I blew the LSAT: Now what?

Introduction

Let’s face it.  Not everyone does as well as they hoped on the LSAT.  A few students are happily surprised, others are deeply disappointed, and most probably find their score was better than their worst fears but lower than their dream score.

Assume you got your LSAT score back, and concluded that you “blew it” on the exam.  Now what?  Well, first of all, “blowing it” on the exam can mean different things to different people.  But, for the sake of discussion, let’s evaluate your options with the assumption that you were, for one reason or another, “unsatisfied” with your score.

Retaking the LSAT

The most obvious solution may be to simply retake the LSAT.  Most law schools will focus on the highest of your LSAT scores, so there tends to be very little downside to retaking the test, and potentially a lot of upside.  Of course, retaking the LSAT is the easy part.  Figuring out how to do better the second (or third) time is the more challenging question.  Here are some questions I would ask, and potential solutions depending upon your answers to them:

1.  Did I take a sufficient number of practice LSAT exams? The LSAT is a challenging exam, and preparation is very important.  In particular, it is critical that one practices by taking a lot of previously administered, official LSAT exams in timed settings.  If you did not do this the first time around, you should do it this time.  If you want to go to law school, preparing for the LSAT must become a top priority.

2.  Did an unusual and correctable problem occur when taking the exam? Sometimes, a student makes a key “bubbling error” on his/her scantron that has harmful results.  Other times, a student was not feeling well or got unusually nervous.  If so, one may not need to do anything special – just continue taking some full-length, timed LSAT exams and retake the exam.  Hopefully, the unusual event that hurt your score last time will not repeat itself.

3.  Have I taken a test prep course? Merely taking a bunch of LSAT exams is not likely to be good enough to maximize one’s potential on the exam.  One wants to learn the proper techniques to maximize one’s potential score.  If you did not take a LSAT prep course, you may be able to pick up some useful pointers by doing so (most students find a live course taught by a good instructor to be quite helpful).

4.  Was I dissatisfied with my test prep course? Some students take a LSAT prep course and feel that the material was not effectively taught to them, or that they may connect better with another instructor.  It may be that the instructor was not very good, or that his/her teaching style was not compatible with the student’s learning style.  If so, taking a test prep course from another instructor in whom you have more confidence may make sense.  Similarly, if the techniques taught in the course were not sufficiently helpful, or if the course was not thorough enough (e.g, because it did not analyze enough real LSAT problems during the live lessons) , another test prep course may be beneficial.

5. Will personal tutoring help? If a student has fully prepared for the exam, he/she may just have a few very specific questions or issues to address.  If so, personal tutoring may be an option.  Generally, a course will be a more economical way to get a very large amount of instruction hours for a reasonable price.  However, 5-10 hours of personal tutoring may be a sensible and realistic way to try to address a few, limited “trouble spots” on the exam and/or re-direct your study habits.

Consider Your Second (or Third) Choices

For some students, their LSAT score wasn’t that bad – they just didn’t get into their top-choice law schools.  Understandably, students want to get into a law school that excites them.  For both personal and professional reasons, the law school one attends makes a difference.

However, I have seen many students overemphasize the significance of getting into their ideal law school.  Law schools are more competitive than ever, and they don’t have a lot of spaces available.  If one did not get into any of one’s top choices, it doesn’t mean you need to despair.  Many things other than which law school one attended make a difference in one’s career.

For example, how well one does in law school can significantly impact one’s initial job opportunities.  So, if you did not get into your top choices for law school, you may be able to compensate by getting better grades at a slightly lower-ranked law school (which is a realistic expectation).

Attending a law school in the general region where you want to practice can make a big difference too.  And, of course, once one starts practicing, the significance of where one attended law school diminishes – making contacts, developing a client base, and “proving oneself” become more important than one’s alma mater.

If you feel you scored at or near your potential, and you diligently prepared for the exam, it may make sense to reevaluate and consider attending a different law school than you initially planned.

Is law school right for you?

One of the things I try to emphasize at ScoreItUp is to provide candid advice to students.  That is part of the reason ScoreItUp refuses to post fake student comments, and avoids using those misleading advertising gimmicks that many national test prep companies are known to do.

The truth is that law school is not the right choice for some people.  And for some, the LSAT winds up being an insurmountable obstacle.  That may not be the norm, but it certainly is true for some people.  No profession is the right fit for every person and no person is right for every profession.

If one’s LSAT score is clearly below where it needs to be in order to get into any law school that you would consider attending, and you don’t believe you can significantly  improve your score, it may be worth reevaluating law school.  I’ve told people many times that spending 2-3 months and some money preparing for and taking the LSAT is a very small price to pay if it helps you make a decision that could impact the rest of your working life.

Reaching such a decision may be initially disappointing.  However, many professionals will tell you that disappointing events in their career had a  significant silver lining.  Those events often make people reevaluate their priorities, rethink what is truly important, and refocus their energy into areas that ultimately wind up being more personally rewarding.  There are plenty of unhappy lawyers out there who feel they have invested too much time and effort to “shift gears” midway through a career.  Be thankful you aren’t one of them.  Frequently, when one is forced to consider other options, an even better choice emerges.

Conclusion

A disappointing LSAT score can happen for a variety of reasons.  Depending upon your particular situation, develop a strategy.  It probably will involve either (1) retaking the LSAT or (2) accepting a law school that was not among your initial top choices.  Or, it may mean rethinking a career as a lawyer entirely.  The bottom line is that there are different options, and none of them are the end of the world.  If you would like to discuss your personal situation in more detail, please feel free to send me an email to mark@scoreitup.com or call me at (949) 355-1413.