Should I Take the December LSAT?

mtabe004

I have been studying for the LSAT since September, I had planned to take it in February giving myself enough time to conquer the beast. However, around late October I began to see great improvements on my score, and the LSAT began to click more easily for me. I decided to take it this December 5, a couple of days from now believing that i would have enough time to get to the high 160's. Yet to my dismay, I can't get over the mid 160s, and I know that I could get it higher if I wasn't pressured by time. Now my question is this, considering that my money has already been spent and there are no refunds, should I take the exam and wish for the best, or should I just sit it out till February? While also having in mind that I must score in the 168-170+ range for my top choices of schools.
Another question is that if I take it in Dec. and perform badly, will I still have a chance of entering the Fall 2016 school year considering that I take the Feb. exam and perform well.
Thank you for reading! All feedback will be appreciated.

Pacifico

Postpone til June. If you haven't come close it's not happening on game day. And you might not get there by February, and even if you do that's a bad time for a first take for the following fall. If you "must" score 168+ then you must do what it takes to get there on the right timeline. Take a year off, get some WE, crush June and another if necessary, then have your apps ready to rock nice and early. I'm guessing you diagnosed in the 150s and are stuck on your mid 160s plateau and so I would recommend taking a much longer view of things than thinking you can just knock this out in a few months when that has not proven to be the case.

mtabe004

Thank you for the quick and informative response. The main problem I've had is the timing, I can't get to the last reading passage and the last game with enough time. Apart from that 7Sage has helped me a lot. That's the only reason i feel as though I could score well by February. But if i do take the exam and perform well, will it be considered by California law schools or will I have missed the main window. Thank you again Pacifico

aakriti.chaudhary

I'm thinking of withdrawing from the Dec test as well now.. I took the LSAT in Dec 2014 and I wanted to improve my score. I don't see that happening this Dec. If I want to apply to some law schools with the same score, why shouldn't I use the previous year's? There's a chance of messing up my score in the coming test. If I take the Feb LSAT, I think, there might be a chance to improve the score and to target law schools with deadlines that still fit. Please advise.

Pacifico

You should also postpone.

nicole.hopkins

@mtabe004 said:
While also having in mind that I must score in the 168-170+ range for my top choices of schools.

June or October.

nicole.hopkins

@aakriti.chaudhary said:
If I take the Feb LSAT, I think, there might be a chance to improve the score and to target law schools with deadlines that still fit. Please advise.

Feb, June, or Oct depending on goal score.

kennedybj

If you really want/need a higher score, it makes sense to wait

aakriti.chaudhary

I wonder how you get out of a situation where your scores plateau.. no matter how many prep tests or sections, it's the same exact score!!

Pacifico

Which plateau are we talking about here? Plateauing at 155 is completely different from plateauing at 168.

twssmith

Early November, I hit a hard plateau in low-mid 160's, withdrew from Dec exam, restarted 7Sage & The Trainer. I have already found improvement in the few PT's i have taken. Most important improvement has been fundamentals on certain question types & lawgic for games providing confidence and allowing me to move faster and bank time for the harder questions. Hope this helps:)

J.H. Song

@mtabe004 First of all, I agree with @Pacifico and his advice, but in the end, I think that's your call to make. I'll just answer your question to my best knowledge. Most school's will accept your February scores for this cycle. Even the few that say they won't will most likely accept your application if you can explain it well enough. So yes, taking it on December, and then taking in February again, is fine for this cycle. Once again, I don't recommend this, but everyone has their own situation, and while waiting a year out may be more plausible to some, it may not be to others. Either way, if you are taking the December test, stop stressing about this immediately. Whatever stressing, prepping, you do between now and Saturday will make, at best, no difference.

aakriti.chaudhary

I'm plateaued at 158.. that dreaded average. I started scoring well on the earlier PTs. But the recent ones 70 to 74 brought me back to this. I know logic games is the easiest to master for most.. but that's where I'm stuck. If I have to withdraw from test, this is the day. I'm in India and we're sitting for the LSAT on Sunday - Dec 6 (I vaguely guess it's because they don't want anyone using the time-difference arbitrage advantage :P)