I'm starting to get really depressed...

[vsavatar]

I was doing really well using the Next 10 Actual Official... I was scoring between 159-160 and starting to feel more comfortable and confident.  Then I took test 44 from LSAC and my whole world turned upside down.  It seems the bar has been significantly raised over the last 2 years for every score.  Furthermore, I got 7 wrong on the reading comprehension section.  That's COMPLETELY unheard of for me.  THe most I've EVER gotten wrong on that section is 3 before.  The logical reasoning I did about the same on.  The logic games section I did horrible as usual (I'm lucky if I can get half of them done, much less right).  In the end, I scored a 156.

I feel like all the work I've done for the last 2 months has been for nothing.  Granted a 156 is still in Wayne State's range (152-158), but I can't afford to go anywhere else, so if I don't get in there, my hopes are sunk.  I've given up a lot in the last few months to pursue my goals of law school (a 4.5 year relationship, quite a bit of money, more sleep than I can even quantify, etc.) and now I feel like it's hopeless.  Because I didn't apply early to Wayne, I need probably a 158 minimum to get in there.  If I had applied early with a 156, I might have gotten in, but so much for that now.  I've got 7 years of full-time work experience (not in a law-related field though, so it's worthless), a 3.89 GPA, glowing letters of recommendation from the chair of the economics department, and my econometrics professor, and quite a bit of knowledge about law in general, and I feel like it's not enough.

Because I'm not rich, I have to go to a state school, and the only one I had a chance of getting into, is seeming more and more remote now.  I could easily get into U of D or Cooley, but U of D is $35k a year, which I couldn't even hope to get enough loans for, and Cooley is not even a law school in my opinion.  I could get a 3/4 ride through there, but the degree is worthless because no one will hire you with it.  This is just really frustrating and upsetting for me.  I HATE rolling admissions, and I REALLY HATE the LSAT!

[EE Cummings]

I was doing really well using the Next 10 Actual Official... I was scoring between 159-160 and starting to feel more comfortable and confident.  Then I took test 44 from LSAC and my whole world turned upside down.  It seems the bar has been significantly raised over the last 2 years for every score.  Furthermore, I got 7 wrong on the reading comprehension section.  That's COMPLETELY unheard of for me.  THe most I've EVER gotten wrong on that section is 3 before.  The logical reasoning I did about the same on.  The logic games section I did horrible as usual (I'm lucky if I can get half of them done, much less right).  In the end, I scored a 156.

I feel like all the work I've done for the last 2 months has been for nothing.  Granted a 156 is still in Wayne State's range (152-158), but I can't afford to go anywhere else, so if I don't get in there, my hopes are sunk.  I've given up a lot in the last few months to pursue my goals of law school (a 4.5 year relationship, quite a bit of money, more sleep than I can even quantify, etc.) and now I feel like it's hopeless.  Because I didn't apply early to Wayne, I need probably a 158 minimum to get in there.  If I had applied early with a 156, I might have gotten in, but so much for that now.  I've got 7 years of full-time work experience (not in a law-related field though, so it's worthless), a 3.89 GPA, glowing letters of recommendation from the chair of the economics department, and my econometrics professor, and quite a bit of knowledge about law in general, and I feel like it's not enough.

Because I'm not rich, I have to go to a state school, and the only one I had a chance of getting into, is seeming more and more remote now.  I could easily get into U of D or Cooley, but U of D is $35k a year, which I couldn't even hope to get enough loans for, and Cooley is not even a law school in my opinion.  I could get a 3/4 ride through there, but the degree is worthless because no one will hire you with it.  This is just really frustrating and upsetting for me.  I HATE rolling admissions, and I REALLY HATE the LSAT!

You do realize that most people do slightly worse than they are practicing at, right?  So even if you were solidly at 160 you still could easily get a 156.

I say either study more and wait a year or cram your a$$ off and try to hit a 158 in Feb.

[vsavatar]

I have to go for February... My economic situation makes it such that waiting another year is not much of an option.  I guess the good news is that the October 2004 test is pretty indicative of the current difficulty level of these tests.  Given that 7 wrong on the reading comprehension section is totally unheard of for me, I can probably assume it's an outlier and that I'll do better on the next practice test I take.  LSAC puts my index scoreband for Wayne at somewhere near between 85% and 95%, but that doesn't take into account rolling admissions, which generally throws percentages down by anywhere from 25-35%.

[pass36]

Don't let it get to you!  Remember, the Wayne State *RANGE* is just that, a range!  That means that they take people from the low end or lower, ESPECIALLY people with your obvious passion, high GPA, and demonstrated commitment to achievement and success (career) who will add something special to their class!!  I think you will be a good candidate with anything over 151, which is definitely DOABLE!!  

As for the logic section, your biggest struggle, I am not sure when you are taking the test, but maybe there is somebody who could give you a quick course in symbolic logic.  Anyone who has never had symbolic logic is, IMHO, at about a 35% disadvantage for this section.  If that is your weakest section, maybe it is where you could see the quickest gains ....

But be confident and don't get down.  Your stinking passion comes across on here, how much more so will it in your statement (LOTS).  You will do fine.

[EE Cummings]

Don't let it get to you!  Remember, the Wayne State *RANGE* is just that, a range!  That means that they take people from the low end or lower, ESPECIALLY people with your obvious passion, high GPA, and demonstrated commitment to achievement and success (career) who will add something special to their class!!  I think you will be a good candidate with anything over 151, which is definitely DOABLE!!  

As for the logic section, your biggest struggle, I am not sure when you are taking the test, but maybe there is somebody who could give you a quick course in symbolic logic.  Anyone who has never had symbolic logic is, IMHO, at about a 35% disadvantage for this section.  If that is your weakest section, maybe it is where you could see the quickest gains ....

But be confident and don't get down.  Your stinking passion comes across on here, how much more so will it in your statement (LOTS).  You will do fine.

This is lousy advice.

Ranges exist for a reason.  If you are below the middle of the 25/75 range your chances decrease drastically.  Especially considering that URMs tend to have lower LSATs which artificially lower the 25 #.  If the OP is white, for example, being at the 25 # would make it extremely difficult for acceptance.  Being below the 25 almost impossible.

[Tulane1L]

Today is Jan. 7, which means that you have exactly 4 weeks until the test.  4 weeks is a good bit of time, so relax!  If you have one bad test day, look at it, see what you did wrong, and then just try another one in the next few days.  One test should not throw you off that much!

But, just so you know, many people do see a bit of a drop in their scores.  I was testing in the low 160s, got a 156, and am re-taking in Feb.  The best advise I got was to get the powerscore bibles.  I am mostly through the logical reasoning one, and now I acutally understand why I was missing LR questions (usually 5-8 per section) and am blowing through the LR sections with a MUCH higher accuracy rate.  So if you don't have them, go to amazon and order both of the powerscore bibles.  Have then overnighted.  It is really the best investment that I have made so far!

[zerofact0r]

Don't take for granted the reading comp sections.  The next 10 book deals up to 2001, 2002/2003 was when the RCs began to become more difficult.