Sad. Forum

[trqdor]

Absolutely devastated. Got a 163 for June 2015… Was averaging about a 171 prior to the test. I’m not trying to say those of you who scored a 163 shouldn’t be proud of yourself; a 163 in itself is not so bad. But what upsets me most about this score is that I feel like I did everything I possibly could have done to prepare. I took the LSAT for the first time June 2014 and was so scarred by the experience that I cancelled the score and vowed to be 100% prepared this time around. I took a step back from my social life, dedicated weekends to practice tests and review (I work full time), drilled at least 3-4 times during the week after work/before sleep, made spreadsheets tracking my progress and weaknesses, maintained good health/exercise/nutrition/sleep habits, and even refrained from drinking because I didn’t want anything to hinder my mental performance. I took two weeks of vacation time off work so I could get myself in rhythm and set myself up for success. Test center was also perfect. As far as I can tell, there is no other factor/excuse that contributed to my dip in performance. I just didn’t perform. Yet, I thought I did pretty well relative to my average and I left the test center with a hop in my step. This is the most discouraging thing I’ve dealt with in the past year. To have tried so hard, sacrificed so much, and begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel, just to walk away with a score that I can’t even apply to schools with really sucks.

I was prepared for the possibility of a retake… but I thought I would be retaking for the sake of earning more scholarship money. Now it looks like I’m retaking just to get into school. If anyone else has a similar story and/or words of encouragement/advice moving forward, I'd love to hear about it.

[WhyYaCryin]

I'm in the exact same situation. I was consistently hitting low 170s and occasionally high 160s on my last several practice tests. Nerves kept me up the night before the test (didn't fall asleep til 6 am) and I really underperformed. I did decent on LR1 LR2 and LG missing 7 combined but -14 in RC ALONE! so I also finished with a 163. Part of it was the lack of sleep but RC was also my weakest section when studying. Still I never expected to do that poorly. Missing over half the questions... That said, I know that if I concentrate primarily on that for the next couple months, I should be alright.

That's the silver lining here for you and me both. I'm not sure what your score breakdown is like but if there is a section you did poorly on, try to improve that. If it was uniform across the board, then perhaps nerves played a factor or even just a couple passages/games that didn't click well for you. Most law schools won't look too negatively at a 3rd take. And although it's optimal to apply before the October results come in, it's still early if you have your apps in order when the results come in.

Obviously you're capable of hitting a good score. It's easy to be distraught by this (I still am) but it's not the end of the world. Here's to October. We got this!

[sudijajd]

I'm in the exact same situation. I was consistently hitting low 170s and occasionally high 160s on my last several practice tests. Nerves kept me up the night before the test (didn't fall asleep til 6 am) and I really underperformed. I did decent on LR1 LR2 and LG missing 7 combined but -14 in RC ALONE! so I also finished with a 163. Part of it was the lack of sleep but RC was also my weakest section when studying. Still I never expected to do that poorly. Missing over half the questions... That said, I know that if I concentrate primarily on that for the next couple months, I should be alright.

That's the silver lining here for you and me both. I'm not sure what your score breakdown is like but if there is a section you did poorly on, try to improve that. If it was uniform across the board, then perhaps nerves played a factor or even just a couple passages/games that didn't click well for you. Most law schools won't look too negatively at a 3rd take. And although it's optimal to apply before the October results come in, it's still early if you have your apps in order when the results come in.

Obviously you're capable of hitting a good score. It's easy to be distraught by this (I still am) but it's not the end of the world. Here's to October. We got this!

I'm with the both of you - I was PTing in the low 170s and got a 159, which absolutely shocked me, considering I left the center feeling good. I took my exam in Munich, so I cannot see any details of my scoring sheet. I am considering asking for handscoring - do you have any insight into that? 159 is my lowest since I've started PTing, so it's devastating.

Also, how are you approaching the re-take? Are you re-taking exams? Looking into new material? I used the Bibles, so i am thinking of trying out the LSAT Trainer for a new perspective, but then again I am apprehensive since I've been PTing solidly.

[banjo]

Keep working at it guys. The LSAT is a lot of short term pain for a huge long term gain. I also had a low 160s score on my first take (and felt miserable) and clawed my way up to a high 170s score.

[trqdor]

I'm in the exact same situation. I was consistently hitting low 170s and occasionally high 160s on my last several practice tests. Nerves kept me up the night before the test (didn't fall asleep til 6 am) and I really underperformed. I did decent on LR1 LR2 and LG missing 7 combined but -14 in RC ALONE! so I also finished with a 163. Part of it was the lack of sleep but RC was also my weakest section when studying. Still I never expected to do that poorly. Missing over half the questions... That said, I know that if I concentrate primarily on that for the next couple months, I should be alright.

That's the silver lining here for you and me both. I'm not sure what your score breakdown is like but if there is a section you did poorly on, try to improve that. If it was uniform across the board, then perhaps nerves played a factor or even just a couple passages/games that didn't click well for you. Most law schools won't look too negatively at a 3rd take. And although it's optimal to apply before the October results come in, it's still early if you have your apps in order when the results come in.

Obviously you're capable of hitting a good score. It's easy to be distraught by this (I still am) but it's not the end of the world. Here's to October. We got this!

I'm with the both of you - I was PTing in the low 170s and got a 159, which absolutely shocked me, considering I left the center feeling good. I took my exam in Munich, so I cannot see any details of my scoring sheet. I am considering asking for handscoring - do you have any insight into that? 159 is my lowest since I've started PTing, so it's devastating.

Also, how are you approaching the re-take? Are you re-taking exams? Looking into new material? I used the Bibles, so i am thinking of trying out the LSAT Trainer for a new perspective, but then again I am apprehensive since I've been PTing solidly.

good to hear i'm not the only shithead. I underperformed a bit in LR, but nothing outside the realm of my PTs. RC is usually my weakest section and I've never ever been able to score better than -3 on it even during blind reviews. but this test was BAD... a whopping -10 on RC so I know how you feel. I flipped when I saw my score report.

as for the 159 - I can admit that I've scored that in PTs once or twice in preparation for this june. I don't know how handscoring works, but I think you gotta be real with yourself. If scoring a 159 is beyond reason based on your own assessment, then it may be worthwhile. for me personally, i know that if i have a bad day + bad luck, it's possible to score down there.

to prep for the next test, Im gonna focus 70% RC, 30% LR with occasional brush ups for LG. There are a ton of RC passages I haven't read from the earlier tests, and I want to test out new approaches since my method clearly is not working. I did the LSAT trainer in preparation for this past june. it's helpful, but I think if you already know how to take the test, it won't benefit you as much. The website does have 4-16 week schedules for drills and stuff which you may find helpful.

[trqdor]

Keep working at it guys. The LSAT is a lot of short term pain for a huge long term gain. I also had a low 160s score on my first take (and felt miserable) and clawed my way up to a high 170s score.

Any tips? Did you use a particular study method/guide to get the 170+?

[87mm]

Same boat. I wasnt testing as high as you guys but I definitely was shocked at my performance as well. Feeling a mix of "what did i do wrong in my prep" and the standard "oh i did bad because of X" as a defense mechanism. Most likely it was poor preparation, nerves, and bad luck (that I could have mitigated with better prep).

One thing that could contribute is the fact that I over stressed myself. Work fulltime, gym 3-5x a week and studying 2-3 hours on weekdays and 3-5 on weekends with basically no breaks. It really got to me after a while, although many of you did much more intense prep for longer.

I think for october I will do better prep by taking more breaks and having somewhat of an outlet to keep me sane. I will do my preptests smarter and focus on my RC. Hoping I'm not too rusty after this month off. Gonna go through all the cambridge packets and LSAT trainer (just the LR and maybe RC sections). Refresh games here n there but mostly focusing on RC practice and LR untimed.

(I too got -14 RC... normally I get between -4 and -8).

[unlicensedpotato]

1. Don't worry and keep at it. The LSAT sucks. I think this is the best response.

2. But, I also noticed that some or all of the people in this thread seemed to deviate substantially from their normal routine in the month or so leading up to the test. Healthier choices are awesome and everyone is better off doing that long-term. But, for me personally, I think it can be very disruptive and could lead to worse scores if you try messing with this stuff just before the test. Just something to consider.

[trqdor]

1. Don't worry and keep at it. The LSAT sucks. I think this is the best response.

2. But, I also noticed that some or all of the people in this thread seemed to deviate substantially from their normal routine in the month or so leading up to the test. Healthier choices are awesome and everyone is better off doing that long-term. But, for me personally, I think it can be very disruptive and could lead to worse scores if you try messing with this stuff just before the test. Just something to consider.

you know, you're absolutely right. I took the full two weeks of work off so I could focus more and get in a rhythm, but I was doing just fine managing all my daily tasks and studying (and scoring well). in fact, I saw a steady decline during those two weeks.. perhaps burnout, but I also shouldn't have been messing with something that wasn't broken.

[banjo]

Keep working at it guys. The LSAT is a lot of short term pain for a huge long term gain. I also had a low 160s score on my first take (and felt miserable) and clawed my way up to a high 170s score.

Any tips? Did you use a particular study method/guide to get the 170+?

I actually took a 2-month course (in my case it was TM, but I think Blueprint and Manhattan could work too). I felt too discouraged to do it on my own--the structure actually helped a lot. I also felt like I had built up some bad habits over time and needed to review the basics. Once the class started, I did every homework assignment (including extra work), attended every class, took every proctored exam, and devoted almost all of my time to LSAT practice. I'm someone who never went to class as an undergrad and still don't attend much class after two years in law school, so it was rare for me to be so actively engaged in a classroom.