Reasonable jump in score? Forum

ohlax51 · Post by **ohlax51** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:27 am

Please excuse me if this has been posted before but I couldn't seem to find an answer for my specific question. How much can I reasonably expect to improve my score with a serious study regimen and possibly a class or tutoring? I got a 153 on the December LSAT with no preparation what so ever (which was very dumb on my part), I cracked open a friends prep book once and maybe LOOKED at one logic game. The logic games killed me seeing as I missed 18 or 19 on that section. After some serious preparation is a score in the low to mid 160s too much to expect? With my GPA I would need a score in that range to be competitive, would it be a waste of time and money to prep and take the test again in June (I'm going an extra semester and getting a minor to boost my GPA slightly) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TommyK · Post by **TommyK** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:30 am

ohlax51 wrote:Please excuse me if this has been posted before but I couldn't seem to find an answer for my specific question. How much can I reasonably expect to improve my score with a serious study regimen and possibly a class or tutoring? I got a 153 on the December LSAT with no preparation what so ever (which was very dumb on my part), I cracked open a friends prep book once and maybe LOOKED at one logic game. The logic games killed me seeing as I missed 18 or 19 on that section. After some serious preparation is a score in the low to mid 160s too much to expect? With my GPA I would need a score in that range to be competitive, would it be a waste of time and money to prep and take the test again in June (I'm going an extra semester and getting a minor to boost my GPA slightly) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My lukewarm LSAT was a 153 (I say it was lukewarm because I had a rough understanding of how many questions there were and the formatting, but hadn't studied the strategies). I was able to push it to a 167. Others have done much better than me coming from a worse score. Still others fell short. It's an impossible question to answer because we don't know your capacity to learn this stuff or willingness to put in the effort.

But assuming 153 is your baseline off a cold diagnostic, you should have a lot of opportunity to grow.

Edit for 2am-induced grammar/syntax issues.

ATR · Post by **ATR** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:30 am

If you didn't prepare and scored a 153, I think you can reach mid-160s least, assuming you maximize your potential.

Try to find a studying regimen that works for you. Many TLS users swear by this one: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=41657. I adapted it to my needs and scored really well. Good luck!

KevinP · Post by **KevinP** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:43 am

ohlax51 wrote:Please excuse me if this has been posted before but I couldn't seem to find an answer for my specific question. How much can I reasonably expect to improve my score with a serious study regimen and possibly a class or tutoring?

This really depends on the individual. However, improving 10 points from a cold diagnostic is not uncommon and 20 points is relatively rare but still doable.

ohlax51 wrote: I got a 153 on the December LSAT with no preparation what so ever (which was very dumb on my part), I cracked open a friends prep book once and maybe LOOKED at one logic game. The logic games killed me seeing as I missed 18 or 19 on that section. After some serious preparation is a score in the low to mid 160s too much to expect?

Since you missed 18 or 19 Qs on the LG section, you should be able to break into the 160s with a decent prep schedule especially since the LG section is the easiest to learn.

ohlax51 wrote: With my GPA I would need a score in that range to be competitive, would it be a waste of time and money to prep and take the test again in June (I'm going an extra semester and getting a minor to boost my GPA slightly) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It would absolutely not be a waste of time. The LSAT plays an extremely prominent role in your chance of admissions; improving your LSAT score even by a few points makes a massive difference in admissions.

tl;dr: retake

Eugenie Danglars · Post by **Eugenie Danglars** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:55 am

I went from 157 to 172, so it's possible. Study hard and study well, then retake.

ohlax51 · Post by **ohlax51** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:36 pm

Thanks for the help everybody. One thing I noticed during the test is that the logic games had me absolutely dumb founded it's not that I didn't have enough time to solve them but that I couldn't event think of a way of solving them so I was pretty much stuck guessing for most of the section I mean if I can get a respectable score in that section and improve by a couple questions on the others I can get a score that I can live with. Will multiple LSAT's hurt me admissions wise I know schools official policies but the people deciding are human after all and would they look down on multiple tests especially if there is a big discrepancy between the two? I really can't write and addendum since I have nothing to blame but overconfidence and stupidity for not preparing at all. Again thanks this is very informative.

joebloe · Post by **joebloe** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:46 pm

ohlax51 wrote:Thanks for the help everybody. One thing I noticed during the test is that the logic games had me absolutely dumb founded it's not that I didn't have enough time to solve them but that I couldn't event think of a way of solving them so I was pretty much stuck guessing for most of the section I mean if I can get a respectable score in that section and improve by a couple questions on the others I can get a score that I can live with. Will multiple LSAT's hurt me admissions wise I know schools official policies but the people deciding are human after all and would they look down on multiple tests especially if there is a big discrepancy between the two? I really can't write and addendum since I have nothing to blame but overconfidence and stupidity for not preparing at all. Again thanks this is very informative.

It varies from school to school, but most places will take the higher score. Nonetheless, I think writing an addendum is encouraged.

elibrarian · Post by **elibrarian** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 3:40 pm

I scored a 153 on my diagnostic. Am now PTing in the 170+ range. Very possible, particularly if LG was a big problem. Good luck!

hjag · Post by **hjag** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:11 am

You'll be just fine if you put the hours into studying. For me, I went from

148 (March 2010 Diagnostic PT) --> 170 (Dec 2010 Real LSAT)

I also studied relentlessly for months and had a PT score range between 166-180 between September and December, with an average in the low 170s. I studied the entire Logic Games Bible, but none of the rest. Initially, I could only do ~2-3 of the games, but after the bible I could do the section in its entirety.

Best of luck. You will do well if you practice and don't let testing anxiety get the best of you.

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