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Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:30 am
by AParee06
I took the LSAT in September of 2009 as a senior in college. I took Kaplan the summer before my senior year (prior to hearing negative feedback about it) and didn't see it as extremely effective. I didn't study as much as I should have because it was summer and I was still in college and didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I don't think I took enough practice tests or spent the time that I should have. I studied a lot the 3 weeks before the test but I was also working a full-time internship 10 hours a day and then would be exhausted by the time I got home to study at night. I ended up only scoring a 155 on the actual LSAT, which was 5 points below my average. I just didn't have the time or the dedication at that point.

It is now 2 years later and I want to retake in June of 2012. I've been working as a paralegal at a Wall Street firm since I graduated in 2010 and I see the LSAT now as an investment in my career, not just the next step. I'm considering taking TestMasters in March, but starting to study again after the holidays for the June test. Is it realistic to shoot for a score of 165 on the June test?

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:32 am
by DoubleChecks
AParee06 wrote:I took the LSAT in September of 2009 as a senior in college. I took Kaplan the summer before my senior year (prior to hearing negative feedback about it) and didn't see it as extremely effective. I didn't study as much as I should have because it was summer and I was still in college and didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I don't think I took enough practice tests or spent the time that I should have. I studied a lot the 3 weeks before the test but I was also working a full-time internship 10 hours a day and then would be exhausted by the time I got home to study at night. I ended up only scoring a 155 on the actual LSAT, which was 5 points below my average. I just didn't have the time or the dedication at that point.

It is now 2 years later and I want to retake in June of 2012. I've been working as a paralegal at a Wall Street firm since I graduated in 2010 and I see the LSAT now as an investment in my career, not just the next step. I'm considering taking TestMasters in March, but starting to study again after the holidays for the June test. Is it realistic to shoot for a score of 165 on the June test?
Very much so. I'd aim higher with that amount of time (almost a year). Usually, a round of studying should yield around a 10 pt gain...I think that was the average (obviously exceptions all around like where you start, the program, etc.). If you take it seriously and treat it like an investment in your future, I'd shoot for 165+.

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:47 am
by Sandro
I took in sep 09 as well and a little over 1 year later scored exactly 10 points higher. If not for not improving hardly at all in LG it would have been much more. 1 year + of studying only helped me get 2 more right on LG. fml

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 2:40 pm
by SarahKerrigan
AParee06 wrote:I took the LSAT in September of 2009 as a senior in college. I took Kaplan the summer before my senior year (prior to hearing negative feedback about it) and didn't see it as extremely effective. I didn't study as much as I should have because it was summer and I was still in college and didn't take it as seriously as I should have. I don't think I took enough practice tests or spent the time that I should have. I studied a lot the 3 weeks before the test but I was also working a full-time internship 10 hours a day and then would be exhausted by the time I got home to study at night. I ended up only scoring a 155 on the actual LSAT, which was 5 points below my average. I just didn't have the time or the dedication at that point.

It is now 2 years later and I want to retake in June of 2012. I've been working as a paralegal at a Wall Street firm since I graduated in 2010 and I see the LSAT now as an investment in my career, not just the next step. I'm considering taking TestMasters in March, but starting to study again after the holidays for the June test. Is it realistic to shoot for a score of 165 on the June test?
I'm not sure about test masters, but Velocity LSAT is really good, i just started the system a few days ago, and am very happy so far.

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:16 pm
by Tiago Splitter
I took the test in October of 2010 with minimal studying, then took Testmasters this spring and bumped up 12 points between the Oct. 2010 score and the June 2011 score. You should study like crazy and expect to be able to push 170

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:18 pm
by Moomoo2u
I would say yes, definitely. You scored 5 points below your average which means you should at least be able to score a 160. You didnt study enough and underperformed, so with a little more studying you should improve. As someone else said aim higher than 10 points!

I underperformed my first test and studied hard for a couple of months and went up 5 points on my 2nd.

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:24 pm
by thelawschoolproject
Nope.

Re: Is going up 10 pts realistic?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:36 pm
by Redzo
Is it realistic?

I took the LSAT in February 2009 and scored a 164. I took the LSAT again in October of 2010 and scored a 175.


Whether or not it is realistic depends a lot on what is costing you points in the first place. In my case, I just hadn't mastered the logic games, and after some solid practice, I was able to earn a lot of those points that I was losing the first time around.