Seeking Advice

jackiegf1020

I'm in need of some advice. I initially took the LSAT in February 2020. I had no knowledge of the test and received some poor advice that I should take it blindly and see what I get. I scored a 142. I knew that I needed to retake it. I studied for some time, and in October 2021 I retook it. I cancelled the score because I didn't feel good about it. Then I took November 2021 and scored a 152. I was happy with the increase, but it was still not near my goal of 165+ so I decided to take another year to study. This time, I took the September 2022 test and only scored a 156. After what feels like forever studying for this test, I did not get as close to the score range I was PTing. I feel like I have screwed myself because of my previous takes. I know law schools frown upon taking the test over 3-4 times. I'm not sure what to do next.

To sum it up: (142 > Cancel > 152 > 156)

I have a good GPA, nothing that will compensate for a poor LSAT but it's still decent. I'm not interested in any T14 schools, most I have looked into are in the 25-50 range, which I know my score is still on the low end for. I cannot take another gap year to study. I plan on applying this month and November, so my options would be to apply to schools now to get my applications in, and take either January or February 2023, or totally roll the dice applying earlyish with a 156. I have ADHD, and I've struggled with this test both mentally and emotionally and I'm not sure if it would be worth it to take a 5th time. If you can offer me any sort of guidance I will be grateful! Thanks for taking the time to read this!

blanklaw

Wow-- this is definitely a tough position to be in. From a general standpoint, I think retaking would be a really good idea for you, but only if (#logic) you are certain that your PT average range isn't dropping. Even improving a couple of points more is significant in terms of law school and financial aid opportunities.

That being said, I am only suggesting this to you because of your decision to apply this cycle- if you were considering the possibility of pushing off another cycle, I would probably advise otherwise since you would leave yourself with a very limited amount of retakes should something happen.

In terms of a more focused study plan for the coming months, I don't know specific strengths or weaknesses, or amount of available studying time. General advice I hear and support is to solely focus on logic games and use that to improve your score. If you consistently reach a -2 -- -0 range on LG, then you would still have a little over 10 questions between both LR and RC sections to get wrong and still get a 165. Especially now with the modern LSAT moving the difficulty of the test to RC or LR, the LG has recently been more predictable.

I think LG is more predictable in knowing the right answers because of the black and white aspect of what's right and wrong (kind of like a math test-- there's unarguably one right answer) whereas the other sections don't clearly have this dichotomic component. With lots of drilling and practice, you can really come to master this section in a few months or less.

On a separate note, have you considered applying for accommodations for the LSAT? I think this may ease the actual testing process just a bit if you haven't done this yet.

Hope this helps!

trevorNYCgoal

What @blanklaw said is fairly spot on. I’d also like to add that some schools with take your application with an LSAT score pending.

For example, if you want to apply early in the cycle to make sure you can get an application in but are worried about your LSAT score, some schools will take the application with an LSAT pending. The caveat to this I believe is that the LSAT needs to be already registered for by the time of the application and the school needs to be aware of it.

Like I mentioned not all schools function like this, but it’s worth looking at. Best of luck!

jackiegf1020

Thank you both for the replies! After taking some time to think, I've decided to apply to school early and retake in January. Again, I really appreciate you both for the advice!