Seeking Advice : Scored under my Average on test Day

Comments

• jcyling Member

  June 2020 44 karma

  I am in the same boat - my actual score was way lower than my average PTs. I plan to do some soul searching this weekend and need to decide if I will sit for a fall LSAT. But at this time I am pretty demoralized.
• 4 Likes

  Achen165 Member

  June 2020 656 karma

  Only you can know if dedicating more time to study is worth a shot and something you are willing to commit to. Surely, there are absolutely no guarantees, but if it’s worth the potential of getting into a top school & potential scholarship consideration at some lower ranking schools, keeping in mind that it’s a lifelong career investment, a few more months dedicated are nominal when you consider what is valuable to you— even embracing the fact that it might not work out how you want. A few points can make the world of difference in admissions, but some schools take a more holistic approach in accounting for the score relative to other app materials. Did you really feel like you did your absolute best studying? Did you leave no stone unturned? Exhausted resources? Did you work through everything to say you can understand the test on a level where getting your goal is a definite regardless of format variations?

  It’s a highly personal decision to make, depending on what compromises you may need to make for the schools you can attend. There are some T-30 schools where you could potentially be admitted to with said score, though the chances may be low, contingent upon things like gpa and other things like a stellar app.

  I have underperformed on test day multiple times, forcing me to really dig into how I study, my performance and how I can undeniably hit my target on test day. I have come to realize that score ranges, even when you hit them in the same upper range multiple times, it takes a great deal of practice to consistently perform in that range, accounting for test format variations and test anxiety. Really ensure that you are strictly timing, understanding, and see how you are performing timed on fresh material to assess whether it was a fluke or not. High scorers can have off days, and an average scorer can have a single good day that only represents the upper range of their efforts.
• 1 Like

  hcdbsu24 Alum Member

  June 2020 103 karma

  I think you need to sit back and really evaluate how you study and how you recreate test day conditions. I know you said you had some problems on test day with technology, but if you are confident in your abilities and mentally in the right place (practicing mindfulness, meditation, and breathing) it should not have effected your score that much. Was it all the pressure you were putting on yourself? Do you have testing anxiety? Did you find this particular flex test you took extra challenging? Was there a section (looks like your first section) where you felt like you just bombed it and it sat in your mind for the rest of the test even though you tried calming techniques?

  I know for me doing a PT is not as stressful as actual test day (I have sat for 2 LSATs, July 2019 and May Flex). We all have bad days, this might have just been one for you. I wouldn't give up. If you scored a 161 the week before the test and average 154, I believe that you can achieve 154+ if you stay consistent in your studying. You got this.
• 3 Likes

  Jonathan Wang Yearly Sage ⭐

  June 2020 6869 karma

  It really boils down to a cold, hard admissions chance calculation. Will a 151 get you into the t14/t30 schools you want to go to? Honestly, unless you are URM and/or have extremely compelling factors elsewhere in your app, the answer is going to be "almost certainly not" (the exceptions prove the rule). So then, you have a choice to make - are you going to change your school targets, or are you going to study more? Law school is a 3-year, $200,000 commitment that heavily impacts your future prospects, so at least for me personally "I don't want to study again" isn't really the caliber of statement that I'd find particularly persuasive.

  If your high was 161 but average was 154, I'd characterize your performance as a 3-point underperformance and not a 10 pointer like it probably feels like to you right now. You need to achieve consistency in your practice before you can really expect to perform similarly under pressure.

  I will say that a defeatist attitude definitely doesn't help. Probably a solid half of my students come to me after taking the LSAT once and being dissatisfied or continue with me after underperforming their first attempt, and many of them have made huge strides the second time around. A lot of people don't improve the second go-round because they don't change their approach or their outlook, so they just stay stuck at their same plateaus. If you can avoid being one of those people, there's no reason you can't improve. It's really tough mentally, but the solution to that is support networks and study buddies, not to just give up.

  It sucks for our best-laid plans to get messed up, but unfortunately we can only play the cards we're dealt. Best of luck to you!
• AwokenNova Alum Member

  June 2020 176 karma

  Hey everyone thanks so much for your candid, real advice. I wrote this post in a very discouraged headspace. I suffer from test anxiety, have a disability, and I’m a low income URM
  so I was feeling very defeated/discouraged in this moment. But your advice really has helped me gain perspectives I needed.

  I have practiced a lot of meditation and mindfulness to prepare and I think those skills is what got me to refocus and calm down for sections 2 and 3.

  I’m going to re-work my plan to try again. A lot of mentors say my resume is very above average and my GPA is a 3.58 from a top 20 undergrad university. However, I do want to increase my odds for admission and scholarship for those tier schools. I need to buckle down again and get some more coaching.

  Thank you all for everything I saved your advice for reminders to keep doing my best