How I got a 174 on the LSAT

Steps I took to get a 174 on the LSAT:

1. Decide to apply to law school junior year of college
2. Delay LSAT to senior year due to lucky travel opportunity
3. Delay LSAT to after graduation due to logistical issues
4. Sign up for LSAT and not show up after 2 months of preparation
5. Take LSAT one year later while experiencing significant external stress, score poorly
6. Sign up for the last LSAT of the same cycle, fall extremely ill, drop practice score by ten points
7. Fly to LSAT location, still sick, cry, wish that I had never delayed the first LSAT
8. Take the exam
9. Score a 174

Backstory:

I took the preliminary exam that the LSAC website offered and scored a 166. Based on my understanding of LSAT scores at the time, I opted to self-study and bought all the LSAT prep books starting with #29 up to...whatever was most recent back in 2012. There were other options, such as the Logic Bible, that I also bought, but did not use.

For my first LSAT, I did one full exam under test conditions every other day for 2 months, scoring in the low 170s by the last week. On the in-between days, I corrected my exam and did practice sections. I was a meticulous, well-organized person at the time, so I actually had a calendar in which I wrote down all my scores, and broke down the types of questions I was getting wrong by section. I even did weekly comparisons to check for linear improvement. I didn't take the exam because I have no idea why I didn't take the exam.

For my second LSAT, I tried to repeat what I did from the previous year, but I was under a lot of stress and completely failed. My practice scores during those two months oscillated between 150 and 179; I was getting 15 questions wrong one day and 2 wrong the next. There was no consistency. I ended up with a 168.

For my third LSAT, I prepared, started to score consistently in the 170s, and felt like I would do okay on the exam. Then, I caught some sort of illness that had me bedridden for three days. I was literally asleep for 18 hours a day. My test scores dropped by ten points. I was scoring in the 160s the week before the exam. On the day of the exam, I was stressed out of my mind. I was sick, had averaged a 170 for the week, and still jet-lagged from flying to the testing location. I scored a 174 on the exam, and now I'm writing it down in case people find reading about my situation helpful.

To everybody taking future LSAT's, good luck and happy studying.