Opinions Welcome Forum

[pancakes3]

Ok, not to get pedantic on the 99th percentile figure but a 162 cold is still really freaking good. OP should settle for nothing less than PTing at 170+.

OP, study hard for the LSATs. Look at the LSAT prep forum to see what you need to be doing. It's very mechanical and straightforward as long as you put in the work. Harvard is yours for the taking.

[RareExports]

Echoing the advice of everyone else--study hard for the LSAT and don't ED or settle.

[Hikikomorist]

162 is 99th percentile of timed practice tests for a first time taker. You did better than 90% of people who take the thing after studying, some of those for a really long time.

Anything less than 174 on the real thing and you're just admitting that you don't want to put in the work.

Take the advice here, study till you're comfortable at the 175 level, then come to Harvard or go to CCN for free.

Source? That seems rather incredible.

No source, but I stand by it- I've taught several hundred students (I know, self selection), and the highest first time PT I ever saw was 159. That guy was to 175 literally three weeks later, after he was shown how to diagram games. 162 is incredible. I mean, most people miss at least 10-12 on LG alone their first time- that doesn't leave very many misses for the other 3 sections.

This has to be BS. My diagnostic was a 165.

I taught only one class (13 students) and had 3 with diagnostics above 162.

This seems more reasonable. My own diagnostic, taken cold, was 169, and this was matched by another guy I knew. I've also heard of people scoring 175 in their first exposure to the LSAT.

[Mack.Hambleton]

162 on the actual test is around the 86th percentile, so it is plausible that 162 would be near the upper range of no prep diagnostics

[Pneumonia]

I asked in the BP Instructor thread. Hopefully they can give an answer!

[Hikikomorist]

162 on the actual test is around the 86th percentile, so it is plausible that 162 would be near the upper range of no prep diagnostics

If I had to make a guess, I'd say the top percentile falls somewhere in the 165-167 range.

[jetsfan1]

OP. Go start prepping like crazy for the LSAT. Like right now. You up that score even just 5 points, and you are golden (do not settle for that when prepping though. Your goal is a 180). Take this as seriously as you take football. I've graduated, but played D1 as well. I treat PTs exactly like I treated game day in college (all the way down to the same music haha). Every other day is practice, and your "film" is reviewing the questions you did in practice that day. Take it just as seriously, because if anything is as important as football, its the LSAT.

Anyway, side note: Is football really that good a soft? Was under the impression it was meh.

[Blueprint Ben]

I asked in the BP Instructor thread. Hopefully they can give an answer!

Hey guys,

It turns out that we do have data on first diagnostic tests for BP students, but it would take a really long time to access and parse out, since it's tied into our score increase study, which was conducted by a third party. I'll keep asking around and let you all know if I get my hands on it.

But I think the obvious answer for this thread is that a 162 is a very high diagnostic, and the OP would be silly to settle for anything less than a 170. It really won't take that much work to get there. People on these forums (Pneumonia and myself included) have made close to 30 point increases from our first diagnostic. An 8 point jump is not a crazy ambitious goal, and you (OP) owe it to yourself to aim at least that high.

[Blueprint Ben]

Bumping because I got the data for BP students taking their first in-class proctored exam. Numbers are from the Spring 2014 enrollment (just first-time students, not retakers).

- The average score for PE1 was 147.
- The median score for PE1 was 147.
- The mode score for PE1 was 152.
- The 80th percentile score was a 155.
- The 90th percentile score was a 160.
- The 95th percentile score was a 163.
- The 99th percentile score was a 167.

Obviously this sample doesn't represent the entire test taking population, and it might be slightly skewed by students having studied prior to taking the course. Also, presumably the LSAT "naturals" of the world don't tend to enroll in courses. Still interesting, though.

[pancakes3]

99th at 167 makes me feel woefully inadequate.

[Pneumonia]

Nice! Thanks for this!

So OP, looks like I overstated your awesomeness. You're still awesome though and will still do really well. Don't let our numerical debate distract you.

[js1663]

Nice! Thanks for this!

So OP, looks like I overstated your awesomeness. You're still awesome though and will still do really well. Don't let our numerical debate distract you.

Not necessarily - as the BP post stated, they don't know if those people ever looked at or took a practice before, this is just their first blue print test which, while the best indicator we have, is probably skewed higher than the actual numbers are. Those who take the time for a BP Class are likely committed to studying and are probably more likely to take a look at an LSAT prior to the class. I know for myself my score jumped in one day by 7 points from my diagnostic to my second test without any studying simply because I was now familiar with the test, and that may be represented in the blueprint numbers too. Obviously no way to know for sure but i'd imagine it's skewing the numbers and your estimate of a 162 as crazy good is still pretty spot on.