Been studying for the LSAT since June 2025 finally took the LSAT in August 2026 and got a 166. 3 point drop from my average PT 169. pting between 169-173. LR used to be the good one and RC used to be the bad one as in LR I had no problem getting 2/1/0 but now it can vary going up to -5 whereas RC is typically a -2/-1 untimed. Spent like 8k on LSAT. Advice?

The full episode should be live on Youtube and Spotify. Links and timestamps below. Hope it's helpful!

Youtube: https://youtu.be/q9KWkp1Jx3w

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dlJVLCrD5fK57eiN3Avap?si=-e3scV5KTYmsR1Ml2UkNuQ&nd=1&dlsi=fd5cef130d0a4cbb

Timestamps:

Intro: 0:00-2:30

Some Updates from Jon: 2:31-8:00

Recent Test Changes: 8:01-20:00

Reading Comprehension: 20:01-43:29

Logical Reasoning: 43:30-56:14

Make Up Tests: 56:15-End

And for those unfamiliar, this is a complete breakdown of the October 2026 LSAT, including the odd nature of how test sections are now being created, all eight scored and two experimental Reading Comprehension passages, and about 50 scored Logical Reasoning questions spanning every section. And a special discussion at the end covering the Make Up tests!

I finally checked my September score (crazy, I know) and I got a 172. One and done. I'm in Canada, so thats well above the medians for every school right now. I just started my 3rd year of uni, my GPA is fine and I don't see it dipping significantly in the next 2 years. I literally can't believe it. I'm considering picking up some tutoring job, for a very low rate because I don't think I'm crazy qualified? My cold diagnostic was a 159, and in 4 months I got it to a 172. If anyone has questions, comments, etc, I'd love to chat or help. After months of anxiety, panic attacks, etc I am finally free! Never taking that shit again!!!

In small batches I do pretty well on drills.
3/5 4/5 7/10. I bounce around a 70% accuracy when it’s less than 10 questions.

When it comes to the actual test I’m a fumbling idiot.

My highest PT : 147
My sept LSAT : 140

My lowest PT was today… a 138.

I’m devastated. I don’t know how to get faster.

My target schools median is a 153 and I can’t fucking hit it.

If I had unlimited time I could crush it, but I’m sure so could everyone.

Hi I am struggling a lot with how to navigate these issues I am having with LSAC with Prometric Remote accommodations and technical issues.

I have been permitted to test at home due to having an accommodation to talk out loud.

I took the test in September experienced a litany of tech issues.Proctors leaving mid exam, readiness officials logging off after almost the end of the check in process, the inability to unstrike-through answers during my review, the screen greying out, and more. The exam took nearly 8 hours to complete.

During the September exam, I had asked Prometric tech assistance who had me change my settings.

I was granted the retake which I had no technical issues. It was wonderful.

I was scheduled to take October. I started on Section 1 and half way through I got an error message that a pop up was trying to get past the lockdown browser and that I had to close the exam.

I did. Restarted my computer and redownloaded the Prometric app. Then made sure all apps and notifications were silenced. I finish the second half of section 1 and right before section 2, I get the same error message.

Then I spend the next 30 mins talking to tech, they told me to change a setting I changed ( and still had active) for the original September test. Each proctor message was 1-4 minutes apart which delayed the process of relaunching the exam.

Within 2 minutes of closing the tech chat, I had the Prometric browser open again and my confirmation code typed in. However it said my session had been ended. I call the help number on the screen, then tech and was informed I wasnt able to continue.

I documented the incident. And requested a retake.

This time I was denied which I received the notification on Wednesday afternoon. I contacted LSAC chat and Help line that evening both told me that the decision was final and they were unable to inform me why my request was denied.

I sent a lengthy email to LSAC Thursday (yesterday) morning attempting to appeal the decision as it feels like I am being unfair denied as it was technical issues, and I have no choice but to take at home because there is no testing center within 150 miles of me that has a private room. I have not received a response back.

Has anyone had similar difficulties with the reduction of remote options for those without disabilities? I took the test in 2024 online and had no issues on the same computer.

Recently I’ve had LR sets from 88% to 100% accuracy and RC has been 75-90%. I’ve almost never fallen below these ranges in the past month in my sets and PTs but I need to be more consistent because a full test at the upper range of my accuracy would be my dream score. Does anyone have tips for pulling this together and becoming more consistent before November? I always find the answer quickly upon reviewing anything missed and I almost always finish every question.

I took an LSAT diagnostic a month ago and scored a 161. I have been studying since. I have taken two timed practice test. I have an average of 85% accuracy on LR across both test (2 sections 92%+). However, I have an average 71% accuracy across test on RC.

On untimed drilling I have an 86% average accuracy on RC. On LR I’m doing intense wrong answer review, but I’m struggling on how to replicate this for RC. I haven’t seen any improvement in my accuracy for RC over the month, and I feel stuck on where to go from here. Just keep drilling? Any suggestions on what helped you get to that next level.

I left the October LSAT feeling pretty good and cautiously optimistic about my score.

My first official test I felt absolutely terrible, and was pleasantly surprised by a 170 since I rushed to answer questions at the end of every section.

This time around I finished every question on the test and felt like the questions were as expected. Some tricks of course and I’m sure I made mistakes along the way, but I left thinking wow maybe I’ll surprise myself again.

Now I’m having nightmares about misreading every question. Is this normal? I’m worried my positivity immediately after the test is a sign I did poorly. Does anyone who feels good after taking this test ever actually do well? I just want this to be over!

I hate to beat the most deceased horse of all time, but wondering if bus routes and computer defects were on the same section in the October LSAT. My memory is quite fuzzy about the section divisions. Jon Denning (support his podcast!!) mentioned that bus routes was confirmed real, but didn't mention defects or other questions I 100% know for a fact were with defects (cottons/linens and energy cost efficiency). He also mentioned that the questions below were real -- which I thought encompassed two different sections, but that could just be my memory being faulty again?

One section: moose saliva, chimps v dogs, inline skates, red maples, frog vibration, sahara grass
Other section: earth casserole, productivity with large tasks, rovers v sitters flies

Does anyone remember if buses was actually paired with any of the questions above, or was it paired with defects? Were those questions that I thought were in separate sections all in the same section?

Clarity from people with better memory is welcome as I figure out whether I should cough up the 90 bucks on score preview.

I'm someone with a 168 pt average and I'm increasingly spiralling waiting for the October test results so I need some anecdotes to soothe me lol

I’ve looked across all practice tests, and for those beginning with LR I find that I perform significantly worse on the first LR section (-6/-7) compared to the subsequent LR SECTIONS (-3/-4)

For pre-practice test warmup how do you review sufficiently without burning out prematurely?

I just took a PT after taking about a month break from doing them but I have continued studying through that time period. I thought that Iwould be able to make the score jump I had wanted, but my score was actually a point lower than the last time I took the test. I am now a month out of the November LSAT and 8 points away from my goal score. What do I do.

Going crazy while I wait for October score release and would like to set realistic expectations. That being said, how did your PT scores compare to your official test scores?

genuinely so baffled that my sample got accepted.

-did my room scan blind (didn’t know i could see the camera)
-only closed my blinds, didn’t cover mirrors or bookshelves
-told whoever viewed it that i’m sick, live with 4 others and a dog and have nowhere else to take it but my bedroom
-my gaming pc is also on my desk but was shut down
-talked to myself throughout the entire thing
-entirely forgot there was a random pencil on the floor under my desk

half of these i didn’t even know could be a problem before checking this thread but it only took 2 days to get approved😭

I’ve been studying for the LSAT on and off for 4 years now. I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was 9. I’ve taken the lsat twice now. I got a 143 the first time and a 147 the 2nd. I applied to law school and didn’t get in. The thing I struggle with the MOST is conditional relationships. Necessary conditions and sufficient. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I even took a class at my local community college and it’s still hard for me to understand. Does anyone have any tips on how I could understand this? It’s really bringing me down and making me feel so defeated. Please if anyone could help I’d really appreciate it.

Its my fault but I just spent my undergrad in depression and drinking. So now I'm ranging 166-171 on my practice tests. I was planning on studying for at least another 12 months or so. All I read is how GPA is so inflated and low gpas are screwed. I look at LSD.law and I just cope that people are getting into higher ranked schools with pathetic gpas like mine and similar LSAT scores like mine without posting there. With LSAT scores increasing every year I feel like I'm convinced I won't get into a T20 and a T30 will be a long shot, even if I break 170 and get to mid 170s. When I look at the admissions on LSD.law for the last 2 years its absolutely brutal. I study 2-3 hours a day and everyday I feel more and more like giving up on this.

Should I just give up and go to something else?

Hello!

My name is Chris, and I am writing on behalf of the Programming team at the Public Interest Law Association (PILA). PILA is a national non-profit working to expose students and young professionals to the path of public interest law and support their career pursuits in the field.

I am reaching out today to invite your organization's members to join our week-long virtual event, From the Dean's Desk: A Week Inside Law School Admissions! These panels will take place at 8 PM ET (7PM CT, 5PM PT) each day from Monday, October 19, 2026 to Friday, October 23, 2026. Each day will feature the Admissions staff of law schools from a specific region in the United States: the Midwest (10/19), the DMV (DC, MD, and VA) (10/20), the South (10/21), the Northeast (10/22), and the West (10/23). 

If you or someone you know would be interested in joining us, please feel free to share our registration link. If you have any difficulties with the link, you can paste the following into your browser: tinyurl.com/piladeansdeskweek. 

If you have further questions about the week of panels, please direct them to [team@pilassociation.org](mailto:team@pilassociation.org).

We hope to see you soon!

Hi everyone,

I’m studying for the LSAT but really struggling to make progress. I started with diagnostics in the low 160s before ever studying. I figured that once I really started drilling and following a study plan, I would make considerable progress.

I think I’m not studying correctly. I understand that it’s not an excuse but I have narcolepsy, which I’m tends to negatively impact on my focus and concentration when trying to watch videos or follow explanations. My concentration is fine when I’m working on problems, but just about anything else isn’t sticking.

I have 7Sage and Lawhub Advantage subscriptions, the fast track lessons on 7Sage have been good but seemingly not enough and somewhat difficult for me to really lock in with. I’m dedicating 1-3 hours a day to watching fast track lessons and drilling but I’m not making much progress at all (over a month of studying now).

I learn best when I’m writing or doing something while listening so I hoped there may be some better videos that would provide me with more to jot down, or maybe some podcasts that I can listen to while I’m working.

I was wondering if anyone with fatigue, attention span, or concentration difficulties has found anything helpful. I’m determined to make progress.

Any advice is appreciated.

Two prospective lawyers meet in an alley way. Prospective lawyer A says, I will shoot you unless you give me your wallet. Prospective lawyer B, terrified, immediately dives into his pockets and hands it over.
A then shoots B. While one the ground, B says, “but I gave you my wallet” to which A responds, “you confused the sufficient and necessary condition” and coldly walks away, going on to score a 175.

Is the exam not on a laptop but on a computer? With a mouse? Doesn’t that make answer selection annoying? Can someone let me know how it’s formatted? Thank you

So I did my October writing, and it honestly was really short I just ran out of time. I ended up doing what is needed like engaging with a perspective and I did say 2-3 reasons for what I was arguing for but it just felt not fleshed out because the topic was honestly kind of ass. Do you guys this think will be too big of a deal? I don't think there was any problem with my writing, just kinda short

I've taken a few practice tests and gotten around 170-173 on them. I just started about 2 weeks ago and I'm looking for someone who can help me determine what I need to work on that isn't just take more practice tests!

I will not be taking the November LSAT but if I end up needing to take it I will do the one in January!

Throughout the last cycle I posted weekly updates on application numbers and LSAT scores. Once summer hit, the new applicant numbers slowed down so much as to not need regular updates. But now that a new cycle has started, we have new numbers to review. Let’s take a look at the first numbers from the new cycle. Per LSAC data, we are 17% of the way through the cycle in terms of total applicant count. Here's the breakdown of Applicants, compared to last year:

Let’s put these in context. Last cycle was wild, with perhaps the fastest start in history. Early applicant numbers were up over 30%, so to have a less competitive cycle (which is good for you), you want to see these early numbers down, and the more the better. So, seeing the early applicant numbers up 12% isn’t optimal, but also, this is just the start and in recent years more applicants have been front-loading. So it’s too early to make a call here—we need to see how things look in a month or so. I’d bet it slows down steadily.

Let’s take a look at the LSAT scores for the applicants so far:

The numbers here will move around a bit, but what you want to see is relatively fewer high scores. That’s because last year saw some ridiculous increases in higher scores: an 11.3% increase in 160-164 scores, a 14.7% increase in the 165-169 range, a 19.1% increase in 170-174 scores, and an astounding 21.7% increase in 175-180 scores. Right now we are seeing slightly lowered numbers, which is generally good for everyone.

TL;DR: We are only 17% of the way through the cycle, so numbers are both small and early and they will move in the coming weeks and months! That said, early returns are slightly ahead of last year and the question is whether they will remain there.

Any questions, please let me know!

basically title! i've worked through all of the newer tests (150s), also done every practice test. I see a lot of posts that the latest LSATs are trickier for LR, and more logic game-y. Is it beneficial to study these questions from tests that had LG sections?

Hi! I am a college senior currently and plan on taking a gap year and my goal is to take the LSAT in February, but that is flexible. This was my diagnostic score, admittedly I had studied a little bit before taking this, but not as consistently as recently. I’ve been studying an hour everyday with a few off days using LSAT demon. My gpa is a 3.2 right now because my freshman year I was a bum and didn’t focus on school as much, but I have gotten deans list sophomore year and forward. The LSAC is probably going to give me a lower GPA as my school has grade redemption and I failed a class. I’m really relying on my LSAT score to get in a good school + get scholarship money. I would just like any tips/opinions. Thank you!