consistently horrendous, atrocious, volatile PT scores

[danimarie]

Hi, I am losing confidence rapidly. My diagnostic lsat was a 147 in early May 2022. I have studied 4-6 hrs per day for at least 5 days a week almost all of May (a couple days off for family vacay, but even then I was listening to the powerscore podcast or doing some light reading on lsat), Most of June (another vacay with fam), and all of July. I bought all of the bibles and have read completely through LG and LR and after reading both of them felt like I was truly learning something and that it would carry over into my PTs (boy was I wrong LOL). I really slowed down during my reading of the bibles and marked every page up with notes trying to show my learning of each concept, especially in the mini tests at the end of each chapter/section. I am still working on the RC bible, and I wouldn't be upset if my PT scores were bad bc of RC since I haven't intensely studied it as much as the other sections. But my PT scores are absolutely atrocious even after studying 2/3 of the test. I have taken 8 now and I just scored a 151 (my highest score which feels so freaking embarrassing since I have been studying so much and my score rose 4 points since diagnostic) but I honestly think it was luck bc I have seen the most improvement on LG and I somehow understood all of the games on that test. I am at a loss. I signed up for both the August and September LSAT, but I am considering pushing my September date back to either October or November. I just feel like if I am testing barely above 150 after 3ish months of studying, how am I going to jump to even a 160 in the next 6 weeks for the Sept test? I feel like a loser and maybe just need some reassurance, I have never been so discouraged with anything in my life. But I know I really want to go to law school. I'm considering taking the next year off and just studying the LSAT, but then again if I need a year to study for the entrance test to law school, am I really fit for law school? I also signed up with a course through Kaplan before knowing about powerscore because I used Kaplan for the GRE to get my MBA and I'm feeling like that was a mistake. Any comments are appreciated, sorry for rambling!

[Adam Tyson]

It sounds to me like you could use a little break, danimarie, and it also sounds like it would be a mistake to take the August test. It's not too late for you to change that test date and give yourself a break to reassess. We're a week away from the test, and if you are not already getting some PT scores in a range that you would find acceptable, it would be wise to hold off for now.

There's no harm in delaying, because it's still very early in the admission cycle. And there's no shame in it, either. Everyone moves at their own pace! This is not necessarily an indication of your chances of success in law school, nor is it a measure of your intelligence, and you should try not to take it to heart. The LSAT is a hard test, and it's a skills test, and it can take a lot of time to get comfortable and proficient with new skills and techniques.

If you can manage it, consider working for a bit with a tutor who can help you identify some problem areas and find new ways to approach the material that work well for you. Sometimes just having an outside perspective with a different way of explaining things can lead to a big breakthrough.

Also, pull back from taking more PTs for a bit and focus on just identifying one or two things that would, if you got better at them, make a big difference. Maybe just one kind of logic game, or one type of LR question, or one type of reasoning that tends to trip you up. Taking tests over and over isn't going to be helpful unless you use each test to help you focus on the things that need the most attention.

Keep the faith! You can do this! But give yourself a break and then try something different from what you've been doing in order to get different results. We're here to help!