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Related Discussions
Diagnostic test
saeednaseeba
Alum Member
This is probably a ridiculous question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. I started studying for the LSAT a few days ago and I've been postponing taking a diagnostic because I'm afraid I'll get discouraged if I get a really low score. Do you think I should take it regardless? I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that no matter what score I'll get on my diagnostic, I will still be able to get a good score through hard work. What improvement have you all made since your diagnostic?
Comments
Take the diagnostic. We almost all sucked at it. And it's okay. You wouldn't be here if you didnt think you needed help.
Better to have an idea on what areas you dont understand the most. That's all your diagnostic will do. That and give you a basis to look back on and see how far you have come along. My highest PT so far has been 7 points higher than my 7sage diagnostic. (9 points higher than the first time I ever took a crack at a PT, before 7sage). I've been here for... 5 months? Maybe 6 since I bought in to the starter package? My BR scores are up to 16 higher now than my 7sage diagnostic score (18 points higher than my PT before 7sage). It shows me my potential, and I can look back and see that, yes, I have made progress. That I can get where I want to, and that I'm close to getting to where I need to (within margin of error/test day ups and downs/whatever you call that +3/-3 that happens to folks on the actual test day). I may have to retest, but I love being able to see my progress.
Your diagnostic will not help inspire you now. But it will later.
As a personal example, my diagnostic score was a 146 and on the February test (after 4 months studying) I scored a 162. While I am currently studying to retake in September, I am definitely happy with my improvement!
Take it. If you score really low, then you can take comfort in knowing that you can only go up. Therefore, you have a good reason to keep studying. If you get a decent score, then you are awesome. Again, you have a good reason to keep studying. You have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.
Take the diagnostic! It's hard to avoid feeling bummed out by a low score, but that's why you're studying. Don't feel discouraged -- most of us started out with barely any of the skills necessary to succeed on this exam. If it's any comfort to you, I've improved by 21 points since my first diagnostic! It just feels good to look at your analytics page and literally see the results of your hard work.
I really appreciate all of your feedback. I am going to take the diagnostic to see where I'm at and keep moving forward! Thank you!
I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I don't see the point. I worked through tests with a soft timer and got an idea of what the test was, then started prepping. I had no desire for the voice in the back of my mind to be telling me that most people only go up X points from their diagnostic, so I was an exception if I did better than that. What's the point? If you get really into the data, then do it and geek out about the numbers. If you're not, then don't. When I was deciding, I saw no upside other than being able to say, "I improved this much!" and quite a bit of psychological downside.
What about the potential downside if you don't take it, study for a long time, then take a PT, but end up with a very low score? You may not realize just how much you've improved.
It’s humbling and gives you a feel for what exactly you’re studying which in turn makes you take the cc prep more seriously.
It’s like on the very first day of class when the professor gives you the broad strokes of what the class is about and might even dive into the text a bit and you’re told something like ‘this might not make sense to you now but I want you to go home and read the text and think about it.’ So with the general structure of the class in mind you go home and read the text (take the PT) and you come out realizing the parts of the class which might be difficult for you and the parts which might be easier. You go into class (the CC) the next day with questions. This structures how you move forward learning in class.
Also, when professors tell you what generally is on the exam well before the exam, you stop paying attention to the parts of the lecture/text that aren’t on the exam. Taking a diagnostic makes you realize that every single part of the CC is incredibly important to the LSAT and there really isn’t anything you should skip through.
Your exact score doesn’t matter at all. If you get a 140 or a 150 or a 160 now it doesn’t matter. It’s the end result that matters. I don’t remember my diagnostic score. I don’t think I bubbled the answers, I probably didn’t stick to time, and I certainly didn’t do a 5 section test. But I’m happy with where I’m at now and I know I improved substantially.
I scored a 148 on my diagnostic when I joined 7sage last summer. My BR for the diagnostic was somewhere around in the high 150s haha!! I rushed through the core curriculum playing all of JYs video at 1.7 speed and studied intermittently for several months. I finally got my shit together and started studying more consistently in the past 6 weeks or so in preparation for the July test. Yesterday I scored a 162 on a 5 section test (though I have scored 164 on a 4 section) and consistently BR at 179+.
Try to look at the diagnostic as an exciting task! You have so much to gain once you identify your natural weaknesses. You will feel like a new born baby.. ready to absorb the core curriculum in your innocent spongey brain
just don't do it at 1.7 speed like I did! LOL
After scoring my diagnostic, I wrote it down on a post-it and taped it to my bedroom wall. If anything, it now serves as constant reminder of how far I have come on my LSAT journey, which in turn encourages me when I worry about how much further I want to go!
Have fun with the diagnostic!
@anonclsstudent I totally get that impulse, it just never struck me as important. During the bulk of my post-CC prep I tracked my progress based on how many points I missed per section, but I intentionally did sections in an order that kept me from ever tabulating an official score. I had a very clear idea of how much progress I was making without ever knowing any standardized scores, though. My personal goal was to score myself on a test only after I could consistently score -0 on each type of section, and it worked really well for me. I'm not advocating that extreme of an approach here - it's a long time to go without knowing a score. But I think there can be a big benefit to avoiding tying your perception of your score to a low number, and diagnostics are very likely to be a pretty low number.
The things we fear in life are the most important to confront! It's just a test so don't be scared. Your diagnostic, like all PTs, don't actually "count" for anything. I also think it's important to have an idea of what it feels like to take the test while you're studying for it. I think training yourself to be detached emotionally from PT scores is a good exercise in and of itself regardless.
No matter where you start, you can make HUGE gains using 7Sage!
I think my diagnostic was in the mis-150s. My last PT was a 171, so going up 15 points is very doable!