Hilda's LSAT Diary: 142 to 161

LSAT Diary, 2012

Hilda scored a 142 on her first diagnostic, plateaued around 159 on practice tests, and scored a 157 on the October 2011 LSAT. For her February 2012 retake she stopped chasing her weak reading comprehension section, perfected logic games and logical reasoning instead, and eventually scored a 161.

• Starting score: 142
• Official LSAT: 161 (February 2012)
• Outcome: put several law school applications on hold to retake the LSAT; received a Chapman acceptance with a 40 percent merit scholarship and a USF waitlist spot the morning before the retake
• Situation: Full-time CSUN student taking 5 classes and working, retaking the LSAT after a 157 with 3 weeks to prepare
• Written: 2012

In Hilda's words

I was stuck.

Hilda

I perfected my logic games until I would miss none.

Hilda

My morale had completely changed, and I was ready to go.

Hilda

Why this diary is here

I've been coaching the LSAT since 2005. From 2009 to 2021 I ran the LSAT Diaries on my blog: students wrote up their own prep and I published it as it came in, rough edges and all. Hilda's is here because it ends with a number: 142 to 161.

Underneath the score, it's about shifting focus to her strengths (logic games and logical reasoning) instead of her weak reading comprehension section. The outcome: put several law school applications on hold to retake the LSAT; received a Chapman acceptance with a 40 percent merit scholarship and a USF waitlist spot the morning before the retake.

Written in 2012. Logic Games comes up a lot; that section was removed from the LSAT in August 2024, so treat those parts as history. Everything else still applies.

Individual results vary. Score increases depend on starting point, study time, and effort.

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Hilda's diary, as written

Part 1

Struggling with reading comprehension

I was enrolled as a full-time student at California State University, Northridge when I scored a 142 on my first LSAT diagnostic (pre-studying) in April 2011. However, I wasn't discouraged, because I never expected to score well without any prior training. At that time, I had no idea what the LSAT even consisted of. At first, logic games were very difficult for me, but by the October 2011 LSAT, they were my strongest point, even though I would still miss a few questions. I would also miss a few questions in Logical Reasoning as well, but Reading Comprehension was my toughest section.

In the beginning, I would miss about a dozen questions from the Reading Comp section, about 3 to 4 in logic games, and maybe 7 to 8 combined in Logical Reasoning. This was pretty consistent, and I was not improving past 159 no matter what I did. I was stuck. By the end of August, the fall semester began at CSUN and I was taking five classes and still working.

A disappointing first official score

The days became hectic, but I used every free minute I had on practice tests. I took every test ever released from 1992 to 2011 at least twice, and my highest score was a 164. Aside from that one outlier, I consistently scored 159s. So it wasn't a surprise when I scored a 157 on the October 2011 LSAT. It was quite representative of how I was scoring.

While it wasn't shocking, I was disappointed in my performance. Still, I applied to Loyola, University of San Diego, Chapman, UC Hastings, Southwestern, Santa Clara, University of San Francisco, and UC Irvine. As time went on, I received a seat in the Fall 2012 entering class at Southwestern. I became nervous as January approached and spontaneously signed up for the February 2012 LSAT on the last day to register. With about three weeks left until the LSAT, I became a wreck. I called Loyola, USD, Santa Clara, UC Hastings, and UCI and put my applications on hold.

Changing my approach for the retake

The second time around, I changed my approach. I focused a lot on perfecting my stronger points instead of stressing out over reading comprehension. I think this is what really helped me start scoring so well. I perfected my logic games until I would miss none. With logical reasoning, I began noticing patterns in the questions because I had done so many already. It became easier to pick out wrong answers instead of searching for right ones, since there's always at least two choices that are appealing. By recognizing common factors that make a choice incorrect, I became better at eliminating the right contender. I began missing about 3 to 4 combined from both logical reasoning sections.

I never became skilled at the reading comprehension section. This was ironic to me, because I'm an English major, so I've become quick at analyzing, reading, and understanding main points. For some reason, I just wasn't able to conquer that section, but when I accepted that and focused on perfecting my strong points, that's when I started scoring in the high 160s to low 170s. I went from missing about a dozen questions in that section to missing about 7 to 8. I spent more time reading the passages and annotating better, and read through the questions quicker.

Before, I did the opposite. I would quickly read the passage and spend more time on the questions, but I would be ill-equipped to answer them because I hadn't given the passage enough time to fully understand. By giving the passage more of my time, I at least began to answer each Main Point question correctly and a few corresponding questions.

Getting ready with new confidence

Also, I did a few practice problems to get my mind going in the right direction every morning when I woke up, and I reviewed old tests each night. Aside from that, I retook a few practice tests a week before the test.

This time around, I was shocked because I scored a 165 on my first practice test since taking the actual LSAT. My score began increasing with each test until I scored a 172 on the last practice test before the real one. Although there were retakes, my morale had completely changed, and I was ready to go.

The morning before the LSAT, I received a letter from Chapman with my acceptance along with a 40 percent merit scholarship and a spot on USF's waitlist. I went into the February LSAT with much more confidence and ease.

Part 2

What happened on test day

While I'm not allowed to disclose much information about the February LSAT [Ed. February LSATs are undisclosed], I can say it was hell. I left the testing center completely crushed. I was just hoping to not have done worse than my previous score, 157. When my score was released on March 7, I was pleased to have gotten a 161. Immediately after sending out a new CAS report to the schools waiting for my new score, I was admitted to the University of San Francisco, University of San Diego, and Santa Clara. Shortly after that (within 2 weeks), I was put on a waitlist at both UC Hastings and Loyola.

What the retake actually bought me

The best thing that came out of retaking the LSAT was that Chapman's scholarship offer increased from 40 percent to 100 percent. I fell in love with the school when I visited, along with the faculty and the overall atmosphere. I cannot wait to start this journey and see where it takes me. I'm really excited for the outcome, but I'm more looking forward to the path that's going to take me there. I plan on focusing solely on my studies as a 1L but will dedicate a lot of time to public interest during my last two years in hopes of giving back to our community.

I didn't mention this earlier, but I was rejected from UC Irvine in January, before putting my application on hold. They were my top choice of law school, and when January came around and I still hadn't heard anything, I called the Dean of Admissions and asked her if I could put my application on hold. She said she'd wait on my new score before making a decision. My boyfriend was admitted there and attended all of the events. He took me as a guest, so I interacted with the admissions team there and got to know them better.

Recently, when I still hadn't heard anything from them, I contacted the assistant dean of admissions, and that's when I found out that they had made a mistake. They had made my decision before ever putting my application on hold and had not sent me the letter. Now they said they will re-evaluate my application in mid-August. While this was all a miscommunication, I'm kind of discouraged and lost a bit of interest in their school. Everything worked out for the best in the end though. Although I retook the LSAT mainly for them, my score increase got me accepted to other great schools, and it increased my offer from Chapman to a full ride, and that's where I will be studying this fall.

Advice for juggling it all

My biggest piece of advice for future prospective law students in the same, or similar, situation is to give yourself some time that's just for you so that you're not overwhelmed. But don't waste time doing aimless things like using social networking sites or watching TV. During the semester, I had to juggle five classes, and to be honest, I ended up with 1 A and 4 Bs. I could have done so much better if it wasn't for the LSAT and other responsibilities. I would pick and choose the assignments that I would be reading and do a lot of cramming right before tests.

About 85 percent of my attention went to law school related things. I had gotten my personal statement taken care of in August and had people look over it, so it didn't have to take up much of my time once school started. As for letters of recommendation, I asked two of my teachers and my boss, and they were all happy to do it, so I was lucky in that aspect. One of my professors kept putting it off, and it became a little bit frustrating, but in the end it worked out well.

As for the application, I spent about two hours filling out all the information, uploading my resume, and assigning letters of recommendation to each of the different schools. That way, that part of the process was taken care of, and all I had to do was update my score once I found out. As for work, I would try to squeeze in practice LSAT problems during my free time when we didn't have clients in the office, and my coworkers were understanding about it. With all of this came a severe decrease in the amount of time I spent with friends and family. The process was crazy, stressful, and hectic, but I'm happy with where I am now.

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I've written free explanations for every question in LSAT PrepTest 159, 158, 157, 156, 155 and 154, with the right answer and why each wrong answer fails. All LSAT explanations are here.

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