Long long road from 139 to 163

A Girl Knows Nothing

Honestly, I still can’t believe this is my score! Hopefully my story out there can help others like me keep fighting! Sorry if it’s all over the place!

I started studying for the LSAT back in 2017 while in college! At first I tried doing self studying, but at the time I really was not focusing and able to learn that way. I bought so many books and just couldn’t do them at the time. I also ended up doing a really expensive class that personally did not help for me. I started with a 139 and highest i got on the actual LSAT was a 146. It was about a 3 month long crash course. Not for me, maybe now with my current score would have been nice to do. But not for early on studies. It really sucked seeing everyone else learning and excelling while it felt like I was left behind. Which also did not help. I studied for about a year at this point of my story. PS. DO NOT compare yourself. Easier said than done, but it was a big reason I didn’t go farther. I didn’t believe in myself, which did not allow me to get the score I knew I could get. This exam is a confidence exam big time!

Since money was/is a huge factor for me, I know I couldn’t go to law school yet. I had no idea what to do next. I looked at my options and decided to do TFA (Teach for America) and am still teaching (in year 3). I basically took most of my first year off and started studying around February 2019. So it has been a little over a year gap since i last studied. Since I was working full time I really studied on and off. Studied full time over the summer off (teacher perk). I realized over the summer that I was not quite ready to take the LSAT. I really wanted to apply last cycle, but knew from the past there wasn’t a point to rush it. It did not work last time, and with working full time I thought best to wait it off. So I made a decision to continue studying and apply this cycle.

I finished the 7Sage curriculum around December of 2019. I have always been naturally good at games, typically no more then -5. RC has always been my downfall (-10/-12), and LR for a long time too I had issues in (-10/-11). I went through so many different routes. I went from CC straight to PTs. When that wasn’t working I did some research and decided to just practice untimed sections and slowly get faster. Honestly, most things did not work. While at this point I was consistently scoring in the low 150s, it wasn’t much higher than the 150 start that I started with in 2019.

Fast forward COVID hit in 2020 and my score was not improving. Over the summer off I was studying from the Loophole book. No offense to 7sgae, but I learned so much more from there personally! It taught me how to think like JY. 10/10 recommend this. I started seeing more consistency with my score at like a 153. Untimed I consistently only got wrong about 5. July 2020 i took my first exam since about November of 2017. I got my score of a 156. Had never scored that way ever until the exam!! I was beyond excited. But I know the work wasn’t done. I decided that hopefully the last time I will ever have to take the exam would be November 2020.

However, between July and November teaching took over my life. When I mean I sacrificed a lot, I mean a lot. Luckily everyone around me was really understanding and have a great support system. I couldn’t work out, see friends most weeks, it was brutal. I would work, study for 2-3 hours and basically go home to shower, eat, and go to bed for the next day. Honestly this was the hardest part. It was a huge sacrifice that I didn’t want to continue doing. This is the mental game with this exam, it takes a lot from you. Especially when I have been on the journey on and off for 3 years now. Also a teacher during this time has been extremely difficult. So I found myself tired most days, not really learning anything.

I went Into July feeling Not prepared. The highest I was PTing was a 160, but typically a 158. However, I went into it as relaxed as possible. I didn’t study about 2 days before the exam. I woke up at my normal time on exam day, walked to a local coffee shop, and did things that made me happy that have been taken away because of the LSAT. I think that’s a huge reason I did so well. Mental breaks are needed using this exam!

I saw my score of a 163. Honestly, I was BRing in this area, but never received this score. Don’t know if the fatigue didn’t allow me to ever get this score or what, but I am SO thankful that I pulled it together last minute.

Sorry for my story being all over the place or not detailed. I just want to end with this: don’t give up. I had so many obstacles and doubts and I pulled through. This has by far been the hardest thing I’ve had to do, especially with how long I studied. But to get that score has been so worth it. For the schools I want to apply to, this guarantees big scholarships to these schools and that is what I needed. 7Sage and everything it was has been such a big help! Good luck to those still on their journey, one day you will be the one writhing this post!

Thy Rain

Thank you for sharing! I've been studying for over a year now, and trying different methods. Seeing that others have been successful helps with motivation!

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

thanks for sharing your story! and great job on your accomplishment!
p.s. i'm also a tfa alum

J.Y. Ping

A long and windy road but it sounds like it paid off. I'm very happy for you!