When to take the LSAT? Forum

[ricekrispies]

Hey all. I am currently a Junior in Undergrad and have been lurking on this forum for a couple days now. I have been seriously going back and forth when it comes to possibly attending law school (the debt and risk of unemployment is frightening, but as far as I can tell, going to a T14 mostly mitigates the risk of unemployment). One question I haven't found answered, though, is when I should take the LSAT? Should I take it in June 2013 before my Senior year of Undergrad? I was thinking about taking it in February 2013 to experience it and not necessarily think of it as my main performance (apparently most schools don't accept February LSAT's?). Is there a specific time when taking it is best?

[NoodleyOne]

Don't waste a take in feb if you're not ready. Prepare for June, and you can retKe in oct and dec if you need to.

[M458]

I wish I had taken it in June; I think it's the best time to take it. If you score well, you can get your apps in REALLY early, and if not, you can at least retake in October and get them in right away in early November.

[boblawlob]

Sign up for whenever you want to take it (preferably June at this point).

Set a target score that you would be happy with.

Don't take the test until you hit that score +/- 3 in practice.

DON'T.

[ricekrispies]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. The score that I am going to be comfortable with getting is a 175 or higher. I am very smart with an incredible memory (not bragging, just fact) but slacked off my first two years of college (Undergrad just isn't very...challenging. It doesn't stimulate my mind enough for me to actually want to put forth effort) and am sitting right now with a 3.2 GPA.

I just took the practice test from the LSAC website and scored a ~163 (could have graded it wrong, but it should be around there) without preparation. I figure by the time June comes I should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently. Thanks for the tip!

[ranga93]

I definitely agree with the above comments. Although an initial diagnostic really doesn't mean much in the grand scope of things, it does highlight your initial weaknesses and strengths. Study that carefully, the LSAT is all about converting your weaknesses into your strengths - get a book, study strategies, practice with those strategies, highlight mistakes, turn those into strengths, and then you should be well on your way to a 180 in June. Best of luck

[d0rklord]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. The score that I am going to be comfortable with getting is a 175 or higher. I am very smart with an incredible memory (not bragging, just fact) but slacked off my first two years of college (Undergrad just isn't very...challenging. It doesn't stimulate my mind enough for me to actually want to put forth effort) and am sitting right now with a 3.2 GPA.

I just took the practice test from the LSAC website and scored a ~163 (could have graded it wrong, but it should be around there) without preparation. I figure by the time June comes I should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently. Thanks for the tip!

Memorization doesn't mean shit on the LSAT, no offense.

Also, was that PT that you got a 163 on under timed conditions? Otherwise, it's meaningless...

If you're applying next year, take June.

[ricekrispies]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. The score that I am going to be comfortable with getting is a 175 or higher. I am very smart with an incredible memory (not bragging, just fact) but slacked off my first two years of college (Undergrad just isn't very...challenging. It doesn't stimulate my mind enough for me to actually want to put forth effort) and am sitting right now with a 3.2 GPA.

I just took the practice test from the LSAC website and scored a ~163 (could have graded it wrong, but it should be around there) without preparation. I figure by the time June comes I should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently. Thanks for the tip!

Memorization doesn't mean shit on the LSAT, no offense.

Also, was that PT that you got a 163 on under timed conditions? Otherwise, it's meaningless...

If you're applying next year, take June.

None taken. Yep, under timed conditions. I will be applying for 2014.

[MT Cicero]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. The score that I am going to be comfortable with getting is a 175 or higher. I am very smart with an incredible memory (not bragging, just fact) but slacked off my first two years of college (Undergrad just isn't very...challenging. It doesn't stimulate my mind enough for me to actually want to put forth effort) and am sitting right now with a 3.2 GPA.

I just took the practice test from the LSAC website and scored a ~163 (could have graded it wrong, but it should be around there) without preparation. I figure by the time June comes I should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently. Thanks for the tip!

I hadn't even seen an LSAT question prior to taking a practice test in mid-ish September. I scored a 160 (with a 4-year-old tugging on me every other section). So, fairly similar starting position. I consider myself to be pretty damn smart as well. Let me give you some advice: stay as mentally humble and hungry as you can in your preparation. From early October to the December LSAT (admittedly crunched prep time), I used a truncated version of pithypike's guide on this site. All of my practice tests were taken under strict conditions (actual answer sheet, non-mechanical pencil, analog watch, adherence to exact time). Of the 16 practice tests I took, I scored 170+ on the last 11. Of those, I only scored 175+ 3 times (175,177,178). Usually, 1-3 careless mistakes derailed my 175+ on the others. Even with all that, I may have missed 1-2 on LG on test day (this is after doing every LG on all the PTs until I was a -0 in 98% of games in under 7:30).

I'm telling you this not to convince you to temper your expectations, but to realize that "should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently" isn't easy or even moderately difficult. It's damn tough. Start grinding!

[ricekrispies]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. The score that I am going to be comfortable with getting is a 175 or higher. I am very smart with an incredible memory (not bragging, just fact) but slacked off my first two years of college (Undergrad just isn't very...challenging. It doesn't stimulate my mind enough for me to actually want to put forth effort) and am sitting right now with a 3.2 GPA.

I just took the practice test from the LSAC website and scored a ~163 (could have graded it wrong, but it should be around there) without preparation. I figure by the time June comes I should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently. Thanks for the tip!

I hadn't even seen an LSAT question prior to taking a practice test in mid-ish September. I scored a 160 (with a 4-year-old tugging on me every other section). So, fairly similar starting position. I consider myself to be pretty damn smart as well. Let me give you some advice: stay as mentally humble and hungry as you can in your preparation. From early October to the December LSAT (admittedly crunched prep time), I used a truncated version of pithypike's guide on this site. All of my practice tests were taken under strict conditions (actual answer sheet, non-mechanical pencil, analog watch, adherence to exact time). Of the 16 practice tests I took, I scored 170+ on the last 11. Of those, I only scored 175+ 3 times (175,177,178). Usually, 1-3 careless mistakes derailed my 175+ on the others. Even with all that, I may have missed 1-2 on LG on test day (this is after doing every LG on all the PTs until I was a -0 in 98% of games in under 7:30).

I'm telling you this not to convince you to temper your expectations, but to realize that "should be hitting 175+ pretty consistently" isn't easy or even moderately difficult. It's damn tough. Start grinding!

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it. I ordered all my books so I am going to start the studying around Christmas/post-Christmas. Grind time is going to begin!