June Exam

[Frank]

Hello,

I'm registered to write the June LSAT next Monday. I began my prep back in January by taking the online PowerScore course which I found to be very helpful. From January to April I tried to work through the homework books and review the lessons as best I could, but I was also taking a full course load at the time so I was sporadic with my LSAT studying. I took the month of May off just to prep for the test and I have read over all three PowerScore bibles and reviewed the online lessons during that time.

My initial diagnostic test in Jan was a 147, now I consistently score between a 161 and a 164. During May I have written 6 timed practice tests and 3 un-timed tests along with some individual timed sections. For my un-timed tests I score from 170-175 so I feel comfortable thinking through the questions. I've found that during the timed tests I miss questions by reading too fast and when I go over the questions after the exam I am able to easily pick out the right answer. At this point, during my timed exams, I usually miss one game (or I start the last game and only answer 1-3 questions), I get to question 22 or 23 on the LR sections, and I can get through the last reading comp passage but I can usually only get through 3-4 questions max. Usually I get a raw score of around 20 for LR and RC and around 17-18 for games.

I'm really happy with the steps I've made so far but I feel like I can do better because I understand the reasoning behind the right answers and the questions I get wrong on the timed exams are from silly mistakes not from a lack of understanding. However, with the test right around the corner I'm not sure how much more I can improve my score during this week. Do you have any helpful advice on how I might bring my timed score up closer to my un-timed score?

In the back of my head I keep thinking that I should go for the Sept exam instead. The problem is that I would have to work full-time for the rest of summer and I would start classes again in Sept so I wouldn't be able to study as consistently as I am now (Is it true if you don't use it you lose it? ). What kind of studying would I need to do to tighten up my score if I do decide to write in Sept and also would it be beneficial to write the exam next week if the Sept exam is a legitimate option? Is there anywhere I can go online to find out if law schools take your average from multiple LSAT exams?

I know its normal to stress out before the exam but I'd like to go into this thing feeling confident that I can work properly work through the questions in the allotted time.

Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Frank

[Steve Stein]

Hey Frank,

Thanks for your message; you’ve asked a number of good questions, so I’ll provide a response, and invite others to add to it. First, I’m glad to hear that you have found our courses and materials helpful, and it sounds like you’ve built a very strong foundation—congrats on the big score increases! I completely agree with you that you should be happy with the steps that you’ve already taken, and I also agree with you that you can very likely still improve. As you pointed out, the fact that you understand the reasoning behind the questions, along with your scores on untimed tests, speak to your conceptual ability and ultimate potential.

So should you take the June test, wait for September, or possibly both? Part of the answer depends on your goals, as you are already doing quite well. A score in the 160s is quite good, so if that will get you where you want to go, maybe the June test would be the way to go.Is it true that if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it? I suspect that if you were to take the expertise that you have developed thus far, and continue applying it to practice tests over the summer, you would find that you could continue to become more “fluent” in LSAT language; as you recognize more of the test’s patterns, you would continue to get faster, build your endurance, and likely see the number of silly mistakes decrease. If you are already scoring in the 170s on untimed tests, that tells me that you probably just need a bit more practice to build up some speed before you can achieve a similar performance on a timed test.

Most schools consider your highest reported score (but you could call any school you’re interested in just to be sure), so even if the June test didn’t go ideally, you would have the September test as a backup. If you decide to take the test in June, I would recommend that you go back over your silly mistakes and see if you can find any patterns or trends among the question types, or particular wrong answer traps, etc. You should keep practicing this week, but be sure to take off the day before the test—at that point, you should be relaxing, and conserving your mental energy for the big day.

Well, that's a start! I hope this is helpful--others may have thoughts to add, and let us know if we can answer any additional or follow-up questions as well--thanks!

~Steve