T-14 bound?

[elinds13]

Hi!

I have taken the LSAT two times and will be taking it again in just a couple of weeks. My score on the last exam I took was a 163, which was a bit disappointing since this was only one point higher than my first attempt and I had been improving on practice tests, but nonetheless I have moved onto studying for the next one. I have two questions regarding this.

Would I have a chance at any of the T-14 schools with my current score (I'm thinking lower end- Duke, Cornell, Georgetown, etc.) I have a 3.9 LSAC calculated GPA and I would say I have a fairly strong Resume, currently working on perfecting the personal statement, and some pretty decent recommendations. I'm hoping to raise my score to at least a 166/167 on my next attempt, but if test day happens to go poorly (manifesting it goes really well!), I'm wondering where I stand with my current stats.

My other question is regarding any tips you have for the last two weeks of studying. I've been scoring anywhere between 163-167 on new practice tests since the August exam and also got a 173 on a practice test that I retook. I wouldn't even consider the 173 to be near an accurate predictor except that it was the first practice test I took back in May so there was a lot of questions I didn't remember at all or honestly hadn't even had time to attempt on my first go. With the 173 I got I was able to get through nearly all of the questions on Reading Comp, which is usually a big problem for me. My main issues are timing and consistency. I've just been trying to give myself reminders during practice tests to just keep moving even if I am not 100% certain about one question because I can move on and have time for 2 more questions rather than stare at it. I wanted to know if you have any other tips to help with timing and to solidify my score in the upper 160s instead of getting a variety of scores on each test. I've improved a lot in logic games and am coming close to completing all 4 games each time, which I hadn't been doing. Logical reasoning had been my best section (1-2 wrong each time), but I've been a bit inconsistent with that lately. Reading comprehension is by far my worst section, getting anywhere from 3-8 questions wrong each time. I'd be grateful for any last minute tips on this!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi elinds,

Your chance at the schools you mentioned with a 163/3.9 is pretty low. Take a look at the graphs posted here.

Cornell: http://cornell.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1920 (need a 168 for a "safe" bet)
Georgetown: http://gulc.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1920 (same, although 167 is maybe slightly safer at GULC)
Duke: http://duke.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1920 (same, with 167 yielding similar results to GULC)

For logic games, make sure you're following this cycle for each game after each test or practice section: review the setup to the game, using the Forum explanation as your guide. Note every place where you missed an inference or a diagramming tool (like templates) that could've sped up your approach. Think about how you could've identified that inference (or template approach, etc.) under timed conditions. What did you need to observe about the game to make that inference? Then a day or two later, come back to the same game and repeat it with the goal of completing it both faster and more accurately than you did the first time you took the test or section.

For logical reasoning, identify places where certain "question type tips" could've assisted you in (safely) eliminating wrong answers or picking correct ones. Was it a Must Be True question and you were down to two answers, and if you'd just picked the answer with "weaker" (easier to prove) language, you would've gotten the question right? Was it a Justify question with "new information" in the conclusion that you could've used to narrow down quickly to a couple of answers (one of which would've obviously been better than the other)? You need to find these ways of "simplifying" your approach to at least some of the questions in LR so you don't have to "fight" on every question to arrive at the correct answer.

For reading comprehension, spend a lot of time in review thinking about what the precise source of the answer was in the passage. Where specifically (what paragraph, sentence, word) was the answer coming from? Once you find it in review, think hard about how you could've found that material under timed conditions. Did you need to do a bit better job of notating the passage? Should you have used the search/ctrl-f function on a key (unique) word or phrase? The better and faster you can get at identifying the source of answers, the faster and more confident you'll be about the answers you're picking.

I hope this helps!