Worthiness of waiting until October? Forum

[patfeeney]

I decided to drop out of the June test and see if I can possibly raise my PT average score to 173-175 by October.

Here's my question: What is the likelihood of this happening?

My diagnostic test back in January yielded a 158. My highest score since has been a 170, although my average is between 164-165.
I studied throughout the Spring semester (college junior here), but between juggling classes and part-time work I rarely had a chance to study more than 5-6 hours a week. Attempting to get my score up at the last minute, I burnt out quickly during summer vacation and have made little to no progress over the past two or three weeks.

With two full months of which I'll have almost nothing to do other than study for LSATs, is it likely I could raise my score this substantially by October, even while juggling application materials? I don't think it it possible for me to wait through this admissions cycle for the next one, so my options are to take the test on Monday or in October. Since Monday is ruled out, October is likely my only option.

Is it wise to drop the June test, knowing I'll only have another two months to affectively study for a pseudo-retake? Would I be able to raise my score substantially to justify losing the $160 I've already paid?

[magickware]

If you have a solid understanding of what your issues are and a solid plan on attacking said issues, you can raise your score from a 164 to 175+ within a month.

The problem is in the execution and actually knowing what your issues are.

How have you studied thus far? What is your average score on all three sections? If your LG is an average of -0, and you're still getting 164-165, then you're going to be in for the long haul. If you're getting a 164 with issues with LG, then getting up to 170 should be easy.

[jingosaur]

3 points on the LSAT can equal $100,000 in scholarship money, so don't even worry about the $160.

As far as improving goes, it depends more on how well you study rather than how much you study. What are you using to study? For my first test, I only used Princeton Review and Preptests and was PTing in the 168 to 172 range. For the retake, I also got the LR Bible and Manhattan RC along with a bunch of materials that I used to study for the GMAT. Now I'm PTing between 173 and 178. For people in the mid 160s range, the average person improves 2 points on a retake, but if you find a fundamental flaw in your study pattern, you can boost your score by much more than that.

[patfeeney]

If you have a solid understanding of what your issues are and a solid plan on attacking said issues, you can raise your score from a 164 to 175+ within a month.

The problem is in the execution and actually knowing what your issues are.

How have you studied thus far? What is your average score on all three sections? If your LG is an average of -0, and you're still getting 164-165, then you're going to be in for the long haul. If you're getting a 164 with issues with LG, then getting up to 170 should be easy.

Depends. All of my section scores are a little shaky. LG averages between -2 and -4. For several weeks, LR was going between -2 and -5, but I've had some spats of significant drops in the past few weeks.

Perhaps switching to Manhattan's RC strategy last week (very foolish) may have contributed, but my RC scores have also dropped, from an average of -4 to -8.

I expect to be in it for the long haul, although I have gotten a 170 before.

[magickware]

What books have you used to study with?

Is that LR per section? If so, what are the question types that you have the most trouble with, and why?
Are the LG errors caused because you misread the rules? Didn't diagram properly? Or are they because you just rushed through the questions and made errors?

See, all these things and a million more are what you have to consider. Don't go about just solving hundreds of questions. Figure out exactly what's going wrong and find a way to solve it.

[Dog]

3 points on the LSAT can equal $100,000 in scholarship money, so don't even worry about the $160.

lol damn you it's this kind of thinking that makes me think I should be waiting even though I'm scoring in the same range as you (172 to 178 or so). Definitely going to take it now though, as I don't think scoring a 170-172 is really going to hurt my app much if I end up retaking and getting higher anyways. It's just one more chance at hitting my goal.

And to the guy who made the thread I think waiting definitely could be worth it. You can definitely get both your average and your ceiling up higher in that time.