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Well, I just took my my first diagnostic test and I totally bombed it, getting a 146.

Oddly enough, in the "experimental section" (which was just a regular section from another LSAT that was substituted in), I only got 3 wrong, but of course that wasn't accounted for in the score...

Granted, I haven't really studied at all, but I'm feeling afraid that I won't be able to improve enough (165+) to go to where I want to. Is a 20+ point increase possible? I'm ready to use the entire summer to study like a mad man, but I'm so bummed out right now.

No. I got a 147 on my first diagnostic and I ended up with a 171 on the real test. LSAT is very learnable. Study smart, work hard, and good luck!

You have a tough road ahead of you, but if you put in the time you can definitely succeed.

This guide is generally considered very effective, check it out.

cavebat2000 wrote:No. I got a 147 on my first diagnostic and I ended up with a 171 on the real test. LSAT is very learnable. Study smart, work hard, and good luck!

You are an inspiration.

I'm so bummed to the point of anger...I'm going to do well on this thing if it's the last thing I do.

Lasers wrote:I'm so bummed to the point of anger...I'm going to do well on this thing if it's the last thing I do.

That's exactly the attitude to have. A lot of people who scored higher on their diagnostic get complacent and don't reach their score potential -- use this as motivation to study hard!

Got lower than you.

Ended with a 168.

That is with a -7 on RC because apparently I can't read. You got this.

If it is the first time you have ever seen the test than its not the end of the world. I took one cold without ever seeing an LSAT question and did worse than you. Got a 171 on the June LSAT. 4-5 months of hard studying. Get the powerscore bibles. Went through the LR and LG one once and got halfway through the RC. Took about 40 PTs. If your taking October you should be able to get through the Bibles pretty quickly considering its summer

Mike12188 wrote:If it is the first time you have ever seen the test than its not the end of the world. I took one cold without ever seeing an LSAT question and did worse than you. Got a 171 on the June LSAT. 4-5 months of hard studying. Get the powerscore bibles. Went through the LR and LG one once and got halfway through the RC. Took about 40 PTs. If your taking October you should be able to get through the Bibles pretty quickly considering its summer

Yeah, it was basically the first time I saw the LSAT. I could tell I was pretty overmatched from the first logic games section.

I'm taking Blueprint right now, actually, so I'm using their books, which I've been told are pretty good.

Thanks for all the responses, guys. I'm taking the test in October, and I've made sure my entire summer is clear so I can study everyday.

I started off around there and ended with a 163, which was what I needed. Large gains are doable.

to those who had jumps of 20 points +... I'd be curious what sections you were strongest at originally and gained the most on. My diagnostic was very similar to these. I haven't been able to gain that much. It helps if you're good at RC to begin with. That's the toughest to improve on.

my dads friends son (i know) got a 144 the first time and got a 168 the second time...

Lasers wrote:

cavebat2000 wrote:No. I got a 147 on my first diagnostic and I ended up with a 171 on the real test. LSAT is very learnable. Study smart, work hard, and good luck!

You are an inspiration.

I'm so bummed to the point of anger...I'm going to do well on this thing if it's the last thing I do.

LSAT is very learnable... I got a 158 on my first diagnostic (blind test without ever being exposed to the material)... ended up with a 177 on the real deal.

It does require hard work and dedication.

best of luck

BigA wrote:to those who had jumps of 20 points +... I'd be curious what sections you were strongest at originally and gained the most on. My diagnostic was very similar to these. I haven't been able to gain that much. It helps if you're good at RC to begin with. That's the toughest to improve on.

Well... I was pretty bad at all them... but I bombed the Logic Games... don't even think I completed a couple of them...

In the end LG was my best section (hadnt missed a question on like the last 6ish PT I took)... closely followed by LR... RC was always up in the air for me... missing anywhere from 0-5.

My diagnostic was similar. Got a 165 on test day. You've got a brutal journey ahead of you, but you can do it.

146 to 167 with -8 on RC because I also cannot read

Naw man, see the girl in Legally Blonde, a 143 diagnostic and 179 on the real thing. Totally beliavable, I always believe everything I see on films as God's honest truth. This is me.

150 to 169.

A friend got a 145 and jumped to 180 on the real thing.

As everyone said, it's a learnable test. Most of the people I know who took it scored poorly on their first diag and excelled on the real thing. The reason behind it IMO is that the test requires a very specific form of logic that few people are familiar with prior to studying for the LSAT. Once you take many tests + learn from your mistakes you'll begin to wrap your mind around this logic and you'll be plowing through sections.

As for which section was weakest: I started off with LR being my weakest, LG 2nd weakest and RC the best. Ended up with LG strongest, LR 2nd strongest and RC weakest (my score for the June test was -2LG, -5LR, -5RC). My advice to you is this: certainly focus on your weakest section but NEVER at the expense of not keeping up with the other sections. Getting better at one section whilst getting worse at another will not take you anywhere.

Anyway, as Ben Franklin said, "Energy and perseverance conquer all things."

well it's been 2 months.

since my diagnostic of 146, i've scored 158, 165, and 163. at this point i feel like i just need to clean a few things up and get the timing down so i'm going to focus on taking many more practice tests.

hopefully in this last month before the test i can position myself for a score close to 170.

rklafehn wrote:Got lower than you.

Ended with a 168.

That is with a -7 on RC because apparently I can't read. You got this.

That's pretty impressive. -7 RC and a 168?