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Hello All,
I'm planning on taking the june 2018 lsat and applying to a few Canadian law schools ( I'm not looking for the highest ranking one, any one will do ). I took a PT before 7sage- scored in the 130s/140 range. After taking the course I thought I would see a vast increase on my second PT. Not the case. Wondering if I didn't absorb the material well- or that I need to take more PT's. I understand the concepts, but having issues memorising all the methods/indicators ect. My gpa was high from undergrad 3.7 + .. but I'm concerned that a low lsat score will keep me from getting into law school even with a high gpa and good app. I'm aiming for the university of windsor.
QUESTIONS....
1- did anyone see a similar pattern ? Is it just a matter of taking more PT ?
2- should I prep for the june lsat and have applications for the schools or , should I not even bother unless I get a decent lsat score. the school I'm applying to avg score is 155.
3-Noticed the first choice I circled was right - second one was wrong- for majority of the questions. Clearly I am second guessing myself. Should I just do the questions faster ? or is a better method needed ?
Thank you in advance.
Comments
Memorize indicator words and LR question stems using flashcards. Review your fundamentals. Drill LR by question type and LG by game type, untimed. Don't take another PT, or do any strictly timed work, for at least a month.
Yeah I spoke with a law student friend of mine ... said I shouldn't have jumped into timed pt until I got the basics down. Plan on reviewing the CC then seeing where I stand with more untimed practice. thanks for the feedback
I did a 145 on the December 16 lsat. I did a 160 last month. It is possible to raise your score. I would recommend the post cc webinar, that helped me a lot.
I went through the CC twice, once before December '16 and then again after I bombed the first one. The first PT I took after the second CC was a 148 (PT 60) I was devastated. I went through all three phases in the post CC webinar and ended up doing 3 points above my average last month. But my goodness it was a LOT of work. If I can raise my score by 15 points, Im convinced anyone can.
My diagnostic was 148. Scored 159 on the actual test last year. Scoring consistently in upper 160s now. Progress is possible.
First of all, shout out to Windsor. I spent a weekend there this year and loved it. Best Pho spot I've ever encountered https://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-nguyen-hoang-windsor?osq=pho+restaurants
1) It's a normal pattern. Tremendously normal actually considering your PT score is around the 50th percentile. But it's most certainly not a matter of simply taking for PTs. That's one of the most common mistakes for new studiers. That score reflects major gaps in your understanding of concepts tested on the LSAT and taking PTs is an inefficient approach to score gains (although you'll likely see improvement by doing so). The most common concept gaps for new folks is LG, Lawgic, LSAT reasoning.
Can you share your section scores? In all likelihood, you should be spending your time foolproofing LG. Once you get that score to -5 or less, shift your focus to LR where you improvement should transfer over to RC. Gotta do your best to master lawgic and get comfortable manipulating those statements. Spend a lot of time going through questions identifying premises/conclusion and think about ways to strengthen, weaken, and also ID assumptions within the argument. Craft analog arguments and try to articulate why each AC is right/wrong.
2) Personal belief is that you should maximize your lsat score although I don't know much about Canadian schools or job markets. Earning a stellar lsat score helps with scholarship negotiations but maybe you're less debt-averse. In either case, I'd focus your attention on the LSAT for now and postpone anything application-related until you take the test. The LSAT score is the most important part of your application.
3) Speed is a function of understanding. Trying to go faster will probably result in more wrong answer choices. If you want to go fast, working very very very hard to understand the underlying issues at play in an LR section. BR is key.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I cannot thank you enough. I agree going over cc is more important than doing timed pt's for now. Lol windsor is a food hub for sure ahhaha.
How long did it take you guys to move up those points ? I mean at this point I do have time, but I really want to get in for the next cycle, I've already been postponing lsat for too long.
That means technically I can take- June, July, Sept and Nov lsat .
Deadline is Nov 1st but they will accept up to December (might have to recheck that since they shifted all the lsat dates)
A 25-point increase from mid-140s to 169 official took me about 9 months of 'full-time' study.
Hmmm I yeah I mean I'm only looking to get into their average which is in the 150's they focus more on EX and the like from reading their application and knowing people that applied. I did a semi timed PT today and scored 145. By the time I write in June my aim is to score 150+ if I get in that range I am definitely applying-If not in June in July/Sept. Worst case scenario is that I have to reapply and retake for a later cycle.
What is your LG avg score? LG is the most learnable section in addition to being most peoples' worst section to start. Your best bet is probably to focus on foolproofing games.
I got about half of them right - because when I started the cc I focused on going over that whole section. For reading comp I heard that one doesn't move up much points. So focusing on LG and LR