December 2013 LSAT

Comments

• justrandom Alum Member

  September 2013 343 karma

  I'm in the exact situation, except that instead of working at a law firm I have been going to school. I have also been studying since August but have only reached a 155. So I have decided to apply the next cycle when I finally graduate this next summer and only concentrate on the LSAT. I think I am going to change some of my study methods.
• clp201389 Member

  September 2013 edited December 2017 8 karma

  Null
• 4 Likes

  EuripidesFan Free Trial Member

  September 2013 83 karma

  Given the declining medians scores across law schools, postponing may actually be justified for many of you, especially if you think you will be able to raise that score above a 160. However (in reference to KS's post) don't spend too much time going over prep material. While it is tempting to think that rereading such material will increase your score, there are diminishing returns from doing so. Honestly I think any increase in score will come from familiarizing yourself as best as you can with the tricks of the test under timed conditions. If you are still getting the simpler questions wrong in any of the sections, congratulations you can count on a definite score increase with enough dedication in review.
  
  If you are getting the trickier one's wrong, it's still best to stick to reviewing the test but it becomes even more important to understand what the fundamental errors in your reasoning are that are making you miss those questions (this really only becomes a primary concern if you are aiming for a 170+ score). You will never see a repeat of those tricky questions again, only a repeat of the reasoning mechanisms that allowed the correct answer to be correct. For those of you not consistently scoring in the mid 160s, there are probably some fundamental strategy issues you need to work out since, in my experience, about 85% of the questions on the test are ones that can be gamed more or less through improvements in basic tecnique as laid out in most prep materials.
• 1 Like

  x2007tmb Free Trial Member

  September 2013 13 karma

  K S I totally hear where you're coming from. I work full time as a process server and have an hour commute to work and back. I seem to be consistently scoring in the mid to high 150s but still feel like there is much room for improvement and tomorrow is the deadline for test date adjustments. I need to make a call soon but I'm not sure at this point. Ideally I would like to apply for next september so I feel inclined to write the remaining three tests remaining this year. On the one hand I think that at the very worst, writing October's would make good prep for December's as I would actually get to experience a real testing environment. But on the other hand, I have a strong feeling it will not be my best score so in that regard it may be a waste of a score. Any thoughts, homies?
• EuripidesFan Free Trial Member

  September 2013 83 karma

  I second your thinking about taking the October test as good practice even if you end up canceling or not scoring as well as you hope. Law schools, especially nowadays, only care about the highest score you can report since that is the only score they are required to report. I think the days when they could be picky enough to discriminate between candidates with multiple scores / cancels and those without are almost completely over due to the dwindling applicant pool.
• K S Free Trial Member

  September 2013 86 karma

  Is it true that some schools don't accept December? My plan (ideally speaking) is to be a splitter. In short, I suppose my options aren't too bad. My goal is university of Arizona for their family law clinic.however, I need a minimum 165 and already spoke to admissions who said taking the December could affect scholarships but probably would not kill my chances because the LSAT is weighted so highly. If I don't get in, I am going to go to a school in my area nights and keep my job.
  
  I suppose I would appreciate some input on 1. Whether nights is a wise decision (I'm not terribly worried about the workload as much as finding a job when I graduate)
  2. Whether I should consider (which I would rather not do) applying for 2015 fall
  3. Whether anyone has experienced Arizona as a splitter friendly school
  4. Whether work experience helps (I know it is not the deciding factor, but I have gotten into many arguments with several law students and applicants alike whether this matters). I believe it does matter due to my own personal reasons as to why to attend law school.
  
  I love this website. Redoing the course has proved effective, I recommend it. I also recommend getting a buddy.best decision I have made thus far. Any input would be appreciated.
  
• BDashnyam17-1 Free Trial Member

  September 2013 18 karma

  Helpful post, EuripidesFan. If I also take the December LSAT and apply in late Dec/early Jan, do you think I will be at a significant disadvantage? What do other people think? A higher score from December will certainly outweigh a lower score from October even if I manage to submit my applications in late-November.