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I was just wondering if anyone could give me a ball park figure for what I should expect to score on the LSAT given the score of my practice LSAT. I'm only a sophomore in college, but Kaplan offered a practice test at my school and I took it and got a 163 without studying. Assuming that I were to study for a few months, how much should I expect my score to increase? My goal is to get a 176, but I'd be happy with anything above a 170. Should I expect to score this high after studying?

yes. that is a great score to start the studying process

If you had a 163 diagnostic, you can score 170s. At the same time, don't rest on that score. Getting 170+ is extremely rare, and getting 172+ is obviously incredibly rare. It takes a lot of effort, but remember that each point roughly corresponds to a 10,000k increase in scholly/unidentifiable substantial increase in chances at higher schools.

American_in_China wrote:If you had a 163 diagnostic, you can score 170s. At the same time, don't rest on that score. Getting 170+ is extremely rare, and getting 172+ is obviously incredibly rare. It takes a lot of effort, but remember that each point roughly corresponds to a 10,000k increase in scholly/unidentifiable substantial increase in chances at higher schools.

Aye, this. I went from a 152 diagnostic to a 171 on the October test, so it's definitely possible to make a large increase, but at the same time you need to study hard to avoid regressing or failing to meet your goals.

iamrobk wrote:

American_in_China wrote:If you had a 163 diagnostic, you can score 170s. At the same time, don't rest on that score. Getting 170+ is extremely rare, and getting 172+ is obviously incredibly rare. It takes a lot of effort, but remember that each point roughly corresponds to a 10,000k increase in scholly/unidentifiable substantial increase in chances at higher schools.

Aye, this. I went from a 152 diagnostic to a 171 on the October test, so it's definitely possible to make a large increase, but at the same time you need to study hard to avoid regressing or failing to meet your goals.

I think you can do it with a few months and 4 hours of studying a day. Don't shoot for the 176, though. If you do, you'll likely miss. Go for a perfect score. With luck, you'll get it. If not, you'll still be fine.

Had a diagnostic in the 140s and hit a 166 on the real thing. If I had a few extra months, I think I could have hit my PT high of 170. You can do it, just don't settle.

scotth724 wrote:I was just wondering if anyone could give me a ball park figure for what I should expect to score on the LSAT given the score of my practice LSAT. I'm only a sophomore in college, but Kaplan offered a practice test at my school and I took it and got a 163 without studying. Assuming that I were to study for a few months, how much should I expect my score to increase? My goal is to get a 176, but I'd be happy with anything above a 170. Should I expect to score this high after studying?

As long as you take it seriously ad don't let your high diagnostic make you lazy, it looks like with some hard work you might be able to do that.

I went from a 164 diagnostic to regular 179s on practice tests, so it's definitely possible. unfortunately, i had the reading comp from hell and ended up with a 173 on test day, but that's another story.

Ok thanks everyone for the advice! I definitely plan on dedicating a few months to studying and not settling with the score I got. I guess for me being a little bit younger, I just wanted to see how realistic it is at this point for me to be considering going to a t14 when clearly I'm not taking the real LSAT for a while and I won't have a complete GPA for a couple of years.

scotth724 wrote:Ok thanks everyone for the advice! I definitely plan on dedicating a few months to studying and not settling with the score I got. I guess for me being a little bit younger, I just wanted to see how realistic it is at this point for me to be considering going to a t14 when clearly I'm not taking the real LSAT for a while and I won't have a complete GPA for a couple of years.

Completely forget about it and focus on your GPA right now. You obviously have the ability to score in the mid 170s. Worry about it when it matters, and until then get straight As. It took me <5 months of pretty serious study to go from a 159 diagnostic to a 176. No amount of time can fix a GPA once you graduate.

Kabuo wrote:

scotth724 wrote:Ok thanks everyone for the advice! I definitely plan on dedicating a few months to studying and not settling with the score I got. I guess for me being a little bit younger, I just wanted to see how realistic it is at this point for me to be considering going to a t14 when clearly I'm not taking the real LSAT for a while and I won't have a complete GPA for a couple of years.

Completely forget about it and focus on your GPA right now. You obviously have the ability to score in the mid 170s. Worry about it when it matters, and until then get straight As. It took me <5 months of pretty serious study to go from a 159 diagnostic to a 176. No amount of time can fix a GPA once you graduate.

True, but don't wait until the last min either. Get it out of the way when you think you have the most time. He/she's right, though. Keep that GPA as high as possible.

I started with a 164 and ended up with a 171 after only about 2 months of (half-assed) studying, so you are in great shape starting with a 163 and plenty of time.

However, the relationship between practice test scores and your real score also depends on how you test. If you have problems with test anxiety, it can destroy you on the real thing. Most people score slightly (maybe 1-3 pts?) below their PT average, and some people with really bad test anxiety can completely bomb it for no other reason than nerves. The lucky few of us who don't have anxiety issues can pretty much use PTs to predict a real score.

snehpets wrote:I went from a 164 diagnostic to regular 179s on practice tests, so it's definitely possible. unfortunately, i had the reading comp from hell and ended up with a 173 on test day, but that's another story.

was it the june 2011 test?

rinkrat19 wrote:I started with a 164 and ended up with a 171 after only about 2 months of (half-assed) studying, so you are in great shape starting with a 163 and plenty of time.

However, the relationship between practice test scores and your real score also depends on how you test. If you have problems with test anxiety, it can destroy you on the real thing. Most people score slightly (maybe 1-3 pts?) below their PT average, and some people with really bad test anxiety can completely bomb it for no other reason than nerves. The lucky few of us who don't have anxiety issues can pretty much use PTs to predict a real score.

Ok thanks that's really helpful to know. I usually don't get anxious on tests, so hopefully there wouldn't be too much of a difference.

I never took a diag, but I think it was around 160. I scored a 176, but that was after a pair of 166s and a 4 months of studying for the last one

From reading around on the same type of question I came to conclude that it really just depends on the person. The average result is that with practice you score can certainly improve its just a matter of how much. I would say a 176 is within reach for sure but hey I haven't even taken a real LSAT myself so take this with a grain of salt.

I got a 164 on my first diagnostic test and ended up with a 178 on the real thing. I took a course (and didn't take a diagnostic before shelling out the money for a course), but if I had known my diagnostic score would be so high, I would've just gotten the PowerScore Bibles and studied from those.

Because you already have a grasp of the concepts, it shouldn't be hard to refine your understanding of them without an instructor's help. However, as others have mentioned, don't let your high initial score fool you into thinking you can slack off. You're still going to need to work hard to score in the 170s.

159>173 actual...ur in great shape

Thanks guys! And I guess this is kind of unrelated but since I'm not going to law school until 2014, is the legal market still projected to be getting better at that point? I hope to go to a T14 school, so I'm just curious since this is gonna cost quite a lot of money.

scotth724 wrote:Thanks guys! And I guess this is kind of unrelated but since I'm not going to law school until 2014, is the legal market still projected to be getting better at that point? I hope to go to a T14 school, so I'm just curious since this is gonna cost quite a lot of money.

From what I've read, things have been getting a bit better over the past year and a half or so, but we'll see. Who knows what'll happen to the economy though...

165-177.

If you take a course, take an advanced course so you avoid all the 140ers. Your needs are vastly different from their needs in your preparatory process.

the_phoenix612 wrote:165-177.

If you take a course, take an advanced course so you avoid all the 140ers. Your needs are vastly different from their needs in your preparatory process.

IF you take a course... I think you might be better off with self study. Unless you're doing a 1-on-1 or some sort of small group program, it's a waste of cash.

no one who diags in the 160s needs a course unless they are incredibly unmotivated

I'm not planning on taking a course, I'll be fine with studying myself. I'm planning on starting to study in January for the June test so I think I'll be fine.

JamMasterJ wrote:no one who diags in the 160s needs a course unless they are incredibly unmotivated

diag at 166, final lsat (oct 2011) 179.

IMO, I think a private tutor -- while expensive -- can be valuable if used correctly. I don't really regret not getting one, but there were times when I didn't understand a particular question (not question type, just some stupid random questions that would trip me up) and I know having a tutor would have been helpful.

163 diag, with hard work (I studied about 20 hours a week for 3.5 months) will leave you where you want to be. Use TLS as a resource -- the vast majority of people on this site are tremendously helpful.