To Wait or Start Studying for a Retake

[elinds13]

Hi!

I just took the August flex today and had registered for the October LSAT as a precautionary move in case I am not satisfied with this score. I would like to have my applications in by the end of October so I couldn't wait for the November test for a retake. I feel like this is a situation a lot of people may be in after this week due to October registration closing already, so I thought it might be a helpful question to ask on here! I did fairly well today and think I did the best I've ever done on logic games, but I probably could've done a bit better on LR and RC.

Since scores don't come back until mid-September, and the October LSAT will be the first week of the month, I am wondering when I should start studying for a possible retake again. I also recently started a full-time job, so I am having to balance work, LSAT, and applications as evenly as possibly. Should I take the next couple weeks until I get my score back to begin doing heavy work on other application materials or should I begin some amount of LSAT studying in a week or so before I know the official outcome of this August test?

Thanks!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi elinds,

Great question! In your situation, you have to hedge your bets a little bit. You should certainly try to get your personal statement and recommendations in as good a shape as possible as soon as you can. And for the next few days, you can take a little bit of a break from LSAT work and study. But don't let that break continue for too long. It wouldn't be a good idea to just let the LSAT sit on the back burner (without touching it at all) until scores come out on the 18th. By this weekend, you should begin taking another practice test or two each week (or multiple timed sections, if your job doesn't allow you time for a full sit-down practice test), along with full review of those tests and some post-test work on targeting weak areas and shoring those up with similar types of practice questions. The good news is that you've probably put in a lot of the upfront "grunt work" that gave you a good enough foundation to feel as good as you did about this August exam (congrats on that, by the way!). But you do need to keep your skills sharp, and still find some "problem areas" to brush up on so that you continue to see progress in the right direction. Think along the lines of 10-15 hours a week of studying until the October test (less than that could be okay, if your practice tests stay higher than a score you'd be happy with; more than that could be helpful, if you find there are problem areas that require some extra brushing up).

Let us know if this triggers any more questions for you, and best of luck in the application season!