feeling down, not giving up yet

juanmapm

Hey Everyone,

I have depended on this community for nearly a year now, and I need some advice/good mojo. After hitting my target score consistently, I retook the November LSAT and scored six points below my PT average again (162 September, 162 November). I was floored. Honestly expected to reach my average when I opened up my LSAT email, or at the very least done better than September. It is hard not to give in to feelings of inadequacy, but I'm trying my best to stay positive and focus on January. I do not have to attend law school this coming cycle, but I have already dedicated so much time on this test, moved back home/turned down a job to study, and have submitted applications (and paid fees) to apply for this cycle.

How should I approach January? I have 40-50 hours a week available to study for this test, but want to be very cognizant of burn-out. My apps are all submitted, however, so luckily I do not have to juggle admissions essays, addendums, etc.

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions/advice y'all provide. I'm so lucky to have found this community a year ago.

-jmpm

Ohnoeshalpme

First of all, I think it's important to remember that you are in a very unusual community here at 7sage. It's easy to get caught up in the "T14" and "170+" posts and think that these are the minimum requirements for law students to feel satisfied about themselves. Remember that a 162 is still and excellent score. You did better than 86% of all the people who took this test! That is very far from inadequate.

If you have a real PT average of 168 and you'd be happy with that score, I recommend working on other aspects of your test-day ritual. Try to get in the habit of doing LSAT warmups around an hour before you'll be taking the real test. You need to exercise and eat well, meditate often and regulate caffeine and alcohol intake. I cannot stress enough how crucial all these things are to scoring your best on test day.

To hedge against a bad section, focus now on the section that you are the worst at. Maybe you struggle to hit -1/-2 consistently on LG or you can't seem to get under -5 on RC. Whatever the case, focus most of your attention on one section. With less than 2 months before the next administration, you will get the most return on your investment by hitting the section that is the most challenging for you!

Good Luck and remember that you've already achieved more than a vast majority of students ever will. This is just a blip in a long a prosperous legal career, and I am sure that you have the ability to improve your score and attend law school this year.

juanmapm

Thank you so much for you kind message @Ohnoeshalpme. I really appreciate it and you're absolutely right - I am so thankful for having reached the percentile from where I originally started. I will take your advice to heart and start thinking about working on my test-day rituals and mindfulness. My weakest section was traditionally LG but after drilling nearly every game out there it has become my strongest section. What kills me is LR but it fluctuates to an absurd degree (normally -5 but -12 on both September and November!).

Once again, thank you so much for the kind words, here's to January!