LSAT Retake?

[ckoch6253]

Hello!

After being disappointed in my June 2017 LSAT score, I decided to retake the exam. I planned to take the upcoming September 16th exam. However, I just spoke to the pre-law advisor at my college, and he advised me to wait until next fall, which would be the fall of my senior year.

Most of the information and advice I have read online has suggested that all of your applications should be done in the fall of your senior year, so I was a bit concerned and confused by my pre-law advisor's advice. My question is whether I should indeed wait (maybe even just until the February 2018 administration of the exam) or if I should try to take it for my second time in September as I planned. I know that it is not advised that you take the exam too many times because that can look bad to law schools, as they receive all of your scores; however, I am also worried about waiting too long.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Caitlyn

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, Caitlyn,

Thanks for another good question that has certainly been on a lot of students' minds. Our Vice President, Jon Denning, was just discussing this topic with several other instructors a couple days ago. We will likely have an upcoming blog post on the subject on our LSAT blog here:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat

In the meantime, we have a good discussion of repeater statistics here in our LSAT help area:

https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/ls ... istics.cfm

While we don't have a "one-size-fits-all" answer for students, your top concern should likely be scheduling your next LSAT for the date for which you will best be able to (1) prepare thoroughly and (2) maintain motivation and momentum during your preparation.

As the above article notes, June is in a sense the start of a new LSAT cycle. The LSAC has also recently removed restrictions on how many times students may repeat the test. If you anticipate that your schedule may become busy with other commitments in the fall, September may be a good target date, especially since you have already done considerable self-study.

My personal two cents would be to shoot for September. Fears about multiple scores looking bad, while not wholly unwarranted, are (again in my opinion) somewhat overstated, especially when you're talking about two or three LSATs, not five.

Further, burnout and distractions are real. If you're motivated now and have the time now (and since you've already been working on LSAT), consider continuing to work up to September. Prepare for that date as LSAT D-Day. You're gonna take it and knock it out of the park. Go in confident and strong, and don't let secondary or tertiary worries distract you from this process.

Ultimately it's your call, but we're here to help in any way we can!

[ckoch6253]

Thank you again for your speedy reply! I will look out for a blog post on the subject, although I have decided to take it again in September, as you suggested.

One follow-up question, though...As I mentioned before, I decided to use the On Demand Online Prep Course...Do you think that by September I will be realistically able to get my score up about 10 points from a 162 (June LSAT score) to something in the 170s? I was PTing around 167 fairly consistently. Also, if I follow my study plan, I will hopefully take about 25 practice tests between now and test day...is that too few or too many?

As always, any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Caitlyn

[Adam Tyson]

Hey there Caitlyn, the increase you are asking about is certainly within reason. If you were already testing in the high 160s, getting into the 170s means just a few more points. You'll need to focus not only on taking tests, though, but on taking the time between tests to analyze every question and every answer - the ones you got right (to learn to repeat those successes, and to get more efficient and confident in selecting those right answers), the ones you struggled with (to help understand why you struggled and figure out what strategies to employ to avoid those struggles), and the ones you got wrong (for obvious reasons). For that reason, I think your proposed plan of taking 25 tests between now and the September test seems to me to be too many.

As of today there are less than 10 weeks to go before the test. 67 days, to be exact. You shouldn't be taking a practice test the day before the real deal, and obviously not the day of, so that means 65 more days of solid work (some of which should be recovery days on which you do nothing at all related to the LSAT, just rest and recover). You're looking at a test more than once every three days! That's a recipe for disastrous burnout, in my opinion. You'll get mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, and at some point you'll likely throw up your hands in frustration and just want to give up completely. Don't let that happen to you!

While we know not every student is the same, and some will thrive on that level of pressure and intensity, most won't. I recommend a study schedule that is based on a three-day cycle: Day 1: practice test; Day 2: analysis to determine what went well, what didn't, and where you should focus your studies to gain just one or two more points; Day 3: study, mostly untimed, to get better at just those one or two areas where you have that room to improve and gain those one or two additional points. Maybe it's just one type of game, or comparative reading in RC, or Flaw in the Reasoning questions, etc. Live and breath just a couple of topics for a day. Then repeat the cycle. After every two cycles, take a day off. Go see a movie, swim, nap, hang with friends, and avoid the LSAT completely. This test is about changing the way you think, and reprogramming the pathways in your brain. You need to recover from that brain damage once in a while and let the new pathways rest and heal.

To get the most out of your practice tests, check out these helpful blog posts:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-bes ... tice-tests

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/getting ... est-review

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/cogniti ... -be-stupid

(This last one links you to some others, too, so keep going if you want more)

Finally, ask yourself whether you need to take the test in September, or if December or even later will meet your needs. Don't set an artificial goal for yourself, but plan on studying until you are able to get the best result that truly meets your needs, in terms of your score, your ability to maintain your study without burning out, and your timeframe for applying to and starting law school. If you don't need to take it in September, then you should track your progress and be prepared later to admit it if you are just not ready to get your best score, and in that case switch your test date.

Good luck with your studies! Don't burn yourself out, but take care of yourself. More studying is not as good as more efficient and effective studying!

[ckoch6253]

Thank you for that thorough response! I agree that 25 tests seems daunting and you are probably right that I would burnout rather quickly! I appreciate your advice and I'll definitely spend the time to thoroughly review my practice tests as you suggested!

Thank you,
Caitlyn