Should I change test date?

[Rakmo101]

I haven't seen much score improvement in the months before I enrolled in the live online course, and I have scored worse on the practice tests since the pre-test I took before the course began (for reference, we just finished lesson 6). I know that unless I score significantly higher than I've ever score before (10-15 points), I plan on taking the October LSAT anyways. Would it still be worth to take the August LSAT or should I change test date since law schools see all LSAT scores and the probability of me significantly improving my score in 4 weeks is low considering I've taken seven tests up to this point and been studying for months?

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Rakmo,

Thanks for the message! Don't pressure yourself into taking and LSAT you aren't ready for--it gives you no benefit to do that, and has the downside of burning one of your three takes in the course of a year. With the time you have left I'm sure you'll see some increases, but since your goal is so clear, I think it's better to give yourself more time (and less stress!) to delay a bit. And it won't hurt apps since October is still very early in the application window.

With the odd way LSAT studying works, it's not unusual to see no results early on (as you said, "I have scored worse on the practice tests since the pre-test I took before the course began"). So common, in fact, that I wrote a blog article explaining why it happens: Why Did My LSAT Score Go Down When I First Started Studying? Give that a read when you have the chance--I think it might help make you feel better!

Thanks!