Should I postpone?

legallyblondeee

I'm supposed to take my first LSAT this weekend. I just hit my target score on my 6th PT after 2 months of solid studying. I'm torn on whether to take the September test to get the experience under my belt and about a middle of the road score (155) or postpone and take the test for the first time in December and hopefully achieve my goal of being in the low-mid 160s. Any advice?

Rigid Designator

Is your goal score the same as the target score you achieved on your 6th PT? If not, then I think most would agree that you should postpone until you are consistently getting your goal score on PTs.

If your goal score is your target score, and you have only just hit it, I would still suggest postponing. Your post suggests you don't think you'll hit this target score by taking the test this week, and I think the consensus here is that you ought not take the test until you feel ready to hit your target.

legallyblondeee

Yes I hit the low end of my goal score range on my 6th PT. My worry with postponing is that January will be too late to submit applications. I'm also worried that I'll underperform on the December LSAT and screw myself out of applying for the Fall 2018 cycle. If I take the September test, I'll at least have a decent score in case anything happens that causes December to go wrong and won't have to take a year off school. Thoughts???

Alex

@jennamaree18 said:
I'm supposed to take my first LSAT this weekend. I just hit my target score on my 6th PT after 2 months of solid studying. I'm torn on whether to take the September test to get the experience under my belt and about a middle of the road score (155) or postpone and take the test for the first time in December and hopefully achieve my goal of being in the low-mid 160s. Any advice?

Postpone. The fact you think scoring a 155 when your goal is a low-mid 160s tells me you are no ready nor confident; two necessary conditions for doing well on this test!

The experience you need under your belt are more PTs and prep. Take a PT this Saturday and see how you do. Likely you'd have scored +3/-3 of that test is you were to sit for the exam this Saturday.

If you keep grinding I have no doubt that by December you can be consistently hitting the low-to-mid 160 range. Also, if you postpone and keep prepping, you will be in a much better position with only one score on your record that represents your true potential!

Good luck

Victoria14

This was my exact struggle and I'll be honest - I'm testing. By December it's VERY difficult to get a scholarship, let alone January. If you feel like everything is falling in to place, go ahead and test.

jurisprudent

@Victoria14 said:
This was my exact struggle and I'll be honest - I'm testing. By December it's VERY difficult to get a scholarship, let alone January. If you feel like everything is falling in to place, go ahead and test.

It's not too late to receive scholarships by December. AdComs know that qualified individuals may take the December test either as their first take or the retake, so the scholarships are given out in BATCHES. They're not just dished out at once in September/October.

Postpone if you have to because there are plenty of opportunities still remaining in terms of admissions and scholarship offers if you take the December test and receive your target score.

Alex

@"yeram.choi" said:

@Victoria14 said:
This was my exact struggle and I'll be honest - I'm testing. By December it's VERY difficult to get a scholarship, let alone January. If you feel like everything is falling in to place, go ahead and test.

It's not too late to receive scholarships by December. AdComs know that qualified individuals may take the December test either as their first take or the retake, so the scholarships are given out in BATCHES. They're not just dished out at once in September/October.

Postpone if you have to because there are plenty of opportunities still remaining in terms of admissions and scholarship offers if you take the December test and receive your target score.

This is correct. If you take in September, and do poorly, you're not not getting a good scholarship regardless. If you take in December, you will increase your chances of a scholarship if your LSAT is higher. Do not take unless you're ready. If you're ready, you will know because you will be consistently scoring at/or above your target score.