Third Take Advice Forum

[parneh]

So I took my first LSAT during the October 2013 administration and scored a 154. I was averaging around a 159-160 but absolutely froze during the exam. I took the October 2015 exam and took maybe 13 practice exams where I mostly got 161s but had a few mid 160s (164 and 165). On the real exam, I knew I didn't do so hot on the reading comp section, but had 3 LR sections which I thought went alright, and I knew I did well on the LG. I was correct in terms of RC and LG respectively, but I somehow bombed the LR. I ended up with a 157, which was lower then any of my practice exam scores. Should I still take the exam a third time in December? I am hoping to attend UCLA, and so am aiming for a 165+. I am not sure what to do because I don't know where I actually went wrong on the exam. Maybe burnout? Or subtle psychological factors I am unaware of?

[crumb cake]

Don't be discouraged. Figure out what went wrong and gear up for a retake. Be careful not to take it until you are ready since its your 3rd time -- that means probably aiming for next cycle. If you want a 165, don't retake until you are consistently scoring over 170+ at home. (As you realize, the score is likely to drop ~5 points on test day.)

[parneh]

Thanks! Actually I've already signed up for the December exam, and I do have a lot of time to devote to studying for it. But I guess as I am nearing test day I will decide what course of action to take. I'm not really willing to wait another year to apply, because ultimately there is no guarantee that I will get the score I want. I spent months taking a testmasters prep course and went to all the classes, did the homework, took like 13 practice tests, had some tutoring but get anywhere close to where I was scoring on the real exam. So to me devoting another year to this isn't worth it.

[crumb cake]

13 tests won't get you there. If you're serious about getting a good score, first learn how to approach each section and problem type. Then drill and refine. Then try to go through the most recent ~50 tests more than once. Keep your standards high.

[Doctor Yamata]

I'm also in a similar situation. I have always averaged around 164 or 165 on practice tests, but have done significantly worse on my two actual tests. I got a 158 in June and managed to do 1 point worse this October and got a 157. Logical Reasoning is where I see a big difference between my practice test scores and my test day scores. For some reason my thought process isn't as smooth on test day and I also think I've gotten slightly unlucky. If anyone has any advice on making the test slow down on test day I would love to hear it because on test day it just seems like I'm pressing to answer questions quickly and it's killing my accuracy. I'm retaking in December and in the meantime I'm going to focus on Logic Games because I haven't seen a discrepancy between my PTs and the actual test in that section.