When it comes to taking the LSAT, how do you know if you’re ready? Or how do you know if you should reschedule your LSAT? This is not a decision to take lightly. Whether you’ve been studying for several weeks or months, there’s a lot to consider.
On the one hand, you don’t want to set yourself up for failure. However, you also don’t want to put your life on hold by caving to fear and procrastination. So let’s talk. The following are a few indicators that can guide your decision to show up for game day or push back your LSAT test date.
Ask These Questions Before You Reschedule the LSAT
1. Have You Achieved (Or Have Come Close To Achieving) Your Goal Score?
Think about your goal LSAT score. Now think about your best practice test. Is that practice test within five points of your goal score? If not, don’t take the LSAT.
This has been my standard advice for students for years. If you’re not within striking distance by test day, the odds are fairly unlikely that you will hit that goal on the real thing.
Now, ideally, I would prefer you to have actually hit your target score on a practice LSAT exam, or at least score within your goal LSAC score band (1-3 points range). But, if you’re not within five points, an official LSAT is not yet within your reach.
You might be thinking, “When do I decide whether to pack it in?” Let’s assume you’re past the registration deadline and can’t reschedule your LSAT without paying LSAC a hefty fee. In this case, you might as well wait until the last possible minute (the day before your exam) to withdraw.
Why? Well, two reasons. One is that sometimes the biggest gains in progress happen in the final two weeks of studying. It would be a shame to prematurely give up on taking the LSAT for a given administration when, in fact, you are close to being ready! The second reason is that if you are not ready, you need to continue studying anyway.
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2. Has Your Performance in Recent Practice Tests Been Fairly Consistent?
It’s one thing to hit your goal LSAT score once. It’s quite another to hit that range consistently. Students often freak out when they hit their goal score on a practice test, only to have a sharp decrease on the next one. Don’t despair! This score variation is part of the process.
As a tutor, when I start working with a new student, the student wants to talk about lofty goals. They want to raise their score ceiling from 160 to 170, or 170 to 180. I am much more interested in raising the floor. How can we build consistency in your reading approach and problem-solving process so that your floor is 160 or 170? So that, even on a bad day, you’re scoring at or near your target score.
If your score is wildly fluctuating between goal range and far-less-than-desired, that’s a good indicator that you’re not ready for test day. Score inconsistency is an indicator of not having mastered your process. That means more study time.
3. Is Your Goal Score Realistic?
If you’re still holding out for your goal score, you’re not anywhere near within five points of that score, and you’ve been studying for a while (let’s say 9 months or more), ask yourself: Is my goal score realistic?
Far be it from me to tell you whether it is or isn’t! Students are often capable of greater scores than they think possible. As an instructor, I’ve seen score increases from students in my classes in the 20-30 point range. Amazing things can happen. Unexpected things!
However, on the flip side, you can only improve so much within six months to a year of studying. If you want to score 175, that’s a laudable goal. Just know what you’re up against. Imagine a room filled with 100 reasonably intelligent, hard-working, “Type A” pre-law students with bachelor’s degrees. One of them stands up, better than the other 99. If your goal is 175, that person needs to be you. It’s a tall task!
Ultimately, consider your goals. What type of law do you want to practice? What city or region do you want to work in? What law schools can get you a job there?
You will likely find that, while a 175 LSAT score is nice, a “good enough” score is usually, well, good enough to get you where you want to go, both in life and career. (What even is a good LSAT score?) Consider where you’re scoring, and whether that might be sufficient to get accepted somewhere. If not your “dream law school,” at least a school that can still turn your lawyer dreams into reality.
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4. Where Are You Situated in the Application Cycle?
A big driving factor of the take or reschedule LSAT decision is the law school application cycle.
As you probably already know, most law schools begin accepting applications in the early fall and admit students on a rolling basis from there. Application deadlines are early to mid-spring. If you’re getting into January/February, you are likely at a crossroads. Should you take the LSAT now and apply this cycle? Or should you wait another year and give yourself a chance to improve your score in the summer?
Only you can make this decision! However, having seen many students make it, I’m happy to provide some insights!
Waiting To Apply To Law School
On the one hand, you do not want to put yourself under too much pressure to start law school now, especially if you are young or a recent college grad. You can’t un-press the law school button. If you can afford to wait, live your life, and bide your time for better outcomes (both with the LSAT and with your applications), you should wait!
Now is the time to explore other interests! Work on your resume. Maybe gain some insights and experience by working as a legal assistant in your future practice area of choice. When you are 50 or 60, looking back on your legal career, I doubt you will say: “I really wish I had gone to law school at 23 instead of 24.” What you might say is: “I wish I had traveled to Australia,” or “I wish I had written that music album.”
But Don’t Wait Too Long
On the other hand, you do not want to let fear, perfectionism, and procrastination put your life on hold indefinitely.
Again, consider whether your goal LSAT score is realistic. If you’ve been studying the LSAT for two or more years, (yes, plenty of you exist out there), ask yourself: “What am I waiting for? “Do I really need an [insert score here] to make my future happen?” Chances are, you’ve been holding off due to a nasty cocktail of emotions, including fear of failure and unfair expectations. You maybe even had to reschedule an LSAT once or twice.
And even here, still, there can be exceptions! I once had a student who had a secure, high-paying job at a consulting firm. Their future was financially secure, but they felt unfulfilled and wanted to explore law school. Given their success in the consulting world, they also didn’t want to take a salary hit, which meant they targeted higher-ranked schools. This led them to patiently continue working and studying on the side while holding out for a score of 165+. After about two and a half years of part-time studying, they got there!
Conclusion
Whether you decide to take the LSAT now or reschedule your LSAT, just remember that the decision belongs to you. Not your family, ego, or your insecurity of can-I-find-a-job-out-of-college-for-one-year. Be honest, patient, and kind to yourself. Know not only what your life goals are, but also what it takes to get there.
And above all else: trust yourself! Whatever pressure or uncertainty you’re currently experiencing about your law school future, you probably know whether you’re ready for the LSAT.
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