168!! Reflections from a URM who sucks at tests

lizzogonzo

Can't believe I'm finally making this post after so long, now I can't seem to find all the words for what I want to say.

I am: low income, first gen, immigrant, woman of color
Cold Diagnostic: 147
First PT after CC: 151
Feb 2021 LSAT: 162
Studied since: Oct 2019 on and off, working full time
Prep used: primarily 7sage, small study group, LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim

Let me make it clear: I am not a great test taker. Never have been. I am unconfident, anxious, and indecisive. It's what led me to pushing my first test back 5 times from April 2020 to Feb 2021. It also led to an underperformance on my first LSAT. Despite prepping so much I blanked out hard on LG, my best section, and receiving my score back was devastating knowing I missed my 90th percentile goal by a hair. I was miserable in March/April.

But that defeat turned into an opportunity to surpass my goal of 165 with a 168! I got the help I needed for my severe anxiety that I've struggled with all of my life and received accommodations. Even though I'm no 170+ scorer, us folks in the 165+ range need to remember that being in the top 10% is HUGE.

There's a lot more I can say, but I want to wrap it up with a few nuggets.

1. This test is conquerable. It can be done if you want it enough! You hear people say it all the time but it's true.

2. Accommodations are NOT unfair advantages. A 50% time increase did not make me have to study any less. I prepped hard for months. Do not let anyone shame you into getting the tools you need to succeed.

3. Process > Results. I stopped worrying about my PT scores and started making sure I was doing the proper steps in each section. This mindset eased anxiety to always expect a certain score and helped improve my results consequentially!

4. Chance favors the prepared. I have to say I lucked out with my format because it played to my strengths. But I also came into the exam being ready for anything! Luck alone did not get me to my score.

5. Be confident and aggressive. Top scorers don't self doubt. You know your shit!

Thank you to 7Sage and the community here for being a huge part of my journey. I found my wonderful small study group on here for the Feb test, and with their help they pushed me to get this score. I am rooting for y'all, esp my fellow BIPOC women who are low income, first gen, and/or immigrants tryna enter this profession to help our communities.

Much love!

TE CSC 2021

Congratulations, and thank you for encouraging all of us URM/BIPOC folks who are in this struggle. Good luck in your cycle.

GoatAdvocate_0L_SLS

As a URM myself, your story is extremely similar to mine! Congrats! Here's to bringing greater representation to the legal profession.

lizzogonzo

@"TE CSC 2021" said:
Congratulations, and thank you for encouraging all of us URM/BIPOC folks who are in this struggle. Good luck in your cycle.

Thank you so much! Good luck to you you got this!

lizzogonzo

@GoatAdvocate said:
As a URM myself, your story is extremely similar to mine! Congrats! Here's to bringing greater representation to the legal profession.

Love to know that we're all in this together! Thank you

Burt Reynolds

Way to stick with it - congrats on an awesome score

Determined_-1

go girl!!!! lmk if you tryna tutor me heheheh

in all seriousness though, you were a pleasure to work with in our group. always nice and helpful. anyone would be lucky to have you in their school. you deserved this score and more!

jas

lizzogonzo

Thank you @"Burt Reynolds"

And ah Jas @wadduppeeeeeps I could say the same for you! Thank you for being a huge part of my journey!! You got this

overthistest

Can you share any advice you have for RC? what was your method?

lizzogonzo

@overthistest said:
Can you share any advice you have for RC? what was your method?

I will be transparent and say RC is my weakest and most inconsistent section. But maybe that will make me more relatable for you! I wish I could see the score breakdown but I was probably missing -4 or -5 max. LG and LR probably carried my score. Still, it means I was probably only missing harder questions on RC.

So my approach is to read at a normal pace and to take the time to really absorb the passage. One of my mistakes when I first started practicing with accommodations was that I would read too slow and get bogged down by all the details. The point of reading carefully is to make sure you understand the author's point. And every single sentence in there is for a reason that goes back to the author's main point somehow. I would take like 5-6 minutes on a passage, constantly synthesizing ideas in my head, and actively reading for the author's purpose. By doing this, I was able to easily eliminate wrong answer choices more quickly.

kvitka22

Congrats!! Thank you for the advice- very helpful!

lizzogonzo

@kvitka22 thank you!! and you are welcome, I am happy to answer any and all questions.