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Okay, I'm going to retake. Now what?
I'm not sure where to turn/what to do, except that I know I'm re-taking after scoring a 151 in December (first take). My highest PT was a 154 with a BR of 161, which was my target score. I made this score a few weeks leading up to the test, then in the last two weeks my scores fluctuated a few points.
I guess I'll start with my studying history which has been a little crazy (and probably why my score is what it is). My diagnostic was a 146 earlier this year. I initially planned to take the LSAT this past September. I studied late June-early August before I decided to postpone. I was using LSATblog and the bibles which didn't help at all, which led me to hire a tutor. While my tutor helped somewhat, I can no longer afford the drive/expense. I often used J.Y.'s LG explanations more than any other prep resources, but at that point I had learned LSATblog's curriculum, the bibles' curriculum, and my tutor's, which ultimately led to confusion and anxiety about how to handle LG. It's like I could figure it out when I did it untimed, but under timed conditions, I froze and everything I learned went out the window. Being the last section on the December test, I definitely knew I bombed it before I got my score back. My section breakdown is this: LR (-9), RC (-9), LR (-13), LG (-14).
This is all so frustrating because I have a 3.74 GPA. I know I can do better than a 151. There were times throughout prep that I scored (-6) on a section. My target school's median GPA is a 3.56 and their median LSAT is a 161, but I feel like I can manage to get into even better schools if I improve my LSAT score. I've also been trying to work on my PS and such, but I can't even articulate what I want to say because I'm so disappointed in myself. I've considered applying to unranked/4th tier schools in my area and transferring, but I feel like that's more unrealistic and stressful than postponing. I've told my parents about re-taking and possibly even delaying my apps by a year and they act like they'd rather be shot in the foot. I've taken a couple of gap years (Teach for America) and I have experience working in the legal field. My ultimate goal is to practice immigration law. I'm also a URM.
My target school's admission deadline is August 1st and I'm now planning to re-take in June. The question is...where do I go from here, especially when I feel so defeated? I've spent close to $1k on prep at this point. Wherever I invest my money this go around, I want to be sure it's worth it. I want to score in the 160s and maybe even hit 170. Is this even possible? Is it too late for this cycle? Should I wait and apply next year?
Thanks for reading!!
Comments
@cynnnnnn sounds like you have to do a lot of unwinding of things you learned from other companies. I would stick with 7 Sage exclusively for LG. Just do the fool proof method and you’ll improve on that section. Sign up for the lowest pkg if you have enough PT to use after finishing the curriculum. If you don’t have access to them it’s best to just pay for the higher pkg here so you’ll have them when you need them. Also, there is a 14 day money back guarantee so if you feel it’s not for you you can get your money back. February is probably too soon if you’re going to thoroughly go through the curriculum and do thorough BR when the time comes. You should be good to go come June.
If you are worried about money, I would start by foolproofing logic games and save up some money for a version of the 7sage curriculum.
https://7sage.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-score-on-the-logic-games/
This is the 7 sage foolproofing method to logic games. If you do it for the first 35 tests of logic games you should see significant improvement on games. You can do this with just the official prep tests and the free 7 sage explanations. Many 7sagers do this after the Core Curriculum, but if short on cash you could do it before.
If ten copies seems like too much after a while search the Pacifico Attack Strategy on this forum. It is an abbreviated way to foolproof with four copies for those of us who are impatient or tree hugging conservationists.
I f you get a 170 in June, you should wait and apply next cycle. Your options will be much better.
Invest in 7Sage -- it's the highest rated, best priced LSAT course in the world. Everyone will tell you that. $179 will get you all you need to get started.
Then, go through the course in order, and learn the 7Sage strategies. All LSAT prep more or less teaches you the same things. The thing that makes 7Sage special is that JY Ping, the instructor/founder, is very talented at explaining things in a way that is easy to understand and actually fun! Seeing things done in front of you on video is a completely difference experience than learning in a classroom or skimming the PS Bibles.
DO NOT go to a T4 school with a plan on transferring. Those places deliberately make it hard to transfer because they don't want to lose students. Law profs straight up won't write LORs and a host of other things. Only attend a school you will be happy to graduate from.
You can achieve any score you set your mind to. I never used to believe that until I came to 7Sage. I've seen at least 10-12 people in the last year on this forum go from 150s to 170s scores. There's no excuse anymore with unlimited retakes to not reach your highest potential on this test.
I would set my eyes on next cycle and do everything in my power to maximize my score. As for the parents, they probably mean well. But you can't worry about them too much WRT to law school. Unless they understand the process and importance of the test, they really can't add much to the conversation. Tell them you would rather get shot in the foot than attend a T4 school when you're capable of Harvard.
For real, you can do this! You have really promising stats. LG is generally the easiest section to improve on and that appears to be a weakness for you. It’s a match made in heaven! 7sage’s LG explanations are available free (because this is also maybe the most generous company I’ve ever seen). The Starter package for $179 is what I used to go from a 155 diagnostic to a 168 on test day. And I’m still improving and hoping for a 170 in February. There are so many students here who have done what you want!
Please don’t go to a super low-ranked school with hopes of transferring. Transferring law schools is really, really difficult. Much more difficult than an undergrad transfer. It’s endlessly better to wait a cycle, crush the LSAT, and get into a better school with better employment outcomes. And you are in a really good position to raise your score.
Good luck, and this community on the board is here to help you with any questions you might have!
Thank you to all of you! I feel better already, and I'm ready to crush this thing in June!!
@"Alex Divine" @"Leah M B" @"Seeking Perfection" @tanes256 follow up question...do you guys have any recommendations for a 6-month study plan? I'm not sure how long it takes to go through the CC, but I'm estimating 1-2 months based on the study schedule...should I be fool-proofing/doing sections while I'm learning everything, or should I wait until the 3rd month to to untimed sections and review CC, then switch to timed sections during month 4, and PT during months 5 and 6? I also just ordered the LSAT trainer so I'm planning to read that in conjunction with learning the CC. What do you think?
Hey @cynnnnnn what was your diagnostic?
@westcoastbestcoast initially a 146.
You're in good company.
I'm not sure how I feel about the untimed sections. Maybe as a compromise, time the sections, but instead of guessing at the end just keep working until you complete the section. People seem to sometimes have to completely relearn how to take the test with time pressure and I think that is worth avoiding if you can.
I would blend timed sections in with PTing. Just PTs for two months might get kind of boring. It also stops you from taking advantage of PTs ability to help you see whether you are improving.
That said, I'll defer to others on creating a six month plan. I only needed to study for 3 and a half months since I was only weak at games. I went through the CC in well under a month, foolproofed logic games for 42 days with Saturday PTs mixed in, and then focussed in more on PTing with a little additional foolproofing on the side.
Good luck!
That sounds about right for time it takes to go through the CC, depending on how much time you have available for studying. After that, I would recommend starting PTs right away, but just 1 per week. I'd probably work on drilling/foolproofing during the week and 1 PT on the weekend to gauge progress. Once you feel like you've made progress and have basics down, then practice doing timed sections and continuing 1 PT per week. If you want to go to 2 PTs per week at some point that should be fine, but I don't recommend doing more than that. You want to have plenty of time for blind reviewing the tests after taking them. It's really during review that you make the most progress.
6 months is a bit of a tight timeline, but it can be done if you are very focused. I didn't spend as much time foolproofing as many others did, and my LG scores reflect that (I average -2 or -3, generally because of running out of time). Really, it's all in your hands and can be customized for whatever works best for you. Foolproofing is great because LG really is a section that can easily be improved. I feel like the schedule is more of an intuitive thing as you work post-cc to focus on your own weaknesses and needs. It looks a little different for everyone.
I roughly followed the 7Sage schedule and that ended up working out nicely for me. I think if you're studying full time or close to full time, you can reasonably expect to finish the CC in ~6 weeks. It's ok if it takes longer, though. The schedule is meant to be adjusted!
I am going to recommend waiting until you finish the CC (or at least the LG section) before going on to fool proof the bundle. I'd recommend taking a PT once you're done with the CC (PT36), and seeing where you're at. After that first test, chances are you're going to need a good amount of work. So don't put off taking PTs until the last two months, that may be cutting it close depending on where you're starting from and where you aim to score on test day.
As far as untimed sections, I think that's a great way to learn RC. I also am a big fan of untimed LR question by type drilling using the 7Sage LR packs. Speed is not a concern while learning. Learning is the concern. Learn how to do something, do it right repeatedly, and speed will take care of itself.
The LSAT Trainer is my fav LSAT book. The ONLY one I'd really recommend, and it works beautifully with 7Sage. I think reading it first or after the CC might be best. I think when you're learning it is best to stick with one method at a time and master that method. 7Sage puts heavy emphasis on learning conditional logic, and I feel like Mike Kim takes more of an intuitive approach to the logic on the test. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think reading both at the same time might be a bit confusing.
Also, you should check out this amazing webinar Sage @"Cant Get Right" put together. https://7sage.com/webinar/post-core-curriculum-study-strategies/
It is a post-CC study guide broken down into different steps depending on where you are relative to your goal score.
Best of luck!