This is my first PT.
I struggled mostly with time and with RC.
Is it realistic to think that I could reach the 170+ by October 7th test day?
I plan on studying for 4h every day until test day.
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This is my first PT.
I struggled mostly with time and with RC.
Is it realistic to think that I could reach the 170+ by October 7th test day?
I plan on studying for 4h every day until test day.
26 comments
hey welcome to the LSAT journey! i will preface this by saying i started off with a 141 in January and my most recent PT was a 172. I studied nearly everday for 2+ hours (and I'd say I am academically inclined, so it did not take a lot of time because I'm not smart. It's just a test that takes time to get better at.) With that said, I think you should give yourself a lot more time because October is a month and 2 weeks away. this test is not the easiest and takes a lot of time to excel in especially with where you are starting at. It's not impossible to go from your score to 170, but I think it will take much much longer than 1 month. Once you start getting scores in the range that you want to be in, then schedule your test. I wish you all the luck!
@yrsrs So it is fair to say that based on your experience I should allocate 8 months of consistent studying to see improvement.
@AnouarAyadi I've been studying since January and I am taking my third LSAT attempt in November, a good 10 month total it'll be and I've logged in about 125 solid hours of studying so far! aiming to do a total of 200, so the next two months should be sufficient for me to get the score I want in November.
@AnouarAyadi no, I would say you should allocate at least 10 months of consistent studying considering your starting point was lower than mine. not only do you have to improve, but it has to be consistently. even right now i struggle to stay in the 170s. this test is really something, but don't put a deadline on yourself because October is wayyyyy too soon. give yourself the best possible chance. quality over quantity!
@AnouarAyadi also just to add, this is a marathon not a sprint. you can't just say 6 months to 170. i mean there's no way to even know because you just started. you might start getting it in 4 months or it may take you longer than a year. everyone understands logic differently. just study and see where it goes, don't put a deadline on it. you will get there!!
I remember those days. I remember back in January when I could barely crack 3-6 questions a sections now my untimed score is nearing 20/25. Trust the process, everything is a pattern. Start seeing context, premises, and conclusion as puzzles. You'll be okay Anouar! :)
@VictorHinojosa90 timing was very challenging. Also, I underestimated RC royally...
@AnouarAyadi Best thing about RC is definitely do the low res summaries. I never highlight. There's no need, in my opinion. Practice Critique and Debate like its your life! Just like in LR, RC has patterns. Each paragraph has a purpose showing you the direction the author wants, everytime you see a passage just try to begin with: Why does the author want me to read this?
That will save you a ton of time! Here if you need any help or advice man! Trust me you might feel like you're behind, but you are perfect. Accuracy before speed.
Congrats on finishing your first PT!
I’m not an expert but TBH your goal score seems highly unlikely by October 7th. You are starting from a very low diagnostic and October 7th is approaching quite quickly. No doubt you will improve by that date, but by 45 points is a lot. Doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but please be kind to yourself if you do not achieve that score by October.
I would also like to add that it's more about quality over quantity. Focus more on effectively studying rather than the amount of hours spent per day. Learn the fundamentals first, that will help everything fall into place, then add time onto it once you're knocking out questions.
@VeeZ 100%
@VeeZ YES!
Hiya, definitely not trying to be a debby downer but I think you should give yourself more time. My first diagnostic (literally untimed) was a 156 and Ive just recently started obtaining 170 with blind review. My goal is also 170+ and from personal experience... going through the foundations, LC, and RC plans alone will take over a month to get through and you dont want to reach burn out trying to cram it all in AND get drilling in AND taking practice test. I think once you finish all those sections you will definitely have a score bump but 170 is ambitious, especially with the time constraints. If you want to apply this cycle maybe opt for a test at the start of next year... I know thats a bit later to apply but a 45 point jump in a month with no foundational knowledge is kind of freaking insane. If it makes you feel any better, I wish everyday I started earlier and Im still thinking about, even now, pushing my October exam back a month. I have faith in your 170 but with such little time you are just going to beat yourself up.
You did it!
There are multiple amounts and variations of advice that update as you progress - Things to currently consider (in addition to the other great advice provided):
You took PT159 (!) The PTs numbered 150+ are more recent/considered more difficult. I would consider your actual diagnostic to be closer to 135 on a PT 120-130. The reality is that diagnostics 120-140 are similar enough, but you really slammed your face into a brick wall with PT 159.
Roll through the lessons (Study > Lesson Library). Start at the top. It's a grind/time consuming, but your pace is your pace. You're not me, but I tried to go faster than I should have and jumped into repeated PTs before I was actually ready. I had to stop and retrace my steps - taking LONGER than I wanted. It worked out, but it wouldn't if I had a deadline 1.5 months out. Learn it right the first time.
It's not really a test you can study for - in that sense, you can't cram for it. It's more of a test that you figure out how they want the questions answered and then try to maintain your self-esteem as you're told that you're wrong for 3+ months.
Take 159 again in a month - you won't remember a thing, and if you do remember, you'll see how your assumptions about what you do know will work against you.
You can totally get 170+ by October. It's not unheard of, but it's unlikely. The only way to really know is to learn what you can as you can and test yourself again in a week or so.
It's a grind, my dude. It took me 6 months to consistently score 150+, but I probably would have progressed faster if I had a tutor helping me to target my weaknesses right out of the gate (when you're starting out, you don't know what you don't know, etc).
The biggest thing is to not get discouraged if you don't progress as you had hoped. If you do progress quickly, that's awesome!
Don't give up! I know this can be very discouraging and it's easy to tell yourself you can't do it... BUT YOU CAN! I started with a diagnostic of a 140 and now i am scoring 160s. I highly recommend attending the live classes after going through the foundations of logic because that is how I started improving the fastest, pattern recognition, building confidence, etc. Also, sometimes giving yourself a longer timeline and studying for less each day is wayyyyyy more helpful especially when you have a full time job or are still in college. I have a full time job so I study max 2 hours a day otherwise it is counterproductive. I will say RC also takes a lot of time to improve just because you need to get used to the timing vs LR is more so getting the foundations down and recognizing the patterns faster.
I second others in the comments that 170+ eventually is not impossible but requires significant effort. A 45 points increase by Oct. feels to me honestly unobtainable.
For context, English is not my first language and I get my RC from -13 initially to around -2/-3 pretty consistently . For RC, if you are getting almost all of the questions of passages wrong, it means that you didn't actually understand what the authors are trying to say. Especially because RC tests you on very specific things (i.e. the correct AC could literally be from a SINGULAR sentence or word), the ability to understand the thesis and tone of the passages on a boarder level is step one to increase RC performance.
An exercise that helped me is: sit down with a RC passage and start reading each sentence one by one. After you read one sentence, write down what you think the role of that sentence is, make sure you understand what it is trying to say and then move on to the next. With every sentence think about how it connects to the previous or the next sentence and why it exists in the passage. After repeating this for the entire passage, write down a one-sentence summary of each paragraph (I never really understood how to do low-res as 7sage suggested...), the role of each para. and the main point. If there are multiple voices, try to single out each one of them and restate what they said with your own words. This is not as time consuming as it looks (takes me about 15-20 minutes for each passage) but it helped me SO MUCH. After doing this for several passages, I start to see repeated structures and writing patterns that makes RC easier to digest. It also trained my attention span and made me comfortable reading hard subjects for long period of time. Since I cultivated the ability to read for meaning slowly, then I was able to read faster and faster maintaining the same level of accuracy.
Another advice is to just read widely! Novels, articles, news what have you to shape your mind into a mode to automatically dissect and digest once it sees words.
I hope this helps! Good luck on your journey:))) Feel free to chat if you have any questions.
I understand and remembered how this feel! My first PT took me a whole freaking week to finish. One simple question could take me for more than 30 min and still got it wrong!
But this stupid test is absolutely learnable. Don't take this score seriously. This is not your real potential. After you learn the foundations, you will definitely see a HUGE Improvement!!!
@Yidi my first test was a 125 but then I took it again it went up to a 152. When you learn the question type and the structure of it it becomes a lot easier for sure.
it's an ambitious goal, which is good, but it absolutely isn't one i'd bet on. ideally you should sign up to take the LSAT once your PT's are consistently where you want them, rather than enforcing a hard deadline. if i were you, i'd wait until next application cycle and spend the time before then really cracking down on the LSAT.
@MasonEdwards that a most likely going to do
Honestly, no, not at all realistic tbh the level of improvement you are looking for will likely take several months. If I'm being completely honest, it may not even be obtainable for you, everyone has a cap and most people do not climb 45 points. I don't want to discourage you, it does happen, and you can do it, but that is a very steep mountain you are gearing up to climb.
@Anders78 thx I needed this comment 😉
I scored a 125 on my first cold diagnostic test. It was humbling for sure. However, I've been studying on and off for 3 months and was able to increase my score 11 points. After taking my next PT, I decided to join 7Sage after watching a few videos on YouTube. I don't know if you can reach that score by October, but I will be very impressed if you can. I am definitely cheering you on. Please let me know your progress, I need the inspiration! Good Luck!!
You will be fine and score above 150!
Focus on Logical Reasoning hard Casual Reasoning, conditional and assumptions.
congrats on your first PT! i've been scoring 170+ for a while now & i might be able to give you some tips/things I wish I would have done at the beginning of my LSAT journey. if that's something you'd be interested in just DM me & we can hop on a quick zoom/discord call. either way, you got this!!!!
@Lostbutvibing I need this! Thx 🙏🏼