Writing in 5 days - No Improvement

forthewinwin

I wrote the LSAT twice, where I got a score of 155. On my PTs, I am actually scoring WORSE than I did on the actual LSAT a few months ago. My main issue seems to be running out of time, where I am the weakest at RC. LR is hit and miss; sometimes I get 4-5 questions wrong; sometimes 10.

I wanted to reschedule my LSAT, but LSAC charges as much as it is to re-write a new test, to reschedule. So if I were to write again, I'd need to pay another $200 USD regardless of whether I write in 5 days or not.

What are my best options here to improve in the next few days? I just want a score in the low 160s for the law schools I've been applying to.

GSU Hopeful

What are LG looking like for you? That's your best bet at fast improvement.

zoomzoom

The honest, brutal truth of the LSAT is this - "if what you are doing isn't working, you need to change something." It sounds obvious but that's the reality. The LSAT is a skills and habits test. It tests certain specific skills that are honed via good habits.

If you're not scoring where you ultimately want, it is in your best interest to reschedule. I know that's probably not what you want to hear but I only say that because it's very difficult to make updates to your strategies and skills drastically in just a few days. It takes some time to hone the new skills and strategies that are most effective.

Spending an extra $200 to reschedule is much better in my opinion than to risk having another score on your record that you do not want. And then spend that extra time reflecting on possible new techniques/strategies that would be more effective to you.

For example, I didn't start scoring consistently better on LR until I started reading the question stem first and skipping aggressively. Those 2 things were things that I NEVER considered trying until someone suggested it. I then tried it and my score flew.

forthewinwin

@"GSU Hopeful" said:
What are LG looking like for you? That's your best bet at fast improvement.

-3 Best; -10 worst.

rica6060

In my opinion, it's really important to rest and do light work the week of the test. There's not a lot you can learn in a matter of a few days to jump scored drastically and overcramming will lead to mental exhaustion. What I would do in this situation is refer to 7Sage analytics and maybe go over the types of questions that 7sage says is your highest priority. This way, you can potentially get an extra few marks come test day through some (relatively) basic strategy.

This might be a bad financial advice, but if you're truly feeling like there is no way you'll score higher than your last test without more practice it might be better to reschedule it. 200USD is a lot of money but it might be worth it to not have a negative trend of lsats sent to your prospective law schools. Take my advice with a grain of salt though as I will be writing for the first time on Sunday.

Wish you all the best,

-Aaron

forthewinwin

Update: finally back into the high 150s again. Got out of the habit of just doing the questions (mostly) in sequential order and skipping the very long paragraphed LR questions until the shorter ones are done first. Also been making more concrete diagrams in LG before jumping at the questions.

nomomnom

I know this might not sound the best to you, but if you're not scoring in your target range already (low 160s) or above target range, its not completely likely you can on the actual exam. It's not a completely closed possibility granted, but ideally you should write when you're at least scoring in the range or above.