Really Low LSAT score

[nancysantos1218]

About a year ago I took the Princeton Review and my highest score was a 151. We graded them online so Im not exactly sure what question types were my best ones, but I notice in my reading comp section practices I would usually get most of those right. I wasn't going to be living in a city where there was a law school so I decided not to take the LSAT. Now we are moving back to a city with a law school and for about a month and a half I have been reading the bibles and working on practice tests. I'm beginning to think that 151 was scored incorrectly or a fluke. I took a test this morning and scored a 134. I wanted to know if a person ever gets better at the test when they start so low. I had been in the 140's range most of the time other than those 2 scores. I was going to take the Feb, but I think I should postpone until the June. What is a good way for me to get organized in my studies of the LSAT? I feel like it's hopeless after this morning! I don't even know where to start. I mean, I read the books, but now what?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi nancysantos1218,

Welcome to our forum, and thanks for your questions. Of course, people can improve from all score levels: in fact, the lower your initial score, the greater your potential for improvement. This can take a long time - sometimes as long as 3-4 months - and is not something you can rush. Nor is it something you can predict: no two students will improve at the same rate, as not everyone shares the same strengths and weaknesses, affinity for logical reasoning, ability to read critically, etc.

Given your current test scores, unless you have a compelling reason to take the test in February (such as wanting to apply for admission in the Fall 2015), I'd strongly encourage you to give yourself as much time as possible and take the test in June. Four months is an ideal amount of time to cover all the bibles and corresponding workbooks, take enough practice tests, identify any weaknesses in your skill set, and fix them before the test day.

Taking a full-length live online or brick-and-mortar prep course is perhaps the best way to guarantee that you'll reach your potential, and gives you the most bang for your buck, so to speak (full access to every licensed LSAT question, a top-1% instructor, supplemental lectures, etc. - to name just a few of the resources that would be available to you as a student). Our course schedule can be found here:

http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/courses.cfm

If you decide to continue prepping on your own, as you have been doing so far, I strongly recommend following a reliable study plan designed specifically with the PowerScore Bibles in mind. The following would be ideal, if you decide to take the test in June:

http://student.powerscore.com/self-stud ... y-Plan.pdf

Hope this gets you started... let us know if you have any other questions!

[Adam Tyson]

Let's start with the most important question first - yes, you can get better, and no, it isn't hopeless!

Without knowing a lot more about how you have prepared thus far, it's hard to say exactly what you should do differently to gain ground. That said, here are a few ideas to get you started:

1) Reading the books and taking practice tests are both important parts of your preparation, but they aren't enough. You need to do as much supplemental practice and study as you can (within reason - don't burn yourself out). That means focusing narrowly at times on specific goals, like improving your prephrasing skills, practicing your approach to grouping games (including how to go about drawing inferences, and when to stop doing that and move on to the questions), etc. Taking tests over and over is a good way to reinforce bad habits, so do those sparingly for now and instead focus on analysis and untimed practice.

2) Take advantage of all your resources - this forum, of course, and our other free help tools like the LSAT blog can give you a lot of new ideas and approaches to consider.

3) Establish a regular study program, and don't allow long lapses. Whether it's one hour a day or four hours a day, being consistent will allow you to continually build on your skills and understanding.

4) Mix it up - don't keep doing the same thing over and over. Spend a little time on linear game diagrams, then move over to some reading comp, then work on identifying conclusions in weaken and strengthen questions, and keep on changing it up. Whatever you are doing now, do something different. Got a strategy that isn't paying off? Try something new, even if your first reaction to it is "that doesn't work for me." Even if the new way doesn't work for you, at least it gets you out of a rut and gets you looking at things with fresh eyes and a different perspective.

5. Consider taking one of our courses, whether in person or online or virtual. Having someone there to explain it can bring the material alive in ways that just reading the bibles will never do. If you take a live class, whether online or in person, you get to ask questions and get feedback and tap into the big brain of whoever is teaching it. It sounds like the course you took did help you some, but then maybe you allowed those skills to atrophy a bit before coming back to it? Brushing up with a course and then sticking with regular study right up until two days before the test should pay off.

Sounds to me like you are probably right not to take the test in February - that's right around the corner and both your skills and your confidence are not where they need to be in order to succeed at this test. Instead, set your eyes on June and work towards that with focus and purpose.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

[nancysantos1218]

Thank you both for the advice. I already withdrew from the Feb. I was really anxious to start in the fall, but I will just have to wait and see if I can do better. So far I have read the Reading Comp Bible and most of the Logical Reasoning Bible. I am working on the Logic games bible now. I feel like I read everything and just don't remember enough yet so Im going to go back to the books and work on it some more. I actually feel better now, after making the decision to wait. I will take all of this information into consideration and start a new plan.