Deciding to take the LSAT and apply to law school was a huge step for me. I was working in a corporate job and am still paying off loans from my undergraduate degree. I had spent two months independently studying for the LSAT but I hit a rut. I didn't really know how to study for the LSAT, and I didn't know the reasoning behind much of what I was doing even if I was getting questions right. All I knew to do was take a bunch of practice tests and review my answers. I now know this is not an effective method of studying. I bought a few practice books but none of them were very helpful. One was so dull and so low level I never even read the second chapter. I liked the Juris program so I signed myself up for 60 hour program.
I took my first diagnostic test and scored a 159. I talked to my teacher, Jessica, and told her I my goal was to make a 167 or 168 to get into my dream school. She told me she believed in me from day one. She told me to shoot for a 170 to give myself a safety net if I missed it by a few points. I studied like crazy. After ever class and over emails in-between Jessica would help customize my studying. Between Jessica's recommendations and the customized study plan on Juris' website (which I loved) I immediately began to see results. I quickly was scoring in the mid 160s. I hit another road bump at 164. I consistently was scoring it again and again. From my experience, I believe the jump from the mid 160s to the high 160s is one of the hardest to do. It takes you from a good to advanced level. Jessica kept me positive. I was always looking forward to class and was actually sad when it was over. We had a really good dynamic between the students. Jessica often used Socratic method.
Everyone was encouraging and would share advice and tips before and after class. I struggled the most with Reading Comprehension. This was definitely the hardest section for me to see improvement in. I have always been a little bit of a slower reader. I had great scores in Logical Reasoning and Logic Games but knew I would have to take a hit in Reading Comprehension.
My final test, I scored a 164. Jessica and I developed, a week before the test may I add, a new plan to tackling the timing methods of Reading Comprehension. I don't want to go into details of it because it's unique to my weakness but with one week left I began to try it. Through Juris, I completed over 2,000 LSAT questions in December and January.
By the last few classes, I feel like I could talk to Jessica about any question on any test, like "how crazy was that one Logic Game on the Dec 16 Test?" Many people would have thought it was stupid for me to quit my job to study for the LSAT. Jessica was one of the few people in my life who was always encouraging and supportive of my plan. I opened up to her a lot about my decision to go to law school. A little over one month from my first diagnostic test I took my LSAT on January 26th. I felt pretty good about the test leaving it. I understood what each question meant, I was able to identify which questions were trying to trick me, and I knew where I had done well and where I had some guesses. Today I got my LSAT score.
The past three weeks I have just been praying for a 167. A few times I had hit the high 160s but it seemed honestly unlikely. I stared at the email from LSAC for what seemed liked eternity before opening it. With around a month and half of in-person classes, online resources, and live channel episodes, I scored a 172. I thought I read the score wrong at first. My score improved 13 points that quickly, and it wouldn't have happened without Jessica and Juris. I am now confidently submitting my law school applications and can't wait to see where life takes me next!