What was your score first ever diagnostic, without prepping Forum

[chesterfan1230]

148! Was PTn'g between 170-177 1 week before exam. Find out real LSAT score soon...

[emkay625]

165. ended up with a 169 in dec. 09 and a 173 in oct. 2011.

[094320]

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[JustE]

I was in the 140's cold. Don't remember exactly what it was, but something between 143-148. I hit the 170's a few times the week before the real thing. Had a 166, but I'm confident 170 was within reach with a little more time.

[wealtheow]

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[CorkBoard]

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[thederangedwang]

Is it just me or is someone else thinking this?

OP, that score is really really low. Even with substantial prep I don't see you breaking 160 (more likely 150), at least, statistics are heavily against you.

I mean, to score in the 120's you needed to have completed bombed every section and not only that, but you probably completely misunderstood basic reading and LR concepts. Many of these concepts are more innate and thus hard to learn unlike logic games. I mean, quite frankly, you arent going to improve your reading section that much, or your LR....I don't see you scoring well on your LSAT. I don't know what your GPA is, but you are seriously going to be handicapped by your LSAT...maybe reconsider law school?

[JustE]

Is it just me or is someone else thinking this?

OP, that score is really really low. Even with substantial prep I don't see you breaking 160 (more likely 150), at least, statistics are heavily against you.

I mean, to score in the 120's you needed to have completed bombed every section and not only that, but you probably completely misunderstood basic reading and LR concepts. Many of these concepts are more innate and thus hard to learn unlike logic games. I mean, quite frankly, you arent going to improve your reading section that much, or your LR....I don't see you scoring well on your LSAT. I don't know what your GPA is, but you are seriously going to be handicapped by your LSAT...maybe reconsider law school?

Credited... BUT.... Ace the games, work on LR. I think a 160 is possible. Anything is possible. If it's a cold score, it's really not a trustworthy score (imho). The moment you start placing limits on yourself is the moment you start capping your score. When I was in your shoes I was praying for an acceptance at Indiana or Iowa. I thought Emory was waaaaaayyyyy out of reach.

I got into Michigan this morning (and now I'm celebrating). People up here like to cast doubt (even though it is warranted at times). Shoot for a 180. Work at it for the next year if you have to. Don't listen to anyone up here who says anything less. Anything is possible.

[Ialdabaoth]

154 timed and proctored --> 168 on December 2010

BUT 168 was 4 points higher than my highest PT. (Please don't hate on me. )

Knewton prep class

[ekbrown09]

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[vtoodler]

152, under timed conditions. Was PT-ing at around 167 before the Dec test. Didn't sleep a wink before the test so not expecting anything great, though.

Why didn't you sleep a wink before the exam?

[CactusPuppy]

My case was weird.

168 on my first PT, but I never scored above 172 + tended to hover around the original PT after that. So I didn't really make any improvement after months of prepping

[Elahrairah]

162 timed last August. My average for my last five practice tests is 170; My top score so far is 172. I have yet to finish all four logic games in 35 minutes...

[JustE]

162 timed last August. My average for my last five practice tests is 170; My top score so far is 172. I have yet to finish all four logic games in 35 minutes...

Yikes...

[ucbkenn]

153. Real test was a 172

[Elahrairah]

162 timed last August. My average for my last five practice tests is 170; My top score so far is 172. I have yet to finish all four logic games in 35 minutes...

Yikes...

Yikes at the painfully slow improvement or the painfully slow logic games?

[JustE]

162 timed last August. My average for my last five practice tests is 170; My top score so far is 172. I have yet to finish all four logic games in 35 minutes...

Yikes...

Yikes at the painfully slow improvement or the painfully slow logic games?

I don't think the improvement is slow at all. Cracking 170 is tough... even when you start out with a high score.

Its pretty impressive that you're doing so well and not even finishing games. If you're not doing this already, you should be doing LG drills by game type. Sounds like once you master it, you're gold.

[kdoyon812]

Is it just me or is someone else thinking this?

OP, that score is really really low. Even with substantial prep I don't see you breaking 160 (more likely 150), at least, statistics are heavily against you.

I mean, to score in the 120's you needed to have completed bombed every section and not only that, but you probably completely misunderstood basic reading and LR concepts. Many of these concepts are more innate and thus hard to learn unlike logic games. I mean, quite frankly, you arent going to improve your reading section that much, or your LR....I don't see you scoring well on your LSAT. I don't know what your GPA is, but you are seriously going to be handicapped by your LSAT...maybe reconsider law school?

Reconsider law school after a diagnostic test with no studying to see how feasible improvement is? Give me a break. Some people are just unfamiliar with the format of the test. It is entirely possible to do extremely awful on LG if it is your first time, or any section for that matter, especially under time constraints. Not true at all that they won't likely improve RC or LR substantially, many people in fact do, why would you ever make such an objective statement like that, like you have any idea about their situation. The LSAT is a COMPLETELY learn-able test, no matter what anyone says. Suggesting that someone should think about not pursing an educational goal based on their first attempt on an admissions test is ridiculous.

OP, do not be discouraged by your diagnostic. Rather, use it as motivation in knowing how much room there is for improvement. For a standardized test, the LSAT is very predictable and with some dedication and hard work a huge improvement is very possible. Learn the question types, find a system that works for you, and practice a lot. It will become more familiar with time and after a few months you will find yourself working through logic games with time to spare that you couldn't finish in 15 minutes before. It all comes down to how much work you are willing to put in. Ignore what this guy says; buy some books, do some practice tests, and put some hard work into learning the concepts and improving your speed over a month or two. At that point you will have a good idea of how much progress is possible. You can see just from the people posting here that large improvements are not uncommon. Put in the hard work and reassess your situation AFTER you have dedicated some time to improvement, not before.

[kdoyon812]

Thanks guys! I have six months of studying on my side. My schedule is this Monday prep test, Tuesday-Thurday is studying my powerscore books, and Friday another prep test, until June.

Also, I would suggest going through your Powerscore books in their entirety one time before starting to do any prep work. The books will provide you with some practice questions and drills. In my opinion it is much more important to be familiar with the concepts before you go diving into tests. It's better to have an initial grasp, and then you can go back and review the sections in the books as you practice certain question types. Plus, if you approach the questions, especially logic games, before reading the appropriate method for doing so, you will just have to retrain yourself on the right way to do them after you read it in the book. Better to be prepared and train yourself from the beginning, and at least have some grasp on the concepts and question types.

[Mr. Pancakes]

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[Mr. Pancakes]

Mine was unfortunately 128 . I took it under timed conditions.

I don't want to sound rude, but I think most people can get a 128 without even looking at the questions and just randomly filling in bubbles. I am going to have to echo derange's commments. I scored 148 on my first practice test, which is crazy low, but 128, I hope you are joking. You seriously might want to rethink law school.

[sunynp]

OP - keep studying follow the tips here and don't give up. It was kindof silly to take the test cold just to see how you would do.(though many people do that, it seems a little pointless, except to see what you have to work on. Don't judge yourself on the score.) I bet you didn't finish most of the sections. Keep at it and good luck.

[Helicio]

I got a 168 or something like that and am now scoring around 175 on my PTs. I'm going to be taking it in June.

To the guy who scored in the 120s: don't listen to what everyone else is saying. You can study for the LSAT, and you can improve. But it is not going to be an easy road.

Earning a score in the 120s means that you misunderstood some basic concepts, did not understand the logical flow of the arguments in LR or the readings in RC, and--likely--have some timing issues.

Some basic tips:

1. Focus more on logic rather than on content (content is important, but a mistake I see a lot of people doing is focusing too much on the words and not enough on logic...this can mess people up, especially on questions where scientific/esoteric words feature heavily)

2. Make mental notes of the logical flow of the argument. By this I mean that you should be identifying in LR what the premises are, what the subsidiary conclusions are, and what the main conclusion is. You should do this for every LR problem.

3. Make sure you know what the question is asking you to do. In other words, make sure you know whether the question is asking you to strengthen or weaken, identify a flaw in the argument or identify the main conclusion, etc. Remember that just because the answer choice reflects something that is true about the stimulus, that does not mean the choice is correct. IT HAS TO DO THE THING THE QUESTION STEM DIRECTS IT TO DO.

4. Get a timer out on your next PT, and identify where you are after 15 min, 20 min, etc. This will help you establish the pace that is best for you.

5. Take the other guy's advice and read all the Powerscore books through once before taking another PT.



Anyway, those are some basic tips. Studying for the LSAT is not easy and takes diligence and perseverance. If you want it badly enough, and you work hard enough, you will be able to improve your score to something in the 160 range. I really do think the LSAT can be studied for.

Logic Games are the easiest to improve on because their are concrete methods to work on, concrete answer choices, and--to a degree--patterns of logic that are evident in nearly every type of game. LR and RC will be what you need to work on more because the answer choices can be subtle, the logic implicit.

Anyway, I am rambling. Good luck!

[hoya11]

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[gaud]

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