December 2014 RE-takers Thread Forum

[lawjag2015]

As embarrassing as it is, I am going say it: I got a 163 in June and followed it with a 160 in September. Now, I am being told by everyone on this forum that outside the top few schools, they all go with the highest LSAT, so not too bummed.

But, I scored 5 below my median in June, followed by 13 below my median in September. Well, I froze in LG, my last section, in September and got a -10 in it. I think going in with a weak section, even if you are doing well in that in PTs (like I was), is a mistake.

Thanks for sharing. I'm terribly afraid this will be my situation. I took in June and still have not gotten a score for September bc I made a test center complaint. I have no idea how I did, and based off of so many people saying their score was well below Pt's I'm really nervous that I may have done worse than my first take. There is so little time until December that I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the different study options I previously was unaware of.

Feeling this as well. However I calmed my panic by looking at my sections. My RC was great, my LG was solid (could improve a bit), but my LR was shit. This 100% made the difference of me not hitting 170+. In retrospect, I've been cocky about LR and have never given it the proper attention it deserves.

So with that in mind, I'm going to focus the majority of my time on LR work with some brushing up on LG. I'll take some PTs as well but I am thinking I'll dial back the amount/frequency back so I don't hit burnout... I have been studying since April/May after all.

Anyone else thinking of not hitting the PTs super hard this time around?

Um actually, I may be in a bit of an opposite situation. The first time I took it, I barely studied and managed maybe 8 PT's before test day, Second time around, I got the Powerscore Bible for LR since it was 2 sections.

While I felt the info was helpful, it took me forever to get through the book, making flashcards (which I didn't really end up using much bc of time constraints), i only had enough time to get 8.5 Pt's in again, and this time I was considerably slower from taking so much time off of Pt'ing.

This time, I think I will take more Pt's but spaced out so as not to burn out and also read another study plan and drill more I guess. But, I really think PT's are super important in maintaing speed!

Well, you have taken only 16 odd PTs, for you PTing is going to be gainful. People like me who have done a lot of PTs do not stand to gain much from PTing. I have to address specific problems, and then do some PTs to make sure that I am in the rhythm on the test day.

[secadc11]

Well, you have taken only 16 odd PTs, for you PTing is going to be gainful. People like me who have done a lot of PTs do not stand to gain much from PTing. I have to address specific problems, and then do some PTs to make sure that I am in the rhythm on the test day.

Sounds like we may be in a similar boat - how many PTs are you aiming to take before December's administration rolls around? I'm trying to figure this out myself.

[GreenTee]

.

[justabitunusual]

You guys are right, insofar as you don't run out of time on sections. My first go, I didn't run out of time, 2nd take I ran out of time on RC and also came close to running out of time on LG....so, yeah everyone has to make decisions based off their strengths/ weaknesses.

[lawjag2015]

Well, you have taken only 16 odd PTs, for you PTing is going to be gainful. People like me who have done a lot of PTs do not stand to gain much from PTing. I have to address specific problems, and then do some PTs to make sure that I am in the rhythm on the test day.

Sounds like we may be in a similar boat - how many PTs are you aiming to take before December's administration rolls around? I'm trying to figure this out myself.

I am planning two 6-section PTs a week. I review only the mistakes, and the ones that took me long. I am going to double down on LG using Cambridge sets. The last week: only one full PT.

[greenapples]

Checking in after yesterday's disappointing news. I knew I should've canceled it (intermittent bathroom trips during the test), but I didn't, and now my lowest score ever will be on the official transcript.

I got low 160s, but I've been scoring 170s in my PT.

I have one problem though. I worked through all PT while studying for sept LSAT. should I retake it?
I'm considering starting on LSAT trainer (on 4 week schedule), then drilling/PT until test day.

My confidence is also suffering a lot, and I'm beginning to wonder if my sept score is really my score, and I'm just justifying myself.

Either way... gotta get my studying going again! Best of luck to everyone.

[secadc11]

Well, you have taken only 16 odd PTs, for you PTing is going to be gainful. People like me who have done a lot of PTs do not stand to gain much from PTing. I have to address specific problems, and then do some PTs to make sure that I am in the rhythm on the test day.

Sounds like we may be in a similar boat - how many PTs are you aiming to take before December's administration rolls around? I'm trying to figure this out myself.

I am planning two 6-section PTs a week. I review only the mistakes, and the ones that took me long. I am going to double down on LG using Cambridge sets. The last week: only one full PT.

Good strategy. What will you use for your two 'extra' sections outside of a full PT?

[koala-fy]

Hi everyone! Figured it was time for me to finally check in. Like many, I scored significantly below my PT average. I was scoring high 160s-low 170s (as high as 174, with a few 173s) in the weeks leading up to the test, with my mode probably being a 170 or 171. I was really disappointed with a 164 in September. I knew after the test that I'd underperformed, but I was hoping I'd squeaked out something at least in the upper 160s. My GPA is above 3.8 so I know if I can get there a bunch of doors will open up for me.

Seems like this happened to a lot of us. I have pretty bad anxiety so hopefully just being more familiar with how an actual administration of a test goes will be helpful. Otherwise, I'm not really sure how to proceed. I definitely have persistently weak areas, so maybe drilling those areas will be helpful? I just feel like I've used up so many study materials already...

Probably the most frustrating thing is that I was scoring around 164 in July (and I was happy about it then because I was making progress!). It's so discouraging that I could've stopped studying then and gotten the same score, and that two months of exhausting, intense studying meant nothing...

[skidoo1066]

I decided to cancel my September score the day before the cancel deadline because A) I ran out of time on Games and Reading so had to random a few bubbles, and B) I didn't feel too confident about the test as a whole (crappy circumstances that morning). I'm glad I did - I don't remember ALL my answers but it's looking like I would have been about 7-8 under my PT average.

I'm trying a new timing technique that seems to be helping both my times and scores on Games and Reading - I'm now using LSAT Workout because I've done all but a few of the real PT's. On reading I give myself 3 minutes to read the passage and 45 seconds per question, and LG 2 minutes to set up and 1 minute per question - this way I have a few minutes left over to go back or to spend on extra ridiculous questions.

It's hard finding the time to really study, though, while doing a master's and taking care of two kids. My grades have really suffered this semester as a result, hopefully December is worth it!

Here's to a 180 and YHS!

[ugg]

Post removed.

[Carla36]

Gonna try to be active on this forum since none of my friends even know what the LSAT is. 156 last October (took half a Kaplan course ); 169 this September (used 7sage) with LR: -4 RC: -2 LR: -3 LG: -4. So upset that I missed 4 random questions in the first 3 games which were all apparently easier compared to the last one. Gonna just PT 2-3 times a week till the test.

[hetookmetoamovie]

Checking in! My September score was a few points off my target (it seems my brain went AWOL during LR), so here I am. I was worried mostly about timing/fatigue issues last time around, so I burned up a lot of PTs and didn't drill enough. I'm going to check out Noodley's Guide for Retakers and see what kind of magic can happen in the next 45 days. Good luck to everyone!

[ErgoSum]

Posting this here to see what you all think:

How would you all go about making the decision between retaking in December vs. February? I'm not sure I would even get waitlisted at some of my reach schools with a 168, making a Feb retake kind of pointless, right?

[skidoo1066]

Posting this here to see what you all think:

How would you all go about making the decision between retaking in December vs. February? I'm not sure I would even get waitlisted at some of my reach schools with a 168, making a Feb retake kind of pointless, right?

I'm retaking in December and waiting another year to apply. I decided December would be better because I've almost run out of study material - I'll barely have stuff to study until December let alone February. I'd rather take it when I've been practicing and have my edge. The reason that I'm waiting another year is because applying early can make a HUGE difference in eligibility for scholarships - I have a friend who applied late and admissions told him straight up if he had applied early he would have been given a scholarship, but because he applied later he was waitlisted.

[secadc11]

Posting this here to see what you all think:

How would you all go about making the decision between retaking in December vs. February? I'm not sure I would even get waitlisted at some of my reach schools with a 168, making a Feb retake kind of pointless, right?

I'm retaking in December and waiting another year to apply. I decided December would be better because I've almost run out of study material - I'll barely have stuff to study until December let along February. I'd rather take it when I've been practicing and have my edge. The reason that I'm waiting another year is because applying early can make a HUGE difference in eligibility for scholarships - I have a friend who applied late and admissions told him straight up if he had applied early he would have been given a scholarship, but because he applied late he was waitlisted.

Well, to Ergo's original post -

I am grateful that my score was as low as a 166 because it is obvious to me that for the schools I want, I must retake in December. A 168 is more borderline - obviously it depends on where you are aiming. But for my specific situation, a Feb retake would be, as you said, pointless.

However skidoo you're making me worry. Is there really that big a difference between applying now and applying late December when scores are released?

[skidoo1066]

Posting this here to see what you all think:

How would you all go about making the decision between retaking in December vs. February? I'm not sure I would even get waitlisted at some of my reach schools with a 168, making a Feb retake kind of pointless, right?

I'm retaking in December and waiting another year to apply. I decided December would be better because I've almost run out of study material - I'll barely have stuff to study until December let along February. I'd rather take it when I've been practicing and have my edge. The reason that I'm waiting another year is because applying early can make a HUGE difference in eligibility for scholarships - I have a friend who applied late and admissions told him straight up if he had applied early he would have been given a scholarship, but because he applied late he was waitlisted.

Well, to Ergo's original post -

I am grateful that my score was as low as a 166 because it is obvious to me that for the schools I want, I must retake in December. A 168 is more borderline - obviously it depends on where you are aiming. But for my specific situation, a Feb retake would be, as you said, pointless.

However skidoo you're making me worry. Is there really that big a difference between applying now and applying late December when scores are released?

Looking at the stats on LSN there are still plenty of people admitted who apply in December - chances probably aren't AS good but if you have EVERYTHING else taken care of and are just waiting on your LSAT score it seems like you're probably okay if your numbers are on par with the schools you're applying. By mid January if everything isn't submitted I wouldn't bother, though. I have another friend who has a scholarship at ND and he had a mentor who used to be on an admission committee and he said to basically apply the first day you can submit applications. Another year of work experience is helpful anyway.

[Smallville]

Looking at the stats on LSN there are still plenty of people admitted who apply in December - chances probably aren't AS good but if you have EVERYTHING else taken care of and are just waiting on your LSAT score it seems like you're probably okay if your numbers are on par with the schools you're applying. By mid January if everything isn't submitted I wouldn't bother, though. I have another friend who has a scholarship at ND and he had a mentor who used to be on an admission committee and he said to basically apply the first day you can submit applications. Another year of work experience is helpful anyway.

With the decline in applicants things are changing a little bit. I believe in general a majority of applicants come from around this time, not a huge deal. As for applying after Dec LSAT there are plenty of spots that schools leave open and money reserved for in-case of receiving apps later on. the Feb LSAT is another story though you can still technically apply. But its not completely a waste to apply after Dec. Too lazy to look for sources so take it as you please. (this does not mean Dec is the best time to apply with but schools arent full writing everyone off after say the month of Dec or w.e)

[lawjag2015]

Well, you have taken only 16 odd PTs, for you PTing is going to be gainful. People like me who have done a lot of PTs do not stand to gain much from PTing. I have to address specific problems, and then do some PTs to make sure that I am in the rhythm on the test day.

Sounds like we may be in a similar boat - how many PTs are you aiming to take before December's administration rolls around? I'm trying to figure this out myself.

I am planning two 6-section PTs a week. I review only the mistakes, and the ones that took me long. I am going to double down on LG using Cambridge sets. The last week: only one full PT.

Good strategy. What will you use for your two 'extra' sections outside of a full PT?

Sections from other PTs! Going to do 2 sections for each Q-type.

[Yeezus]

Is a set strategy for LR necessary? I'm asking because I've always done LR intuitively, without using any methods from Manhattan or Powerscore, getting around -3 on both sections combined on PTs 36-72. But on my past two takes on the real thing, I've gotten -9. I'm not sure if this is from nerves or because I'm approaching LR the wrong way. Is it worth trying to build from the ground up again? I'm worried that I won't have enough time if I do decide to follow a set strategy, since I haven't looked at a problem since the September test.

[lawjag2015]

Is a set strategy for LR necessary? I'm asking because I've always done LR intuitively, without using any methods from Manhattan or Powerscore, getting around -3 on both sections combined on PTs 36-72. But on my past two takes on the real thing, I've gotten -9. I'm not sure if this is from nerves or because I'm approaching LR the wrong way. Is it worth trying to build from the ground up again? I'm worried that I won't have enough time if I do decide to follow a set strategy, since I haven't looked at a problem since the September test.

I have set strategies for each question type for LR, I score 0-2 wrong in any given LR section, and my real two takes I went -9 (June) and -11 (September)!! I think I am going to retake the September LSAT the week before the December LSAT. Its going to tell me what I need to know.

[secadc11]

Is a set strategy for LR necessary? I'm asking because I've always done LR intuitively, without using any methods from Manhattan or Powerscore, getting around -3 on both sections combined on PTs 36-72. But on my past two takes on the real thing, I've gotten -9. I'm not sure if this is from nerves or because I'm approaching LR the wrong way. Is it worth trying to build from the ground up again? I'm worried that I won't have enough time if I do decide to follow a set strategy, since I haven't looked at a problem since the September test.

I have set strategies for each question type for LR, I score 0-2 wrong in any given LR section, and my real two takes I went -9 (June) and -11 (September)!! I think I am going to retake the September LSAT the week before the December LSAT. Its going to tell me what I need to know.

YeezusPiece, I don't have set strategies either and generally go around -3 or -4 (still not that great in and of itself) but, like you, I go way worse in the real test. Definitely going to put some hard time into LR as I know I could make up a lot of points there.

[Porkypots]

I took a PT yesterday after my horrible score. I scored well above my September LSAT score. :/ For the past two weeks I have been reading the Manhattan LR book and doing section work from old PTs so I can use the 50-70s PTs for actual PTS. What else should I be doing? LR is by far my weakest section and I dont seem to be improving. LG and RC is all about timing for me, so I have to work on that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated I need to improve 6-10pts.

[secadc11]

Looking at the stats on LSN there are still plenty of people admitted who apply in December - chances probably aren't AS good but if you have EVERYTHING else taken care of and are just waiting on your LSAT score it seems like you're probably okay if your numbers are on par with the schools you're applying. By mid January if everything isn't submitted I wouldn't bother, though. I have another friend who has a scholarship at ND and he had a mentor who used to be on an admission committee and he said to basically apply the first day you can submit applications. Another year of work experience is helpful anyway.

With the decline in applicants things are changing a little bit. I believe in general a majority of applicants come from around this time, not a huge deal. As for applying after Dec LSAT there are plenty of spots that schools leave open and money reserved for in-case of receiving apps later on. the Feb LSAT is another story though you can still technically apply. But its not completely a waste to apply after Dec. Too lazy to look for sources so take it as you please. (this does not mean Dec is the best time to apply with but schools arent full writing everyone off after say the month of Dec or w.e)

Okay so let me ask you all this - what if I apply in the next week or so and indicate I will be taking the test again in December? How does that factor into the game?

[koala-fy]

Hi everyone! Figured it was time for me to finally check in. Like many, I scored significantly below my PT average. I was scoring high 160s-low 170s (as high as 174, with a few 173s) in the weeks leading up to the test, with my mode probably being a 170 or 171. I was really disappointed with a 164 in September. I knew after the test that I'd underperformed, but I was hoping I'd squeaked out something at least in the upper 160s. My GPA is above 3.8 so I know if I can get there a bunch of doors will open up for me.

Seems like this happened to a lot of us. I have pretty bad anxiety so hopefully just being more familiar with how an actual administration of a test goes will be helpful. Otherwise, I'm not really sure how to proceed. I definitely have persistently weak areas, so maybe drilling those areas will be helpful? I just feel like I've used up so many study materials already...

Probably the most frustrating thing is that I was scoring around 164 in July (and I was happy about it then because I was making progress!). It's so discouraging that I could've stopped studying then and gotten the same score, and that two months of exhausting, intense studying meant nothing...

You're not alone. Seems like about a dozen of us have an exact replica of this story, give or take a few points.

Yeah, it's so sad it happened to so many people. Now I somewhat know what it feels like to mess up in like the Olympics or something (when a gymnast falls off of the beam, for example) - you KNOW you can do it, you've done it a million times, but when it counts the most, you screw up. It's so disappointing. And I'm so overwhelmed I don't know where to start.

[dasani13]

Here for Round 3. Third time's the charm. I might need to change my approach to LR, since I consistently get around -3 on both sections combined in PTs but have gotten -9 on the real thing twice in a row. Maybe the Trainer will do the trick.

Same exact situation here! Checking in.