Recovering from low October score

[beechols]

HI,

I just received my score from the October LSAT (151), and I am kind of shocked, and definitely discouraged. My diagnostic score was 146, and my PT's were in the high 150-160 range. I was planning on applying to schools for next fall. But now I don't know what to do. Should I plan on taking the December LSAT, or is that not enough time to recover from such a low score?

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi B,

Take it again. Your October score was lower than it should have been, and there is still enough time to build on the prior work you've done and be ready for December. The big question is, what happened? How did you feel after the October test was over—did you think it was a struggle or did you feel like you nailed it? Whatever the cause, that's something that has to be addressed before you take the test again. That would be the first place I'd start looking at, and if anything were to stop you from retaking it, it would be if you couldn't get that figured out.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

[beechols]

Thank you for your response!

During the test, my biggest issue was time. Most of the questions I answered were correct. My first section was my worst, (test anxiety got the best of me to begin with, and I knew it) and the sections improved as I went along, with my best performance in the last section.

[Dave Killoran]

Ok, that is good to know—you were still working with mental clarity, but the pressure slowed you down. Have you accessed any of our resources on test mentality? Because that's the place I would start with, and I would work on that and then also on the time factor.

Please let me know if you are familiar with some of the test mentality tools we offer, and if not I can post some links here for you. Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Also, a second thought: you might want to think about doing a set of warm-up questions the morning of the LSAT, before the test starts: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/325 ... f-The-LSAT.

It might help get you rolling so you can start fast!

[beechols]

"Warming up" before the test is something I didn't consider, but makes perfect sense considering I consistently performed worse on the first section regardless of what it was. I signed up for the December LSAT...thank you for your advice!

[Dave Killoran]

Great, glad I could help! Try that out on some practice tests, and also delve into our Test Mentality resources. those two in combination will help you start faster on the December LSAT, and then maintain that high level.

Thanks!