7Sage

Tired of Studying

HappyTestTaker · 2026-02-16T20:57:52Z

I'll try to keep this brief: I've been studying since January 2025. My diagnostic was a 151 and my score has since risen to a 169 (my highest BR was a 177), but I've been in the 160s for a longggg time (for around 6 months now). I've taken the test twice and am planning to retake for a third (and final) time this June, but I'm really not sure what other practices to implement to help get my score up to the 170s. Feels like I've tried just about everything. I hate to be a debbie downer, but I also want to be realistic. With this much time spent bouncing around in the 160s is it even worth it to hope for consistent 170s scores? Is there a light at the end of the 160s plateau? If anyone has been in a similar situation and was able to score consistently in the 170s, what changed for you?

I got some advice a few months back that really shifted how I viewed this test for the better. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do amazingly well on this test and sure, that's for a good reason, but it is also often our downfall. In putting so much pressure on ourselves we make it harder to do well. At the end of the day, we are going to take the test and get a score. Maybe we will be happy about it, maybe not. But allowing ourselves to get greatly upset over a number is not worth it. Schools do consider other factors when reviewing applications. The LSAT is important but it's not everything. So try your best on the LSAT. But whatever the outcome, be proud of how far you've come and how hard you worked to get that score. If you can shift your perspective to be more appreciative of the work you've put in and the progress you've made, the test because less frightening and less difficult. I know I personally found it easier after I began to put less pressure on myself. So, I hope this helps you too. You've made such incredible improvements and that is worth being proud of. Take a breath and keep working but with the intention of simply trying to be better for the fun of it rather than viewing your progress as though it isn't good enough.

Haven't taken my final official attempt yet (so take everything here with a grain of salt) but I feel confident enough to say that I've broken through into the solid 170s after also being in the dreaded 160s plateau forever.

Firstly, it's absolutely worth it to hope for consistent 170 scores and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's worth it not only because it will help you get into better schools obviously, but lower-ranked schools that you get into will be willing to offer you better scholarships and make what is notoriously an expensive process much cheaper, especially if you use those offers to negotiate for scholarships. To that end, my first piece of advice would be to actually not place any attempt as being the "final attempt." It seems like you've taken it twice already, but you have a total of 5 attempts in 5 years (2 more beyond that for your lifetime maximum). Schools only care about your highest score. I see little upside to declaring June to be your final attempt, when you still have 2 more swings at bat to hit a home run, especially since if you're applying for this fall like me, you will have plenty of other test administrations in August, September, etc where you can still take the test and apply. Don't put pressure on yourself unnecessarily by prematurely declaring one attempt to be the final one when you don't need to.

As for the LSAT side of things, I don't know what your study routine is like but your profile shows a decent mix of drills and sections. You've done a healthy amount of questions but there would are a few things that might help the most that I implemented to finally notice a change:

Are you wrong answer journaling? and how thoroughly are you doing this? When I was in my 160s plateau, I initially didn't wrong answer journal at all and just hoped I would finally break through on one of these attempts. And when I did start journaling, there was honestly a good bit of time where I was half-assing it. If I got it right on blind review, I was just like "eh, just gotta read better, nothing much else to it." That is the wrong way of going about things. If there's even a shred of doubt about any part of a question, even if you got it right or got it right on Blind Review, review each question thoroughly. Consult every source you can: the written explanations, the video explanations, the "Ask a tutor" button, even some of the comments on each question left by other students and tutors can be helpful. Leave no stone unturned. Each question you get wrong (and arguably even ones you were correct but unsure/guessed on) has 2 issues: you were tempted by the wrong answer(s) when you shouldn't have been, and you missed the right answer. These mistakes will repeat in one form or another on future questions so don't bank on the fact that you've gotten other questions like this right. Address the root of the problem thoroughly. This is a time-consuming process. I honestly have spent much longer reviewing questions than doing questions and that was what got me past a lot of mistakes that kept showing up over and over again. Note down the traps you fall for routinely. There's honestly a solid chance your mistakes are from not reading thoroughly enough and if so, mirror that process on the actual timed drills, sections, and tests you do. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Visualize concepts or give concrete example numbers if that helps make an abstract stimulus/situation more concrete. Develop your own strategies for crushing your weaknesses confidently.
Work on questions consistently. It doesn't have to be everything every day, but just something everyday helps. Even if it's just an RC passage or just a handful of questions or review. The secret here is to try and make this as enjoyable as you can. Yes, some of these topics are arcane and mundane. Try and find something about it that interests you. The questions and review fly by a lot easier when this is something you enjoy rather than something you dread. You may still score questions right if you dread the test and do it kicking and screaming, but it goes so much smoother the more you come to enjoy the questions and view it as less of a challenge and more like something routine and fun, like a puzzle. The easier and more calmly you can crush the easy questions, the more time, focus, and energy you'll have for the genuinely tougher ones, and that'll leave you at the end of a section confident and ready to do more, rather than stressing out over whether you've guessed right on a bunch of questions.

I probably have more advice tailored to your situation if you wish to share more/DM. But hope this helps!

5 comments

Gcastillo1513
5 days ago

I got some advice a few months back that really shifted how I viewed this test for the better. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do amazingly well on this test and sure, that's for a good reason, but it is also often our downfall. In putting so much pressure on ourselves we make it harder to do well. At the end of the day, we are going to take the test and get a score. Maybe we will be happy about it, maybe not. But allowing ourselves to get greatly upset over a number is not worth it. Schools do consider other factors when reviewing applications. The LSAT is important but it's not everything. So try your best on the LSAT. But whatever the outcome, be proud of how far you've come and how hard you worked to get that score. If you can shift your perspective to be more appreciative of the work you've put in and the progress you've made, the test because less frightening and less difficult. I know I personally found it easier after I began to put less pressure on myself. So, I hope this helps you too. You've made such incredible improvements and that is worth being proud of. Take a breath and keep working but with the intention of simply trying to be better for the fun of it rather than viewing your progress as though it isn't good enough.

4
RishabhRaj
Edited Tuesday, Feb 17
Haven't taken my final official attempt yet (so take everything here with a grain of salt) but I feel confident enough to say that I've broken through into the solid 170s after also being in the dreaded 160s plateau forever.
Firstly, it's absolutely worth it to hope for consistent 170 scores and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's worth it not only because it will help you get into better schools obviously, but lower-ranked schools that you get into will be willing to offer you better scholarships and make what is notoriously an expensive process much cheaper, especially if you use those offers to negotiate for scholarships. To that end, my first piece of advice would be to actually not place any attempt as being the "final attempt." It seems like you've taken it twice already, but you have a total of 5 attempts in 5 years (2 more beyond that for your lifetime maximum). Schools only care about your highest score. I see little upside to declaring June to be your final attempt, when you still have 2 more swings at bat to hit a home run, especially since if you're applying for this fall like me, you will have plenty of other test administrations in August, September, etc where you can still take the test and apply. Don't put pressure on yourself unnecessarily by prematurely declaring one attempt to be the final one when you don't need to.
As for the LSAT side of things, I don't know what your study routine is like but your profile shows a decent mix of drills and sections. You've done a healthy amount of questions but there would are a few things that might help the most that I implemented to finally notice a change:
Are you wrong answer journaling? and how thoroughly are you doing this? When I was in my 160s plateau, I initially didn't wrong answer journal at all and just hoped I would finally break through on one of these attempts. And when I did start journaling, there was honestly a good bit of time where I was half-assing it. If I got it right on blind review, I was just like "eh, just gotta read better, nothing much else to it." That is the wrong way of going about things. If there's even a shred of doubt about any part of a question, even if you got it right or got it right on Blind Review, review each question thoroughly. Consult every source you can: the written explanations, the video explanations, the "Ask a tutor" button, even some of the comments on each question left by other students and tutors can be helpful. Leave no stone unturned. Each question you get wrong (and arguably even ones you were correct but unsure/guessed on) has 2 issues: you were tempted by the wrong answer(s) when you shouldn't have been, and you missed the right answer. These mistakes will repeat in one form or another on future questions so don't bank on the fact that you've gotten other questions like this right. Address the root of the problem thoroughly. This is a time-consuming process. I honestly have spent much longer reviewing questions than doing questions and that was what got me past a lot of mistakes that kept showing up over and over again. Note down the traps you fall for routinely. There's honestly a solid chance your mistakes are from not reading thoroughly enough and if so, mirror that process on the actual timed drills, sections, and tests you do. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Visualize concepts or give concrete example numbers if that helps make an abstract stimulus/situation more concrete. Develop your own strategies for crushing your weaknesses confidently.
Work on questions consistently. It doesn't have to be everything every day, but just something everyday helps. Even if it's just an RC passage or just a handful of questions or review. The secret here is to try and make this as enjoyable as you can. Yes, some of these topics are arcane and mundane. Try and find something about it that interests you. The questions and review fly by a lot easier when this is something you enjoy rather than something you dread. You may still score questions right if you dread the test and do it kicking and screaming, but it goes so much smoother the more you come to enjoy the questions and view it as less of a challenge and more like something routine and fun, like a puzzle. The easier and more calmly you can crush the easy questions, the more time, focus, and energy you'll have for the genuinely tougher ones, and that'll leave you at the end of a section confident and ready to do more, rather than stressing out over whether you've guessed right on a bunch of questions.
I probably have more advice tailored to your situation if you wish to share more/DM. But hope this helps!
16

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