Giving up? Forum

[vahopeful2012]

I took another PT this morning (#29) and did worse than I've ever done: 158. That is lower than my diagnostic! I stuck with my average missed in RC and LG (-2 for both). However, my LR went down tremendously, from my personal highest at -6 (which still sucks) to -15! I've never done this bad before on LR and the question types I missed weren't even the ones I normally have trouble with. With almost four weeks left til the October LSAT, do you think I should just give up on applying to law school this time around? My goal is T14 and with a GPA of 3.9, that should be possible with a good LSAT score...

[KevinP]

Without knowing specifics (burn-out, testing conditions, whether 29 was a fluke, prep materials, etc.), I can't really give you specific advice. Even then, you're still probably the best judge of whether you'll be ready by October.

With almost four weeks left til the October LSAT, do you think I should just give up on applying to law school this time around?

No. If you don't feel like you're ready for October postpone until December. You will be at a disadvantage but you still should get into a T14 if you score high enough. Either way, a 3.9 is a wonderful GPA and therefore don't waste it. Best of luck to you.

[vahopeful2012]

Thanks, KevinP. I don't know if it's burnout, since I've only taken one PT this week. However, a number of unrelated stress due to family and moving back to college might be the primary reasons. And, like you said, #29 could be just a fluke for me. I'll see how the next few go before I postpone I guess.

[northwood]

I wouldnt give up. IF its burnout from either test prep or life changes ( and moving in to school causes more stress, especially if you are trying to get some time in to study) then dont worry about it. Take a day off, get settled and go at it again. Also, I dont know how many tests youve taken or how long you have studied, but if you are just beginning to learn the material and how to take the test- then you should be prepared to see your score go down in whatever section type you are working on- as it takes longer to get the techniques down ( and for LR you only have a minute and 20 seconds, or about that long to get the correct answer choice). Just keep track of what type of questionsyou are getting wrong- and where they are in the section, and how much time you have remaining when you get to them- and look for trends there. THre is still a decent amount of time left before you have to take the test- so dont stress out too much. WOrst case secenaio is you postpone until december- and if you dont like how your cycle plays out- sit out a year and apply next cycle ( and when you are waiting for your score- finalize all of your essays and submit the apps to some of your schools while waiting for the score).

[adagio15]

I empathize. I keep getting on average the same number of questions wrong section after section. With 4/5 weeks left I'm tempted to postpone until December. If I do postpone the test though and I have the option of putting off applying for a year, is it better to just do so? I don't know how applying late December would hurt my application for a T14.

Try giving it a couple more weeks and make a decision then. At least now we have the option to wait until the day before test day to cancel our registration.

[MC Southstar]

I think you can do it in the amount of time you have left. I wouldn't squander the GPA.

[vahopeful2012]

Thanks, everyone for the encouragement. I haven't looked at LSAT material since last weekend, but I'm finally settled at school and classes started the other day. This morning (Thursday) I took Superprep B and got a 162 (I completely bombed the LG section, missing 10 of the questions--wasn't too bad considering I guessed on 12 of them). I'll keep trying to improve my score. And if that still doesn't work, maybe I'll just do the MCAT instead (got a 30 on my diagnostic a few months ago) and go to med school...