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2-3 Hours a day for 6 weeks - possible.
If you can up the hours to 4-5 while maintaining quality study time, then I'd say its very possible. Increase of 15 is probably more likely than 20.
I went from 138 cold, to a high of 152, and official score of 147 with like.. i'd say less than 30-40 hours of total studying. (I rushed to take the exam)
Somewhat possible, especially from 136 to high 150s since there are a lot of easy and medium level questions you can pick off in this range. However, I don't think November is very realistic since that only leaves you 5-6 weeks to fool-proof LG and drill LR by question types. I would say to budget at least 3 months. Better to apply with a strong score later than a weak score earlier.
Am looking for rough score of 151-153, 156 would be if I could study every day 6-7 hours, but work full-time and not possible..
January is still an option to retake but am pushing close to some deadlines..
Is applying the following cycle an option for you? That way you're not in a rush and you can dedicate time to study for a really strong score. For what it's worth, I think 136 ->153 is doable in 6 weeks. Start with the low-hanging fruits by drilling tens to a hundred Logic Games.
Useful links:
Blind Review method - https://7sage.com/the-blind-review-how-to-correctly-prep-for-lsat-part-1/
Fool-proof method - https://7sage.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-score-on-the-logic-games/
I'd postpone a year. Get your score up higher and save yourself a world of pain and debt after you graduate
To answer your question, it is definitely possible. However, even if you improve 15 points, you're still looking at a short list of schools and not a lot of great scholarship opportunities.
Postponing a year isn't an option, it's now or never.
Not looking at a huge lists of schools, and the schools I'm looking at with that range are attainable. Not hugely worried about scholarships either (I fit into a wide variety of other categories i.e. disabled, adopted, etc.). Yes, academic scholarship would be nice but honestly, just need to get in.
People I've talked to and my bosses/coworkers (all graduated from reputable schools) have all told me doesn't necessarily matter where you go, matters most is that you got in and graduated, as far as jobs afterwards.
I'm in a similar boat. How are you planning on studying the next 6 weeks?
Well, I work 45ish hours/week, so I study after work for about 2-3 hours. Then all day on Saturday and a practice test Sunday plus more studying. Really all my spare time will be studying.
Have the basic 7Sage and the PowerScore bibles too.
People in this thread are being extremely optimistic. If you haven't been studying and are starting right now, you're not going to get through the 7sage course. It's going to be very individual and dependent on how quickly you pick things up. Some would maybe be able to do it in that time frame, many will not.
I'm very skeptical of believing that it's now or never. I've heard people give reasons for that outlook, and, in my opinion, it's almost never really the only option. It takes minimum 3 years to get a JD, it's not like this whole thing is a quick process. And I disagree that it doesn't matter at all where you go to law school. No, not everyone needs to go to a T14. Yes, you can be a lawyer and have everything work out from regional schools. But that's different than saying it makes no difference where you attend. For you own sake, I really hope you don't go into an extreme amount of debt at a low ranked school. If this is a recent decision you made to attend law school, I very very highly advise taking more time than this to think about it, study for the LSAT, and look at all your options. A $250k education isn't something that should be taken lightly.
Please do some research at Law School Transparency Reports (lstreports.com). Check out the unemployment rates from the schools you are considering. You need more than anecdotal information before committing to a school.
This information regarding employment is dangerous. Whoever is telling you this is uninformed regarding the reality of the legal job market. I implore you to do some more research regarding employment data at the universities that you are considering before taking on that much debt. I suggest first looking up the ABA required employment disclosures. It gives the data for each school about the types of jobs and level of unemployment for the recent graduating class.
@slandholm Just to give you a sense of what I am referring to, Pace University was the highest rated school with a median LSAT score of 151 (15 point improvement). A general overview of the data shows that 77% of graduates secured a legal job, among those 5% secured top jobs. The next highest at 151 as a median was Howard with 66% of graduates securing legal jobs. To some this might seem okay, I personally don't like the idea of having a 25% (or higher) chance to be unemployed with that much debt hanging over me (or employed making only 40k/yr) but obviously it's your decision.
Thanks for the lecture...
Not taking any of this lightly like you suggest, known since I was 7 that I've wanted to be a lawyer and took the time away from school to actually work in the field and get some experience under my belt before going through this process.
Yes, I understand the employment rates, but thanks for the info anyway.
Reason it's now or never is personal and don't need to explain it to you.
Guess it's hard to quote people who are light-heartedly joking that it doesn't matter where you go, because of course it does. I'm not going to settle for a barely accredited ABA school, but I'm also not putting unattainable expectations in my mind by thinking I'll go to Harvard.
Reason I put this discussion up was to get actual ADVICE from people NOT to be judged.
I apologize if you felt like you were being judged. I was responding because it seemed like you might not have accurate data. It’s totally your decision to choose where you want to go to law school! I wish you the best of luck and hope that you will not hesitate to reach out to the community in the future.
@slandholm Not trying to lecture, and wasn't joking about anything. I was only trying to be helpful, because you were looking for advice. The best advice I can give is that 6 weeks is not enough time to prep for the LSAT, and I think you'll do yourself a disservice by trying to cram like that. There's very little I can advise LSAT-wise for trying to gain 20 points in 6 weeks. It took me about 3 months to get through the 7sage curriculum while working full time. I also said, "If this is a recent decision..." because I didn't know your background, but your short timeframe, insistence on doing it right now, and saying you just need to get in and aren't worried about scholarships led me to believe it's possible that you decided this recently, as sometimes that is the case. So I qualified it with an "if," since I didn't actually know.
I will leave you alone now, just wanted to clarify that I actually was giving you my best advice, which is to make sure you are very aware of employment statistics and to find a way to push it back a year if you can. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.
First piece of advice, be nice to @"Leah M B" because she is one of the most helpful people on this forum.
Second piece of advice, 136 means you flat out don't get the test, how arguments are made, how the logic games are constructed, and you're missing the reasoning structure needed for the comprehension section. Bottom line, if you get into a law school with a 136, you're going to drown in debt with nothing to show for it job wise. You flat out need to re-wire your brain and that will take more than 6 weeks. It may take a year, it may take longer. So this now or never crap you're spewing is your crap to tell yourself, but no need to be glib to her. We all want what is best for YOU! We're not sugar coating anything. It takes hard work and devotion to what is a monastic profession.
Furthermore, you don't need to go to Harvard to be a successful lawyer or to be a lawyer. You can go to Loyola LA and still be an amazing lawyer. But you're going to have to cut yourself some slack, be honest with yourself which means you need to cut the BS, and be patient with a difficult process that in the end will make you a better law student.
Why is it now or never? Is it due to your age? How old are you? Is one more year really going to hurt? You just started prepping?
You can actually improve dramatically in just 6 weeks. For some people, they just need a method that clicks for them.
For me, going through 7sage's mechanistic style of tackling LR is improving my brain's way of tackling LR way faster than any other method, i.e. training my intuition (i.e. LSAT Trainer). This is because I'm a very mathematical person, my brain clicks in that method.
So I believe you can if you learn the method that just clicks for you.
Anything's possible, but my thought is "no." I would have said "definitely not" if you were looking at a different score, but I assume that there are some quick gains to be had from 136 as opposed to the high 140's/low 150's. Still, you have to bear in mind that there are a lot of areas (skills) to work on within each section at your current score. Quick gains won't help if your improvement isn't consistently reproducible. My worry with pushing for quick gains is that they aren't sturdy enough to guard against test-day jitters and other issues. In any case, I hope that you do improve to the score you want--but you definitely shouldn't treat your progress like a crazy workout plan. It often doesn't work with getting in shape, and it often doesn't work for getting the score you want. Anyways, good luck and remember to really dedicate yourself either way!
Oh, one other thing.--You'll probably need more than 2-3hrs every weekday.
https://media.giphy.com/media/yRggJj8QVtJM4/giphy.gif
Not to beat a dead horse but it really is imperative that you responsibly prepare for the LSAT. It is difficult to overstate how important the LSAT is in shaping the course of the rest of your life. Your LSAT score can mean the difference between massive debt and minimal debt, gainful employment and un(der)employment, as well as a whole list of other very important things which impact your quality of life.
The fact of the matter is that most people, bar those individuals who can finesse a 165+ diagnostic, need a lot longer than 6 weeks to get the sort of score one should have when applying to law school. Sure, you can make some pretty big jumps early on when starting out in the 130s, but to consistently score in the 150s requires a level of foundational understanding that is difficult to cobble together in a month and a half.
You don't have to apply this cycle -- and the fact that you insist that you must apply now makes me question why you began preparing for the exam so recently.
You posted your question on an internet forum, so I'll give you a response. Don't take it as a lecture, just an answer to a question that you asked for. If you don't want people to tell you something, don't ask.
Is an increase of that magnitude possible? Maybe, given where you are starting from. However, a jump of that size in 6 weeks would be a definite outlier in outcomes. So, by all means, good luck and I really hope you reach your goals. But don't be surprised if you don't achieve them on the first shot.
As to your "I have to do this now" mentality, I would offer you my experiences. As a 46 year old applicant who has already sat out a cycle and will sit out another one if I don't get an offer I like, I often wonder what reasons people could have of such urgent immediacy. A terminal illness diagnosis with a fixed 4 year-life expectancy? A band of marauding hooligans that kidnap an applicant's loved ones and promise a safe return only upon the awarding of a JD? Has someone from the future returned and identified an alien invasion that destroys any human not practicing law? I say these things in jest, but do really wonder if your urgency is an actual want or some real need. For me, I am committed to the outcome, using the practice of law in public interest, but realize that it may take me longer than I think to get there. My pursuit of and passion for the law and the desire to help others is not set on a timer, its a fixed part of who I am.
Lot of people (here and almost any other forum you will go on) will tell you to get the best deal you can after the absolute best preparation you can make. Sometimes (not always), the most widely spread wisdom is accurate. Only you can decide.
Either way, good luck and I do wish you the best.
Aw, y'all are making me blush.
I thought you gave great advice!!
Probably none of you care, but I'm taking in January instead...
Also did a PT on Monday and scored a 156, which is my goal range.
I care, good luck.
That's good to hear! Good luck in January
Assuming you took a timed test, a 20 point increase in a week of studying is incredible.
You are in the wrong forum for that attitude, we all care. Congrats and keep after it.