<p>So the grandparents were up a couple days ago to take S out to lunch and a movie. They stopped by a bookstore and bought him an LSAT book for kicks because he's thinking about law school after college (he's currently a first-year at Cal). He took a practice test yesterday just to see how it compared to the SATs. His score was 162, though he said he was sleepy and wants to try it again when he's rested. He missed two questions on games and ran out of time on Critical Reading.</p>
<p>I don't know much about LSAT scores but I did plug in the score on the calculators online that were mentioned in a couple of the threads here on CC and it appears that a 162 ain't bad. My question is this, do LSATs fluctuate the way that SATs do as time goes on and S gets more knowledge or skills from college classes/maturity? Or is it more like an IQ test, sort of set, with little movement? Does prep/studying work for the LSAT? </p>
<p>I guess I'm trying to project what score (approx) he might eventually get in a few years, should he decide to go that route. Anyone have experience taking practice tests and then the real thing a few years later?</p>
<p>One thing you can do is to compare the practice tests he took on a SAT prep book to his real SAT scores.
It's premature to make any objective conclusions now. If he studied for the SAT then he should study for the LSAT.</p>
<p>If he got a 162 without studying, he should definitely aim for the high 160s or even 170s with a lot of preparation. The LSAT exam tests the same kind of questions over and over, so you can get much quicker and score higher with enough practice.</p>
<p>"so you can get much quicker and score higher with enough practice."</p>
<p>These are words of wisdom for standardized test takers. With practice you will move faster with correct answers so when a curve ball is thrown at you there is time to figure it out. Time is a huge issue on standardized tests.</p>
<p>cbreeze,
Thanks. He took a few of the Real SAT practice tests as his only prep and his score was pretty consistent with what he eventually earned, in the 99%. But that was end of junior year in high school, not beginning of freshman year. His score on the SAT in 8th grade (for entrance to CTY) jumped by 200 points three years later, without prep, so I'm wondering if (relatively speaking) a natural jump would occur on the LSAT as he digs into college level reading/writing, etc... I do realize it's premature, and I'm not even talking about this with him, just getting a feel for the landscape if he should decide to go forward with plans for law school. He mentioned in passing a desire to stay at Cal and go to Boalt (I'm not keen on that idea, btw), so part of my curiosity is to determine how realistic that would be. </p>
<p>kono and im_blue -
Thank you. So, the LSAT is like the SAT in that one can study the format and get faster. I think being awake and alert also would help him. If he does try another practice test next week, I'll advise him to go to Starbucks first! :)</p>