Push out LSAT Test Date or Hope for a Miracle?

haleygirl3

This is seriously so embarrassing, but I have been studying for going on five months now, averaging about 15--20 hours on a good week and I have taken six practice tests. The highest I have scored was a 148 once, but the last few tests were 143-145. I feel completely discouraged. I have put so much time in already and my score has actually gone down after two months of studying. I am equally bad in all areas it appears. I cannot figure out where I am going wrong or if my brain is just not meant for this kind of stuff, especially after reading that people are scoring 160 for just their diagnostic. I am signed up for the November test, and I do not know if I should push it out further, but I hear it is harder to get in if you apply so late in January. I am also going to school full time and graduate in the Spring. It is a lot trying to do both at the same time. Help! Also, I cannot figure out why I can do fine on Logic Games, but during the practice test, it is like everything I know flies out the window. My reading comprehension is also horrid, despite doing well on many practice problems.

_iamnw96

I understand how frustrating it is, when I first started studying it felt like the LSAC writers were out to get me and trying to prove to me how stupid I am. Don't let the exam undermine your confidence and hard work, but I know how important it is to feel validated by your score.

What are your hopes for law school? (1) Getting into law school, any law school, (2) getting scholarship money (3) getting into good or top schools? This answer will determine whether or not you want to apply this cycle. Generally speaking (don't quote me on this) I think a 150 should get you into law school, whereas 160+ should get you scholarships into all kinds of law schools, 165+ should get you scholarships into top law schools. If the goal is simply to attend law school, I think buckling down and studying hard and taking it in BOTH November + January is a good idea.

However, if you are aiming for higher, such as 160+, I would withdraw November, and study hard between now and January and reassess your situation then. I know it's not feasible for everyone, but another alternative is taking a gap year to increase a score by 10-15 points, which can be a monumental change and completely change your future.

That being said, if you've been studying for five months, I'm wondering what your study strategies are? I'm worried that you may not be studying "correctly". Are you taking timed sections and blind reviewing the answers you got wrong/foolproofing LG? Or are you just burning through material and waiting for an epiphany? Also, I don't think six practice exams is enough. Part of studying for the LSAT is building stamina for the LSAT, so that might be where you're faltering (ie why the logic games seem to get you when you're taking a PT).

Best of luck x

lilpingling

It's funny how the average LSAT score is somewhere in the neighborhood of 152 and yet by reading message boards, you'd think it's a 170. While 7sage's boards are, I think, the most encouraging and mature of any I've found (by far), it's still easy to read them and leave feeling discouraged. I try to think of it as bad correlation/causation question: Is it that everyone is really scoring so high or is it just that more high scorers are the kinds of people who visit message boards? I choose to believe the latter, and remember, some of your fellow posters have been at it for a LONG time. Ultimately, your success is what you want and need. The LSAT is HARD. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Many, many people work for a year to hit the150 point and they should be incredibly proud to have done so.

When I took the diagnostic test, I happened to have just finished a statistics class that included a unit on ranked/weighted voting and a Shakespeare class that devoted a ton of time to parsing language and structure. The skills were fresh in my mind and I got lucky. Had I taken the test 4 months earlier, it would've been a totally different story. How we score on the diagnostic has a lot to do with circumstance and pure luck. Today, two and a half months later, my score is basically unchanged.

As far as studying goes, I might suggest backing off of the full PTs until you've mastered more concepts. I just did the same myself after many, many duplicate scores. The bottom line is that I can't expect to magically get a good timed score on something I don't get a good score on untimed. One of the first things I did was create an Excel spreadsheet with several pages. One page is a missed question log, so I can find trends in why I miss questions. Another is a full log of the different question types, what they need, and what my approach is to each. I found two major issues; the first being that I wasn't reading very carefully and the second was that I wasn't 100% clear on the question types and what they needed for answers. Another suggestion is to print a full section section or two, go through it totally untimed, read every stimulus in full and write the main points and conclusions in your own words to make sure you really "get" what's being said. Before you attempt to answer the question (or even read it), try to figure out what's wrong. What's the problem with the argument? If there's no conclusion, what do you think the conclusion might be? This might alert you to some gaps in your assumptions and if nothing else, I guarantee if you do this enough you'll start to get so used to the argument structure that you'll be able to tell what kind of question it is before you read that part (9x out of ten, anyway). And one last suggestion: try teaching it to someone else. Going through these out loud and explaining them to someone else, including answer choices, will force you to explain your thoughts on answer choices out loud instead of rationalizing the answers internally. I've been doing that with my husband, which was actually annoying at first and almost ended in divorce (it's an exercise in patience), but again, it did force me to think differently. Don't be afraid to look at different books/resources, sometimes a tiny change in wording makes a big difference.

Anyway, good luck and remember you can take it twice and/or cancel your score if need be. You already have the skills, you just need to reorganize your process.

(Thank you for listening to my long and overly-verbose TED/LSAT talk.)

shortdana8

I am in the exact same position as you. I actually took the Jan 2020 test, scored a 150, got into two law schools that were within my score & GPA, but because of COVID didn't attend. Now I am signed up for Nov but am PTing at 147-149 and am concerned about whether or not to push to Jan. Like previous posters said, it is important to master concepts before burning through PT's and I think that's what we're all here to do at 7Sage. Like above poster said, you can always take Jan or cancel your Nov score. Jan is not too late to apply at all! That's what I did this past spring. Best of luck, know that youre not alone!

VerdantZephyr

All of this advice is excellent. I would echo that timed PTs are not that important at this stage, but mastering fundamentals. Find a study buddy or possibly a tutor to walk through the logic with you. Drill the same 15 LGs over and over till you can do them perfect. Ignore the PTs for now. You can do this!

Logician

Everyone above has given you some really good advice. I think the main thing you need to figure out is what is more important to you- going straight to law school come next fall, or raising your score- which will open up doors to better schools and more scholarship money. I would highly urge you to focus on the latter. This test is very learnable. That doesn’t mean everyone can ultimately get to the 170’s but I wouldn’t hesitate to say that most people can raise their score anywhere from 10–20 points if they put in the work. Let that sink in and really take that into consideration moving forward. If you choose the latter option, feel free to shoot me a pm- I’ll be glad to help you.

Stay positive!

daisyharding08

Hello! Just dropping a short message to say that what you described is me exactly I have been studying about 2 months now. my first test I got 140, got up to 148 on my 3rd test (last week) and now back down to 142. While I was reading the test it felt like I didn’t understand anything that I was reading. Maybe I was having an off day.

I work full time and still am studying about 15-20 hours a week too. I haven’t taken a study break/day off in a while so I’m going to try that and then come back. I am doing my best to not give up hope. I am aiming for 155 in the November test. Hit me up if you want to connect online and maybe we can help each other out or at least provide moral support! This is really tough and discouraging

Totality Dude

The fact that you had the confidence to be vulnerable means to me that you will figure it out! You put yourself out there and thank you for that!!!! In a world where it seems folks only discuss the failure of making the 90th percentile opposed to the 95th, you had the confidence to break that mold. I get the impression many practicing attorneys were right where you are at!!! Work as hard as you can, be intentional, and hit the fuck it button and take that test. After you get the results only one of two things can happen! You’re either good or you’re aware! A famous general in the USMC was approached by his troops and told... Sir we’re surrounded by the enemy, our lines are breaking. The general replied “ that simplifies our problem, we can shoot in any direction”. Just get to shooting and shoot with precision and confidence!!