The Score

So I actually got my LSAT score last Friday (earlier than expected). I haven't posted about it yet, because I guess it seems unremarkable. I don't mean that it's not a great score, because it is, and I'm happy about it. What I mean by unremarkable is that it was about the average score that I was getting on my practice tests, but it was not as high as I was scoring the last 3 or so weeks before the test. Without further ado, my score was a 166. If you are interested, you can read more info about scores here. A 166 is in the top 6%. It is a competitive score. However, the University of Minnesota's median score is 165. The U of M is currently my first choice school. I was hoping to blow their median out of the water by scoring closer to a 170 (top 3%). And I really wanted to have that "I'm on top of the world" feeling about it, if you know what I mean. But I realized that I don't need that feeling. The other thing I realized (actually, I think I already knew this, but it was reinforced in my mind) is that I don't have to obsess about things like LSAT scores, because if God is calling me to law school, He will make my way successful. Obviously, I'm going to do my very best...then the rest is out of my hands.

The test itself...it's kinda funny how it went. On my strongest section, logical reasoning (of which there are actually two), I got more questions wrong than I usually do. My weakest section (reading comprehension) went far better than I thought it had after leaving the exam. I pretty much rocked that section. And then the logic games, which was the last (and the most difficult for most people) was my best performance (one question wrong). I'm very pleased with my performance on the games section, because three weeks before the test, I was missing at least one, if not two, out of four games, which translates into 6-14 missed questions! For some reason, I could just not get the hang of these games, despite studying the techniques extensively. I came to the end of myself, and I asked God to remove whatever was blocking my mind from understanding these games. Most of you have probably already heard this testimony. Johnathan really likes the part about the "mental block," I think. Anyway, not even a week later, I was doing much better on the games (though I think my best performance ever was on test day). I came to the end of myself, I asked God for help, and He gave it to me! The most significant part of that testimony for me is that I really didn't give God the credit for giving me the ability to ace the games. I was just so happy to get over that hump that I didn't even think about the fact that I had asked Him to help me. He brought it back to my attention, though, a week or so later, when I scored very low on a practice exam. At that point, I was thinking, What will prevent me from doing this on test day? Then I remembered that I had come to this point before. I had come to the end of my abilities, and I had to rely on Him. I hope that I will keep that perspective for these next phases of my life. Maybe the test score is part of that.

To conclude, I am very pleased with my score, and I am eager to finish my personal statement and get on with the applications. If anyone has any bright ideas for my personal statement, I would not be averse to hearing them.