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General questions relating to law school or law school admissions.
 bye2publicaccting
  • Posts: 3
  • Joined: Jun 17, 2020
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#80614
Hi, I have been studying for 5 months with my schedule consisting of 1.5 hours a day during the week (I work full time) and 3 hours each day on the weekend. Leading up to the October LSAT flex I was averaging 156-160, which I was OK with - knowing I would have to take the test again, as my goal score is a 163. However, a few days before the October LSAT I started scoring in the low 150s and even received a few high 140s... I quickly went into straight panic mode, which resulted in me getting a 147 on the October LSAT. I was devastated and cancelled my test immediately (thank goodness for score preview). I think I'm still suffering from PTSD because ever since finding out my score I can feel myself second guessing more than ever, I can't finish the LR section within the allotted 35 minutes, and my PT scores haven't climbed higher than a 155. I feel discouraged, to say the least.

This leads me to my first question, should I withdraw from the November LSAT flex and sign up for January instead? I used to be so upbeat and positive about the LSAT, thinking I'd destroy it - but now I am not in the right mindset. I also get time off from work between Christmas and New Years, which will allow me to dedicate 8 hours a day studying for 2 weeks straight. However, I'm hesitant because my original plan was to submit my applications by December 1st and if needed, I'd include a note saying I will be sitting for the January LSAT and to please hold off making any decisions. But, remember if I don't take the November LSAT I won't be able to do this since I cancelled my October exam.

Please note: before COVID hit my plan was to start law school Fall 2021. But now since I've been reading that this might be one of the most competitive application cycles I am wondering if I should hold off a year. My dream school is Fordham, and I know I need to at least hit the 160s if I want to give myself a fighting chance.

Lastly, I have read through the bibles and have completed every question in the training type books. Currently, I keep taking PTs and reviewing them in full detail (usually doing some sort of blind review for LR and RC whether it is immediately after or delayed - LG I tend to get 0-2 questions wrong so I only review the games where I miss questions). Knowing this, is there anything else you suggest I should be doing during the in between time before a retake exam? How many PTs do you suggest a week for someone with my work/study schedule? I really want to get a 163 and I am willing to put in the work. I want to make sure I have the right plan in place so I set myself up for success and walk in confident to crush my next exam (whenever that may be).

I apologize for the lengthy message and for my thoughts being a bit all over the place. Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide, it is much appreciated!
 Jeremy Press
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 1000
  • Joined: Jun 12, 2017
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#80650
Hi bye2publicaccounting,

First, let me say I'm very sorry to hear about your experience with the October test, but I also want you to know it's not at all uncommon for stress to have those kinds of impacts right before a test. If I may, a couple suggestions for next time around. When you experience a lower test score than normal, it's common to want to dive back in immediately on another practice test to try to "erase" that lower one. This is an impulse you should resist. Spend a little time digging in on the difficulties of the prior test. Take a day or two with similar question types or game types or passage types and do small activities (sets of 5 LR questions, single games, single passages) to reassure yourself that you have the same skills you've been building. Then, once you've reestablished that confidence, it'll be time to take another practice test. Also, consider some meditation resources (like Calm or Headspace) or consider speaking with a professional about anxiety control in this context. It's something that's helped so many of my students, and it shouldn't be ignored just because it is directly LSAT-content related. Finally, make sure you take at least a day off every week from studying. Your brain needs time to recover from LSAT intensity, and you need time to refresh, recharge, and rebuild your motivation (weekly!). Implementing these changes will help to ensure that next time around you're feeling confident on test day, so you can deliver that performance that replicates all those practice tests you've been doing well on!

Now to your specific questions. I do think it would be a good idea to postpone to January. If you have a practice test in the coming days that's back where you were prior to the October test, then maybe it's worth a November take. But each take right now is very valuable (given the limits on yearly tests that LSAC re-implemented starting in October). So you want to be in the best place possible when you take your next exam. Make a plan, stick to it, and aim for January! Even if you submitted your applications with a note to wait for January score-release, it wouldn't put you in a better position than just taking the January exam and hitting send when scores come out. When a school holds an application for another LSAT score, that application is getting the same priority in the review process as other applications that are received at the same time. So don't let that deter you from waiting until January. Don't make a final decision on whether to reapply in the following cycle until you see where your PTs are leading up to the days before the January test.

Continue the practice test/blind review cycle you've been doing, but make sure you log your mistakes after your blind review and then spend time after that blind review finding areas of potential weakness and doing some extra questions (LR questions, games, or passages) or exercises (diagramming conditional statements, analyzing arguments, memorizing flaws, etc.) to shore up those specific weaknesses. This should involve an extra study day or two after each blind review. With your work schedule, I think it's realistic to expect to take 1 or 2 practice tests a week (with the extra study day or two between for focused practice). Any more than that has a risk of leading to inefficiency or burnout.

I hope this helps!

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