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How early should I schedule my test?

tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
in General 3679 karma

Hi all; I am hoping to write the test in June 2018 but if I am not PTing where I want by May, I was going to wait until September. How quickly do testing centers fill up? Should I go ahead and book my seat now just in case or can I wait until closer to my tentative testing date to see if I am anywhere near PTing at my goal?

Note: I am just finishing up the CC and am going to move on to phase 2 but am afraid I won't be ready by June because I work full time and can only dedicate around 12 hours a week to studying. A part of me feels like I should book it so I can have more motivation to try and put in more study hours to make it to June but the other part of me doesn't want to rush the process.

Comments

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    " How quickly do testing centers fill up?"
    Really depends on where you live.

    "Should I go ahead and book my seat now just in case or can I wait until closer to my tentative testing date to see if I am anywhere near PTing at my goal?"
    How far from your goal PT are you atm?

    " I work full time and can only dedicate around 12 hours a week to studying"
    What about the weekends?

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @10000019 said:
    " How quickly do testing centers fill up?"
    Really depends on where you live.

    "Should I go ahead and book my seat now just in case or can I wait until closer to my tentative testing date to see if I am anywhere near PTing at my goal?"
    How far from your goal PT are you atm?

    " I work full time and can only dedicate around 12 hours a week to studying"
    What about the weekends?

    To answer your questions:

    Haven't begun PTing yet

    Study about 3 hours on Sundays

  • lapuccio83lapuccio83 Alum Member
    102 karma

    hi! You commented on my Dallasites post so I think I can at least help you with one question:

    The pre-law advisor told me that the testing centers in Dallas fill up rather quickly, but that doesn't mean there won't be one spot left by July.

    Good luck with your studies!

  • pioneer321pioneer321 Free Trial Member
    328 karma

    It really does depend on where you'll be testing. That's kind of what I did by dropping off the Sept test, and signing up for Dec instead. Although I did end up loosing money for being an idiot and withdrawing too late, so you might wanna be careful with LSAC's deadlines. If you live in a densely populated area and know about of a really good center, chances are others do as well, and it will fill up quickly. In that case I would sign up for it as soon as you can, and make your final decision just before the deadline to withdraw.

    There is still lots of time left before June, and since it sounds like you have been very careful with your CC study, there is a good chance you'll be ready by then. But don't be afraid to postpone to September if you're not PTing in your goal range. Good luck!

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    @tringo335 said:

    @10000019 said:
    " How quickly do testing centers fill up?"
    Really depends on where you live.

    "Should I go ahead and book my seat now just in case or can I wait until closer to my tentative testing date to see if I am anywhere near PTing at my goal?"
    How far from your goal PT are you atm?

    " I work full time and can only dedicate around 12 hours a week to studying"
    What about the weekends?

    To answer your questions:

    Haven't begun PTing yet

    Study about 3 hours on Sundays

    Before you make a decision, you should take a PT. There are so many PTs that it's unlikely that you'll end up using 36-83.

    I'm not sure how you split that 12 hours, but going forward you need to ensure you have a good block to take timed PTs.

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @lapuccio83 said:
    hi! You commented on my Dallasites post so I think I can at least help you with one question:

    The pre-law advisor told me that the testing centers in Dallas fill up rather quickly, but that doesn't mean there won't be one spot left by July.

    Good luck with your studies!

    Good to know that they fill up quickly. I would assume they wouldn't since Dallas is so large but on the other hand since Dallas IS so large i can see why they would fill up quickly lol.

    @pioneer321 said:
    It really does depend on where you'll be testing. That's kind of what I did by dropping off the Sept test, and signing up for Dec instead. Although I did end up loosing money for being an idiot and withdrawing too late, so you might wanna be careful with LSAC's deadlines. If you live in a densely populated area and know about of a really good center, chances are others do as well, and it will fill up quickly. In that case I would sign up for it as soon as you can, and make your final decision just before the deadline to withdraw.

    There is still lots of time left before June, and since it sounds like you have been very careful with your CC study, there is a good chance you'll be ready by then. But don't be afraid to postpone to September if you're not PTing in your goal range. Good luck!

    Ahh see I didn't know there was a deadline to withdraw without losing money .. thats perfect. I'll go ahead and register and if I'm not PTing by when I want by the deadline, I can push back to September. I hear really good things about a site in the area and I want to try and get that one.

    Thanks everyone for the advice! :)

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    @tringo335 said:

    @lapuccio83 said:
    hi! You commented on my Dallasites post so I think I can at least help you with one question:

    The pre-law advisor told me that the testing centers in Dallas fill up rather quickly, but that doesn't mean there won't be one spot left by July.

    Good luck with your studies!

    Good to know that they fill up quickly. I would assume they wouldn't since Dallas is so large but on the other hand since Dallas IS so large i can see why they would fill up quickly lol.

    @pioneer321 said:
    It really does depend on where you'll be testing. That's kind of what I did by dropping off the Sept test, and signing up for Dec instead. Although I did end up loosing money for being an idiot and withdrawing too late, so you might wanna be careful with LSAC's deadlines. If you live in a densely populated area and know about of a really good center, chances are others do as well, and it will fill up quickly. In that case I would sign up for it as soon as you can, and make your final decision just before the deadline to withdraw.

    There is still lots of time left before June, and since it sounds like you have been very careful with your CC study, there is a good chance you'll be ready by then. But don't be afraid to postpone to September if you're not PTing in your goal range. Good luck!

    Ahh see I didn't know there was a deadline to withdraw without losing money .. thats perfect. I'll go ahead and register and if I'm not PTing by when I want by the deadline, I can push back to September. I hear really good things about a site in the area and I want to try and get that one.

    Thanks everyone for the advice! :)

    I think you still lose money even if you withdraw in time. I'm in the process of withdrawing from February, and I'll only be getting a $50 refund.

    Also if you try and change the test date, they will charge you a $100 fee.

  • pioneer321pioneer321 Free Trial Member
    328 karma

    Ahh see I didn't know there was a deadline to withdraw without losing money .. thats perfect. I'll go ahead and register and if I'm not PTing by when I want by the deadline, I can push back to September. I hear really good things about a site in the area and I want to try and get that one.

    Thanks everyone for the advice! :)

    Just to be clear, the refund is partial, even if you request it before the deadline. So I guess you should take that into consideration. If I'm not mistaken, they only give you back something like $50. Better than nothing though.

  • akistotleakistotle Member 🍌🍌
    edited December 2017 9372 karma

    @pioneer321 said:

    Ahh see I didn't know there was a deadline to withdraw without losing money .. thats perfect. I'll go ahead and register and if I'm not PTing by when I want by the deadline, I can push back to September. I hear really good things about a site in the area and I want to try and get that one.

    Thanks everyone for the advice! :)

    Just to be clear, the refund is partial, even if you request it before the deadline. So I guess you should take that into consideration. If I'm not mistaken, they only give you back something like $50. Better than nothing though.

    Yep, it's $50! So you'll lose $130 even if you withdraw before the deadline.

    https://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/lsat-cas-fees

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    gah! this changes thing again lol! @akistotle @pioneer321 @10000019

  • Gladiator_2017Gladiator_2017 Yearly Member
    1332 karma

    Thanks for posting this! I didn’t realize signing up for June is now possible...so excited!

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage
    13286 karma

    They're strict too. I registered late for the Dec test, and the only test center open was 30 miles away in San Francisco so I booked it. The next day a seat opened at the test center I wanted to test at and they charged me $100 to transfer. I called and asked about it but they stuck by their guns. I paid the $100 because it moved the test center 25 miles closer to me but it sucked!!

  • Eric25Eric25 Member
    720 karma

    Im in the same boat as you! Hoping to test in june but finding the time to finish the CC and start pting is hard, thanks everyone for the suggestions! Im in a smaller city so i was going to wait until March to make the decision, or until i hit a score i want!

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @LSATcantwin said:
    They're strict too. I registered late for the Dec test, and the only test center open was 30 miles away in San Francisco so I booked it. The next day a seat opened at the test center I wanted to test at and they charged me $100 to transfer. I called and asked about it but they stuck by their guns. I paid the $100 because it moved the test center 25 miles closer to me but it sucked!!

    aww man! good to know ... i might as well go ahead and book. I already have it in my mind to take the test more than once so if I schedule June maybe it'll give me the extra oomph to squeeze in more study hours to try and be PTing at my goal by then. My only hesitancy is the LG fool proofing. I suspect this to take many months which is why I am nervous I won't be ready by June.

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @estouten25 said:
    Im in the same boat as you! Hoping to test in june but finding the time to finish the CC and start pting is hard, thanks everyone for the suggestions! Im in a smaller city so i was going to wait until March to make the decision, or until i hit a score i want!

    I totally feel you; working full time is not helping. We have several days off this week since the department didn't give us raises this year they felt guilty and let everyone have the week off lol so I'm spending 8 hours a day finishing up the last bit of the CC. If it wasn't for that, I'd still be behind on my goal of finishing by January.

  • lsatplaylistlsatplaylist Member
    5249 karma

    I'm also in a similar situation. I don't want to rush the process and am a NT student, but I also want a test center to be available when the time is right to take the exam, but I don't want to lose money if possible. Maybe we can figure out some way to collectively celebrate "graduating" from the CC phase to the next phase?

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member
    8392 karma

    You could check to see whats available now for the February test and that might give you an idea of how booked up June will get. Big cities tend to completely fill up but it’s been pretty back and forth here in Seattle. I once booked around a month before the deadline and the closest Center was around 70 miles away from me. There was technically one within 30 miles but you have to take a ferry to it! Haha. LSAC only guarantees that you’ll get a test site within 90 miles or so (or maybe it’s 70) but you don’t want to end up in that situation. I personally paid a registration, then a test center change, then 2 date changes before finally taking haha. December test cost me a looooot of money by the time I actually took it! But no regrets because I wasn’t ready earlier.

  • goingfor99thgoingfor99th Free Trial Member
    edited December 2017 3072 karma

    @LSATcantwin said:
    They're strict too. I registered late for the Dec test, and the only test center open was 30 miles away in San Francisco so I booked it. The next day a seat opened at the test center I wanted to test at and they charged me $100 to transfer. I called and asked about it but they stuck by their guns. I paid the $100 because it moved the test center 25 miles closer to me but it sucked!!

    I planned to take mine at UNH but the location nearest to me was Suffolk University in Boston, MA. I rented a hotel for the night before because that morning commute is something like an hour and fifteen minutes with traffic. It was fun but expensive and sort of overwhelming. My bedroom was practically a closet.

    I was pretty cozy in there, though. lol best part is it was a 2-minute walk from testing center.

    Sorry to hear yours sucked haha

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @lsatplaylist said:
    I'm also in a similar situation. I don't want to rush the process and am a NT student, but I also want a test center to be available when the time is right to take the exam, but I don't want to lose money if possible. Maybe we can figure out some way to collectively celebrate "graduating" from the CC phase to the next phase?

    haha! I love celebrations! My husband and I find any excuse to celebrate stuff lol .. our last one was a nice steak dinner downtown at the one year mark of him quitting a job he hated :-P

    I digress... when do you finish? I'm aiming to be done by 1/1

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @"Leah M B" said:
    You could check to see whats available now for the February test and that might give you an idea of how booked up June will get. Big cities tend to completely fill up but it’s been pretty back and forth here in Seattle. I once booked around a month before the deadline and the closest Center was around 70 miles away from me. There was technically one within 30 miles but you have to take a ferry to it! Haha. LSAC only guarantees that you’ll get a test site within 90 miles or so (or maybe it’s 70) but you don’t want to end up in that situation. I personally paid a registration, then a test center change, then 2 date changes before finally taking haha. December test cost me a looooot of money by the time I actually took it! But no regrets because I wasn’t ready earlier.

    That's a great idea! I'll check that this week.

  • lsatplaylistlsatplaylist Member
    5249 karma

    @tringo335, I'm also a fan of meal rewards. :) Hoping to be done in the next 2 or 2.5 weeks.

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @lsatplaylist said:
    @tringo335, I'm also a fan of meal rewards. :) Hoping to be done in the next 2 or 2.5 weeks.

    cool! how do you plan on proceeding after you finish the CC?

  • lsatplaylistlsatplaylist Member
    5249 karma

    I'll probably replay Josh's webinar about next steps after the CC and do what makes sense for my situation at that point. How about you?

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @lsatplaylist said:
    I'll probably replay Josh's webinar about next steps after the CC and do what makes sense for my situation at that point. How about you?

    same; i think there are a couple other old threads about what to do next as well that I'm going to scope out ... . i was actually looking for that webinar .. do you mind sending me the link if you've found it? :)

  • lsatplaylistlsatplaylist Member
    5249 karma
  • hrafiqhrafiq Alum Member
    24 karma

    hi - i took mine in Dallas too for December & i think i only registered 2 weeks before the deadline and it was fine. i think you can just keep an eye on it too to see how you feel!! especially if you have flexibility for the testing center

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @hrafiq said:
    hi - i took mine in Dallas too for December & i think i only registered 2 weeks before the deadline and it was fine. i think you can just keep an eye on it too to see how you feel!! especially if you have flexibility for the testing center

    Good to know! Thanks!

  • ML_LSAT_KillaML_LSAT_Killa Alum Member
    edited December 2017 267 karma

    me too! I have like 4 hours left in CC (not counting post CC review). I have watched that webinar a few times...but it is still not clear how much PTing to do initially...you have to do at least some because moving to the next phase is based on your BR score...but how much I am not sure to do. I know that I will initially need to improve allot on RC...and so that is where I plan on spending allot of my time in the beginning.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member
    23929 karma

    @tringo335 When are you going to join our Tuesday night study groups!? We're missing you!!

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @"Alex Divine" said:
    @tringo335 When are you going to join our Tuesday night study groups!? We're missing you!!

    I’m almost done with the CC! should be on next week ;-)

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @ML_LSAT_Killa @lsatplaylist I'm going to DM you to discuss :)

  • Eric25Eric25 Member
    720 karma

    @tringo335 said:

    @"Alex Divine" said:
    @tringo335 When are you going to join our Tuesday night study groups!? We're missing you!!

    I’m almost done with the CC! should be on next week ;-)

    Same with me! So excited to get done with CC and start really applying the lawgic

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @estouten25 said:

    Same with me! So excited to get done with CC and start really applying the lawgic

    When do you plan on testing!

  • Eric25Eric25 Member
    720 karma

    @tringo335 said:

    @estouten25 said:

    Same with me! So excited to get done with CC and start really applying the lawgic

    When do you plan on testing!

    June is the goal! Bought an alarm clock to start waking up early to study! Today is probably the last day ill say that with excitement lol

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @estouten25 said:

    @tringo335 said:

    @estouten25 said:

    Same with me! So excited to get done with CC and start really applying the lawgic

    When do you plan on testing!

    June is the goal! Bought an alarm clock to start waking up early to study! Today is probably the last day ill say that with excitement lol

    Haha! Good idea.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member
    23929 karma

    @tringo335 said:

    @"Alex Divine" said:
    @tringo335 When are you going to join our Tuesday night study groups!? We're missing you!!

    I’m almost done with the CC! should be on next week ;-)

    Whew hoo! I'll be looking forward to it :)

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