Sep, Nov or both?

tbrit011

So today July Lsats came out and I hope everyone has met their expectations! Everyone on this site works their butts off, y'all deserve the best

I scored well below my average PT scores,from 163 average down to 155. I'm hoping it was first time nerves that got to me (the first LR section freaked me out). But this result has got me wondering, should I take the septemeber or novemeber Lsat?
I havnt really been practicing since the July exam, and I am registered for the Septemeber exam. Im more than willing to buckle down for the next 4 weeks. However Ive also been considering taking the exam in novemeber?

My target score is the high 160s, and Im not sure what a realistic expectation for achieving that score is at this point. Would taking both exams be a bad idea?

NotMyName

It seems unlikely that you will score in the high 160s if your average is 163. People do, from time to time, outperform their average on test day but it's rare as you'd expect.

I would recommend you forego the September take unless you're comfortable scoring a 163.

Generally speaking, the less takes you use to reach your goal score the better. The advantage of 1 take vs multiple takes is hard to gauge since USNWR only uses the top score but it's safe to assume that a 165 is preferable to a 155, 160, 165 when applying. So while taking Sept and November is not, in and of itself, a bad idea, I think it would be in your case. Many folks need several takes just to score their average on test day, so using up several takes along the way seems unhelpful to your apps. Not to mention that it's hard to really focus on areas you need to improve when a test day is always around the corner.

How are you studying? What are your section averages?

tbrit011

@NotMyName said:
How are you studying? What are your section averages?

I'm averaging -5 In LR -4 in LG and -8 in RC, I'm currently just trying to expose myself to more RC to try to improve that slightly, and then I was going to drill LG's and LR questions, I haven't been doing any heavy studying since the July exam tho.

NotMyName

@tbrit011 that's -5 in each LR right? How are you studying LR, specifically?

In my case, I focused on getting LR to -3 before shifting to RC. LR is a mini-RC in many cases so the improvement in LR can transfer to RC. It worked really well for me.

tbrit011

@NotMyName said:
@tbrit011 that's -5 in each LR right? How are you studying LR, specifically?

In my case, I focused on getting LR to -3 before shifting to RC. LR is a mini-RC in many cases so the improvement in LR can transfer to RC. It worked really well for me.

Thanks for that tip! I think I'll shift to focusing more on LR!
Is it better to drill weak spots? Or do you advice something else? Thanks for the tips

Beast Mode

Hi, I think November gives you more time to go back to the fundamentals and review your weak areas then drill as well as take PTs with BR.

MissChanandler

With the September exam being only three weeks away and the last week of that really being fine-tuning/resting, I don't think you have enough time to reach your goals by then and it would be way more stress than it's worth. I definitely think that with your current average you could push up into the high 160s by November though!

Ohnoeshalpme

I think a good mark for you would be -3 LR, -5 RC, -2 LG. If you can get there by September, take the test. If you can't just cancel and continue to study for November.