LSAT Question

[brebre234]

Is it possible to score low in one section of the lsat and still get an high score?

[Jon Denning]

Hi brebre - thanks for the question!

The short answer is yes, absolutely you can struggle (score low) in one section and still score quite well on the LSAT! Of course, a big part of that hinges on how an individual defines certain things—doing poorly in a section means different things to different people, as does "a high score"—but even if we take the absolute worst-case scenario and say someone misses every single question in the most question-heavy section, RC, they'd only be looking at about 27 wrong answers, and thus around 74 correct answers on a typical test if they were perfect elsewhere. 74 correct as a raw score translates roughly to a 160 or so, which is still quite a good score!

That's an extreme example, obviously, since getting 0 right in one section and getting everything right in the other three are both rare/unlikely, but it demonstrates the idea at least that you don't have to be amazing in all sections to still achieve a competitive result!

A more realistic scenario would be where someone struggles with LG and maybe only gets about 50% correct, so -12 or so, but then is stronger elsewhere and only misses 3-5 questions/section. That hypothetical happens a fair amount, and would give a raw score of around 77, which is in the 162-163 range on most tests. So once again a really strong outcome despite a single section causing issues.

Finally, if you want to compare historical raw scores to their scaled (out of 180) products, this page is an amazing resource: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/co ... rgeted.cfm

I hope that helps!

[brebre234]

Hi brebre - thanks for the question!

The short answer is yes, absolutely you can struggle (score low) in one section and still score quite well on the LSAT! Of course, a big part of that hinges on how an individual defines certain things—doing poorly in a section means different things to different people, as does "a high score"—but even if we take the absolute worst-case scenario and say someone misses every single question in the most question-heavy section, RC, they'd only be looking at about 27 wrong answers, and thus around 74 correct answers on a typical test if they were perfect elsewhere. 74 correct as a raw score translates roughly to a 160 or so, which is still quite a good score!

That's an extreme example, obviously, since getting 0 right in one section and getting everything right in the other three are both rare/unlikely, but it demonstrates the idea at least that you don't have to be amazing in all sections to still achieve a competitive result!

A more realistic scenario would be where someone struggles with LG and maybe only gets about 50% correct, so -12 or so, but then is stronger elsewhere and only misses 3-5 questions/section. That hypothetical happens a fair amount, and would give a raw score of around 77, which is in the 162-163 range on most tests. So once again a really strong outcome despite a single section causing issues.

Finally, if you want to compare historical raw scores to their scaled (out of 180) products, this page is an amazing resource: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/co ... rgeted.cfm

I hope that helps!

Hi thank you for you reply! I asked this question because when I was studying for the lsat I scored the lowest on the logic games section on the diagnostic test. I am practicing to get better on this section however Im still a bit concerned about it. Im not taking the lsat till next June which is alot of time to practice!

[Jon Denning]

Totally understandable!

With a year to study you've got plenty of time to hit your goals and then some, so for now just focus on staying diligent with your prep and concentrate on learning the fundamentals/processes at the heart of the test. The score you want will come with time; learn the proper mechanics early and you'll be in great shape