Top Law Schools

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to retake the LSAT a third time if you only expected to increase your score 2-4 points. I am considering retaking in December if it will help my chances of getting into a good school. In June I had a PT average around 169/170, but came up short on test day due to a typical -9 in LG (edit for clarity: in PT i was around -4/-5 ). If I boosted my score in December , would schools mainly dismiss my score increase due to it being my third test attempt, or would it make a significant difference in my application? Thanks for any insight!

Youre typical LG score is -9? I would be chomping at the bit to retake, and shoot for 170+. You can probably get your LG to at least -3/-2 everytime, if not -0.

msuz wrote:Youre typical LG score is -9? I would be chomping at the bit to retake, and shoot for 170+. You can probably get your LG to at least -3/-2 everytime, if not -0.

Note: I agree with this, but I'd like to add, DO NOT retake until you have your LG under control. How have you studied in the past?

msuz wrote:Youre typical LG score is -9? I would be chomping at the bit to retake, and shoot for 170+. You can probably get your LG to at least -3/-2 everytime, if not -0.

I have been trying for almost half a year to get it down, but for some reason I have some sort mental block on the LG section. If I retake I will still focus on improving my LG performance , but I am not expecting any major breakthrough. That is why I am wondering if only a 2-4 point increase would warrant a retake in my case.

Edit: also, the -9 is typical of my two administered LSAT tests. In practice conditions (where I had a proctored test administered in a classroom) I was able to get it down to around -4 or 5.

Edit 2: In the past I have studied by doing nearly every logic game, and looking at explanations for them afterwards. I took a prep course back last spring. Right now I have printed out 3 copies of every game from the 30s and 52-now to work on until December.

Can'texplainthat wrote:I have been trying for almost half a year to get it down, but for some reason I have some sort mental block on the LG section. If I retake I will still focus on improving my LG performance , but I am not expecting any major breakthrough. That is why I am wondering if only a 2-4 point increase would warrant a retake in my case.

crumpetsandtea wrote:DO NOT retake until you have your LG under control. How have you studied in the past?

Have you been through the Manhattan and Powerscore LG Bible, and drilled LG Qs by type? Seriously, I by no means mastered LG before I took the Oct LSAT, but I was consistently getting between -4 and -2 at least on all my PTs. Even though I completely bombed the Oct LG section, I bet I only got -6 or -7 at the very worst. And all I did was one run-through of Powerscore's book, never drilling Q types - Im sure if I spent another month on it and did it right I could be consistently getting -0 to -1.

IMO, LG is like algebra or calculus, it looks foreign and impossible if you dont understand it, but its completely learnable and becomes easy, intuitive, and almost fun if you learn it right. And I truly believe that if you can score that well on the other sections than you are capable of mastering LG.

Did you consider hiring a tutor? The logic games section is the most learnable of any other section. Ideally you should go into the LG section armed with a set of techniques that will allow you to easily and relatively disentangle most games they throw at you. I'd say master the LGs and take it again.

I have gone through all the games by type, but I am going to give it another attempt for the December LSAT administration. If I fail to make a breakthrough will that minor increase help much in this cycle?

Retake.

What's your breakdown of missed questions per section?

If your average is -9 on LG, that means you're doing well on LR and RC.

I would advise you to drill the hell out of LG, trying different methods. Also, make sure you get your LR to -2 per section consistently.

Check out: http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/. He has great LG strategies, especially for Pure Sequencing.

I took the LSAT twice. Really hard LG games the first time, -12. The 2nd LSAT had easy LG, -6. So I actually blow at LGs, but focused insanely on LR, went -2 and -3.

Make sure you check out Cambridge LR by type - those are amazing!!!!

You might get lucky and get an LSAT with an easy LG section and tough LR. Or you might get a tough LG with an easy LR and RC. Just depends. Either way, if you prepare the way I mentioned above, you'll be in good shape for either scenario.