The retakers' scores thread Forum

[Havaianas]

Wow great job to all of you guys! It kinda makes me feel like I should've retaken - I was 6 points lower than my pt the day before but I was so freaking nervous and I hated the thing so much I was just happy to be able to move on with my life.

[rupert.pupkin]

.

[GeePee]

Sept. 163
Dec. 178

I feel like this should be discussed. Seriously?!?

+1
think so too

Thanks. Honestly I choked in September, partly due to regular jitters, partly due to testing conditions (took about 7 hours and i got there 1.5 hours early on top of that). I just did a 3 PTs before December and tried to stay calm and not really worry about the test too much.

I guess the only advice I can offer is that if you HONESTLY score below your PT range/ability, then you should definitely retake, and try not to make a big deal out of the test.

I realize that this probably isn't all that helpful, but it is what worked for me.

Yeah, I had a looooong test in June (~7 hours as well) and it was rough for me. September was a much smoother experience overall, and I did much better (despite maybe still being able to do a little better, it didn't matter)

[Lonagan]

December 2007: 164
December 2009: 171

I have gotten zero sympathy from family or friends for my score being lower than I want. I think I need smarter friends.

Anyway, I'm happy enough.

edit to address real purpose of thread: The changes I made to achieve my 7 point jump were twofold. 1) In 2007 I did not sleep at all the night before. In 2009 I got great sleep. 2) In 2007 I did not study at all before the test. In 2009 I did the Powerscore LG and LR Bibles and about 12 PTs in the two months before the test.

All in all I expected that I would to better than 171 by not being dead tired and actually trying. Highest PT was 175 and I felt like gold on test day. Oh well, not going to complain too loudly.

[raspberryfruitcake]

First post on TLS

Sept 09 - 155
Dec 09 - 170

Studying by self definitely helped more than the prep course I took for the Sept test. Time for applications now... and the LSAT addendum...

[lechic12]

raspberryfruitcake, what testprep did you do? Now im unsure if I should retake my course (got a 157)

[raspberryfruitcake]

I went with Blueprint. The instructor was awesome, but I think taking practice tests by myself was so much more useful than sitting in a class for four hours. Most of the stuff they teach you is a variation of the LSAT tips on the internet (TLS) and the Bibles, in my opinion....

Good luck!!!!

[lakerfanimal]

166 in February. 172 this time
I think I could have done better because I apparently bombed the first LR section (-6), but my average on the only 2 recent (within last 5 years) fresh prep tests I did I got a 173, and 172 is still 99th percentile so yay. I will post what I did differently in the 160+ thread.
I'm definitely a little jealous of some of the other improvements in here, but it's also very humbling and awe inspiring, much respect to y'all!

[split22]

Dec' 08: 16x
Dec' 09: 178

For those who are interested, diag'd at 172 with consistent PTs ~177-178. '08 was bad due to a combination of my physical condition and nerves. Didn't change much for '09 other than complete a few more PTs and review the PowerScore books. Did the 4 most recent PTs (incl. Dec 08) the week of the exam with scores ranging from 177-180.

[Jockin Jay-Z]

Jumped four points in the mid-160s range. Administration was not a factor either time, was pretty healthy both times, no real confounding factors like that. Studied significantly less for the second time, no change in PT scores trend, so I was assuming I would get the same score.

[mhd08]

June: 153
December: 161

Took a Kaplan prep course for June and it obviously didn't work too well. Got a private tutor for the December test and consistently scored 161/162 in PT's so I wasn't surprised by my actual score.

I just can't decide whether or not I should retake in Feb to try and get off waitlists. All my apps are either in or are going in this week. Thoughts? Will that work or will schools not take February scores even if my app is already in?

[existenz]

...

[laidoffjournalist]

Wow great job to all of you guys! It kinda makes me feel like I should've retaken - I was 6 points lower than my pt the day before but I was so freaking nervous and I hated the thing so much I was just happy to be able to move on with my life.

Most people who retake don't improve by more than a point or two. Big improvements can happen, but are the exception. I was more interested in those who really changed strategies to improve their score. In my case, I'm going to actually have a strategy, which will be new!

[BenJ]

[snip]

[mintrap]

Got a 163 in Sept. and now a 167 in Dec.... blah. Guess its okay since I was PTing 165-171... but at least I can apply to some T14 now.

[glacierfrost]

October 2008 - 158
December 2009 - 165


The first time around I only took the Testmasters course and didn't take the test as seriously as I should. I thought it would be like the SAT's where after a course and some self study I would be fine. Needless to say I was completely wrong.

The second time I took the test very seriously and put an average of 10 hours a day, 5 times a week. I went to my test center's library everyday and studied, actively reviewed missed questions on PT's, and studied alone without friends. In short, I approached it as if it were a job.

I didn't do as well as I hoped and I think I may retake a third time. In the middle of studying for December 2009, I changed my studying strategy; previously I was doing a PT a day thinking that doing all 57 tests to date would be sufficient but after coming onto TLS I changed my strategy to follow that of those posted on here. I think if I were to take it in June I would incorporate more of the strategies on this site such as Pithypike's and also not be so crammed with stuff to do since I felt like I didn't have enough time to study.

[justbluemyself]

September 2009: 167

Well below my PT average (172 ish), but I wasn't particularly honest with myself about timing and pacing. Did LG and LR Bibles, around 30 PTs.

December 2009: 171

Still a bit disappointing, since I went in with a 175 average and I misbubbled 2 questions, but I'm happy. I chilled out this time, going through the LR bible carefully, and did about 10 PTs.

[Sandro]

First post on TLS

Sept 09 - 155
Dec 09 - 170

Studying by self definitely helped more than the prep course I took for the Sept test. Time for applications now... and the LSAT addendum...

[lostone]

Sept 161 (-9 LG -5 LR -5 LR -4 RC)
Dec 164 (-6 LG -6 LR -6 LR -4 RC)

I don't know if it makes sense to retake in FEB for this admissions cycle if trying to crack t25?
Any ideas?

[raspberryfruitcake]

raspberryfruitcake wrote:
First post on TLS

Sept 09 - 155
Dec 09 - 170

Studying by self definitely helped more than the prep course I took for the Sept test. Time for applications now... and the LSAT addendum...

Congrats, the type of jump im looking for and know I can do (157 in Sept)

What was your method of PTing?

I took a PT every 2-3 days starting from about a month before the retake. I didn't study at all until then, because I had already studied everything. The month break really helped, and I saw an immediate improvement in my scores. Also, my weakest point was LG, so I just drilled LG till it became second nature. Find your weakest section and concentrate on that.

Good luck!!!

[Kulax22]

Obviously writing an addendum, although I think it's better just to encourage them to look at the higher score rather than try to excuse the lower one (and my 173 average isn't bad anyway).

Congrats on the huge score jump.

The above is something I can't find a straight answer for. How and when do you write one of these? I was planning on emailing them with the document already attached, and basically saying "I would like to submit this to explain the discrepancy in my LSAT scores, please add it to my file."

Do you think it is overkill to send one? That's my fear, but I don't want them to forget about me either, maybe they don't always review the new scores

[mikcou]

Sept '09 - 164; all of my PT's were in the 168-172 range
Retook in Dec '09 got a 167 with the same PT range.

I actually studied less the second time around and came very very close to my PT range. Was slightly disappointed at not hitting 170+ but oh well. The main difference seemed to be that I got a bit more sleep and was less nervous on test day.