Postpone even though I've been studying for a year? I am beyond stressed right now

louise.jesse

Hi all,

well, this question has been asked a million times, but I will ask it again...apologies.

My goal is to get 165 +.

Long story short I've been studying for almost a year now. Started Last March, more or less. My studying has been....a learning process. I started out quite erratically - I figured "oh, I have so much time!" and didn't put in that many hours (I also work full-time). I didn't buy a class or anything.

After 3 months or so of doing a few hours a week with some old power score books that a friend gave me, I realized that it would be better to get a class. So I got the 7sage course (the most basic one). I worked my way through about 2/3 of the lessons. During this time, I was occasionally doing practice sets, but I was mostly focused on logic games but I would do one game at a time. I kind of jumped around and did not use the foolproof method. Please don't ask me why. I think I just wanted to rush through everything because I underestimated how difficult the LSAT is.

In August I started to panic because I wanted to take the September LSAT, and I thought "oh my god I need to start doing full practice tests!" I took a few. This revealed that my score was still basically at the point where my diagnostic was (156).

I decided to postpone the September exam until December. I finally understood that score had not changed since my diagnostic because I didn't apply myself enough and didn't take enough time to learn the fundamentals.

I started learning the fundamentals. December arrived and I had done a few more practice tests- maybe 3/4 ( I only have time to do one a week) but my PT score had only climbed from a 156 to a 162.

I decided to postpone again.

Because I felt ridiculous, I did register for the February test. My mother, and my colleagues (I work at a law firm), were all saying that I should just take it. I figured that I absolutely needed to do the Feb 2018 exam because I had put it off so many times.

Fast-forward to now, and my highest PT score has risen from a 162 to a 165. I have something like 2 weeks but I'm working the whole time (I can't get days off). And I'm freaking out.

I want to score a 165 or higher. So...I'm almost there. It feels kind of ridiculous to put it off AGAIN... I'm close, so maybe, if I'm truly lucky, I will get that 165. But I think that that is not super likely. I assume my score will actually go down on test day, so it's probable that I'll get a 160, maybe lower (I score more consistently at 163 than 165).

If I postpone I will have time to do more than the 10 total practice tests I've done. And my logic games (this is my worst section) are finally getting better since I've started with the fool-proof method. But I'm still getting 8-10 wrong consistently. I can't finish all 4 games, EVER. Maybe this will improve.

This said, if I put it off, I have to deal with the stress of this dang test hanging over me for 6 more months - I fear that I've built this up so much that I'm just psyching myself out and looking for excuses to delay taking it. I fear that this psychological stress will get worse if I wait longer. I can always just take it in February (I've already paid) and take it again in June.

It is also possible that I've hit a plateau. I started with a pretty good diagnostic, and after a year I've only gone up by 9 points (and I only got a 165 once). My logical reasoning has completely stagnated - I always get 3-4 wrong. My reading comprehension has improved, and my logic games are getting there, but I'm ASTOUNDINGLY bad at them so I fear I actually will never do better than I'm doing now.

So. Do I put it off, given the possibility that another 6 months won't help much, and will just end up putting more pressure on me since I've delayed again?

Or do I just take it, but take it knowing that I am extremely unlikely to get the score I want - basically guaranteeing that I will have to retake?

Sorry for the wall of text.

Eric25

Well, you never want to go into the lsat with the attitude that you wont do as well as you like. You need to walk into that center ready to crush that exam! With that said, i do believe you could certainly improve to hit your target score if you postponed. However, it would really require a through examination of your foundational skills and study methods. Do you do strick BR review? Fool proof the logic games? Confidence drills? Etc... With as many success stories as ive read i have no doubt you could hit that 165 and well beyond. If you do decide to postpone, i would consider taking a week or two off and not look at a single lsat thing to really reset your mindset and give yourself a break! Best of luck with whichever you choose!

Alex

If you really are that stressed, I say take it and demystify the test a bit so perhaps you won't be as stressed about it come June.

But you'll have to ask yourself if potentially having a lower score on your record will cause you to put even more pressure on yourself?

If it was me, I would try to postpone and find a way to deal with all the stress. If you can't get even a single day off before your test, it sounds like you won't have enough time to prepare properly mentally for the exam, let alone have enough solid prep time.

I know the feeling of constantly postponing. But it is what it is... Especially while working a FT job. If you're not scoring consistently at or above where you want to be, then I don't see a good reason to go into test day expecting to get lucky, or knowing for sure you'll have to retake.

What do you think? Do you think taking the test once and for all while help put things into perspective and help you study better for your retake?

louise.jesse

Thank you both. I really don't know. I know that if I go into test day in 2 weeks, I will go into expecting to score between 158 and a 162, and I will go into it knowing that I will panic during the logic games section.

At the same time, if I postpone, I will go into it thinking "if I don't score above a 165 now, my entire year has been wasted."

I just don't really know. One thing that's relevant to know about me is I'm not actually fixated on going to a top 12 or top 20 school. I would like to get into Ohio state. 162 is in their 75th percentile, but since I have a somewhat lower grade point average than most people here, I want to knock the LSAT out of the park, because I cannot afford to pay a lot for law school and I will only go if I can get significant financial aid. I met with friends and colleagues with a similar background (nontraditional student, worked after law school, less than perfect GPAs) that went to both Ohio and to Wisconsin (similarly ranked) on full-rides, and all of them got between 167 and 170 on the test. I figure that that is what I need if they are going to consider me for significant funding, so my reasoning is coming from there.

I also don't know how those schools regard 2 lsat scores and I"m afraid it will count against me since I will be adding an addendum about one year of my undergraduate experience.

_oshun1_

Postpone. You’re obviously doing well with improvements. If you keep studying who knows where you’ll be come June/July/November. There’s no rush.

storm

Postpone and, if you can, tell family members that the pressure to take the test is hindering your ability to effectively study. It sounds to me like the expectation of taking the exam might drive more of your study time with that kind of pressure rather than your passion for learning the material. Take a step back and pat yourself on the back for the improvements you've made thus far. Then, find a way to love the material and have fun with it and dive back in.

Seeking Perfection

First of all, if you are PTing at 163 don't expect a drop on the actual test. It is reasonable to expect to score in roughly a bell shaped distribution around your average of 163. That means you are probably roughly equally likely to get a 161 and a 165. The only good reasons I can think of for your LSAT score to be likely to drop significantly on test day are if you have not been PTing in realistic conditions or you are struggling with severe test anxiety.

Even though I think there is a reasonable chance you get 165 I think you should wait.

You can definitely improve at games. Overtime, foolproofing will get you to near perfect on that section. Those points could get you the outcomes you want.

Those schools will mostly look at your highest score, but there is still no reason to take before you are ready. After all, they'll still see the lower score.

Finally, you should be able to use law school numbers to get some idea of the scores and GPA combinations required for scholarships at each school. Remember to pick the 2016-2017 cycle if you don't just want lots of pending decisions. You can sort by LSAT score or scholarship. Here is Ohio States page. http://osu.lawschoolnumbers.com/applicants/1617?order=desc&sort=lsat

louise.jesse

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in, I know my post was very long. I've now shared this same post on reddit and facebook...ahahahah oh man, my misery is deep right now. I've been obsessively googling "should I postpone" for roughly 48 hrs now...

Still don't know what I will do. I guess I'm deeply afraid that I'm putting it off because I don't want to deal with the pressure. Since I've already postponed, I worry that this is a psychological hurdle that I'm dealing with, and it would be awful...I mean truly, truly awful - if I somehow made it to June and encountered the same anxiety about not being ready.

That said, LSAT scores don't lie. I've seen an improvement of 9 points in the last 4 months, and there is no reason to believe I can't master those games. If I can simply improve by 5-6 points on the games, I can more than meet my goal of a 165, and it seems stupid to just take the test if I know full well I'm not there yet - especially since I'm not applying until December 2018.

I dunno. My mom is going to murder me (and...I'm 34. Go figure, my mother still has this much influence over me). She's definitely convinced it's "better than I thought" and that I'm just "scared." I don't think she understands that you can't really accidentally do much better on the LSAT than you thought you would.

cgracia12

@"louise.jesse" Im in a similar situation as you, only with much lower stats. @"Alex Divine" said something about "demystifying" the exam that I believe does have some merit. I did this for the September exam. I had been studying for quite some time before sitting for the September exam, but I was definitely not scoring where I wanted.

I took the September exam more so to demystify the exam, especially because I knew that schools only take the highest score. To be honest though, I didn't think it was a big deal. The test writers do an excellent job at being so consistent with the exam, and the September 2017 exam was no different than any recent PT that I had taken.

Had I known the test wasnt any different, I wouldn't have taken September. But I think if you have severe test anxiety, it can help.

TLDR: I'd lean more towards postponing, but from your target score and your avg PT score, I don't think it would be bad to "demysify" the exam.

studyingandrestudying

@"louise.jesse", Maybe send your mom some information on test day score drops. And I like what the person earlier, @stormNYC, said about kindly mentioning to people that hey, this pressure is hindering my studying (or something like that), and I have to take the time I need for this.

louise.jesse

@cgracia12 , Do you feel that having taken it once put more pressure on you going into a retake? Or was it nice having already taken it?

One situation that complicates this even further is that if I take it in February I will be at a different test center than I would be in June, so it wouldn't really give me insight into how things go in a particular testing center. Long story short I live in New Orleans and the exam in Feb is the weekend before Mardi Gras, so I was afraid that there would be too many distractions (I have a roommate and he's having tons of guests over) and I decided to fly to my parents' house in Ohio to take it. The fact that I organized a trip around this test makes me cancelling even more absurd, although I did get the flight with "award" miles that I can get refunded if I don't go.

But yes, it would demystify it which might help. One complicating factor with my score is also that although I've taken full timed tests with no extra breaks, I've never really "simulated' a test center - I have a fake proctor but I take it at home in a comfortable spot with my pajamas.

cgracia12

@"louise.jesse" said:
@cgracia12 , Do you feel that having taken it once put more pressure on you going into a retake? Or was it nice having already taken it?

No, having taken the test definitely put less pressure on me. When I took the test for the first time, I clearly knew I was going to do bad, and I really did. So much so that I knew I couldn't score lower than my first time. In my 2nd try, I improved 3 points but still not near my goal.

But if you really don't want to waste an attempt, I am confident that come test time, you will find the real deal LSAT test is not any different than the PT's you do at home. I just wanted to demystify it and see it for myself, but had i known it wasnt a big deal, I wouldn't have had that horrible score on record haha

keets993

I'd advise for postponing. I took it last year, partly because everyone around me pressured me saying that I had "already been studying long enough" or that "you'll be fine" and whatever. These were all people who had never done LSAT related stuff. It didn't go well. Look at it this way, would you rather take it in 2 weeks where you're not confident of the score you'll get or take it June knowing that you'll ace it? Especially since you're so close to your target.

Another thing is that it can be demoralizing to take the test and not do as well as you're scoring, that's a psychological battle you'll have to pull yourself from. So if you're dead set on taking in feb, go in with the mentality that you'll crush it, but also aware that you might need to retake? From your post though it sounds like you personally want to postpone. Even if people around won't understand, everyone on this community will definitely understand!

louise.jesse

@keets993 Thanks for your words of encouragement. I still haven't decided but it really helps to hear everyone else's experience.

studyingandrestudying

@"louise.jesse", You can also change the subject when people say annoying things. Be like, I can't talk about this right now/it's stressing me out/can we talk about something else.

tylerdschreur10

There's no cut and dried right answer, but I would suggest you take in February with june as a backup. I took the test a total of 3 times before o got a score i was happy with, and yes the cost and extra time investment sucks, but it's sometimes necessary.

I was incredibly anxious before my first attempt, and it hurt me. I think testing on February will help a lot in terms of familiarity with the test, location, and process. Plus if you get a 162-165, that's a very solid score to apply with, or give you a call back if June goes awry.

But most likely June or Sept. will be a better shot. You have been studying for 10 months, but part time and admittly not always in an efficient and smart manner. Take the next 5 months to buckle down on the fundamentals of LR and RC, which it sounds like you're doing pretty well with. After that it's just LG which I think you can definitely get a handle on! Games just take a little longer for some people, keep drilling and foolproofing!

If you can break through on games you're looking at potentially a 170+, which I don't need to tell you is going to open doors.

I know how hard it is to explain postponing or retesting, but if it's in the best interests of your long-term future, tell everybody to kick rocks! Then rub their face in your rightness in June!

louise.jesse

@tylerdschreur10 Thanks for the encouraging words!

I ended up withdrawing before I saw your comment! I'm gonna postpone because I'm not planning on applying until next cycle anyways, so I figure there's no rush- even if I don't get the score I want in June there's always September and December of 2018 (and July now too, right?)

I told people around me and got some flack but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Only I can know when I'm ready, I guess!

Anyways, this forum has been of great help. It's so nice to be able to get support and food for thought from people who are familiar with the process.

OneFortyDotSix

Score on test day is generally a couple points lower than your best PT, this holds for many test takers but there are exceptions. Unless you're applying in this cycle, or there's some reason you can't maintain the same level of effort towards preparation before June, I see no benefit to taking the February LSAT.

Cant Get Right

I think you made the right call, for what it's worth. You were able to make the bulk of your LSAT mistakes without a score that reflects them. I've got two of those scores, lol, and they're not good for much.

So now that you know what you're dealing with, get to work and do it right this time. Hit LG hard. If you're scoring in the lower-mid 160's doing that poorly on LG, there's no reason you couldn't break 170 by getting good at LG and making slight improvements elsewhere.

As far as external pressures, that's tough. When they would like to take the LSAT and invest upwards of a quarter million dollars into their law school education, I'd welcome them to go about that however they think is best. Friends and family are great, well intentioned, and completely ignorant about what we're doing. Drown out the noise, and do what you need to do.

Good luck!