Running out of practice tests

[lsatlsat]

Dear Powerscore,

I will be taking the lsat for the first time on december 6th lsat, however I am also planning to re-taking the lsat in feb2015 (for fall 2015 law school enrollment), because I am not reaching my target score of at least 160 right now, and I think that there is too little time for me now to make any substantial gain. My average score for LR is around 156, and as for LG, I can only finish up to the third game.

The biggest problem that I'm facing now is that I have done 45 practice tests already (I was enrolled in your summer course, so I started doing practice tests back then), and so I don't know whether i should keep on doing additional new practice tests. If I do that, I would probably finish all practice tests by the time I take the dec 6th test, and so I will have no new questions to work on anymore. I know that it is possible to re-do the questions, however I think that this would affect my actual score performance. So should I save the remaining 20 practice tests for the feb testing? If I do that, what should I do now? I could review the questions again, but the only problem is that I still need to work ok improving my speed, because I haven't quite reached the requirement of finishing all questions in 35 mins for each section.

I am actually also wondering if I should consider postponing the test to feb, and just take it once in feb 2015, as I know that I will not be able to reach my target score. However I am worried that if feb would my first time, then I might not have enough test experience. I have heard from some people saying that perhaps I could go to the test on dec6th and then just immediately cancel my score right after. This way I would be able to get the test experience, but also not have a score. However if I do attend the test, would this count towards 1st time LSAT, and so therefore I would only have two attempts left in the next two years?

Sorry for asking so many questions!!! I am getting very confused about what I should do at this point, and any suggestions from powerscore would be extremely appreciated!! Thank you very much for your patience and help!!

[Ron Gore]

Good morning!

As you say, you appear to be quite conflicted, and I feel for you. These are tough decisions and you obviously care very much about doing the best you can, which is putting an immense amount of pressure on you.

So, let's start by examining your underlying views, as I understand them.

1. You want to get a 160 "at least." What do you actually mean by this? When I read "160 at least," I understand you to mean that you actually want a score significantly higher than a 160? Am I reading into your statement too much? If you goal is a 160, then it may be possible for you to get there by December's test if you are currently hovering around a 156. However, if you want a significantly higher score, then that's a different story.

What kind of score do you actually need to safely get into the school of your choice? That should be a specific number or small range of numbers. The answer to that question really governs your approach to the others.

2. The "requirement of finishing all questions in 35 mins". There is no such requirement unless you are planning to get a 180, which does not appear to be your goal. The objective is to get enough questions correct to reach our target score. If that means you only attempt 20 questions per section (while guessing on the remainder) but you get all 20 right, then that would be a killer strategy if you aren't currently getting 20 questions right per section. You've got to shift your focus to the proper objective.

3. Taking Dec but already planning to retake Feb. The only time I recommend this strategy is if the student has significant test day anxiety and needs a dry run in the actual testing environment to get rid of those jitters. And even then I wouldn't recommend it going from December to February. That would be something to consider June-October or October-December. If you're nowhere near your score that you need, then I would consider withdrawing from the December exam, unless you will have the discipline to cancel your score if you know you did not do well.

4. Saving practice tests. If you are in fact going to wait until February, then I would save some practice tests, but you don't need to save all twenty until just before the test. And, you can get a great deal of benefit out of retaking practice tests, so don't have the view that they are lesser tools at this point.

In summary, I think you may greatly benefit from taking a breather, slowing down, and really examining your assumptions and your level of preparedness. I'm definitely happy to talk about this with you further, so feel free to respond, and either I or another instructor will continue the dialogue.

Best Wishes,

Ron

[lsatlsat]

Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions!! I really appreciate it

What I meant by "I need to get at least a 160" is that most of the schools it would like to apply to (top 30-50 US law school) have a 25% percentile of 157, a median of 160-163 (some have 164, but not too many), and a 75% percentile of 164-166.

Usually, if I have an unlimited amount of time, I would be able to finish the LG and do most of them correctly (except for killer games), however when I time myself, I spent an average of 12mins per game, and this I am only able to finish the first three games. So assuming that I do all of them correct (which is not always possible, I usually get one wrong per game, but usually this is a careless mistake), I would only be able to get 17-18/24, which is a 70-75 %, this around a 158-160. As for the LR, I am now in the 156 range, and sometimes I do skip over questions that take too much time in order to do other questions. Usually I can finish 21-22 questions, and I'm working I finishing the remaining ones. As for RC, I am usually only able to finish three passages at most, and not answering everything correct. So overall, I feel that I am not reaching a 160.

So this is why I am wondering whether I should try to leave out some fresh practice tests, because I am worried that I won't be able to reach 160 in less than two weeks. I do know that feb is quite late in the cycle for fall 2015 enrollment, however a lot of people have advised me that it would be better to submit a stronger application (assuming I score 160-162 by feb), rather than a weak application (assuming 154-156) by dec. I feel that although I might ktv remember all the questions, I kind of stil remember the answers choices that were wrong, and so if I do take the feb lsat I'm worried that this would affect my diagnostic score. So this is why I'm wondering whether I should assume that I need the take the feb test, and also save some fresh new tests? Also, do you know a rough estimate of how more competitive the applicant pool would be by the feb lsat, i.e.: would I need to score in the 75% to at least be considered if I apply after my feb lsat score?

Thank you very much again for your help!

[Ron Gore]

Thanks for the clarifications!

Since this is your first time taking the LSAT, it very well may be the case that you can make up the differential prior to test day. For folks who have a long experience with the test, I generally assume that they will not gain a huge increase in the last couple weeks before the test -- if they were going to have the "aha" moment, they would have already done so. However, I would also say that what you're currently doing may not be enough. You might want to consider a couple of hours of tutoring to get you off of that plateau. There might be something very simple in your process that a tutor can identify and correct that will make your score go up by the points you need.

Although it is true that is better to submit a better application later than a lesser application sooner, this is another year with historic low applications being filed. Your stock has never been higher with the score you have. I would consider sprinting through the finish, and seeing how you feel on test day. If you feel like you did fairly well, I'd go ahead and apply. If not, then you can always wait. Remember that with rolling admissions, most of the schools have already taken the majority of students they want. You'll have to be a quite strong applicant to get accepted with the February LSAT, unless the school has an unexpectedly large number of holes to fill.

Also, I encourage people to take the long view. If you can be a much stronger applicant next year than you are this year, it might be a good idea to wait. Run the numbers. How much could you expect to gain in terms of scholarship/grant money with a realistically higher LSAT score? How much better are your job prospects graduating from a higher ranked school? Those are all questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether to take apply as part of this cycle or next years.

Thanks,

Ron

[lsatlsat]

Once again, thank you very much for your suggestions - they are always so helpful!!

I am a student who has actually taken your summer lsat course in the summer, and I have also had private tutoring previously to improve primarily on logic games and logical reasoning (as these are the two most improvable sections). I have started to study for thre test since I began the summer course with powescore, however i feel that my score has not been inproving much. In this last month (December), I do feel that my score has slowly being improving, or at least I understand the concepts better, however I just feel that there is so little time for me to make a significant improvement from 154-154 to 160. (Plus, I've heard that we usually score three points lower on actually test day). I am getting to a point where I don't see any hope....though I will take the dec lsat for sure, I just feel that this score is not going to be good.

May I please ask what does "another historic low applications being filed", and " your stock has never being higher with the score you have"? I do not fully understand what you would like me to infer from this?

In terms of scholarships, though it would be very nice to receive some, I do not necessarily need any, as tuition is not a major problem for me. I just would like to enroll in a top 50 law school in the fall of 2015. Or at least, receive acceptances into a top 50 school for now, and if I do change my mind and decide to wait another year to apply to higher ranked schools, then withdraw my acceptance later. This is mainly because I have other plans in the future, and i really would not like to delay for a year. I have previously emailed all too 30-50 law schools; and all of them replied that they do accept feb scores, and said that there will obviously be fewer spots, but there will still be seats (however they were unclear on how much more competitive the applicant pool would become, and how much higher of an lsat score I would need vs. dec).

Thanks a lot!!

[Morgan O'Donnell]

Hi Lsatlsat,

I'll try to help clarify some of what Ron was talking about. What he means by his statement, "this is another year with historic low applications being filed. Your stock has never been higher with the score you have", he is saying that historically, the number of law school applicants is down (and at historic lows) right now. This may help you if your LSAT score is not quite as high as you'd like it to be because less people are applying. Keep in mind, the T20 schools will not notice this drop quite as much, because those tend to maintain the highest number of applications. However, T30-50 will certainly be affected by the lower number of applicants (and this should help you).

Yes, you're right, in most cases, applying with the February score will give you "smaller pieces of the pie" when it comes to available spots- meaning it will be more competitive. Schools will have spaces available to fill come February, but not a lot of space. So, if you are intending on applying after the February LSAT, you will need to make sure you have the best LSAT score possible, and that your application is top-notch and ready to go! Unfortunately, there is no way to know what precise score you will need to get accepted late in the admissions cycle. Although, shooting for the higher side of the schools' ranges is probably a good bet.

Also, I'd like to address your comments about the upcoming December exam, " I am getting to a point where I don't see any hope....though I will take the dec lsat for sure, I just feel that this score is not going to be good." Something you have to do (as soon as possible) is start changing your mentality Positive thinking throughout your prep and on test day go a long way! I think it would help you to take a look at this seminar we conducted on test mentality: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/vid ... tality.cfm

Right now, I don't think you should be so focused on the score you think you'll need in February. Instead, focus on doing the absolute best you can in December.

Also, one last thought—this blog from LSAT Bible author Dave Killoran might help you with the issue of having seen a lot of the practice tests before: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/239 ... -questions, and this blog might help with how you view practice: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/311 ... practicing.

I am inviting other instructors to add their comments as well!

Hope this helps,

Morgan O'Donnell
PowerScore Test Prep

[lsatlsat]

Dear instructors,

Thank you all for your suggestions and input. Every suggestion is very helpful to me.

So if I'm understanding things correctly, does this mean that I should take the Dec Lsat no matter what, and even if my score is lower than the median for the schools at which I would like to apply to, if would still be advisable for me to apply with this score over a score that would be at the median in feb?

However, if the applicant pool has decreased over these past years, wouldn't even applyif late in feb not affect my chances as much as in the past, since there are not enough applicants anymore?

And in terms of improving my score in less than ten days, it is still possible, but probably I should try and find some help from an one on one tutor from powerscore?

Thanks again!!

[Morgan O'Donnell]

Good morning, Lsatlsat!

I will do my best to clarify

In theory, a smaller applicant pool would allow for more spots to be filled by February LSAT takers, but in reality, all that means is, schools are accepting a larger percentage of applicants. When this happens, students with scores a tad lower than the median will be looked at more closely because no law school wants to start a year with empty seats; they need that tuition money! So, you will most-likely be faced with the same/small percentage of vacant seats come February. If you reach a score around the low range of the schools you are looking at in December, then you should have a decent shot of getting into at least one of the schools on your list. Remember... you are not trying to get accepted to all 30 schools~ all you need is one

If you are still wavering on Dec or February, please go back and read the responses you received from instructors on your previous forum post (they also hit on some tips to bring up your score): http://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewto ... 434#p17434

If private tutoring is something you are interested in, you would have to submit that inquiry ASAP for the December exam. Many of our tutors have little or no availability left, so getting that inquiry in urgently would be necessary to get you assigned. Here is the link to that inquiry form on our website: http://www.powerscore.com/includes/tutoringform.cfm

Ultimately, we cannot tell you which exam to take; we are just trying to assist in providing you with as much information as you need to make an informed decision.

If there are any concepts you need clarified as you are working through the material, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks and best of luck to you!

Morgan O'Donnell
PowerScore Test Prep

[lsatlsat]

Thank you very much for all of your help!! I will try my best to do the December test, and hopefully I'll be able to reach at least the low end score spectrum for the law schools.

Also, I have heard online that you offer complete services that help students apply to schools, and ensure that they get into at least one of their preferred schools. Would you still consider me as a student if my tar is too 30-50 law schools, and if I score in the schools' median score on the feb lsat, and apply with the feb lsat score (around 160-162) (for fall 2015 entry)? Or since this is late in the cycle, you wouldn't accept any students to enroll in the services by then? Have you received students previously in my situation?

Thank you again!!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi LSAT,

We offer a variety of admissions consulting services, and our goal is obviously to get you into the best possible law school

The program overviews are at: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-school-admissions/, and there is still time to get into a program. And we have worked with students from every conceivable background, so your situation isn't unusual to us!

On that page there is also a free resource you might want to take advantage of: we have a free online Admissions seminar coming up on December 8th (we call it our Admissions 101 seminar).

Please let me knwo if that helps. Thanks!