Will I do better or worse Dec 2010 Forum

[bartleby]

Been on the LSAT grind for over a year.

Diagnostic: 163
Dec 2009: 160 - Studied semi-strictly for 2 months (PT avg 166-170; hit 170 once; wasn't strict about timing)
June 2010: Cancel - Studied insanely hard for 3-4 months; used new PTs; test day conditions, etc. (PT avg 168 - 180; hit 178 twice, 180 once)
Oct 2010: 164 - Studied hard for 3 months; reviewed material (no full, untouched PTs but think I burned out in the end)

Petitioned and registered before I got my score or else I probably wouldnt've retaken. I think I'm a choker - this doesn't bode well for my...future... Haven't studied at all. Will do some brush up 35 min drills, 60 min drills until game day.

Will I score higher or lower than 164?

[tourdeforcex]

who knows.

wake on 12/11 and believe you will do better and it might help. best wishes.

[2014]

Realistically? Lower.
Could you possibly go higher? Certainly, sounds like you have the mental capacity for it.

[bartleby]

I guess I'm wondering if anyone who has studied for a year + has ever taken the real thing on "brush up" one week studying. My applications are in (for the schools I realistically have a chance at) so I don't really care that much...

But a close friend scored a 160, 161, 166 (on June 2007 - the bad curve one) with this strategy and obviously stands by it.

[jwmalone87]

May I ask what went wrong with the June test? I also took that one and didn't do so well, but it seems like you were much, much better prepared.

[kpuc]

Was your diagnostic a cold diagnostic? Because if it was, I find it very strange that you'd be unable to improve by at least 5 points after a year's worth of study. My cold diagnostic was 164. How have you been studying?

[bartleby]

June - I just had a full blown panic attack. My last PT, I scored a 180 on and I felt great. I went to bed early, woke up early, watched childhood cartoons, ate the same breakfast for a week, and then when I was locked into the test, I kept thinking how every single question was soooo important, ran out of time, freaked out. I also freaked out because there was a very, very strange bubbling pattern (that was correct) on my first section.

I sound like such a little bitch.

163 was cold but I didn't use a scantron and it was an older test. I think maybe PT20. I felt good. I've always been good at games, struggle a bit in LR, and a bit more in RC. But come test days, I always do better in RC than I expect (still shitty), worse in games (-3 both times), and a little worse in LR (-2, -6, -5, -11). That -11 is December 2009: first LSAT, I was sick as a dog and had no sleep.

I studied hard. I timed strictly. I reviewed my mistakes. I just always run out of time on the real thing. I was hoping to get accepted into a safety school that I'd be perfectly fine with going to before the test but missed early application dates because of an LOR.

I guess I am just bitter that I spent a full year achieving four points on the LSAT. And that if I didn't get any wrong in LG, I would be at 166. Ahhhhhh....

[almostthereee]

I'd also like to know if you 163'd cold. Honestly, if after 3-4 months of intense studying and your score still dips so bad I think it's worth a shot for you to just go in cold. I mean, studying hasn't worked thus far and NOT studying has given you just a good a score... maybe with all the practice you've put in you subconsciously know this stuff already. Quite a stretch of a hypothesis but I've never seen a situation like yours before lol