Self-study
So I took my first PT (not my diagnostic, but after about 2 weeks of studying) on June 6th. I just took my second PT today, after a little under a month of studying, and improved by 2 points from the PT on June 6th. Is this normal progress? I plan to take the LSAT in September, so I'm just wondering if there's something I should be doing to speed up my progression.
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2 comments
Hello,
First, congrats for your improvement!
In reality, it is natural to experience a long plateau, or even actually see your score drop a bit. As you try to apply new theories to your practice, there are simply too many things to consider for every question, and you start doubting every one of your choices. For many many reasons, the score of your PT scores will go up, down, or stay the same. So, I want to say that it is completely normal to see any kind of trend right now.
That being said, most test-takers agree that LSAT progress is rarely linear; it is much more like a staircase. For a long time, you might feel like you aren't improving at all, which leads to doubting your methods. However, once the concepts finally click, you will experience a sudden jump up to the next step.
Lastly, try not to ride an emotional rollercoaster based on your PT scores. There are 150+ PTs for you to practice, and you can't let your emotions go wild for every single time you take one; that's too much on your mentality. I know this won't be easy, but I highly recommend you seeing wrong answers as gold; they are actual opportunities to fix your mistakes or refine your logical gear. If you have seen that exact question on the real exam, you would've lost your point, so how wonderful is it to catch it in practice instead?
In short, keep doing what you're doing, and don't panic if your PT scores fluctuate! They are your chances to protect your points on the actual test day.
I hope this helps, and best of luck!
Hey there! Congrat's on the score climb :)
The annoying answer is that score improvement pace is incredibly subjective, and where you started with your diagnostic also affects things! It's a lot easier to jump from 145-150 than it is to go from 160-175, or even 160-163. There's also a curve as your awareness of what you do and don't know goes up; with a diagnostic, people are generally running on intuition and confidence. Once you start learning more methodology, you tend to think more deeply and spend more time agonizing; as a result, scores sometimes drop before they climb. Or they don't! There's a lot of variation, and it's all normal.
It's super normal to see fluctuations in practice testing. You may go up 4 points, then drop 3. This is totally fine; every test has a different distribution of questions, and may target your weaknesses or play to your strengths. It's less about individual tests than it is about general upward trends.
TL; DR there is no "realistic" improvement to shoot for. Your pace is your pace! But it sounds like you're off to a great start :)
I hope that's helpful rather than just infuriating. Happy studying!