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I need some advice... so ive been studying for the LSAT for a little over a year now..and I have been PT-ing near the 170s but for my first real exam, I got a 163 and then for this sept exam..i got a 160...so I'm not really sure what is going on for such a discrepancy between my PTs and the real exam. I know the September test was just really hard and I've been trying to deal with personal things like anxiety and panic attacks that **may** have affected my score. But… I’m thinking that I am just really not scoring in that range to begin with at this point and want to give myself time to start over and re-teach myself everything.

With that being said…when do people suggest that I take my third try? I currently work as a paralegal for Big Law and my hours are decent so I can study at night… I just don’t know how much time I should give myself to re-teach and re-study so I don’t also mess up my third and final try….

any advice would help!

On the Sept test, I got owned by LR, and LG. I missed 10 LR in one section and that literally has never happened to me before I even started prepping... and well the virus game can suck my d pretty much. I miss -8 on RC usually, which is what happened on the test.

I also don't know if its worth it for a third try.. I would love to go to T-14..but Im AA so I feel like I have to score 170+ to get in at this point and idk if that's happening

Only you know what's best for you. Being a URM with a 163 can get you into some very good schools. What's your ultimate goal? If you're set on a particular market, then don't be discouraged by attending a lower ranked school that's in that area. You'll qualify for more scholarships, will be active (I presume) in your local bar association, and you'll be in great shape to start your career in 3+ years. If you have higher aspiration, and, would like to take less chances, retake and try for T8. i feel like you'll be admitted into a T14 as is though.

sorry, just to clarify, I'm Asian-American

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Maybe you havent done enough PTs or sections. In September, I scored below my average and I think this was the reason. I hadn't done enough PTs where I could withstand anything that caught me off-guard and just being 200% confident in my abilities. I thought I messed up RC when I actually annihilated it and then was nervous & messed up the last two sections. In my circumstance, I should have known that I had done just fine in RC and thus would have performed the last two sections at my normal ability. THis comes from the test being second nature and that happens by doing so many PTs where you can crush the test like its a walk in the park. I didn't. I Scored 8 PTs well spread and increasing in score in the 170s. So what. Those all went smoothly. I didn't get thrown off by 2 hard passages starting out the RC section or an unfamiliar LG.

My schedule was extremely intense this summer and fall so I just couldn't get done as much as I wanted. Im taking my time now so thats not the case. I think the key is to have a PT average combined with sufficient quantity that makes your average a confident one.

I'm not taking Dec and delaying a cycle to make sure I can get in 10X the amount of prep I think I need so confidence is there and my PT avg isnt just a high one, but there is enough time put in to verify that it is a true average of mine and representative of what I can score. Noone just scores several "lucky" scores in the 170s. That means you have potential, but if its only some of the time this means that you can score that when things go perfectly your way. Now you gotta prep for when things dont.

Maybe you experienced something similar? BEst of Luck. Stick it out. Dont rush your third take and be true to yourself.

I took PT 30-76 twice and was scoring with a consistent 172 for a couple of months
idk if its possible for me to have lied to myself all those times, which is why I was confused by my score

lawschoolgirl312 wrote:I took PT 30-76 twice and was scoring with a consistent 172 for a couple of months
idk if its possible for me to have lied to myself all those times, which is why I was confused by my score

September was a weird test, that might explain the drop in score. The answer when to take the third try is when you are ready, when you feel you know every little pattern game/difficult LR/RC question will pose no threat is when I would go again.

lawschoolgirl312 wrote:I took PT 30-76 twice and was scoring with a consistent 172 for a couple of months
idk if its possible for me to have lied to myself all those times, which is why I was confused by my score

Were you consistently getting 172 on your first attempt on those PTs? Or did you get 172 on your second attempts? Retaking PTs is fine, but the scores you get on your retakes aren't really reliable.

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