or so that you have the option to go to schools with very high job placement ratings.

Ladies and gents, I just don't understand your logic :-/ law ISN'T just like the rest of the market! Name another profession that costs over 150k (sometimes MUCH more) for your education and has such a huge chance of leaving you without a job?

GO to law school if you are passionate-- but don't be ignorant of the data as they are. MANY people who are undoubtedly passionate about being a lawyer have not/did not find lawyering work after graduation. This info isn't on the Internet to try to get you to quit on a dream -- law school transparency exists, because so many people said, "I have the dream of becoming a lawyer!" And too many schools have told them in return, "come to our school, give us your money, and you will get to live your dream!". And those students oftentimes come out the other end overwhelmed by debt with zero success in the jobs market.

If you want to spend 40k in loans to get your undergrad in English like I did, then who cares if you end up as a barista? I, on the other hand, you are 200k in debt and forced to work as a barista because the promised jobs never arrived even after endless searching because the market is supersaturated, then suddenly the real purpose of law school transparency et al. -- to protect people from possibly ruining their lives with insurmountable debt forever -- makes sense.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/04/the-jobs-crisis-at-our-best-law-schools-is-much-much-worse-than-you-think/274795/

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/reform/projects/Jobs-Tracker/

http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/2013/04/law-school-graduates-continue-to-face-brutal-entry-level-market/

Sorry, but there's just no argument here. The increase in demand for lawyers isn't here. Law firm growth rates are down. Just over 55% of the national 2012 class found full-time legal employment after graduation. The "panicky articles" are actually by and large realistic, well-sourced statistical analyses of the current law climate, many published in highly respected places.

It IS an insecure field. That doesn't mean the law field is a bad place to be though -- it means a law school with low placement rates is a bad place to be.

P.S. no one ever took adderal and suddenly jumped 25 points. Not. Ever.

Leave the Adderal out unless you are taking your regular, prescribed dose. Honestly mate, you ask "what happened".... That happened. HUGE chemical shifts that your body isn't used to are NEVER good for using your brain. It isn't magic.

Chloe,

A couple of things. The advice above about NOT having the "February or bust" mindset is super important. You aren't scoring where you want; if you go into this test thinking "this is my only chance!", you will probably end up really disappointing yourself.

Ask yourself why it is so important that you go to law school this coming fall. Is it because it is your only realistic tips, or is it only because you hate the idea of having to wait?

If you can find a way to re-adjust your mindset to thinking of beginning fall of 2015 as okay, there are some ENORMOUS advantages you will be able to benefit from.

1. More study time -- and an entire summer to study WITHOUT taking classes (this makes an enormous difference if you're truly motivated!)

2. The ability to go into the test without the feeling of "this test or bust!"

3. The best thing -- in my mind -- is actually having the time to get a GREAT score -- and thereby possibly opening up GREAT scholarships. Think of it this way: if you scrape by with a score that can get you in this year, but could have waited just one year and gotten a score that got you in comfortably AND got you a half or better scholarship (and often it's just the difference between a few LSAT points), you could end up "earning" between $40k and $150 (depending on how much your school's tuition is) just for waiting a year! Not to mention the possibility of making yourself eligible for schools you might never have thought yourself capable of getting into.

Bottom line: breathe. Relax. It's not the end of the world. Instead of running into this test at breakneck speed, take a step back, and figure out how to tackle it in such a way that you can be 100% prepared to succeed.

Good luck with everything.

P.S. in today's law school climate, having a retake doesn't really matter; VERY few (if any) schools can afford to "average" your scores; they're looking at your TOP score (the only one they are required to report to USNews).