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For anyone who feels they fell short of their potential
LSAT Is Coming
Alum Member
Nothing prepared me for the disappointment I felt when I opened my LSAT email from June. I had been feeling confident about the test and thought I would at least hit 170. I am a splitter applicant; I've always known that to be competitive I needed a stellar LSAT score. After a lot of studying (and a lot of dollars spent on the Ultimate package on 7Sage), I had managed to get my PT average to 171. My score came back 6 points lower, lower than any of my previous 15 practice tests. I realized then that a 165 is an objectively great score, but I was disappointed nonetheless.
I imagine there are many people here who feel the same. We set goals, we come up short, and deep down we know we can do better. I felt dejected. A huge part of me wanted to just call it a day and never take an LSAT prep-test again. But ultimately I pushed forward, took a few more practice tests, re-took some of the recent ones, and gave it one more shot in September. When I got my score yesterday (a 174), I literally fell out of my seat. I closed and re-opened the email 5 different times to make sure I hadn't misplaced the 7 and 4 in my head. I refreshed the page for the next hour, just waiting for LSAC to send a "We meant to send that to someone else..." I woke up panting from a nightmare last night that it had all been a dream.
Now I look back and I consider myself lucky to have scored 6 points below my average and not, say, 4, because any higher a score and I likely would've settled and said goodbye to the LSAT once and for all. In a way, thanks to scoring 6 points below my average, I had the chance to come back with a vengeance and score 3 points above.
The crazy thing about both of these tests: I left feeling just as confident (and unconfident) after each. The fact is sometimes a test plays to your strengths (and you get lucky), and sometimes a test screws you like a power tool.
Whether your goal is 170 or 150, if you feel like your September score does not demonstrate your potential, hold your head up high. You are not alone!
This exam is beatable. Most likely, the next one won't have judges with quite as high a degree of candor.
You can always take it again, and you can always do better.
Winter is coming, but winter will pass (hopefully; Game of Thrones S8 hasn't been released yet, so I can't say for sure).
SN: Thank you to 7Sage for all the help throughout this process. You guys easily offer the best course on the market. Eternally grateful, and plan to pass it forward to others in the future.
Comments
I just want to say congratulations!!!! i have seen you a lot on here and happy for you that you got a great score!!!!
Yay! That's awesome. I too got crushed by the test lol
Congratulations!! I remember seeing your post about your June writing sample--shame you won't be applying with that one
Do you have any takeaways on how you mentally approached the second test day?
Haha -- if you showed someone my first and second writing samples and told them one went with a 174 and one with a 165, you'd never guess correctly which went with which.
My second day, I went in with a much calmer attitude. I had personally accepted that if a 165 was my peak, then that was my peak. It is a good score to begin with, and a solid worst-case scenario. In September, it felt like just another practice test, whereas in June I felt on edge the entire time. I went in knowing that no matter what happened, I would not take the test again. Somehow that relaxed me. Wish I had a golden bullet on this -- but I definitely empathize with anyone who has anxiety issues during the day of.
congrats @lsat is coming! really happy for you!!
Congrats! I met a lawyer when I first started to decide if law school was for me and the first thing she told me was be prepared to take the LSAT multiple times. Happy to know your persistence worked out for you
Yay congrats!!! I needed to read this today. Spent most of yesterday crying and thinking about giving up too. I took a live Blueprint class and hated it. I knew by the first class meeting that I would not like it because it did not seem to match my learning style, but I told myself to stick it out because I'm probably being too critical. I should have listened to my gut. Just purchased 7sage this morning, so I am hoping to improve by December. Thanks again for sharing your story!
Your story is really encouraging. Congrats! When I told my family I scored the same as June everyone was telling me to just accept it and send your applications already. But I'm not ready to give up yet. I know I have it in me to score higher! I still haven't registered for Dec, but I think this thread gave me the push I needed to decide
Congrats @LSATiscoming
@LSATiscoming Great to hear man! I'm one hundred percent with you, got a very good score, but not where I've been PTing and where I know I can achieve. Hopefully I can repost this thread at the end of December after crushing DEC 2! Appreciate the reminder that it can work out and there is still hope~!
@LSATiscoming congratulations! I think I needed this. Thank you