Difficult Decision - Postpone the December LSAT? Forum

[h3jk5h]

Hey guys and girls,

I've already postponed my LSAT from September to December in the hopes that I would improve to the 170s. Unfortunately I'm still not at that level yet.

The good news is: after 3 months of plateau in the low-160s, I'm suddenly hitting the mid-160s on my recent prep tests. During that 3 months, I felt that my LSAT skills had stagnated, and I thought that I've hit my "ceiling". But I noticed myself improve out of nowhere during the past week, especially on the LR section - I felt that my reasoning skills became sharper. It was unexpected and I was pleasantly surprised, and now I'm beginning to think that I may have the potential to hit the 170s.

Now I'm even more motivated to study and improve my LSAT skills, but my parents are very impatient with this whole thing. My father wants me to take the LSAT as soon as possible so I can get it over with. He said that I should not postpone anymore, and that if it turns out that my actual LSAT score is low, I should immediately plan another career. This is placing psychological stress on me. I've already told him that I really want to go to law school, and I would do anything to maximize my chances at a top school, even if it means skipping a cycle. But he wants me to go out to the "real world" and go into a career as fast as possible.

Do you think that going from 165 to 170+ is unrealistic if I continue to study the LSAT for another half a year? The consensus here seems to be that the higher you go, the harder it is to make marginal improvements. Is the difference in LSAT skill-set between a 165 and a 170 really that significant? I have around 15 fresh PTs untouched, and I'm willing to devote another 6 months into LSAT prep.

What do you make of my situation? For those of you who walked similar paths, do you find going from the mid 160s to the 170s exponentially harder than previous improvements? And what should my focus be at this point in my LSAT prep? Should I go back to drilling? There are a few question types that I know I am weak at. And my RC scores wildly fluctuates.


Thanks in advance.

[nlee10]

Hey guys and girls,

I've already postponed my LSAT from September to December in the hopes that I would improve to the 170s. Unfortunately I'm still not at that level yet.

The good news is: after 3 months of plateau in the low-160s, I'm suddenly hitting the mid-160s on my recent prep tests. During that 3 months, I felt that my LSAT skills had stagnated, and I thought that I've hit my "ceiling". But I noticed myself improve out of nowhere during the past week, especially on the LR section - I felt that my reasoning skills became sharper. It was unexpected and I was pleasantly surprised, and now I'm beginning to think that I may have the potential to hit the 170s.

Now I'm even more motivated to study and improve my LSAT skills, but my parents are very impatient with this whole thing. My father wants me to take the LSAT as soon as possible so I can get it over with. He said that I should not postpone anymore, and that if it turns out that my actual LSAT score is low, I should immediately plan another career. This is placing psychological stress on me. I've already told him that I really want to go to law school, and I would do anything to maximize my chances at a top school, even if it means skipping a cycle. But he wants me to go out to the "real world" and go into a career as fast as possible.

Do you think that going from 165 to 170+ is unrealistic if I continue to study the LSAT for another half a year? The consensus here seems to be that the higher you go, the harder it is to make marginal improvements. Is the difference in LSAT skill-set between a 165 and a 170 really that significant? I have around 15 fresh PTs untouched, and I'm willing to devote another 6 months into LSAT prep.

What do you make of my situation? For those of you who walked similar paths, do you find going from the mid 160s to the 170s exponentially harder than previous improvements? And what should my focus be at this point in my LSAT prep? Should I go back to drilling? There are a few question types that I know I am weak at. And my RC scores wildly fluctuates.


Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer: I'm not a 170+ scorer....

but I think you can break 170 with ~6 more months of studying. A difference of 5 points will be huge when it comes to admission and ultimately the school you attend.

[haus]

Does any one other than Yale care about multiple LSATs anymore?

I do not necessarily see a reason why you would not at least consider taking the exam in Decemeber. It sounds like you are in reasonable fighting shape, and with strong work between now and the exam who knows what you might put on the board.

Now if you are confident that you can put in the extra several months of prep without sluffing off or getting distracted, then go ahead and sit out the exam and get ready to kill it in the Summer.

Either way good luck.

[Kratos]

What is your situation? i.e. still in UG or working or just living at home? Anyway, yes you can improve into 170. Have you read the LG, LR, RC bibles? There are a ton of awesome guides on this site to use as well. Also, if you know the types of questions you struggle with figure out why and drill those.

Tell your dad to shut up and do you (maybe a little more diplomatically). Take as long as you need to get the score you need. If you can get a full time job and study while you do that, all the better.

[h3jk5h]

What is your situation? i.e. still in UG or working or just living at home? Anyway, yes you can improve into 170. Have you read the LG, LR, RC bibles? There are a ton of awesome guides on this site to use as well. Also, if you know the types of questions you struggle with figure out why and drill those.

Tell your dad to shut up and do you (maybe a little more diplomatically). Take as long as you need to get the score you need. If you can get a full time job and study while you do that, all the better.

I'm currently in my fourth year of undergrad living on campus. I have read all the Bibles (except RC), all the Manhattan LSAT Guides (went through the LR book twice), the LSAT Trainer, three-quarters into the 7sage online prep course. Should I go through the books again or should I focus on taking prep tests?

After I graduate, if I go back home to live with my parents, then I would become very unproductive (I'm not motivated to do anything when I come back home). So I'm thinking of moving out of my residence and find a place to live far from my parents' home so that I can live by myself without any distractions. But I would need to find a summer job to pay my living expenses.

By the way this is my 6th month into LSAT prep, and you could make the argument that I've maxed out my potential.

[PeanutsNJam]

If this is your first take, take it. If it's not up to par, get a job (so your dad gets off your back). Then apply again.

I think your dad is just afraid you'll do nothing in his basement for a year, but if you get a job I don't see the issue. WE helps with apps too.

[Kratos]

If this is your first take, take it. If it's not up to par, get a job (so your dad gets off your back). Then apply again.

I think your dad is just afraid you'll do nothing in his basement for a year, but if you get a job I don't see the issue. WE helps with apps too.

Pretty much this.

[Smallville]

If this is your first take, take it. If it's not up to par, get a job (so your dad gets off your back). Then apply again.

I think your dad is just afraid you'll do nothing in his basement for a year, but if you get a job I don't see the issue. WE helps with apps too.

Pretty much this.

+1 you can also show him the stats on people going straight to LS... it only makes up for like a third or so of incoming class, taking a year or even 2 off after UG is not a huge deal or as uncommon as you or your parents think. as long as you get a job and work that year off it wont hurt you... as for motivation, just push yourself and get motivated... you'll be much better off having a job and being able to save up money then getting a job and having to pay rent and everything that comes with living away from home.

[hillz]

Have you done any drilling? If not, you definitely should. I approached my first take similarly to you and focused on reading through the bibles & PTing. That approach works at first since it helps you learn how the test works, but after that, it's not going to do much for you and is probably why you are stagnating. I scored mid 160s my first time around and a few months later, broke into 170s on my second take. Buy the Cambridge drilling packets ASAP. It stinks to spend more money but it's worth it.

Secondly, don't be afraid to get work experience. I am personally a much more interesting candidate than I would have been as a KJD and working really helped me figure out why I want to go to law school/my place in the world (as cheesy as that sounds). Work experience will also help you later on when you are interviewing for jobs because firms will know you are at least somewhat reliable because you've held down a full time job.