How to deal with... parents.

[blairchuckalways]

LOL my my people are snappy at you ChiGirl aren't they?

You'll be fine, not talking to friends for awhile just makes the good ones WANT YOU MORE.

[ChiGirl]

That's okay. It's good practice for law school, right?

You're right. I didn't look at my phone all day up until 2 hours ago and I had 19 missed calls. I agree- turning it off is the better option. I will admit that I'm one of those people glued to my blackberry though!

LOL my my people are snappy at you ChiGirl aren't they?

You'll be fine, not talking to friends for awhile just makes the good ones WANT YOU MORE.

[Lindbergh]

Test day isn't at your place.  Study somewhere else, even if it's not comfy.  Especially if it's not comfy.

That is all.

Your pits still stink.  Please wash them, or change your avatar.  Tyia.

[Lindbergh]

Umm, so yea, parents. Who drop random stupid hints about how a 171 is a bad score. And other negativity circa crazy unhelpful stressful comments when I'm taking a break and they think I'm not working hard enough.

Yes, I've told them clearly they're not helping. Yes, I've expressed every emotion from anger to reason trying to tell them that such snide insults just put unnecessary pressure on me and don't help the score. And yes, I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but I am really proud of myself for going from a 153 to where I am, but because no one in my entire family is a lawyer, no one gets how hard that is. So all they see is the 180 and think it's pie to get there and that I must not be working hard enough if I'm "just" at a 171.

I hate this. What to do? Any advice, thoughtful please. Thanks.

Tell them Bill Clinton and Barack Obama only scored around 90th percentile, 163 level.  Might shut them up, at least if they're Dems.

[Lindbergh]

Challenge them to try a full preptest. Works with all of my friends.

Then you can watch their sad faces drop into the abyss when they pull that low 130..

Excellent advice.

Also like the percentiles idea.

[Lindbergh]

For all practical purposes, a 171 is a nerve-wracking score.

How exactly?  It's good enough for any school, provided you have the other necessary requirements.  It's clearly good enough for a T14, if your grades are decent.  And even if your grades completely suck, it will get you a full-ride at other schools.

You know what's a really nerve-wracking score?  A 128.  Because you can't get into law school with that.

[LessThanLiz]

I've been spending about 20 hours a week in court for the past month & I talk to a TON of attorneys/DA's/judges, and, seriously, I've met like 1 or 2 from the T25. One of my regular questions to people I talk to is "what law school did you go to", and I've been nothing less than shocked at the number of low Tier 2's & Tier 3's I hear. That has relaxed me a little bit.

It's always comforting to hear that your future isn't completely doomed if you're not in that 170+ range, but Powerscore's LSAT-to-future-salary list is still a little intimidating

[blairchuckalways]

Yes, Lavahead is correct -- by 171 being a nerve-wracking score, I didn't mean to imply that it's a bad score. Not at all! Hell, I'd be happy as pie to get it on test day. It's just very borderline -- and given that stress can screw things up and since yes, I am aiming for that 170+ score, a 171 feels borderline. I do understand that life goes on without hitting the 170+ threshold, but I'm not about to accept that fact just yet

The questions I miss ARE all over the place. For example, on the Feb 2000 test (superprep c), I scored a 172, but only because I completely bombed the last game in the games section and did well on LR/RC. On other preptests I usually get at most -1 on LG and it's RC that gives me trouble. And then sometimes it's just the scale -- boo -7 = 170 scales!

Otherwise my scores a pretty consistent across the board and incorrect answers are not limited to a particular question type. I guess at this point doing well is more a matter of maintaining focus and zen through the test than anything else.

Thanks everyone, I'll try the Obama/Clinton advice. That should shut the up next time.

[candyfl]

Why do you have to tell them what your scores are again?

Let them know that you are doing your best. I say if they only supplying negativity when you share with them, then don't share, make it clear to them that you won't discuss the LSAT with them.

Congrats on getting from 153 to 171, that's where I am now, and that's my goal also.

[nevdash]

Yes, Lavahead is correct -- by 171 being a nerve-wracking score, I didn't mean to imply that it's a bad score. Not at all! Hell, I'd be happy as pie to get it on test day. It's just very borderline -- and given that stress can screw things up and since yes, I am aiming for that 170+ score, a 171 feels borderline. I do understand that life goes on without hitting the 170+ threshold, but I'm not about to accept that fact just yet

The questions I miss ARE all over the place. For example, on the Feb 2000 test (superprep c), I scored a 172, but only because I completely bombed the last game in the games section and did well on LR/RC. On other preptests I usually get at most -1 on LG and it's RC that gives me trouble. And then sometimes it's just the scale -- boo -7 = 170 scales!

Otherwise my scores a pretty consistent across the board and incorrect answers are not limited to a particular question type. I guess at this point doing well is more a matter of maintaining focus and zen through the test than anything else.

Thanks everyone, I'll try the Obama/Clinton advice. That should shut the up next time.

Thank goodness someone else understands. Other friends who are prepping for the Oct test get angry when I tell them I'm flustered over my low-170s range on my PTs. I try to explain to them the exact same thing; it's not that low-170s is bad, but there's a very real possibility that your score will drop on test day. So, it would be a much more comforting feeling to score 175ish consistently and know that even the pressures of test day could only realistically lower you to a 170.

And about the parents thing, definitely put it in percentile terms. Any parent who isn't proud of their child averaging in the top 1% of all future law students is ridiculous. Ask them if they're in the top 1% of anything in the world.