Has Anyone Ever Done Better Than They Expected? Forum

[s419]

I didn't have my cat trying to lay on my question booklet during the real test.

+100. My cat is probably the only one in my life sad that I no longer have to spend all my free time studying for the LSAT.

My cat will love life when I'm studying for hours every day. When I was in UG I only studied a couple hours every week.

Hopefully I get to take my cat with me wherever I got to school! Right now, my cat just believes that my desk is an awesome place to nap, and when I was frantically doing logic games, it was even more fun because then she could hunt my pencil when she was done with napping.

[thisiswater1488]

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[thisiswater1488]

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[James Bond]

I scored about 3 points higher on my actual LSAT than my consistent practice scores. Practicing about 168, scored 171. Not significant, but unusual that my highest score was on the real test.

You're shitting me right? You think the difference between a 168 and a 171 is "not significant?"

[vanwinkle]

I scored about 3 points higher on my actual LSAT than my consistent practice scores. Practicing about 168, scored 171. Not significant, but unusual that my highest score was on the real test.

You're shitting me right? You think the difference between a 168 and a 171 is "not significant?"

+1

That's the difference between T10 and T25, right there.

[James Bond]

I scored about 3 points higher on my actual LSAT than my consistent practice scores. Practicing about 168, scored 171. Not significant, but unusual that my highest score was on the real test.

You're shitting me right? You think the difference between a 168 and a 171 is "not significant?"

+1

That's the difference between T10 and T25, right there.

Or an assload of $

[vanwinkle]

Or an assload of $

That too. A 171 is like, guaranteed $$$ at WUSTL. They're total LSAT whores.

[MC Southstar]

How dare you call my LSAT score insignificant. *huddles in a corner*

[James Bond]

How dare you call my LSAT score insignificant. *huddles in a corner*

*stares at shadowfrost in confusion*

[hoopsguy6]

Has anyone ever done better than they expected?

No, never. It has never happened. Sorry to break it to you.

[MC Southstar]

How dare you call my LSAT score insignificant. *huddles in a corner*

*stares at shadowfrost in confusion*

I'm procrastinating from sleep. Should stop. Bye.

[Hattori Hanzo]

I took the Sept. LSAT and frankly don't think I deserved the high score I got.

+1. I had an experimental RC which is my weakest section and didn't expect to do quite well. I guess I got lucky.

[Hattori Hanzo]

How dare you call my LSAT score insignificant. *huddles in a corner*

Come on now Shadow. Your LSAT score is VERY significant.

[angioletto]

no. never in the history of the lsat has someone exceeded their expectations.

some of these thread titles crack me up

This was my intial thought as well. I think we are just smart-asses.

I don't think the question is whether someone's score was higher than they thought it would be so much as "how much higher was it?" It is probably not too uncommon for someone to score 3-4 points higher than they thought they did but I don't think many people walk out thinking they got a 160 only to get a 176.

But in reality I think most people are going to be a few points lower than they are estmating.

[b.j.]

No. Nobody ever does better than they expect. The people expecting a 180 get 175s, the people expecting 175s get 170s, the people expecting 170s get 165s, and the people expecting 165s get 140s and a trip to Cooley.

This is why I took the test expecting a 187.

Ha!

[b.j.]

I took the Sept. LSAT and frankly don't think I deserved the high score I got.

Right after the test I didn't feel like I that well... I ended up changing my last answer from TCR to a distractor and agonized over it during the essays, so I mildly considered canceling. Decided not to and got a score that suddenly made me competitive at my dream schools- 6 points higher than my PT average and a score I only hit 5 times out of the 50+ PTs I took.

I tend to turn on an extra gear when it comes to pressure situations. For some people the pressure makes their minds sharper and keeps them on their toes, but my score could very well be sheer luck as well. I tend to think it's the latter, but who knows?

I enshrined the pencil I used to take the test. It sits in my room next to my Jesus Christ action figure.

I bought a bunch of pencils in a box that came pre-sharpened, which I re-sharpened after I wore them down. I only took four out to begin with, even though I had at least 16 in there. I ended up using the same pencil for the entire test since I felt like I was doing so well, except for the writing portion, because it was making my letters appear too big.

But yeah, you're situation sounds like me. It just seemed like I was thinking clearer and felt more alert than I had in a while during the test. Considering that there were some practice sessions where I actually started to fall asleep, it's a big step up.

[b.j.]

no. never in the history of the lsat has someone exceeded their expectations.

some of these thread titles crack me up

This was my intial thought as well. I think we are just smart-asses.

I don't think the question is whether someone's score was higher than they thought it would be so much as "how much higher was it?" It is probably not too uncommon for someone to score 3-4 points higher than they thought they did but I don't think many people walk out thinking they got a 160 only to get a 176.

But in reality I think most people are going to be a few points lower than they are estmating.

I suspect it depends on the person. A lot of people here go in expecting high scores because they see high scores when they are practicing. A lot of others, who for whatever reason have lower scores as their starting point, are bound to see improvement if only because they can only go up, whereas the high scorers are more likely to go down than up if they are testing in the high 170s.

[b.j.]

Or an assload of $

That too. A 171 is like, guaranteed $$$ at WUSTL. They're total LSAT whores.

Did anyone else get an e-mail from them wishing them good luck on the test? I did, yet I don't recall ever expressing the slightest interest in that school, if only because I didn't think I had a shot. The only other schools that send me that stuff are the no names.

Just how big of a whore is WUSTL, by the way? Would they ignore pretty much any other deficiency in your application if you're over the 75th percentile for the LSAT?

[acdisagod]

I was averaging around 167 on the practice tests and ended up with a 171. I had taken 37 or so PT's and only broken 170 around 4 times. I did get nervous but I just concentrate so much better when I know how much is at stake. I also just got lucky and gussed all my 50/50's correctly such as the bears question.

[Jumbo]

Did anyone else get an e-mail from them wishing them good luck on the test? I did, yet I don't recall ever expressing the slightest interest in that school, if only because I didn't think I had a shot. The only other schools that send me that stuff are the no names.

It's because you signed up for the referral service. LSAC sends your info to *any* school that wants them.

[b.j.]

Did anyone else get an e-mail from them wishing them good luck on the test? I did, yet I don't recall ever expressing the slightest interest in that school, if only because I didn't think I had a shot. The only other schools that send me that stuff are the no names.

It's because you signed up for the referral service. LSAC sends your info to *any* school that wants them.

Oh, I see.

[09042014]

I was averaging 175, walked out of the test feeling really good. But after talking about the questions for three weeks I was questioning whether I'd get a 170. I ended up with a 176. Don't fixate on the test, just wait for the score. So much less stress that way.

[CE2JD]

The vast majority of prospective law students think they are smarter than they really are. This is because our entire worthless generation has been told "you are special, you are brilliant" when in reality most prospective law students, by definition, are just normal people who should NOT expect to be in the top 2%. When you have 20-30% of LSAT takers honestly believing they got scores in the 170s, you have a lot of people setting themselves up for epic failure.
So I'd say, if you think you've had a typical upbringing, take what you honestly think you got on the LSAT and lower it by 3-4 points and that will be the most accurate measure of what your score will be.

Lose the sense of entitlement and come down to reality.

[James Bond]

The vast majority of prospective law students think they are smarter than they really are. This is because our entire worthless generation has been told "you are special, you are brilliant" when in reality most prospective law students, by definition, are just normal people who should NOT expect to be in the top 2%. When you have 20-30% of LSAT takers honestly believing they got scores in the 170s, you have a lot of people setting themselves up for epic failure.
So I'd say, if you think you've had a typical upbringing, take what you honestly think you got on the LSAT and lower it by 3-4 points and that will be the most accurate measure of what your score will be.

Lose the sense of entitlement and come down to reality.

So...."typical upbringing" = low LSAT score?

Come on now...

[b.j.]

The vast majority of prospective law students think they are smarter than they really are. This is because our entire worthless generation has been told "you are special, you are brilliant" when in reality most prospective law students, by definition, are just normal people who should NOT expect to be in the top 2%. When you have 20-30% of LSAT takers honestly believing they got scores in the 170s, you have a lot of people setting themselves up for epic failure.
So I'd say, if you think you've had a typical upbringing, take what you honestly think you got on the LSAT and lower it by 3-4 points and that will be the most accurate measure of what your score will be.

Lose the sense of entitlement and come down to reality.

You sound exactly like one of my teachers in sixth grade who said that the "self esteem choo-choo train was going to stop here."

I don't have a sense of entitlement about anything. I don't expect my score to be anything but a reflection of how well I felt during the test, based on my own mental state, and of what skills I had gained up to the point of the test. If I didn't get the score I want, it's my fault, not any other person's fault.

I also understand what distribution of scores is and that very few people get very high scores. On the other hand, the types of people that get those high scores often come to boards like this, for whatever reason, and skew reality. So yes, not that many people get a high score, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of people who could get that high score, based on this board.