Feeling Defeated. Should I try again?

utdone23

Hey everyone! I’ll just get right to it. I took the LSAT Dec 17 (159), Feb 18 (156) and Sep 18 (157). The first time my score came back lower I was crushed but I figured that it was bad luck and I could bounce back. Signed up for 7Sage after that, did the CC, did fresh PTs and I was consistently scoring between 161-165 on my PTs in the weeks leading up to this LSAT. When my score came back, I kind of broke down. I wish I could chalk it up to test anxiety but I don’t normally suffer from it. I have no clue what to do. Would a 4th attempt look bad? Should I even bother to attempt again? I would really appreciate your thoughts.

drbrown2

A 4th attempt would only look bad if your score doesn't improve. I would identify the parts of the test you still need to understand better, go back through those parts in the CC again, and drill LG until it's perfect. Also, make sure you blind review your tests before you score them. Taking PTs to see what your score is doesn't help you get better. They are more a snapshot of how you are doing, and the scores can fluctuate a lot if you aren't finishing sections consistently.

Don't make this decision before you've broken down your understanding of the test and identified areas you can improve. Once you've done that, you can decide how to proceed. Good luck!

Chipster Study

I would take it until I got a score that I was happy with.

eRetaker

Retake. Obviously taking it 3+ times isn't ideal but at the end of the day only the highest score really matters. I think you should really re-evaluate your fundamentals. I would suggest looking at the LSAT Trainer or Manhattanprep series before drilling or doing PTs again if you haven't already.

Victoria.

You may want to try meditation. A lot of people on here say how much it helps them and I don't see how it could hurt, it might be just what you need to get in the right headspace on test day. I think I didn't factor in how much my mentality could/would affect me come test day but I've been going over and over how much different my mindset was that day than it was during every other pt I took (and I took them all in as close to actual test conditions that I could manage, i.e. varying levels of noise, same time frame, 7sage proctor) and I don't think I could have ever anticipated how much I'd be affected until the day came. I've also never had test anxiety before. It might also be helpful to recall how you felt and what you were thinking the days of as well. Maybe you drastically changed your routine or switched strategies that day for some reason. It's extremely hard to predict how we'll perform under pressure so it might be to your advantage that you've had a few experiences to deeply reflect on and use to improve. No matter what, don't give up until you're satisfied with your performance. I believe you can and will score in your pt range if you believe it and use that belief to guide every step of your prep and eventual test day performance.