What do I do now?

DaileyReview

So I re-wrote the LSAT and my second time I got 162 in June... and my first test I got 157 in Sept 2016. My top preptest through my prep was 163, so I'm quite sure that I did a good job considering my prep average. However, that only puts me at the bottom of the waitlist in terms of stats/etc. for my goal school. There is a small chance I could get in, but likely not, and that worries me. If I got a 165 or a 166 I believe I would be in a way better position.

So I'm considering re-writing again, but I'm not sure what I should do differently this time to improve. I've been using some 7sage and Powerscore bibles and doing things completely on my own for about a year. After the first time I wrote, I realized places I could improve and focused on them for the re-write but I'm not sure what to do to get better at this point. Should I get a tutor? Should I try a different program? Should I keep working through it and realizing my mistakes even further?

To be honest though.... I'm not sure I can mentally/emotionally take another re-write right now, but I also feel like I don't have momentum to re-start later on (in life/in a year). I took a lot of time off of everything else to focus on studying this time around, and I honestly felt kind of depressed about my prep for a lot of it. I had ups and downs, but I'm not sure if at this point I should just let it be and maybe go to a lower quality school with the score I have. I just felt like I couldn't get the motivation up to actually battle the prep and do things almost everyday... like I often just felt like 'what is the point.. i'm never going to get the score I need' (even though I know that the lack of studying manifested that probably... ugh)

I'm not sure if anyone else faces this type of dilemma.... the only people in my life who can give me advice have no idea how brutal the LSAT really is and the competitive nature of law school apps... they just tell me 'you're really smart! I'm sure you'll get in! Great job!' and while that's really nice it hasn't helped... it quite honestly has made me feel more defeated that I can't get the score they're sure I'm capable of...

Any advice?

_oshun1_

I'm feeling similar. hoping you get some good responses

Alex

Take a break -- as long as you need. Maybe a month, a year, 5 years, etc. Get back up, dust yourself off, and ask if this is what you really want to do. Perhaps in the meanwhile find some employment at a law office or some legal capacity to see if it's truly what you want to pursue.

Also, ignore people who haven't a clue about the LSAT, law school, or the legal market. They usually mean well, but generally speaking, they are useless as far as advice goes.

Sami

I think like @"Alex Divine" mentioned you should take a break first for as long as you need. It's normal to feel emotional after you feel you did not get to your target score. But you won't be as productive if you are in that state of mind. So get it out of your system. Have fun before you buckle down.

You also have a decision to make. I do believe you are capable of scoring your target score. But that can take time and its a bit unpredictable and varies from person to person. That jump between low 160's to high 160's can happen anytime. It depends on figuring out your weaknesses and a strategy to fix that and executing it. If you only had a single issue, it might start happening within 2-3 weeks but it could also be multiple issues and that can time to solve and work on. The decision you have to make is will you keep working till you get to your target score so you are competitive in your dream school and for scholarships or are you set on applying this year regardless of what your highest test score is?

Once that decision is made, you have to figure out how you will tackle your weaknesses with respect to the time you have. Having a five point jump can require anything from using analytics to drill for weaknesses and visiting the core-curriculum and drilling out those weaknesses. I would also like you to evaluate your blind review score. If you have a big gap between your blind review score and actual score you might need a good section strategy that lets you skip and have a second round to bring your error rate down.

Additionally, you might just need a tutor to guide you. If money is an issue, 7sage has a lot of cheap tutors who are amazing. I would also suggest attending some of these free workshops and study groups that happen. It's free which means it won't be catered to you personally to your weaknesses like a tutoring session but seeing how others do the same question you did can be really helpful.

I hope this helped. I hope you feel better soon and come back with a fresh and hopeful mind.