Weeks before June LSAT

[skyiron]

Hello,


I am currently in the online course and would like to take the June LSAT, but am not 100% sure if I am going to be at the score I would like in time. I took my first test 2 weeks ago and scored 155, 2nd time 3 days later scored 158. I havent taken another one yet. We are in the middle of the course right now. I have been studying for almost 1.5 months off and on, but not extreme extreme. I am wondering how much could I possibly expect to change in a matter of 6 or so weeks til the test? I am hoping to score way above a 158, I am hoping to score above 166 for sure. Also, I am acing the Logic games, at very most only 3 wrong, LR is usually about 4-7 wrong at the moment, but RC I change from sometimes only 4 wrong to a crazy amount wrong at 17. ahhh!! I have to sign up by may 7th or something and I do not want to sign up prematurely when I could wait for October test if need be. What advice would you have at the moment, given the time left to study, and for anything specific as well?
Would you recommend taking tests only from now on? and if not, how many practice tests do you usually rec? Is there anyway I will reach 170+!!! lol just hoping..!
Thank you!!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hello Skyiron,

Welcome to the forum! It's great that you have made some progress so far! Although you have ways to go, it would be premature to postpone your test date 1 1/2 months before June 10. Wait to see what your scores will be in June, and decide then! Many students improve tremendously in the final weeks before the test: you never know when it will "click". Others improve gradually over time, and you still have enough time to reach your goals.

By all means, you're prepping for June. So go ahead and register for June The worst that can happen is you lose $160 (or so). In the grand scheme of things, this is a trivial amount. You do have the option of withdrawing/postponing until the day before the test, so nobody will ever know that you changed your mind (if you do). However, if you don't register, you'll have no impetus to study until later in the summer: experience shows that you won't take full advantage of the ongoing online course, and struggle more to regain your momentum later on.

There are other compelling reasons why the October test is bad news (sort of). Test centers book quickly, and tend to be much more crowded than at any other time of the year. If you let other people's stress get to you, you'll feel that in October more than you will in June.

Also, by taking the test in June, you give yourself a second chance: should you decide to cancel your score, or aren't especially thrilled about the score you got, you can re-take in October without throwing off the timeline for submitting your applications. You don't have the same luxury if you postpone until October: sure, you can re-take in December, but you'll miss many Early Decision deadlines, and you'll end up submitting your applications at the tail end of the rolling admissions cycle. Not ideal.

Finally, the June test is the only one being administered in the afternoon. You don't need to get up at 7 AM to get to your test center. And you don't need to train for months by taking your practice tests early in the morning (which is something you may have to do if you sign up for October, December, or February). Simply put, being able to take the test in the afternoon is just awesome. You want that.

Bottom line is: register for June and kick it up a notch. If, during the final week before the test, your practice test scores are still outside the statistical range of your desired score, then you may want to consider putting it all off.

For more information about the June 2013 test registration and deadlines, click here: http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/us-june-2013-dates.asp.

Good luck!