How I went from a 154 to a 171
Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:43 pm
How I went from a 154 to a 171
I know my story may be unique, but I just wanted to let everyone know how I was able to go from a cancel, 154 to a 171.
Just a little bit of a background: I graduated in January 2009 from a decent UG (top 30-40) with a nice GPA (3.78, magna cum laude, distinction and Phi Beta Kappa). I knew from my sophomore year that I wanted to attend law school and started everything to help me prepare. I worked hard in school to get good grades, got to know my professors and had them write my rec letters even before I graduated. I had intended to apply for the class entering this fall (2010). I took four months to study for the June 2009 LSAT. I turned down a job offer and lived at home (in big city) to study for the LSAT. I practiced in the165-170ish range and had a panic attack during the June 2009 exam. I ended up canceling and was so pissed at myself but told myself that I could take it again in October. I got a job that I absolutely hated, but it paid a decent salary and the thing that kept me going was that I was going to rock the LSAT in October and apply to a t10 law school. My life become wrapped around LSAT studying and the only option in my mind was Law School.
The night before the September 2009 LSAT, I could not sleep one bit. I ended up having another anxiety attack before the test and went to the test center with only 2 hours of sleep. Despite the fact that I knew I did not perform my best, I kept my score with the hope of scoring a 160 and getting into a top 50. I got my test score, a 154 and then became depressed. I felt inadequate and that I spent 9 months studying non-stop for a score that was a point higher than my diagnostic. I felt like a complete failure. Don’t judge me, but I ended up taking some medication because I was depressed (it was also because I hated my job and just felt like things were not working out)
During the next five months, I started to doubt whether law school was for me (it was difficult because it was my path since the beg. of college). I started to think about business school and took the GMATs and scored a 710 (96th percentile). I also switched jobs to something that I could see myself doing for a few years. Even though it was difficult, I gave up on the dream of going to law school the following year and started to think of other options. In about May, I decided I was going to try to the LSATs again, but with the attitude that it really does not matter because I do not care. I did not even tell some friends or family I was taking it because I did not want to pressure to explain my score afterwords. I just spent five Sundays preparing and I took 5 practice exams (the DEC 09 being the only new one). I still went out with friends on Friday nights and maintained a life (which I failed to do the first time around). On test day, I scored a 171!
I understand that not everyone is capable of scoring in the 170’s, but what I learned from my LSAT prep is that dealing with anxiety and managing expectations is almost as important as knowing how to conquer questions. Like many people applying to law school, we think it is our only option and that attitude significantly hinders our ability to perform to our potential. I recommend everyone that is preparing for the LSAT to take their preparation seriously but do not do what I did. Don't only focus on the LSAT and nothing else. Don’t let this test get you to such a level that you think that this is your only option.
In the end of the day, its just an exam. I hope everyone gets the score they deserve.
What's funny now is that I finally got the score I wanted and now I am reconsidering whether law school is a fit for me. I will see how I feel in September when applications are up!
For the record;
-My Diag. score was a 153 with Testmasters
-I took every practice exam out there
-I took the Testmasters course twice (once before the June and again before the October)
-My Majors in college were accounting and political science
-My SAT score was a 1310
I know my story may be unique, but I just wanted to let everyone know how I was able to go from a cancel, 154 to a 171.
Just a little bit of a background: I graduated in January 2009 from a decent UG (top 30-40) with a nice GPA (3.78, magna cum laude, distinction and Phi Beta Kappa). I knew from my sophomore year that I wanted to attend law school and started everything to help me prepare. I worked hard in school to get good grades, got to know my professors and had them write my rec letters even before I graduated. I had intended to apply for the class entering this fall (2010). I took four months to study for the June 2009 LSAT. I turned down a job offer and lived at home (in big city) to study for the LSAT. I practiced in the165-170ish range and had a panic attack during the June 2009 exam. I ended up canceling and was so pissed at myself but told myself that I could take it again in October. I got a job that I absolutely hated, but it paid a decent salary and the thing that kept me going was that I was going to rock the LSAT in October and apply to a t10 law school. My life become wrapped around LSAT studying and the only option in my mind was Law School.
The night before the September 2009 LSAT, I could not sleep one bit. I ended up having another anxiety attack before the test and went to the test center with only 2 hours of sleep. Despite the fact that I knew I did not perform my best, I kept my score with the hope of scoring a 160 and getting into a top 50. I got my test score, a 154 and then became depressed. I felt inadequate and that I spent 9 months studying non-stop for a score that was a point higher than my diagnostic. I felt like a complete failure. Don’t judge me, but I ended up taking some medication because I was depressed (it was also because I hated my job and just felt like things were not working out)
During the next five months, I started to doubt whether law school was for me (it was difficult because it was my path since the beg. of college). I started to think about business school and took the GMATs and scored a 710 (96th percentile). I also switched jobs to something that I could see myself doing for a few years. Even though it was difficult, I gave up on the dream of going to law school the following year and started to think of other options. In about May, I decided I was going to try to the LSATs again, but with the attitude that it really does not matter because I do not care. I did not even tell some friends or family I was taking it because I did not want to pressure to explain my score afterwords. I just spent five Sundays preparing and I took 5 practice exams (the DEC 09 being the only new one). I still went out with friends on Friday nights and maintained a life (which I failed to do the first time around). On test day, I scored a 171!
I understand that not everyone is capable of scoring in the 170’s, but what I learned from my LSAT prep is that dealing with anxiety and managing expectations is almost as important as knowing how to conquer questions. Like many people applying to law school, we think it is our only option and that attitude significantly hinders our ability to perform to our potential. I recommend everyone that is preparing for the LSAT to take their preparation seriously but do not do what I did. Don't only focus on the LSAT and nothing else. Don’t let this test get you to such a level that you think that this is your only option.
In the end of the day, its just an exam. I hope everyone gets the score they deserve.
What's funny now is that I finally got the score I wanted and now I am reconsidering whether law school is a fit for me. I will see how I feel in September when applications are up!
For the record;
-My Diag. score was a 153 with Testmasters
-I took every practice exam out there
-I took the Testmasters course twice (once before the June and again before the October)
-My Majors in college were accounting and political science
-My SAT score was a 1310
