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I've been set on law school since my freshman year. I have wanted to take the LSAT and get it over with for awhile now, but forced myself to wait in case I decide to work for a year or two after college. However, I really don't want to wait until next June.

I'm trying to decide between taking it this December or taking it next February. For Dec., I'd only have 2 months to prep so I might be pushing it. For February, I'd have an extra two months, with 5 weeks of that time being winter break. The problem is that I have heard that the February test is not disclosed. I realize what that means generally, but I am not sure how big of a deal it actually is.

Is the consensus that taking it non-disclosed should be avoided unless there is no other option? Or is it not that big of a deal?

strawberryfanta wrote:I've been set on law school since my freshman year. I have wanted to take the LSAT and get it over with for awhile now, but forced myself to wait in case I decide to work for a year or two after college. However, I really don't want to wait until next June.

I'm trying to decide between taking it this December or taking it next February. For Dec., I'd only have 2 months to prep so I might be pushing it. For February, I'd have an extra two months, with 5 weeks of that time being winter break. The problem is that I have heard that the February test is not disclosed. I realize what that means generally, but I am not sure how big of a deal it actually is.

Is the consensus that taking it non-disclosed should be avoided unless there is no other option? Or is it not that big of a deal?

I took a nondisclosed test, I didn't find it any harder or easier than the PTs I did for prep. If February is the best time you can take it, then you should take it then. In my opinion the only true negative of a nondisclosed test is if you end up retaking - since you have no clue where/what/how many you got wrong, that can be very frustrating. However, I don't think this is enough to warrant taking it in Dec w/o sufficient prep.

Many believe that four (4) months of dedicated study is needed to be properly prepared for the LSAT examination.

I think I'll wait til February then. Thanks.

CanadianWolf wrote:Many believe that four (4) months of dedicated study is needed to be properly prepared for the LSAT examination.

4 months is a little long in my opinion.

I find 3 to be about the right number.

When I'm studying for anything I always like immersing myself in the subject matter and tests.

I can't think about the LSAT 24/7 for 4 months, I can for 2 or 3.

Really, it depends on how much time you can commit to studying for the test. If you have 4-5 hours a day then you can pull it off in 2. 3 hours a day then 3 months. If you're only going to devote 1-2 hours a day then definitely opt for the 4 month plan.

5 months is simply too long in my opinion.

typ3 wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Many believe that four (4) months of dedicated study is needed to be properly prepared for the LSAT examination.

4 months is a little long in my opinion.

I find 3 to be about the right number.

When I'm studying for anything I always like immersing myself in the subject matter and tests.

I can't think about the LSAT 24/7 for 4 months, I can for 2 or 3.

Really, it depends on how much time you can commit to studying for the test. If you have 4-5 hours a day then you can pull it off in 2. 3 hours a day then 3 months. If you're only going to devote 1-2 hours a day then definitely opt for the 4 month plan.

5 months is simply too long in my opinion.

I did 4 months. I didn't start scoring consistently 170+ on my LSAT Pt's until the last 2-3 weeks. I was then 172+ on my last six in the last two weeks leading up to the test.

February tends to be rather unpredictable.
I don't know if it was just my nerves, but I did terribly in February, like thought it was the most difficult and randomly horribly time consuming thing that ever happened to me (specifically LG which I didn't even finish- which has never happened to me before) and this LG I finished with like 8-10 minutes left.
I would steer clear of Feb if I were you. On the other hand, obviously people do get 180s. I do know that 173 was 99% in feb, but maybe that's normal.

s0ph1e2007 wrote:February tends to be rather unpredictable.
I don't know if it was just my nerves, but I did terribly in February, like thought it was the most difficult and randomly horribly time consuming thing that ever happened to me (specifically LG which I didn't even finish- which has never happened to me before) and this LG I finished with like 8-10 minutes left.
I would steer clear of Feb if I were you. On the other hand, obviously people do get 180s. I do know that 173 was 99% in feb, but maybe that's normal.

What did you score in feb?

Patriot1208 wrote:

typ3 wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Many believe that four (4) months of dedicated study is needed to be properly prepared for the LSAT examination.

4 months is a little long in my opinion.

I find 3 to be about the right number.

When I'm studying for anything I always like immersing myself in the subject matter and tests.

I can't think about the LSAT 24/7 for 4 months, I can for 2 or 3.

Really, it depends on how much time you can commit to studying for the test. If you have 4-5 hours a day then you can pull it off in 2. 3 hours a day then 3 months. If you're only going to devote 1-2 hours a day then definitely opt for the 4 month plan.

5 months is simply too long in my opinion.

I did 4 months. I didn't start scoring consistently 170+ on my LSAT Pt's until the last 2-3 weeks. I was then 172+ on my last six in the last two weeks leading up to the test.

The question is, were you scoring 170+ because of the amount of time from start to finish or because you had gotten through more prep material? The case can be made for both. A break from the LSAT can be a good thing, but so is grinding it out.

tazmolover wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:February tends to be rather unpredictable.
I don't know if it was just my nerves, but I did terribly in February, like thought it was the most difficult and randomly horribly time consuming thing that ever happened to me (specifically LG which I didn't even finish- which has never happened to me before) and this LG I finished with like 8-10 minutes left.
I would steer clear of Feb if I were you. On the other hand, obviously people do get 180s. I do know that 173 was 99% in feb, but maybe that's normal.

What did you score in feb?

you quoted me saying i got a 173 lol

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

tazmolover wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:February tends to be rather unpredictable.
I don't know if it was just my nerves, but I did terribly in February, like thought it was the most difficult and randomly horribly time consuming thing that ever happened to me (specifically LG which I didn't even finish- which has never happened to me before) and this LG I finished with like 8-10 minutes left.
I would steer clear of Feb if I were you. On the other hand, obviously people do get 180s. I do know that 173 was 99% in feb, but maybe that's normal.

What did you score in feb?

you quoted me saying i got a 173 lol

You said 173 was 99%...never said you got a 173 lol.

tazmolover wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

tazmolover wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:February tends to be rather unpredictable.
I don't know if it was just my nerves, but I did terribly in February, like thought it was the most difficult and randomly horribly time consuming thing that ever happened to me (specifically LG which I didn't even finish- which has never happened to me before) and this LG I finished with like 8-10 minutes left.
I would steer clear of Feb if I were you. On the other hand, obviously people do get 180s. I do know that 173 was 99% in feb, but maybe that's normal.

What did you score in feb?

you quoted me saying i got a 173 lol

You said 173 was 99%...never said you got a 173 lol.

oh haha I see; I guess I could have asked a friend who got that or something. I wonder why I wouldn't know the percentile of my own score though haha
okay, not a time for a logic debate.

Yes, I got a 173. I know that's a super respectable score, but the test really destroyed me. So much harder than any PT timed in test-like conditions I took. 100x harder than Oct.

oh haha I see; I guess I could have asked a friend who got that or something. I wonder why I wouldn't know the percentile of my own score though haha
okay, not a time for a logic debate.

Yes, I got a 173. I know that's a super respectable score, but the test really destroyed me. So much harder than any PT timed in test-like conditions I took. 100x harder than Oct.

What was the curve?

And isn't 173 99th percentile usually.

tazmolover wrote:

oh haha I see; I guess I could have asked a friend who got that or something. I wonder why I wouldn't know the percentile of my own score though haha
okay, not a time for a logic debate.

Yes, I got a 173. I know that's a super respectable score, but the test really destroyed me. So much harder than any PT timed in test-like conditions I took. 100x harder than Oct.

What was the curve?

And isn't 173 99th percentile usually.

172 is 99th.

Patriot1208 wrote:

tazmolover wrote:

oh haha I see; I guess I could have asked a friend who got that or something. I wonder why I wouldn't know the percentile of my own score though haha
okay, not a time for a logic debate.

Yes, I got a 173. I know that's a super respectable score, but the test really destroyed me. So much harder than any PT timed in test-like conditions I took. 100x harder than Oct.

What was the curve?

And isn't 173 99th percentile usually.

172 is 99th.

Yea that was the point of my first post. I have no idea what's usually 99%. I just gave the information I had.
Thought it was ridiculously difficult and different than released tests and I knew that 173 was 99.
Obviously there is a large possibility that I was just having a bad testing experience. If the score difference ends up being like 7 though, then I'm going to have to say Feb had something to do with it since I barely studied any more after.

s0ph1e2007 wrote: oh haha I see; I guess I could have asked a friend who got that or something. I wonder why I wouldn't know the percentile of my own score though haha
okay, not a time for a logic debate.

Yes, I got a 173. I know that's a super respectable score, but the test really destroyed me. So much harder than any PT timed in test-like conditions I took. 100x harder than Oct.

TBF, this is probably within the scope of test-day nerves/etc. I don't think 1 anecdotal evidence is enough for OP to cut 2 months of prep time and decide to take in December. FWIW, like I said above I also took an undisclosed test and I scored exactly on my PT average. OP feel free to PM me if you want more details.