You Just Got Your February LSAT Score. Here’s What to Do Next.
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February scores came out this week, and your score was either lower than expected, higher than expected, or right where you expected it. Brilliant analysis, I know!
If it went as expected, or better than expected, and you’re happy with your score, stop reading! Go celebrate. Send in last-minute applications, or update ones you’ve already sent in.
If, however, it didn’t go as well as you had hoped, this article’s for you.
Normally, the advice would be to review the test, see what went wrong, and come up with a plan to fix it. However, since February is an undisclosed exam, you can’t see where you lost your points. So we need to come up with another plan of attack.
Step 1
Take a few days away from the test. Right now, you’re not in a mindset to come up with a good study plan. There’s still plenty of time to prep for a retake, and a few days to clear your head won’t prevent you from being ready in time.
Step 2
After calming down a bit, it’s time to take a few minutes to think about your strengths, both because of the overall situation, and based on your previous tests.
For the former, you’ve already prepped for the exam, end to end. You know what’s being tested, and you have a baseline of knowledge. I talked about scaffolding over the past few weeks; you have the ultimate scaffolding. With this complete overview of the test, your prep now will be to go back to fill in the gaps, reinforce the strategies, and master the test.
For the latter, it’s time to sit down with the last couple tests you took and see where you were strong and where you were weak. Look at sections, question types, passage topics, game twists—anything you can think of. And, if you’re taking a class with us, always feel free to input your answers into the LSAT Navigator and let your instructor know that there’s some test data for them to take a look at.
Step 3
Now, it’s time to get down to work. First, go back through your material and create a fresh outline for yourself of the entire test. This means going through any books, videos, notes, etc… you used to prep. You’ll feel like there’s a lot of repetition of things you already know, and there will be. But there will also be pieces of information that didn’t make sense the first time through, or that slipped through the cracks while you were taking notes, and that’s what this pass is designed for. Feel free to skip some material that you have on lock, but don’t skip too much. This is also the time to do targeted work as you go through the material.
Step 4
After that, take another PrepTest to see where you’re at. From here on out, it’s targeted work when you identify a weakness, with a PrepTest every week or so to monitor progress.
I know, it’s rough coming from a February test that didn’t go well. It’ll nag at you a bit — not knowing what went wrong. But don’t focus on that — focus on doing things right for the next test!
Have your tried our LSAT Complete Course? Don’t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person LSAT courses absolutely free. We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
Matt Shinners is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York City. After receiving a degree in Biochemistry from Boston College, Matt scored a 180 on his LSAT and enrolled in Harvard Law School. There’s nothing that makes him happier than seeing his students receive the scores they want to get into the schools of their choice. Check out Matt’s upcoming LSAT courses here!