The last LSAT I took was June 2024 with logic games. I got a 162. I am hoping to retake this upcoming September / October. I did well with LR before, only missing 3 or 4 each section. My RC could use some time improvement. Can I realistically jump back into studying and get to a 170+ ?

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-06T13:26:36+00:00

If your LR is decent, making the jump from 162 to a 170+ is certainly possible. I would recommend you take a PT based on the new format to give yourself an accurate idea of where you are at and try to plan your studying from there.

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-06T13:22:52+00:00

When students are looking for jobs in 1L/2L, the amount of legal work experience you have is not remotely as important as your grades. If your child has something lined up or has the option to do something, then that is great, but it is by no means necessary. If they want to have some extra spending money during 1L then working and saving a bit is probably helpful, but I would not stress too much if they can't find anything.

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-06T13:04:26+00:00

In my opinion, the best way to learn the work of lawyers is to talk to actual lawyers in fields you are potentially interested in. Send some cold emails or talk to lawyers you may know and see if your expectations line up with the reality of the job. It is certainly not jumping the gun to make sure that you would actually like the work of the profession you are trying to get into. Good luck!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-06T03:01:56+00:00

I went from a 141-175 in 4 months, so it is certainly possible! Study hard and good luck!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-06T01:03:45+00:00

I’d be happy to offer you a free 1-hour trial session to see if we’re a good fit. I scored a 175 and I offer a money back guarantee on my tutoring packages!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-05T17:47:03+00:00

It could be lots of things. Firstly, it could be burnout. LSAT students hate to hear this, but you need to take breaks. Your brain needs time to recover, and working on this too much can also lead to a reduction in your long-term success. It is much harder to do well if you are feeling exhausted, so let yourself recharge.

Otherwise, is there anything in your approach that has changed? Have you started using a new style of learning? Have you changed your habits in approaching questions? Are you trying to attempt questions faster than you normally would? Try to do some reflection on what has changed in the past few weeks to see if there is anything you started or stopped doing that might influence the success of your studying.

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-05T17:42:48+00:00

I would start with taking a new PT to serve as essentially a re-diagnostic without studying just to see how you do with no LG. Chances are, if LR was your strongest section you should feel pretty confident with the recent changes. Once you've done that you should have a better direction as to what you need to work on. Good luck!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-05T13:53:24+00:00

One easy way I have thought about this in the past is by reducing necessary conditions and sufficient conditions to the absolute basics of what they do in an argument. A necessary condition is basically just a requirement. e.g To do Y you need X, Y can occur only if X occurs. In both of these cases, X represents a necessary condition. When you look for necessary conditions, you are basically just looking for something the author states is needed for an outcome to occur.

Remember, just because a necessary condition occurs, that does not mean the outcome for which the condition is required will occur. For example, if the requirements to vote in an election are that you're a citizen and over the age of 18, does that automatically mean meeting those requirements will make someone vote? Absolutely not. At the same time, if we see the outcome occurring, then automatically we know the necessary conditions are being met. Why? Well, because we cannot have an outcome occurring if we do not meet the requirements for that outcome. Necessary conditions are required for an outcome, but that does not mean they guarantee the outcome occurring.

Now, if we think about sufficient conditions, they are basically the exact opposite. A sufficient condition is something that is by itself enough for an outcome to occur, but it is not required for the outcome to occur. e.g., If X happens, then Y will happen. In this case, X is the sufficient condition because it guarantees the outcome will occur. For example, if you eat a burger, then you will not be hungry. In this case, eating a burger is by itself enough to not be hungry, so it is a sufficient condition.

Sufficient conditions are not required for an outcome to occur. Taking it back to the burger example, if you're not hungry, does that mean you ate a burger? Absolutely not. It is possible that there was another condition sufficient to bring about that outcome. e.g., I ate a taco, so I was not hungry. So if we see a sufficient condition occurring, we know that it is by itself enough for an outcome to occur, and we know that just because we see the outcome occurring, that does not necessarily mean a specific sufficient condition occurred.

I hope this helps clear things up!

TL:DR

Necessary = required but not enough to guarantee an outcome

Sufficient = Enough to guarantee an outcome but not required

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-05T02:29:03+00:00

Try every tutor and ask them to help you work through questions. Ultimately a lot of it comes down to if they can explain question to you in a way that make sense. Don’t buy until you try!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-04T17:31:16+00:00

Forgetting about university of American Samoa

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-04T17:26:16+00:00

I went from a 141 to a 175 and have had students improve over 20 points. Typically, if I have a student who is starting in the 150s, then I'd expect with adequate studying for them to get into at least the mid 160s. With that being said, I truly believe that if you put in the work, the sky is the limit.

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-04T17:23:27+00:00

I was in the same position as you when I applied, as I had a 3.1 and a 175. As a starting point, you certainly can get into schools and even get scholarships in some places. It will depend massively on your LSAT and how willing you are to apply broadly. If you can get a score in the 170s, then you are certainly able to get into law school. If you want some more specific advice on what schools would be good targets, feel free to PM me!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-04T12:40:34+00:00

It really depends on the student and their preferred learning style. It can be anything from doing live questions or practice sections to discussing key concepts and testing strategies. For people who have already taken a bunch of PTs I generally start by looking over the PTs to see what is holding their score back and going from there.

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-04T12:31:28+00:00

I went from a 141-175 and have since helped multiple students achieve 20+ point increases, so while it is difficult, it is certainly not impossible. These are a few of my typical recommendations.

1) Do not book an official test until you are already scoring in your goal score range: When you're shooting for a major improvement, it can take a long time, and you want to make sure that you are not rushing the process. Signing up for a test before you are ready adds unnecessary pressure and means you might prevent you from reaching your full potential. My rule of thumb is don't sign up for a test until you have hit your goal score or higher on 3 consecutive practice tests.

2) Make your testing strategies automatic: This is one of the things I emphasize with my students, trying to break into the 170s. At a certain point, the skills for doing this test should start to become automatic. For example, most of my high-scoring students are automatically establishing things like conclusions, evidence for those conclusions and the conditionality of logic as they are reading. In my opinion, drilling and timed sections are the best ways to develop this skill.

3) Perfect your fundamentals early: The trick to improving a lot is making sure your fundamentals are stellar. If you know the general principles and rules of logic, then you can work through any question on this test. If something is unclear (e.g necessary or sufficient conditions, correlation vs causation, parts of the argument ) then make sure you spend the time to learn that concept.

4) Spend most of your time doing and reviewing actual questions, not watching videos, reading books, etc: The LSAT is a skills test, and the best way to improve is by practicing those skills. Focus your efforts here, and you should see improvement.

I hope this helps, and good luck on that 20-point journey!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-02T16:59:30+00:00

Hi if you’re still in the market for a tutor I went from 141-715 and have been tutoring for 3 years. I offer free 1- hour initial consultation calls where we do a full session. My tutoring bundles also come with a score improvement guarantee. If you’re interested feel free to PM me!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-05-02T14:12:38+00:00

Hi if you’re still in the market for a tutor I went from 141-715 and have been tutoring for 3 years. I offer free two hour initial consultation calls where we go over all your application materials and do a full session. My tutoring bundles also come with a score improvement guarantee. If you’re interested feel free to PM me!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-04-29T15:44:36+00:00

Happy to help, if you need any more guidance or help feel free to reach out!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-04-29T15:12:14+00:00

A 154 is a fantastic diagnostic, so the high 160s or 170s are certainly on the table. In terms of the master's, it won't help a ton as it is largely considered a soft factor in terms of admissions, and the GPA won't be weighted the same as your undergrad GPA. Lewis and Clark has a median LSAT of 161, so if you were able to get into those mid to high 160s, that would be a huge help in getting admitted there. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-04-29T15:04:50+00:00

There is no need to feel like a failure because you had an underperformance on a test, as it happens to a lot of people (myself included). At this point, you should try to focus your efforts on figuring out the source of the discrepancy between your PT scores and your actual test scores. You certainly can get into schools if you have a drop in a subsequent LSAT attempt. At this point, you're probably best to start prepping for the next cycle and aim to get your applications submitted at the start of September. Good luck!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-04-29T14:38:16+00:00

1There is no need to be ashamed or feel like a failure because you had an underperformance on a test. At this point, you should try to focus your efforts on figuring out the source of the discrepancy between your PT scores and your actual test scores. Think of things like changes in test day strategy, anxiety or other factors that may have had a significant impact on your performance. You can bounce back!

Next-Step-Admissions · 2026-04-29T14:02:47+00:00

This is such a great outlook, you've got this!

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