*sigh* Third time is the charm? Advice appreciated... Forum

[soesghost]

*sigh*

add me to the retake list. Not the traditional student, I am looking to go part time after being out of college for 16 yrs. Haven't taken a standardized test in all that time, studied on my own, did lots of PT's, and was scoring consistently in the low to high 160's, with an occasional 170. I took the Feb LSAT, completely collapsed in the first section when they called "5 min remaining" and I was on question 16 of a 26 question LR section. Was so rattled I wasn't retaining the questions I read after that, guessed at about 10, and the tone was set for the rest of the exam. I left feeling like because I had to guess at so many, I didn't really give it my best effort, so I cancelled a few days later. By the June exam, I had done a lot more studying, though my scores were not improving. I felt perhaps I had plateaued and maybe this was my capability. 160's were fine by me, since my goal was Fordham's PT program, where I needed a 163-164 or so. The June test went much better..... or so I thought. I ran out of time on each section, having to guess at maybe the last 1-2 questions, but even those were narrowed down to a 50/50. I completely blew the last LG, but did surprisingly well on the other 3. So I left feeling not that I had done WELL, but not that I had done POORLY either. Definitely unsure but I felt at least I had done what i could. Wellsir! I got my score back and it was 157 - not good by any means (in fact I feel quite stupid when i read people with 168's bitching how bad they did) but I didnt get destroyed either, which i think gives me hope I can improve. I mean, 157 gets me into Brooklyn Law, which isnt an awful school, but I'm also not 26. If I am going to do this I wanted it to be through a program worth changing my life for, which, IMO Fordham is. I didn't find this forum until after the june test, and I am going to get the LG LR bibles today if I can find them, since so many of you who did well recommend them. My question is, do you think it's possible to improve enough to get to the low 160's (averaged out) which will give me a much better shot? I dont think i will do WORSE - but that's always a risk.

Thoughts?

[soesghost]

bump in hopes of a reply!

[IAFG]

completely collapsed in the first section when they called "5 min remaining" and I was on question 16 of a 26 question LR section.

this is why i always tell people to practice with an audible 5 minute warning timer; so they get used to that panicky feeling.

yes, retake.

[billyez]

This sort of thing happens...and it's entirely possible for you to raise your score on the third time. It took me four tries for me to ge tup where I needed to go and if I can do it, I'm sure you can, buddy!

It just seems like a lot of nerves are your problem...I'd do what IAFG mentioned and attempt to take the test in the same area wher eyou'll actuallyt ake it. That helped me out. Also, when you look over your June test, ask yourself why you weren't able to finish some questions. That 157 was your response to actual test conditions and thus the mistakes you made on it present an opportunity to diagnose what problems your liable to make on the next go around. Dissect it as soon as possible.

[TheGambler]

Well - for a quick hypothetical - if you wanted to avg out to 162, you'd need to get a 167. I think that is possible for you, if you follow the study guides on TLS and especially since you've said you already achieved those scores in the past. I would focus on simulating test conditions as closely as possible, ie. write in your test centre or something close to it like a university library. Every now and then also do it somewhere noisier (like a coffee shop) so that you get used to ignoring distractions. Do it timed, same time of day, same food etc etc. I found it helpful for LR & RC to have a rough idea of how much time I'd want to spend on a given paragraph/question - if I went over this I'd force myself to make an educated guess and mark it to return to later if I had the time. Getting the other questions right boosted my confidence so that usually when I returned (if I was lucky enough to have the time to) I had a fresh perspective and could better see where I had gone wrong.

Also a suggestion I saw another TLS-er make might be useful to you to help figure out where you're going wrong: After you write the test timed, don't look at the answers yet - instead go through the entire test untimed and circle questions whose answers you would have changed and mark what you would have changed them too. Then compare that to the actual answer sheet and it should help you figure if your problem is timing or some gaps in understanding.

Take my advice with a grain of salt (I scored 165 on the last LSAT and am currently working on improving my games section). In the end it all depends on how much you're willing to put into it. I still think it's possible though Good luck!

[TheGambler]

oh also - when I get my official LSAT score back - before I dissect the test or look at the answers, I'd re-write it under timed conditions. Comparing the test score to the rewrite score helped me figure out where I went wrong on the actual LSAT (the pressure of which is hard to simulate)!