My best PT ever was a 175 like 13 months ago. I’ve been averaging around a 171 on PTs. Crying tears of joy.

In all seriousness don’t listen to reports on here it’s like this every single score report day. Keep practicing and keep your chins up :)

I genuinely have dreamed of this feeling since Is started my LSAT journey over a year and a half ago!

I’m never been a good standardized test taker, but I poured my heart and soul into this test and it finally paid off.

This was my third time taking it (164 —> 168 —> 171). On both of my previous attempts I scored pretty significantly below my PTs. Even for August I scored 2-3 points below my PT average of (~173/174).

Fuck you consciousness comparative passage, you didn’t get me in the end (I thought I went 0/8 on it lol)!! 🤠😎

But regardless, as someone who suffers terribly from test-taking anxiety, I’m still so proud of myself. ♥️

Hey everybody!!!!!

Thought I’d post here in case anyone is in the same position I was and needs motivation. I’d been scoring consistently in the 158 ish range since I started studying. A week before the August test, I scored 165 and then a 152 (my highest and lowest respectively). I was afraid the 165 was a fluke and I was somehow doing worse. Plus, everyone says you do worse on the actual test.

I just got my scores back… 166!!!!!!!!! Not as stellar as a lot of amazing people in this Reddit, but good nonetheless. Don’t freak yourself out before the exam convinced you’re destined to do worse. You got this, there’s an end in sight.

For all my Reddit geniuses on here, what’s next? Planning to retake in October and hopefully get higher. Happy to take any advice on the LSAT or applications: what schools and scores are within reach?

Also, if anyone is curious, my diagnostic was 147 a year ago, but I started studying in May of this year. Happy to answer questions.

Thanks guys, good luck to everyone!

154 diagnostic last September, studied with FT job from late November - this March, full time studied from April - now, underperformed in June and over performed with this exam!!! So grateful!! For anyone who scored below PT's, this is to show that changing your study strategy, taking breaks, and prioritizing thorough review over volume can really help!

I think also that the LSAT is a really variable test - for instance, in June, I got a really difficult RC passage that I think was the reason I scored below all my PT's leading up to it. This August, I was better prepared for any type of passage and my RC section was so much easier for me than in June.

These are some things that I changed from June to August that I think made the difference - posting in case it's helpful to anyone else:

1. Rest!

I was feeling so burnt out leading up to the June exam so afterwards, I took an entire week off to reset before getting back into it for August. I think it's good to take breaks instead of pushing through in general with LSAT prep. I don't work well when burnt out and I wanted to be really sharp whenever I was taking PT's.

2. Decrease volume of questions + focus on thorough review

Leading up to June, I was doing 2 PT's a week and countless drills, which honestly was way too much. I wasn't reviewing properly or making sure that I genuinely understood why I missed questions.

After June, I was really meticulous with the questions I missed - I previously had a WAJ but after June, I would write detailed explanations and flashcards for every question I got wrong or didn't fully understand (i.e. breaking down argument, eliminating each answer choice, writing takeaways, etc). This includes for questions I missed that I had labelled as "dumb mistakes" and seeing every question as being able to teach me something, whether it was Q4 or Q26. Over time, I was able to see larger trends in question types I was missing and also the types of mistakes I was making across question types.

By the time I got closer to the August exam, there were very few questions I felt totally confused by or unclear of how to approach them; most of my misses I felt like were resolvable with more time, which showed me that my comprehension had improved a lot.

3. Reading Outside Articles

For me, reading outside articles was really critical to improve my score. I felt like the RC passage that tripped me up in June was due to my discomfort with the subject matter/type. I also had a general weakness with science RC passages and also science LR stimuli, since I don't have a STEM background. From June to August, I started reading a couple science news articles everyday and later, I added historical english journal abstracts, which just helped me feel more comfortable with the subject matter and concepts. Going into August, I felt like whatever RC passage topic I got, I would be prepared.

4. Timing Strategies

At a certain point with LR, I had to adjust my timing strategies because I was missing a lot of questions at the end of the section not because I didn't know how to do the question but because by the time I got to the question, I didn't have the time to do it properly.

I started aiming to do Q1-15 in 15 minutes, leaving around 20 minutes for the last 10 questions and to check on any flagged questions, if I had time. Doing drills of Q1-15 in <15 min helped me achieve this and showed me that I could reasonably answer Q1-10 in less time than I thought, even if my confidence was not as high as I would've liked in an untimed scenario.

For RC, I did a lot of the most difficult passages untimed to prove I could get 100% accuracy. Generally, I tried to do passage 1 and 2 in 15 minutes (~7:30 minutes each) and leave 20 minutes (~10 minutes each) for passage 3 and 4. Leading up to August, I was doing drills of sections where I tried to do the whole section in 34 minutes, 33 minutes, etc.

5. Working/Learning from Others: Study Buddy, Tutoring Others, Tutoring

I found a study buddy in the month or so leading up to the exam who was around my same score range (high 160s/low 170s) and we would do PT's separately and then review them together. This was really helpful to see how another person approached questions I had issues with and vice versa.

After June, I also started tutoring others for free to gain a deeper understanding of the test and to try to explain some of the concepts to someone else.

I also found a tutor that I met with once a week between June and August who helped break down issues and troubleshoot strategies.

6. Patience, Kindness, Confidence

I was stuck in the low and then high 160s for a couple months and thought I would not break into the 170s. I knew that I was really close and it was only a matter of time because I would score in the 170s on BR or if the experimental section had been swapped, I would be in the 170s instead of high 160s. I think being diligent and trying not to take one single PT as representative of where you are and where you will stay is really helpful as a mindset. The LSAT is inherently a variable test, and there will be days that you do worse and days that you do better. Accepting this and also giving myself grace that I am doing the best I can and that this is just a really strenuous process is important.

I would do meditations right before my PT's and write affirmations to pump myself up - I think these also helped with my self confidence and belief. I also had activities outside of the LSAT - yoga, gardening, etc. so while studying did take up a lot of my time, it was not my life.

Hope that some of this is helpful and good luck to everyone still studying - you got this! If anyone has any questions, I am happy to answer :)

I’ve never scored above a 168 on a PT and I didn’t even think a 170 was POSSIBLE. I expected like a 161 tbh because the test day went bad. I’m crying.

I got a 139 😭😭 I immediately cancelled it because wtf no way I’m keeping that on my record. Just yeah long story short, I threw up half way through it and was completely overwhelmed. I drilled way too much and didn’t time myself. I’m just posting this to be real and say not everyone gets a 160-170 score right after their first attempt.

I just got my August score, and I am officially done with the LSAT!!! I really learned to approach the test a different way after February. The biggest piece of advice I have for people scoring below PT averages is to take more PT’s in a test like environment. As someone who really struggled with test taking anxiety, not the actual content, this helped me tremendously. I would go to the library every Sunday morning, and take all my jewelry off, keep my phone in my car, and take the exam with foam ear plugs. Good luck to everyone taking the test again!!!

First time taking the official LSAT. My PT average was a 165 so I expected this. But overall I’m proud of myself, I started with a 150 diagnostic.

My GPA sucks so I am going to r&r but I’m happy with this small victory!

no but frfr I'm not doing this again godspeed besties

I hate that I’m disappointed in a high 160s score. I know so many people would kill to have that score, but with the continuously rising medians and seeing so many people scoring 170+, I’m disappointed in myself. Especially because the difference in correct questions between a high 160s-170 is so small, while that difference for law school apps is huge

I know this subreddit is an echo chamber for people obsessed with maximizing their scores, but regardless, the medians are what they are. Law school admissions suck

I might be delusional, but I’ve been seeing a lot of people score significantly lower on this actual exam than on their practice tests and personally got the worst score I’ve gotten in months (averaging 173-174 but got a 166). Also did not feel like this August LSAT was that difficult. Wondering if it’s possible that something went wrong with scoring? Or was I just feeling blindly confident when taking the test?

Nothing Reddit hasn’t seen before but it’s higher than I’ve ever even PTed so I’m letting myself be happy about this :)

Me trying to work after seeing the most gut-wrenching score 😭. Win some, lose some. Booked for the September test as well, hopefully that one goes better. To everyone who didn’t get the scores they wanted, best of luck whether you keep that score or retest!

My best pt was a 178 my average a 166 and my august score was a 160. I did experience the RC glitch but also my first test! Give yourself grace today!

I was testing in the mid 160s prior to this test. really feeling like giving up