Just took first "cold diagnostic"... Forum

[lt. archie hicox]

Hello friends,

I took my first timed LSAT practice exam this morning and saw that I scored a 149 on it. I took the test from the book "Next 10 actual LSAT Tests" (Test 29 I believe from 1999). Yes, I am aware of the LSAT change and how old the test was, but I was told to "get used" to the basic structure of the test and then build my way up to the newer tests as per recommendation from a friend. This also happened to be my first time ever even looking at the LSAT as well since I had no prior knowledge of the format and material.

I had two big problem areas: First, I found myself struggling with my pacing and timing since its been 4-5 years since I had to do a standardized test. With this I found on 3 of the sections I didn't get to finish the section at all and those were major lost opportunities for points. Second problem stemmed from the logic puzzles section. With the allotted time I was only able to answer 7/24 of them -_- but I got all 7 questions answered correctly so its just a matter of timing and pacing as well.

I am currently a incoming college senior and planning to take the LSAT next Spring/Summer 2015 (ideally June). I am hoping to get in a few years of work experience since I am a business student and then apply afterwards so I won't be applying for the 2016 cycle but rather a few cycles afterwards so I am hoping preparing ahead of time this early will help me a lot.

With this I had some questions:

- Now that I have taken a practice test, what should my plan be now? I initially planned on taking one test a week and try to get used to the test and the pacing to do better on the comprehension portions as far as timing goes. I am also in the process of buying the LSAT bibles if that helps.

- What do you recommend I do to do well on the pacing especially on Logic Puzzles section since that hurt me the most. Is it also difficult to improve on this section?

- How bad of a start is 149? Will it be impossible to reach mid-high 160s? low 170s maybe?

Realistically I am hoping to get a good enough LSAT score to get into ideally Northwestern but also NYU, Penn, and long stretch UChicago. I have a 3.5 GPA from a Public Ivy so it'd be nice if I could get a LSAT score range for the schools mentioned above to have a good shot along with my GPA so I can have a goal to reach towards.

I appreciate any feedback, suggestions, guidance, etc.

Thank you!

[ntx]

I scored about the same on my cold diagnostic.

I read through the Manhattan Prep Books (LR/AR)/Next 10 Actual LSATs & The LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim.

I have recently seen my score jump significantly on Preptests (I have not taken the actual test yet). Like you, I had never seen the LSAT before; I found myself lacking confidence when taking Preptests. I think, at this point, it's all about curbing anxiety and staying consistent.

One thing that I will say is that I had absolutely no idea why I selected any of my answers on my Preptests. I am now able to justify just about every answer -- or at least understand why something is wrong after a few weeks of intensive studying (5 or so hours a day -- usually spread out).

I used Mike Kim's schedule on his LSAT trainer website.

Don't be discouraged. There's no 'ceiling' for what you can score on the LSAT. Prepare, review incorrect answers & try to find a way to enjoy the experience. It's not as horrifying after a few weeks of studying.