Self-study
this was my 5th practice test, other two were on LSAC and were 138 and 135. I started studying in september early, with the lsat trainer book clearly didn't help me just taught me the basics i guess, i finished it, and have had 7 sage for barely a month. Since i have been going down i went back to the foundations and core curriculum for about 3 weeks now. I feel like doing the core curriculum things are starting to click and i wanted to take a prep test just to see where im at. do you guys reccomend sticking to foundations and not doing preptests or should i keep doing them weekly? My goal is to take april lsat aiming for 160+
Please give me advice w out discouraging me more than i already am
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3 comments
Echoing the other comments! I found PTs to be really discouraging in the beginning, no matter how much work I put into it my scores just would not go up. I would recommend doing individual sections, and start with untimed. I found that once I eliminated the stress of time, I could really sit down and go through each question and learn the exam. Then, once things started to click for me, I started to do timed sections. I like to do PTs once a week to see where I'm at, but I don't think it's necessary! In fact, when I first started out I wish I saved some of the PTs to do once I am more familiar with the material.
I promise that even if it feels like it's going down, you are improving. I have been at my diagnostic score for ages and just now been showing signs of improvement! Because each question holds a lot of weight in this test, there will be a lot of fluctuation in the beginning. Some PTs have more NA heavy questions, other PTs have brutal science passages. Depending on your current weaknesses and strengths, your PTs will have some variance in score. When I felt like I really first started to understand things and I took a PT, my score tanked! But it was because I was taking more time on each question, diagramming each question, and I ran out of time towards the end. It wasn't because I was getting worse, but because I was actually taking the time to solve a question.
This test can be really discouraging, but it can also be very rewarding! From what I see, you are persisting and doing great so far. It feels easier said than done to give advice to you, but I promise you're not alone in your stress and all of your frustrations with this exam! I'm cheering you on!
PTs are such mental drains. Take the basic core curriculum and then go to classes. Learn that nad then start some PTs mid jan to see where you're at.
Everyone’s journey is different. You may just need to spend more time in the basics. I found The Loophole very helpful for this, especially with their Basic Translation and CLIR practice methods. Instead of knocking out practice tests, you may need to focus on the fundamentals until they become second nature, and work on your method so you aren’t practicing poorly. Additionally, I made a little worksheet for myself that forces me to exercise some of the elements different resources taught, so maybe try that. Taking a bit of a break from your cycle may also be helpful just mentally as well. You got this! If you are competitive like me (if not, skip); Don’t focus on a the comments talking about how well they are doing, they aren’t you, and they aren’t on your journey… and honestly, can we even verify it to all be true? Get you and your process right, and you may be making one of those posts yourself