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3 Likes
My score is a confirmation that the last 9 months of studying have done nothing.
I don't know what to do. It's really discouraging when you've spent nine months actually studying for hours almost everyday throughout the weeks and it doesn't count for anything to improve my score substantially beyond my diagnostic. How would actually putting in the work every day NOT improve your score? Really embarrassing, and really disheartening. Don't know if I will bother trying again. It's ridiculous to think all that work would do nothing, and yet it did, so it really discourages me from putting even more work in. Just being real here. Definitely considering ending this whole endeavor, it just seems like the effort won't pay off.
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I am really really sad to hear that. Hug.
*don't give up
I am sure other people will have more insights to offer since I havn't taken it yet. But it could be test day anxiety. For some people it takes multiple retakes to achieve their PT average.
Hug. Don't lose heart. Lets keep going.
I think burnout can be very detrimental. Sometimes to get ahead we need to rest as well. Mental fatigue can play a big role in it. I would suggest not letting this test dictate what you are going to do in life. If your PT average is where you want it to be, I would suggest taking a break as long as you need to, come back, and go for it again!
Beat the LSAT
I really, really thought I wouldn't have to retake, but I feel like I have no choice now since I know I'm capable of more. Now, of course, I'm worried that no amount of preparation is actually going to help me, which is a fear I know I can't let get to me.
I'm going to focus on being extremely healthy and in my best shape both physically and mentally for the test, in addition to making sure I stay super sharp, skills-wise. I haven't even looked at an LSAT question since the test so I know it's going to be painful to go back, but I can't just walk away with a score so below my capabilities.
Yeah I would definitely encourage you to BR all the PT's you do. That's very very essential. Don't skimp out on them even if that means you end up doing less PT's. That's the only way we end up improving and learning.
I definitely think its possible for you to score higher, just keep at it, and it will happen. No shortcuts this time and if you see your score dip consistently definitely evaluate to figure out what's happening
I think we all go through this process. You are not alone @m.e.u_89 . Don't give up
I'm so sorry to hear about your LSAT experience. The same thing happened to me when I took my first LSAT(December '15). Felt like I studied my butt off, and ended up scoring 5 points BELOW my diagnostic.
I don't know what your PT score or diagnostic looks like, but if you've only taken 3 PT's before the real thing, you probably have not reached your full potential just yet and took the test too soon. The best advice I've gotten is that I need to study until I'm hitting my goal score, THEN set a test date, not the other way around. I think a general rule of thumb is to at least take 15-20 PTs (and most of them under timed condition) to fully look at your potential and see how you do under timed conditions and then BR the heck out of those PT's and look at your BR scores compared to your timed score, and try closing that gap.
Don't get discouraged, this can happen to the best of us! If law school is truly your dream, possibly think about delaying the test to next year to re-evaluate your study process and see what went wrong.
I probably took about 3 months off from studying to re-evaluate what I really want and what went wrong (and to build my broken ego back up) and then just started back up from ground zero. I signed up for the 7Sage curriculum, got myself a tutor and really honed in on my fundamentals and am taking all the timed PT's I can do right now and am BRing them like crazy.
Feel free to message me if you need a friend to talk to, or have any questions on study process/starting all over.
Keep your head up and don't let this one bad experience take your dreams away from you. Nothing is lost!
At the very least now you know what doesn't work and how not to prep. It is ok to take a few months off to consider how you want to go forward. Burn out is real as you've alluded to.
Can you elaborate on your prep process in detail a bit? Exactly how did you study and how many PTs did you do? What was your score compared to the last 5 PTs you took?
Talking to a friend about everything I'm feeling really helped me -- I hope you have people on your side you feel support you too, and, if not, I think you've got a whole community here.
I'm thinking more and more that I'll rewrite in Dec. I want to take this frustration and channel it into determination to do better than I did this time. I don't feel like I've hit my ceiling yet and I would hate more than anything to look back at this later and regret not going for it when I had the chance.
I'm not saying this is the right decision for you and I don't think any of us can but I hope you know that you're not alone in this. If you were feeling burned out, maybe try taking a PT now that you've had a break from the LSAT. I've heard stories from people who came back stronger than ever after giving their brain a bit of a break and I hope you're one of them. Good luck.
even now I almost want to give up.
but I think we are in a good position we scored our highest before we can fall that range again. its not like we never scored well before.
I think maybe unfamiliarity with test day freaked us out. I am going to give it my all for December. right now I am giving myself sometime emotionally to deal with this cause I do struggle with depression and anxiety so its me time. but November I will be getting right back into it.
but you are not alone, I am in with you everystep of the way
Even though I wish everyone could do as well as they hope, it is comforting to know that it isn't happening to only me...
I rarely write on these boards (although, I like to read them) but I thought today might be an appropriate time to share my experience. I'm in the same boat as you. I studied for eight months. I took time off of work. I did everything I was supposed to do. I followed the game plan. As I was PTing, I wasn't hitting my target score - and that should have been confirmation for me not to take the test. I did anyway (praying for an Aaron Rodgers hail mary). I scored 7 points less than my average PT score and 15 points less than my target. Yesterday wasn't the greatest day. But, I'm juiced! I'm so excited to get back at it. I'm going to give it everything. I want you guys to know, it's been done before. People have scored perfect on this exam. You aren't doing the unthinkable, the unattainable, the impossible. You are aiming for something that has been DONE BEFORE. You are JUST as capable. You can reach your target score.
So, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing this was my pep talk to myself yesterday. But, clearly something I did didn't work when I prepped. I need a new game plan. I'm not taking December. In fact, I'm not even hopping into this cycle. I'll sit it out. My time will come. I want to understand the language of logic. I want to fall in love with it. I want to know its deepest imperfections and in return reveal my imperfections. I have decided to retake the course. All 237 hours. Build bridges and close gaps. The payout to performing well on this exam is TOO high to walk away from. The most important thing is to realize that you're doing this for the opportunity to practice and perform what you love every day of your life. You're doing this to build new networks, skills and memories. This is only a part of your testimony. There are and will be many more who feel how we feel right now. Your testimony will guide them to their finish line. Your story will shape theirs. I'm happy to work with you through this process and I'm sure we have the support of the entire 7sage community. We're in this together. See you guys at the top!
The best advice I can give you, or anyone, is despite all the distractions and self doubt that creeps into the study process you are stronger. Remind yourself why you are doing this and what your end goal is. Keep going, you got this, in fact, WE ALL have this.
It's certainly a relief to know that scoring at your diagnostic or below it does happen,and doesn't necessarily mean your law school ambitions are toast... I was really interpreting it as a failure. @fightingtilltheend scoring just 3 points over the diagnostic was exactly what happened to me. I may have really burnt myself out, as I was studying for hours almost everyday for 9 months straight. I really thought it would be the best way to approach it, but almost identically to @austin.brumbaugh, I started to really decline a month before the test. It was crazy how foggy my brain was feeling as I was doing those PTs - it was all blurring together, and it was really worrying. Now I feel like I should have known then that I wasn't going to be ready and my study methods were harming, not helping. But when I took my last PT 10 days before the real exam, I ended up scoring higher than I ever had so I thought I had recovered and I was ready... I'm realizing now just how delicately you have to treat yourself with studying in order to actually absorb the information. I think really putting the effort and time to do BRs could really make the difference (I hope), I mean, it seems like it's a critical part of the process in this course, so I may have really missed out on some key learning in thinking I was saving time.