Post-October 2020 LSAT Emotions-

blake.schapiro

Hello fellow 7Sagers!

Long time reader, first-time commenter, here. I just completed my second LSAT exam. I canceled my first score, which was probably for the best, because of problems related to LSAC. They didn't send enough tablets for my first exam and having to come back and prepare myself for the make-up exam just bummed me out. Anyway, I have been studying for a very long time. I have been planning on taking the LSAT for over three years and have studied (off and on) at different levels of seriousness over that period. I felt super prepared for the exam. I don't know how it would be possible to be more prepared. I consistently scored 172-173 on PTs leading up to my exam date. And, my mistakes were always something silly; a consequence of not paying enough attention to stimuli on easier questions.

During the actual exam, I felt like I was on auto-pilot. I had never experienced that during PTs. I finished each section under time and feel good about LG. But, I have no idea how my LR and RC went. I have read a few posts of other students talking about this same feeling. But, I have not found a post about whether those same students received their expected score. Can someone please tell me if this is a good thing (haha)? I feel like my intuition has been conditioned to choose the correct answer through the course of my studies. But, my post-LSAT anxiety is forcing me to seek the advice of the people more experienced with the harsh reality of real LSAT performances and scores.

Could @"Juliet --Student Service--" or maybe another instructor let me know if this is normal?

Juliet - Student Service

Hi @blake.schapiro

Congratulations on completing your LSAT!

I am not an instructor but I have seen other students mentioned that they had similar experiences. You can check out our Official October 2020 LSAT-Flex Discussion Thread where students also discuss how they felt during and after the exam.

I am sure other 7Sagers would be happy to share their experiences with you.

Good luck!

VerdantZephyr

@"blake.schapiro" I had a similar high addrenaline autopilot feeling. I never have test anxiety but I was so keyed up just sitting at home waiting all day. I do not remember anything any the LR section except my addrenaline was too high and I blew through the easy first half questions in less than10 minutes on auto pilot before I got some sightly harder ones in the mid teens and had real trouble getting myself to focus for them. I continued to feel keyed up through most of LG before settling down a bit. RC was fine, easy other than the same comparetive passage everyone has been complaining about. The questions in that one gave me real trouble but I was finally able to focus a bit better at that point. I think I probably did around my average as much as I can say only hazily remembering LR, but for sure the first half of that was autopilot from practice. That's decidely what got me through that whole section. Feel pretty confident I went -0 in LG at least. I'm finally in a place where I am not worrying much about it, but I have gone back and forth between feeling great and being stressed that I mucked it all up. I'm a broke extreme super-splitter looking for scholarships with only the October LSAT available before January and I think that just put more pressure on it than any other test I've taken before.

sarahshields2000

Just wanna say, I had a very similar experience during the August LSAT Flex where I felt like I was in autopilot. It went so smoothly that I after I finished I thought either it went the best it ever could have or I majorly messed up. Thankfully, it was the former and I walked away with a 170+ score. I just wanted to let you know because you said you hadn't seen somebody with a similar experience who ended up getting their goal score. Of course I can't say what you ended up getting but I can say that I felt similarly during my exam and did well, so there is hope! I wish you all the best!

blake.schapiro

Thank you for your comments @VerdantZephyr and @sarahshields2000,

Yes, I feel like the nerves were powering me through. But, at the same time, I was still focused on the questions at hand with a few mental sidebars during the few seconds between questions. I am experiencing the same type of feeling that this is either a really good thing or a really bad thing. I hope it is like you, @sarahshields2000, and it will end up being the former. Your experience is making me feel a bit more relaxed about my possible score. Thank you for sharing that with me and congrats on your August Flex!

VerdantZephyr

It is interesting that you guys, coming from similar places as I did, both felt like it was one way or the other after. My feeling afterwards was that I probably received around my average. Like you @"blake.schapiro" my average was both very consistent and quite high, 175.6 the last month and every single score was within 2.6 points of that. Since the exam I have both at times happily entertained thoughts of a near perfect score and worried that I am over confident in predicting a score right at my average, but talked myself down from the later and, while it is a nice day dream, have not sailed my hopes too high beyond day dreams with the former. I remain, however, stressed about it when I think too long. Given that I was immature and irresponsible back in undergrad and thus have a horrendous GPA to show for it I have no room for error if I want to get into any of my top 8 schools with scholarship aid and, even with a near perfect score it will still require luck.

I am so stressed out about it that working on my applications and essays is difficult. I am not a perfectionist by nature, nor even a type A personality, but feel like I have to be perfect in all elements of this process to make up for the past. It is a weird place I do not much care for. I'm not so worried about rank, I think I would be happy somewhere with a nice collegial atmosphere and strong professors like Washington and Lee, but because I am highly interested in international law, I am faced with the reality that lower ranked programs do not have the financial resources to give me the same level of experience and opportunities that T14 or T25 schools do. Even in the T25 there is a huge degree of difference in programs and experiential learning/externship opportunities between T14 and the rest in regards to international human rights. In the end I may have to be content with those lesser opportunities but I cannot quite convince myself to accept that yet. Instead I am obsessing over perfection rather than making reasonable progress on apps. For me, studying for the LSAT was so much easier and far less taxing on my mental health. Are either of you feeling the same way?

blake.schapiro

Yes! I have been optimistic in the mornings and pessimistic in the evenings, every single day since taking my exam. For me, the hardest part of imagining a bad score is that I am not sure what could be done differently in my prep. I wouldn't even know where to start if a re-take in needed, because, I have spent so much time studying already. But, in relation to essays, I agree. I have put off writing all my essays until right now, during this in-between period. And, I am trying to write my essays as though my LSAT score is the worst case scenario. But, that is much easier said than done. I am using all of my application materials in a way that communicates a single defining characteristic. My application has a single overarching theme that (hopefully) even my LORs communicate. I hope the admissions committee will be able to define me in a single, intended, word after reading my application materials. And, my topic provides me enough room to accommodate both a good and bad score.

I am in the same boat as you @VerdantZephyr . I am not overly concerned with rankings. Right now, we have a presidential candidate who received his law degree from Syracuse University, a V.P. candidate who went to UCLA Law, and a nominee for the Supreme Court who graduated from Notre Dame. I think we are witnessing the double-edged sword of the more contemporary super-exclusiveness of T14 law schools. Many of these law schools are creating the conditions, as a consequence of their exclusivity, that threaten their relevancy. I really don't think that law school rankings will be viewed the same way in a decade from now.

I graduated with my undergrad from the University of Denver and feel very lucky to have found that amazing community of faculty and scholars. I just want to go to a law school that will make me as proud as my undergraduate community already does. And, I want to attend a T14 school because it seems like the resources available to students in those communities would provide me a comparable amount of academic opportunities that would facilitate that same level of pride.

I want to practice legislative law. And, I understand that a legal degree from any school would be enough to have my dream career within the field of public policy. But this, maybe unique perspective of rankings, let me view this law school admissions process more like an indication of how much time and work it will take me to get to that dream career. Because, unfortunately, rankings are still important for this application cycle.

Hopefully sharing my personal perspective will provide even a bit of comfort in your own process.

spinosan

I feel the same way!!! When i finished the exam, i was so unsure of how it went. i felt more scattered and bad about it right after the exam, but not because of any one particular question or even a series of questions, i think it was just general adrenaline of that test.

But i'm in the same boat, about the whole not really remembering any of the questions lol. it's awful because i can't even like go back through my thought process to evaluate how i was doing - my mind just blocked out the pain lol. honestly, it's more of a blessing. that just sounds even more torturous.

Also same feelings on the exam, like it wasn't overly difficult but also not overly easy. i'm optimistic, thinking that its just a mild test, there've been plenty of those in the past (mild in terms of the LSAT, that is)

What i've tried to do during all of this is go through this thought process:
Did you get the feeling you were massively underperforming or being stupid during it? No.
Okay, so did you have one really bad LG or RC that just wrecked you? No.
Okay, how did you score previously? were you absolutely bombing PTs or problem sets? Not really, no (nerves got to me a couple days before but i wasn't bombing them)
Okay, so trust in your training leading up to this thing. It comes down to your judgement on test day and that probably has a lot more to do with the training you had leading up to the test for the months prior, which sounds like it was pretty strong for you too. you were hyped up with adrenaline which usually helps you a lot. Say it with me: trust in my training.

I know this feels torturous, I'm there with you! I'm saying a prayer for everybody on this thread - we're in this together gang!

VerdantZephyr

@"blake.schapiro" I also feel strongly about community in law school. I did my undergraduate degree at lovely App State where professors were often far more concerned with students and student development than research and administrators were accessible and flexible. I did my grad degree at a large urban university that shall remain nameless and it was a terrible experience. Not only did administrators care zero about students, my department was poorly funded and while some professors were amazing others were decidedly not.

@spinosan I agree. I am trusting in my training, which is what got me through an adrenaline fog. BTW, I found a pod cast where they talked about the difficulty of the test. They estimate that, for the international version I had, the difficulty was a -8. What that means is that -8 would still get you a 170. That is a fairly average difficulty, the range is usually -9 to -6. I skipped over the domestic discussion but I may be able to find it again and post it later if you all are interested. I do think I probably did around my average but there is so little room for a mis-step when you are shooting for the stars. Hoping I a scored a point or two above my average.

VerdantZephyr

Also, it really depends on the moment for me, while I have not had any moments of panic, sometimes I do still day dream. A study buddy of mine yesterday said she was thinking about possibly applying to Harvard and I spent several minutes before sleeping imagining getting a 178 or 180 and applying to Yale.