Practice Test #2

[tomato39]

So I'm incredibly depressed right now because I haven't improved in the course I'm taking.

I'm in a Powerscore full-length course right now, in preparation to retake the LSAT on October 1st. I first took the LSAT in February 2010, and got a 166, which was lower than my practice tests (I was aiming for around 170, having gotten higher on 3+ practice tests).

So I was really surprised when for my diagnostic this month, I got a 163. But I figured that was the result of being out of college for a year, and that I'd quickly bounce back to my normal high-160s/low-170s. After two weeks of classes, I got a 164. Not the improvement I'd expected.

My main weakness is logic games. I have only completed the homeworks for lessons 1 and 2 so far (I work full-time). But I have previously gone through the entire Logic Games Bible (a year ago).

Should I postpone or cancel my retaking the LSAT? I know 166 is a pretty good score, and no way would I want to LOWER my average, of all things! Is it likely that I can improve quickly enough for the October LSAT, or at all??

[Nikki Siclunov]

Assuming that you haven't done much test preparation between your February 2010 test day and this summer, your prior experience with the test is unlikely to raise your current level of ability to a significant extent. Unfortunately, you let 1.5 years pass before resuming the test preparation process. Clearly, you are capable of a top-1% score, as evidenced by some of the practice tests you took before. But, for better or worse, you are making a "fresh start" now and should gauge your progress accordingly.

Given that you've only completed the homework for lessons 1 and 2, you should not expect to see a significant improvement in your Logic Games score yet. Having gone through the entire Logic Games Bible is a good start, but that was a year ago. You have only done a fraction of the homework assigned, and still have 3/4 of the coursework left ahead of you. Feeling concerned is natural, but completely unwarranted at this point. The only practice test scores that would be truly indicative of your potential to excel in October are the scores you obtain in the last week of your preparation.

Until then, you need to focus on gaining a complete understanding of the ideas in the course, which requires (1) catching up on your homework; and (2) doing as many logic games as possible (since this is your main weakness). Do not neglect to examine our explanations for any game that took you more than 8-9 minutes to solve. If I were you, I would also download additional Logic Games sections from the Student Center to supplement my studying. Lastly, avoid attributing any significance to your practice test scores at this point. Positive attitude matters a lot, and there is no reason to get discouraged so far in advance of the test date.