My situation

tomiwa.bo

I take the LSAT in 10 days and haven't had any serious study. Any advice?

Sprinkles

Don't take it lol.

Alejandro

Don't. take. it.

Nanchito-1-1

1. Postpone.
2. Give us an idea of where you're at in your lsat journey.

tomiwa.bo

Lol. I plan to try my best for the next few days & see what happens. I know I'll be able to study, but timing and familiarity with the questions will have to be a blind man's bluff.

Sprinkles

@tomiwa.bo said:
Lol. I plan to try my best for the next few days & see what happens. I know I'll be able to study, but timing and familiarity with the questions will have to be a blind man's bluff.

Are you really ok with wasting a take just to "see what happens"?

tomiwa.bo

Nachito, I started looking at logic games questions recently and I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Some games I can solve in less than 8 minutes, others take up to 20 sometimes. Thinking of taking it since I might find the games. I fair averagely on the other sections, and will probably need only about 24 hours to improve each.

tomiwa.bo

Montaha, idk if to call it a waste since I have only this & December. I plan to apply to Harvard this fall, and the LSAT is really all I have left lol. I really want to do well on it but I have not been serious. Talk about hubris

Cant Get Right

What kind of a score are you looking to get?

tomiwa.bo

@"Cant Get Right"
At least a 170 lol. I know it sounds impossible but you guys have to believe that I can be an outlier XD

Nanchito-1-1

Target score?

desire2learn

DO NOT TAKE. Maybe you are a complete outlier but if you plan to apply to Harvard I would know what you are doing on the LSAT first. I would prepare for the LSAT properly (5-9months) and then take the June LSAT. You would then apply to start LS in Fall of 2018. This test can be a beast in ways that you don't expect. If you have put in the time then you will be able to do well. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

tomiwa.bo

@desire2learn Think of how hurt I'll be if I see the post-exam questions and find it easy. I'll be very hurt I can tell ya lol. If I bomb this and retake in December, I can easily mitigate the impacts of my failure & stupidity in my personal statement (especially if I make a better score in December). Who knows? I might ace it. I think taking it and failing is better than not taking it at all. I understand your perspective and would like a response to what I just wrote

Nanchito-1-1

If you're hell bent on taking it, you're gonna learn.

@desire2learn said:
This test can be a beast in ways that you don't expect.

Especially if you are just starting out. The lsat is not something you can cram for. The best way to go into test day is with no surprises, knowing exactly what the lsat might throw at you and having a sound method or strategy to beat it.

tomiwa.bo

@nanchito Haha I perfectly understand that I cannot cram for it, but I believe in fighting even when one's back is against the wall. Mine is against the wall atm, and there is not much I can do about it. The only way to find out how well I'll do is to take the test. If I pass, yay! If I fail, I'll retake & make plans to mitigate the adverse consequences.

texvd1988

Ballsy approach. I consider myself to be of above average intelligence but lazy at times on the work ethic end (coasted through high school and college- got a 32 act without study, 3.2 college gpa- 2.4 in science, 4.0 history, and 3.6 in Finance/Business). Anyway, I assumed the same thing with the LSAT. Easy, right? Why not? I coasted through most things so I will coast through it.

Hell no. Not even close. I took it in February of 2013 and it sits in my LSAC records like a stain. An ugly old 150. Luckily, my wife (then girlfriend) and I decided to go on a journey to follow her around her medical school and rotation site experiences. Now that we are back in the state we plan on living in, I am ready to take the exam.

Suffice it to say, I will NOT be taking it on a whim. The LSAT will humble you. It will do it to the best of us.

I am sure you are an extremely intelligent person, but it may be wise to heed the advice of some of the people who are responding to you.

If not, best of luck! I hope you kill it and get into Harvard.

tomiwa.bo

Thanks @vduran1988 . Humbled already by my own hubris & folly. I consider myself a person of moderate intelligence lest I shouldn't even be considering taking the LSAT at this point. 7 days of intensive study is what I'll do and go from there. If I feel positive I'll take it, If not I won't. Are you retaking yours this September?

texvd1988

@tomiwa.bo said:
I consider myself a person of moderate intelligence lest I shouldn't even be considering taking the LSAT at this point. 7 days of intensive study is what I'll do and go from there. If I feel positive I'll take it, If not I won't. Are you retaking yours this September?

Nah, if you are applying to Harvard, you are already in a better place than many people.
Certainly than I am. I couldn't even sniff Harvard if I wanted to. Even with a 180.

Anyway, no, I am working for a December test date. A retake in February if I feel uncomfortable, and application to next years cycle. I really need to hit 170 or else I am out. I have two schools in my area : UT Austin and St. Mary's. One is a great school for law in Texas and the other one will leave me in small to mid level law ( which is not bad, but I want a bit more of an opportunity in this region).

That's a good strategy. Maybe you are an outlier and these tests come easy to you. If you see the score you want after 7 days, then maybe it will work out.

tomiwa.bo

@vduran1988 Thank you. And don't give up if you don't hit 170. I'd try to have a killer resume, recommendations, and personal statement to enhance things if I was in your shoes. You never know till you try man. Most applications won't be perfect & ours probably aren't exceptions. Just be honest, do what you gotta do & hope for the best . Good luck in December. I might also be testing or retesting then. We'll see lol.

texvd1988

@tomiwa.bo said:
Good luck in December. I might also be testing or retesting then. We'll see lol.

Thank you! Well, if you are, see you back here hopefully. We can discuss our hopes and aspirations.

Hopefully, you aren't here and just kill it though. That would be preferred.

desire2learn

Now I want to know how this bold approach works out for you. I love that you are willing to embrace the consequences of the approach you think works for you. Just because it is not "the usual" doesn't mean you can't do it. I think the responses you are getting here are from people who want to make sure you don't do something out of ignorance that would lead to something unfortunate. As long as you understand the situation and are willing to press on in all outcomes, more power to you. After all, no random person on the internet (that's me) knows you like you. I hope you crush this test. If you don't and you end up at your safety school, look me up, I may be there (as in I definitely won't be at HYS).

jennilynn89

Now this thread caught my attention.
I'm with @desire2learn . Good luck on that ballsy approach. Who knows maybe you'll knock em out! I do have to admire your bold approach.

@tomiwa.bo have you taken any test at all yet (in proctored condition), so that you know what you are looking at score-wise? If you are very seriously interested in attending Harvard, you may want to do some thorough research first. I believe Harvard is one of the only schools left that actually does not only look/take into consideration your highest LSAT score but takes all of your scores into consideration, and it will be very difficult to get in if you score low on your first take. You will need to write an impeccable addendum to convince them as to why they should consider you as an applicant if you score better on your second try. Just my 2 cents.

Ron Swanson

I feel like OP is destined to be one of those people quoted in those "Ridiculous things you hear people say at the LSAT" threads after the test.

Nonetheless, good luck; maybe the stars will align and you'll walk out of there with your 170. In my opinion you're making a mistake... but I'm just Ron Swanson, what do I know?

tomiwa.bo

Thank you @vduran1988, and thank you @desire2learn . I will consider my standing in 7 days and weigh my options. I very much understand the goodwill behind the warnings and admonitions

tomiwa.bo

@jennilynn89 Thank you. While Harvard only considers the highest score, it will almost certainly be averse to a previous low score. I'm yet to take a full proctored test but I've had practice on individual sections. Of course on test day there'll be pressure and stuff, but ehh, I'll know where I stand in a few days. @"Ron Swanson" lol not 170, at least 170 . We'll see XD

Alex

@desire2learn said:
I would prepare for the LSAT properly (5-9months) and then take the June LSAT. You would then apply to start LS in Fall of 2018. This test can be a beast in ways that you don't expect. If you have put in the time then you will be able to do well. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

This right here and I'm going to echo all the advice above.

The LSAT may be the most important test of your life. Give the test the due respect it deserves and respect yourself by properly preparing for it. I hate to tell you, but the outliers usually start off really well, (160+ diagnostics), and even they prepare for a bit before just taking it. Even for some of the brightest test takers, the most important part to doing well on the exam is pattern recognition which becomes more apparent with practice.

@tomiwa.bo said:
Montaha, idk if to call it a waste since I have only this & December. I plan to apply to Harvard this fall, and the LSAT is really all I have left lol. I really want to do well on it but I have not been serious. Talk about hubris

Lol, talk about hubris is right.
Eh... Not having seriously prepared and then sitting for this extremely important test seems like largely a waste. I know on another thread yesterday we have a vibrant discussion on the merits of taking the LSAT before being prepared, and there was an argument to make that a trial run can be helpful in some situations. However, being that you haven't prepared, you won't even get the benefit of seeing what prep strategies you've learned works or anything that could really help you in the future.

Purchase PT 78, go to a quiet public library at 8am, and time yourself with the 7Sage proctor app and see how you do... That will statistically be +/- 3 points from what you're likely to get if you were to take in a week and a half. You'll be burning a recent test, but it is worth it if it saves you a take....

Then there is the entire risk of using a take before you have had time to properly prepare when you may need all 3.... Look on TLS and read all the retake stories of people needing all 3 takes.

Also, if you are aiming for Harvard and bomb next week and then have to retake and score +5 points higher, I think it is suggested/standard form to submit an addendum explaining the discrepancy. And if you had a legit excuse (sickness, death in the family, etc) you'd probably be fine. But it is going to be quite hard to write a paragraph saying you just didn't prepare. I'm sure it doesn't look good when plenty of other people did prepare. After all, the LSAT is just a way to determine how well you will do at their law school; it is used to show what kind of student you are. (along with your LOR, PS, DS, GPA) Think about how an admissions committee will read that addendum, especially at a top school like H.

Just to give some insight: High school salutatorian. 2300 SAT (With little prep) 3.92 LSAC GPA summa cum laude/phi beta kappa and laundry list of other academic achievements that don't matter. The point isn't to humblebrag, but rather show you that even smart people need to prep for this test. I started in mid-July and I study after work everyday... I just hit the mid 160s. That is after 2.5 months... It is probably going to another 4-5 before I see a 170 (If I'm lucky)

Understand that the LSAT is made my statisticians and professional test makers to ensure you cannot game this test by cramming for it. I began to have a break through when I began to see patterns in the LR questions/ LG section. Through memorizing the valid/invalid argument forms and recognizing a lot of questions share the same argument structure that undergird that same argument core. Simply put, it takes time.

Lastly, you seem like a smart guy so let me ask you this: What would be the harm in prepping for a few months and taking in December?

inactive

Yikes. Hope you knock it out of the water since you seem pretty dead-set on it. Good luck!

Cant Get Right

Seconding above comments. I cannot recommend strongly enough not doing this if you really do want to go to Harvard. This test is just too hard. If you do go through with it despite everything, best of luck and I really do hope you knock it out. If you fall short, we'll be here afterwards to help get you to where you need to be:)

tomiwa.bo

@"Dillon A. Wright" , @"Cant Get Right" - Thanks guys! Like I said, the next 7 days will determine. @"Alex Divine" I just don't wanna look back on the Sept. test & regret not taking it lol. Now that my head is full of advice, I probably won't take it. I'll still study for the next 7 days and see where I stand . Very ironical that the LSAC says the test require no prior/special knowledge. For me, the biggest deal is the LG section. Been doing well on it so far but still struggling with timing.

Alex

@"Dillon A. Wright" said:
Yikes. Hope you knock it out of the water since you seem pretty dead-set on it. Good luck!

Good Luck!

Cant Get Right

@tomiwa.bo said:
no prior/special knowledge.

This is technically true: The test gives you everything you need to correctly answer every question.

This should scare the shit out of you:)

Sami

@"Cant Get Right" said:
This should scare the shit out of you:)

best comment.

Sami

@tomiwa.bo I wanted to ask, Why would you register for a test and not study till a week before the test?

Barrister Barista

Good luck but to give you some perspective: my previous tutor who ended up with a 180 on the exam still took about 3 to 4 months to study for the exam with a 160s diagnostic. Im not sure about your situation but best of luck

tomiwa.bo

lol @"Cant Get Right" . @Motivated I honestly don't know lol. Just been nonchalant about it.

jennilynn89

@tomiwa.bo did you end up taking the test?

tomiwa.bo

@jennilynn89 haha guess.