156 on practice LSAT?

[shaddoc98]

I took a practice LSAT this morning that was proctored by the university I go to (UofAlabama), and scored a 156. This is the first practice test that I have taken.

My scores for the sections were:

Reading: 16/26
LR: 20/25
LG:10/24
LR:22/26

Obviously, I suck at Logical games, and could improve in reading. I ran out of time at the beginning of the 3rd (out of 4) game in the Games section. Not even close to finishing.

I am wondering how much I can expect my score to increase with preparation? I am planning on taking the LSAT in June and Sep/Oct of this year, hopefully to be admitted to law school in fall 2012.

I would like to be admitted to a good law school. Schools such as Colorado, Alabama, and Washington appeal to me. What is a good law school for International Law?

My GPA is currently 3.88 in Economics, and I am in the Honors Program, along with many honor societies and clubs. What chance to I have of getting in to a good law school.

[iomar]

Hey soccer,

Don't let other people freak you out with horror stories - if you prepare (and know that you're prepared), you won't choke on test day and you'll come out with a score that reflects your potential.

It's always hard to say what someone is capable of, especially based on one practice test (and since, you know, we met on the internet). However, I've taught many students, and have seen increases of over 20 points. If you went into this LSAT blind (not knowing anything about it), then you're in good shape, as you're obviously intelligent and have room for improvement.

You correctly see that you need help in logic games - that's great because they're the easiest to learn. They're very mechanical, and once you learn the tricks to tackling them, you'll see quick increases in your points.

The best advice I can give (besides take a class - hey, I've got to get paid somehow!) is to focus on the wrong answers and figure out not just why you were wrong, but what about your thought processes led you to an incorrect answer. Was it a certain question type? A problem diagramming 'only' statements? Figure this out, and you'll be golden.

Oh, and work on the Reading Comp. That's hard to give specific advice on without working with you in person, but recognize the different question types and what the correct answers have in common.

Good luck! With some hard work, you can easily get into the 160s, possibly the 170s, leading to you having your choice of law schools.

[chatima]

Hi,
Well is your 156 carries over to a real life LSAT score then you should be fine. The problem is that most people "choke" on the real test day. I just finished my law school application season and I usually had a 160ish score on my practice tests, unfortunately I got a 155 on the real test.
Congrats on your 3.88, it will DEFF help you because law schools mainly care about LSAT scores and your GPA. With your 156/3.88, you should look at schools in lower portion of tier two. If you have amazing softs (LOR, extracurriculars etc) then aim high at the tier two list. Softs are not as important as the scores, but it will help you out. For example, my softs helped me get into Uconn Law.
I hope this helps you. Good Luck!! Oh by the way, you should check out this website : www.top-law-schools.com It helped me a lot on the schools that I realistically had I chance to get into.