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Hello everyone! (First post! yay! )

I've been preparing for the LSAT, mainly with the goal of taking the February 2013 LSAT. (I started somewhere during the middle of summer.) My first diagnostic PT, the June 2007, scored at a 162. I've worked through the PS LG Bible and the Manhattan RC book and am about halfway through the PS LR Bible. I've also done all the LG's and about half the RC passages from about the first 40 PT's.

My original plan was to finish the LR Bible and all the RC passages from about 1-40 between now and December, and meanwhile work on any of the LR types that I find to have particular trouble with. After that, I'd take the 20-30 most recent PT's until Test Day in February. (I was planning on winter break to give me lots of time.)

However, the other day I took one of those free proctored LSATs -- five section, Dec. 2008 (so PT 56, with experimental from another exam in the 2000's), just without the writing section at the end. I ended up scoring a 175 (-0 on LG, -1, -0, and -4 on the three LR's, and -2 on RC). The company rep, once she heard of my score, advised me to just take the December LSAT, saying that a higher score wouldn't mean too much of a difference anyway.

I'm looking to get into a top 5 school (my GPA won't be an issue), and plan on taking the LSAT only once. I'm now trying to decide whether I should quickly finish the LR Bible and do a bunch of PT's, then jump right into the December LSAT, or follow my original plan and finish more thorough preparation before taking the February administration. Any advice? Although I'd be very happy with a 175, I'm a bit concerned about whether that was just an anomaly for some reason.

Thanks a lot in advance!

I think you know the answer. Why would an extra two months be necessary if you just scored a 175? And there is still over a month until December.

I'd take it. You get to see more information than you would in Feb and there doesn't seem to be much reason to delay the test at this point.

CyanIdes Of March wrote:I'd take it. You get to see more information than you would in Feb and there doesn't seem to be much reason to delay the test at this point.

Just wondering, is there any benefit for the additional information if I plan to only take the LSAT once anyway?

BlueGiraffe wrote:

CyanIdes Of March wrote:I'd take it. You get to see more information than you would in Feb and there doesn't seem to be much reason to delay the test at this point.

Just wondering, is there any benefit for the additional information if I plan to only take the LSAT once anyway?

If you're aiming to do well, why wouldn't you want the comfort of knowing exactly where you lost points? I hated AP exams and the SAT in high school precisely because I was not able to see exactly where points were marked off. Knowing I would not be able to see the exam was a bit disconcerting when I studied and sat down for the test.

In the heat of the moment, things may not go as smoothly as you would hope. This does not necessarily mean your score will drop, but it likely means that you would be curious to know how you did in specific parts of the exam. Also, I found PT 56 to be an easier exam than some in the 60s and PT 59. I would take it in December and leave Feb open for a retake. It would not hurt you to do this.

BlueGiraffe wrote:

CyanIdes Of March wrote:I'd take it. You get to see more information than you would in Feb and there doesn't seem to be much reason to delay the test at this point.

Just wondering, is there any benefit for the additional information if I plan to only take the LSAT once anyway?

I don't know about you, but I might go a little mad if they just handed me back something below my PT average and I had no idea what or where it went wrong. Also, while you may plan to take it once, there's no reason to limit yourself arbitrarily. This is the most important test you'll ever take for several reasons, unless you have some extremely good reasons to only take once, be prepared for a retake.

Do a couple more PTs to verify your average and, if you're happy with it, just take it in December if you think you've peaked. No use drawing it out if you're at your prime.