Considering postponing...again!

MrSamIam

Hey Everyone!
With the December test coming up, I'm seeing more and more of these threads appear. That said, I really am in need of some guidance. I was scheduled to take the October test, but realized that I was nowhere near my target score. I thought to myself, "surely, if I take it in December i'll be ready!" Turns out, I was wrong. Here's some background information about my situation:

Cold diagnostic (July 2015): An embarrassingly low 137. LG and RC destroyed me.
Most recent PT and average, respectively: 157 and 155.
UGPA: 3.94 (or 3.95...probably the former)
Target PT: 165
Target schools: UCLA, Northwestern, USC, UCI, Iowa, and pretty much any school in the T25 (I prefer to attend the ones listed).

So, what you all think? Postpone, again, and take it in June? Or, take a shot and cancel if things don't go well? I've gotten pretty good at ball parking my PT scores.
I feel like I'm wasting a ton of money by constantly moving/withdrawing. At this point, if I withdraw I will have spent around $260 to not take a test. I figure, I may as well take it just to get the experience.

P.s. My issue is with time...I can get -0 to -3 on every section...I just need 50min/section.

By the way, do cancelled tests appear on your record? I know they count as 1 of your 3 takes, but do schools actually see that you took the test?

Thanks!

lsatblitz

DO NOT take the test. You have an amazing GPA and you can pretty much go to any school you want to, do not take that for granted. A couple hundred dollars is gonna mean nothing if you smash the LSAT next year and end up getting money to go to your dream school. I would rather spend $600 on cancelling and taking the LSAT when I'm ready, when the alternative is120k+ in loan debt to a school I don't really wanna go to.

I'm in the same boat, I've cancelled both October and December. We put in way too much hard work to get our GPA's to where they are to mess around with this test. Personally, I've adjusted my goal score in light of waiting another year to apply, I'm sure you can too.

@MrSamIam said:
By the way, do cancelled tests appear on your record? I know they count as 1 of your 3 takes, but do schools actually see that you took the test?

Please, don't take for the sake of cancelling. Each take is precious, don't waste one.

nicole.hopkins

Definitely postpone and cancel BEFORE TEST DAY. Do not waste a take. June or October. Probably the latter.

Artwork94

I have a similar q, if I'm out of completely fresh material and am currently redoing old PTs, how in the world am I suppose to know what kind of score range I will get?!!! Of course I have these inflated redo Scores (mostly 164 and 165) which make me feel smart and all since I got a 152 for real but still..I mean I guess it is about the learning after all. I have princeton review books that have fake PTs but many people have told me not to look at those and only practice with real LSAT material. However, I didn't plan for a retake when I originally took it in October (wasn't anticipating a complete underperformance), so I really don't have fresh material which makes me worried and questioning if Im truly ready. On the other hand, I have put my heart and soul into this test so I really don't think I can do any more learning than I already have so it would not make sense to postpone. So does anyone have any safe alternatives to just redoing stuff?

MrSamIam

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your advice. There's a 99% chance that I'll end up cancelling. Thanks a lot, guys! (kidding).
Anyhow, I decided to talk to my family about it. I know that at the end of the day, it's my decision to make. However, I did move back in with my parents so that I could afford to focus solely on studying. It's frustrating when you have a high GPA, and spend 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week, 1 break every 3 months, only to end up with a 155 average (and probably lower, since 155 is my average if you factor in guessing).

Anyhow, I'm just going to spend the next week PTing older tests so that I don't was PT's 55+. I was told by a friend that he was PTing in the 155 range as well, but ended up with a 164 on the October test. Apparently "things got real" during the actual test, and he somehow boosted his score by 9 points. That sounds like pure luck to me, so I won't bank on it.

Petrichor

Nothing wrong with postponing. I postponed twice before my first time and was glad I did so.

Over-performing on the LSAT can happen but its not something you should rely on. My PT average score was scarily accurate, less than +0.75 on real thing both times, so I would weigh that more than being dialed-in for the real thing.

MrSamIam

Thanks Petrichor. If you don't mind my asking, for how long did you study after postponing the second time, and how much of a score increase did you see?
My family has been pretty supportive about the decision to postpone. Believe it or not, I am genuinely eager to start 1L - yes I know, in less than 2 years I'll be eating those words.

Frostbyte

I'm considering the same, but I don't think a lot of good schools consider February scores. Can someone chime in on this?

Petrichor

@MrSamIam I originally signed up for the Dec 2014 exam, which I changed to Feb 2015 and changed again to June. 17 point improvement from diagnostic to 1st actual test.

MrSamIam

@Petrichor Jeez that's an amazing jump. If I may ask, when did you take your first diagnostic? I spoke with a family member who graduated from law school. He said the same thing, "Think of it this way, you'll either waste money by withdrawing now, or you'll waste money and energy by cancelling your score in December...your call."
Again, thanks everyone, I truly do appreciate the help and support!

Petrichor

@MrSamIam I took in August 2014 and thought I could reach my goal in 3 months. By the time November rolled around I was barely improving so I postponed. Switched to 7sage in January and made a lot of improvements but because I was still improving in February I pushed it back one more time.

Erika :)

isn't it too late to postpone?

nicole.hopkins

Nope! You can pull out until midnight Eastern the night before the test. At this point it is too late to change dates or get a refund.

Quick Silver

Like @nicole.hopkins says, you can pull out up until EASTERN TIME midnight - let me emphasize EST time zone because they are bastards about it.

But if you're not near your target score, you will be so much better off waiting a cycle. May?june is afternoon which helps if you're not morning person like me.

I don't think I would have gotten my score or gotten into Berkeley if I didn't wait a cycle. It means I'll be 40 when I graduate - but I'll be at a top school and have a better shot at more aid.

pritisharma

Oh no I may have to withdraw too... esp looking at the videos of JY and Jonathan taking tests in timed conditions tells me I am not where I need to be Ahhhh!!! Timing seems to mess things up for me , however my BR is low to mid 70s so may be there is room for improvement there too. LSAT is becoming an end in-and-of -itself instead of being a "means to an end" in my case at least .

chelsLSAT

I changed my mind from December to June. My cold core was exactly same as yours.

I would say, defiantly take in June or what Nicole suggested, in October. I've been really bad at studying lately due to 4 jobs and lack of motivation so I may even take October if my scores don't improve enough to where I want them to be.

Dont wanna risk getting a crappy score

nicole.hopkins

@HerSixFour said:
I changed my mind from December to June. My cold core was exactly same as yours.

I would say, defiantly take in June or what Nicole suggested, in October.

YAY!

@HerSixFour said:
I've been really bad at studying lately due to 4 jobs and lack of motivation so I may even take October if my scores don't improve enough to where I want them to be.

Whoa that is a HUGE load!

@HerSixFour said:
Dont wanna risk getting a crappy score

Or at least don't wanna sit for it when your goal is not yet in sight

MrSamIam

Thanks for all the support and advice everyone! I will be calling to withdraw on Tuesday! Took another PT and ended up scoring about 9 points or so below my average...I'm definitely taking that as a sign...13 hours of studying per day, 7 days a week with practically no days off has finally snuck up behind me and given me a good ol' kick in the bum.

@"Quick Silver" I read your post from a few days (weeks?) ago. That's part of what has led to my decision to postpone. Congrats on your achievement!

MrSamIam

@Petrichor Seems like the wise thing to do. I suppose the extra 6 months will help. I'll have to start in 2017...but hey, maybe this'll allow me to celebrate Christmas with the family! Kidding...I'll probably be studying.

nicole.hopkins

@MrSamIam said:
13 hours of studying per day, 7 days a week with practically no days off has finally snuck up behind me and given me a good ol' kick in the bum.

Who told you this was a good idea? And how did you get away with it until now We would have scolded you for trying to pull this kind of insanity. You've developed a 5-star recipe for world-class burnout. Congratulations. Glad you're making the right choice NOW!

MrSamIam

@nicole.hopkins I think I read it in an article, titled "Things not to do to prepare for a standardized exam" or something along those lines. I promise, I thought it was a challenge!
I know what you mean regarding burnout. Just give me 3 more weeks to perfect it...it's almost there!