Just how...controllable is the LSAT? Forum

[Ima Scrub]

I know this sounds like a silly question, but I am legitimately curious to know how manageable the LSAT is. I've heard so many horror stories about it.

Back in high school, I took a PRIVATE (emphasis on PRIVATE) SAT-prep course and got like a 1730 or something. The following summer, I buckled my ass down, took another prep course, and got a 2130. But the thing that scared me was the fact that I had come to the realization that I probably would have scored lower than a 1700 had I not even taken a prep course to begin with...and let me tell you, if you scored anywhere below a 1900 from where I went to high school, you were shunned or would have to lie about your score to retain any shred of dignity.

Basically, I am only a second year in college but I am excited about the prospects of going to law school. But I am also absolutely terrified of the LSAT, given my last standardized test score experience (honestly...I'm pretty much dumb. The reason I didn't score higher than a 2130 was because my worst section was--prepare yourself--Math, which I scored in the 600s...abysmal eh?). I know I'm not smart or even moderately smart, but I will put the time and effort in.

But I feel like I won't even break 155. So just how "controllable" is the LSAT? Sure you can study your ass off for it, but all my friends who did just that and took it still said it was an incredibly difficult test.

[fatduck]

what the fuck is a 2130

[lawyerwannabe]

Nobody ever cares or wants to hear about how well you did on the writing section.

Just give the standard score (re: out of 1600) so we can avoid anymore posts like the one above.

[tomwatts]

Uh, for the people who are too lazy to multiply by 2/3, that's just over a 1400 on the old (now six years out of date) scale.

It is certainly possible to study for the LSAT and do very well. However, this isn't the SAT; it's much harder. It's going to take at least as much work as you put into the SAT, but probably more like twice or three times as much work.

I've been teaching the LSAT for close to five years at this point, and every time I work a new released test, I think to myself, "Man, this test is hard!" That feeling never goes away.

[2011Law]

I had a diag of about 147, after 80 hrs of practice and study (on my own) I got a 168 (my average right before I took the test).

I didn't really take academics very seriously in high school and only studied for about 10 hrs for the SAT and got an 1190 on the 1600 scale.

If you got a 2130 out of 2400 you are probably pretty smart (yes, even with study, which you're supposed to do), you're just surrounded by other smart people from what it sounds like, so don't tell people you "know you're not smart."