How many times did you take the LSAT? Forum

[Bluex12]

Hey Blue, Excellent progress, mind sharing what you did each time to increase those numbers? A brief summary is fine.

I think the main thing that I learned from this test was the importance of organization and thoroughness. What I mean by that is that I would break down LR into each individual question type, and just drill each question type until I felt I was a master at it. After each question, I would write out my understanding of the author's argument, my pre-phrases for the answer choice, and then a sentence or two on why each answer choice was incorrect or correct. If I was confused on a question or got it wrong, I would use the Manhattan LSAT forums to read an explanation. From there, even the more challenging questions toward the end of an LR section became an exercise in familiarity- typical trap answers became easier to spot, and it was not too difficult to get a question down to a final 2 answer choices. The Manhattan LSAT Guides really helped with this process.

For Games, the same rule applies. Learn the many different types of games (grouping, linear, 3D grouping, in-and-out, etc.) and print off ten copies of a game until you can beat it in around 5 minutes. If you're stuck and don't know how to set up a game, 7sage has free video explanations for pretty much every test. Do a game on the bus, while you're waiting for class to start, while you're drinking your coffee, etc. Familiarity and repetition is key.

By the time I sat for the test the 3rd time this past October, I had taken almost all of the Preptests from 25 up. Make sure you add in a 5th section to simulate the unscored section on test-day, always take tests with a bubble sheet, and never ever cut corners by giving yourself more than 35 minutes a section. If anything, you should feel like you have time to spare at the end of a section to go back and review questions you were unsure of.

Long story short, I felt the key to beating the LSAT was familiarity. It's the rare person that just "gets" the LSAT the first time they look at it- for you, me, and nearly everyone, it takes lots of drilling and repetition to get to a point of comfort. But once you actually do get to that point, and you will if you put in the work, you'll see it pay off in your score report. Best of luck, feel free to PM with any other questions.

[lymenheimer]

Hey Blue, Excellent progress, mind sharing what you did each time to increase those numbers? A brief summary is fine.

I felt the key to beating the LSAT was familiarity

I didn't progress as drastically, but took it twice and did improve on the second time. I found this same thing to be true. Familiarity with the questions, wording, language, timing, structure, etc.

[njkga]

Do schools average the three scores or do they just look at the highest score? I've heard multiple answers.

Every School not named Yale takes the highest score. Unless one score is a huge amount lower, they will probably not even think about your lower scores.

False. The correct answer is "It depends on the school." You can usually find info about this on the FAQ part of their jd admissions page for a given school. Some schools take the highest - some schools consider the average.

False. The correct answer is basically what Nagster said. The schools have the option of considering the average, but they don't have to report it, so they rarely, if ever, do consider the average.

Interesting theory, but in fact many schools explicitly state on their website that they consider the average, and not merely the highest score.

Sometimes people do this thing where they say one thing but do another.

Evidence in my corner:

The numbers say very, very convincingly that schools care only about the highest score. The incentive is to care only about the highest score (since that is the only thing that factors into relevent rankings). Every consultant who makes a living by knowing these things inside and out, almost all of whom are former Adcomms, agrees that this is the way things work.

Evidence in your corner:

Some admissions websites for law schools (a group notorious for intentionally obfuscating and outright lying to applicants on a scale rivaled only by military recruiters and used car salesmen) say they average.

Hrmm... convincing. I suppose my snark was unwarranted.