I am looking to raise my LSAT score about 15 points. I am currently in the 147ish range and looking to score in the 160s on the October test. I feel like I am doing the repetition and putting in the hours, but I am having trouble truly learning from mistakes. I feel like I am getting stuck at a point where I know what I know well, but its hard getting the stuff I don't know well to a higher level. With the October test date quickly approaching any advice to level up studying or unlock parts of my brain are appreciated. I know I'm not competitive for my dream school without a 160.
- A girl with a Sad LSAT Score
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11 comments
I went from a 140 diagnostic to a 160 on the June sitting in a month and a half. Just know that if I can do it you can do it too! You got this :)
@kae This is so helpful! I just feel like so many people tell you that you cant make a big jump quickly! if you dont mind how many hours a day were you studying?
@BaileyDixon I studied five hours a day with no breaks. I don't recommend it, but to fill my gaps, I found it helpful. I think if your score is not above 150 right now, then volume will be your friend. After you break 160, then untimed sections can be more helpful.
Just protect your peace too, though. This test is meant to be hard, and remember that it is not indicative of your intelligence and value!
Hey, I'm writing in October as well, and we're sort of in the same boat! Feel free to reach out, if you'd like.
-MJ
Let me know how u approach this, I am on the same boat
You're not alone! I can provide a little more specific advice if you can clarify some things you may need help with!
What are some of your highest priorities (based on 7Sage's analytics)? And what are some of your strengths?
Do you struggle with RC or LR more?
Are you doing BR and WAJ?
Have you gone through the core curriculum (at least for LR)?
and what does an average day of studying look like for you? How often do you take full PTs?
@haena
My two highest priorities are Phenomenon-hypothesis (LR) AND Critique/Debate (RC)
I think i struggle with LR More. I feel like I haven't made a true breakthrough in my studying.
I'm doing BR and not really WAJ. I fear I might not be doing it right cause I struggle to still make the connection. It always seems to make sense to me when i know what the wrong answer is.
I am doing the core curriculum and I feel like I am just doing mehhh in it.
An Average day is about a 2 hours section of the core curriculum. And I take PT every other week.
@BaileyDixon Thanks for the follow up! It sounds like you're still in the early phases of studying, but no worries! This is all prescriptive advice, so feel free to take whatever you need/will fit the best for you!
I would definitely go through core curriculum as soon as you can. If you feel like you don't have the time to sit through it all, then you absolutely need to prioritize memorizing the LR question types, the RC question types, the RC Passage types, and all of the conditional indicator words/argument flaws/quantifier rules. You can always return back to the core curriculum as a reference (I've been studying for a year and still do from time to time!)
If you want, say, a 165, you can only miss around -13 across three scored sections. This gives you an approximate range of getting max -4/-5 per section. If your goal is a 160, you can miss up to -20 across three scored sections, or max -6/-7 per section. If you're not doing so already, I would highly recommend doing (1) timed/untimed section practice and (2) targeted drills (I'll explain more below). You don't want to burn through your PTs all at once, so save the newer ones (PT140+) for full PTs. Because you know what your average PT is roughly, I don't think you need to take a full PT every other week until you feel ready to.
Non-Negotiables:
The aforementioned resources I've linked
Identifying the conclusion (or identifying when there is no conclusion)
(1) Section Practice
You can do this timed (to practice timing without having to take a full PT), or you can do this untimed (really focusing on accuracy). If you do a section timed, I highly recommend that you do BR without any of the recommendations turned on (the pink circles that tell you which questions to BR).
An advantage of section practice is that you can slowly reduce the average number of questions you get wrong without having to take the whole exam over and over again. So, if you're averaging -12 right now, you can aim for -10, then -8, etc. You can start to reintroduce full PTs once you are more familiar with the content and are averaging your goal number of wrong answers.
(2) Drill Practice
You mentioned PhenLR and CritDeb as your weaknesses (and are incidentally mine!). You will want to make custom drills specifically with the tags for PhenLR, CritDeb, or any other weaknesses you may have. If you struggle with PhenLR, then doing drills for CausR and Weak/Str can also help.
CritDeb is tricky but ultimately practice is the only thing that will help you. You can try highlighting different colors for each opinion made (this group of scientists... is pink, an opposing group of scientists... is orange, my opinion is... is yellow, etc). You can also try to do a low-res summary, although some people prefer not to spend time doing so. See the RC Passage types link above for more specific advice. And be suspicious of anytime an author mentions a 'traditional' or 'outdated' perspective/ideology; they will almost always be presenting a new discovery in the following sentences.
Lastly, I cannot stress enough how important it is to WAJ. You can either do it in a notes app, or on the 7sage website, or in a spreadsheet, or just a plain notebook. You mentioned that you often make sense of the question once you know what the wrong answer is, which is a great sign! But I found the most improvement when I sat down and painstakingly went through each question I got wrong/wavered on and specifically wrote down what I did wrong in the moment. Even if it's a silly mistake or I misread something, it will be incredibly helpful for you to write down, "I misread some animals to be most animals" or "I rushed this passage and misunderstood the Author's voice for the Opponent's voice" or "I didn't read EXCEPT in the question and chose the wrong answer". The more specific, the better. It's tedious, and it's annoying; but unfortunately it is how many students improve the most.
I believe 7sage has their own template guide for WAJs, and I think there are some student-made ones floating around the discussion board! But these are my tips for WAJs that helped me the most as someone with ADHD and chose not to use accommodations:
It doesn't matter where you do it or if it's organized well, it just matters that you do it (I've jumped around from like 5 different notebooks both physical and digital just to keep myself motivated).
For each question, identify: whether you flagged it/spent too much time/got it wrong/got it right but was unsure about it/ran out of time and guessed/wrong timed but right on BR/wrong timed and wrong BR/right timed but wrong on BR.
For each stimulus, identify the conclusion (if there is one).
For each answer choice, identify why each wrong AC is incorrect and why each right AC is correct.
WAJ for both LR and RC. On your lighter studying days or right before an exam, read through your WAJ to remember the mistakes you made or common traps that you fell for.
Sorry this is getting long! But I hope that I could provide some insight for you and any other 7sagers on what helped me the most! Wishing you the best of luck!
@haenaYOU ARE AMAZING THANK YOU SO MUCH !
@BaileyDixon Of course! Happy to help ☺️
@haena This entire response is ridiculously helpful. Thank you for posting it!