I just took my second full PT and scored a 137, up from a 125 on my first PT two weeks ago. My ultimate goal is a 175–178, and I’m currently scheduled to take the LSAT on October 7.
For those who started in a similar score range and eventually reached the 170s, what did your progression realistically look like?
At this stage, what kind of improvement should I ideally be seeing from PT to PT to know that my studying is actually working? How frequently should I be taking full PTs, and what score range should I consistently be reaching before I consider myself ready to sit for the actual exam?
Most importantly, based on your experience, what is a realistic timeframe for going from the high 130s to 170+? I know a 175–178 is a very ambitious goal, and I’m willing to postpone my test date if necessary rather than rush the process.
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who made a significant score jump: how long did it take, what changed in your studying, and at what point did you start seeing the biggest improvements?
9 comments
If you are serious about a 175-178, withdraw from October, save yourself the unnecessary stress. I'd say maybe 4-6 months that if you study properly, and review properly, otherwise maybe upwards of a year or more. I just have a question, is english a second language for you?
Congrats on your score jump from 125! At this point of your studying, I would pause on the PTs. You're going to want to save the newer PTs for later, when you want to gauge where you are at. Instead I'd recommend doing drills and timed/untimed sections from the earlier PTs if you've gone through the core curriculum.
A couple things about getting a 175-178 (or any score above 170):
You can only afford to get max 2-3 questions wrong per section to get a 170. If you want to get a 178, you can only afford to get max three questions wrong across the whole test (~1 question wrong per section). This is why people say that it's an ambitious goal because getting a 170+ virtually requires a level of perfection that doesn't include flippant mistakes or human error.
From my experience studying, I think students around 130-140s are still learning content. Understanding question types, recognizing question stems, learning how to identify main conclusion. Students around 150s understand a large portion of the content, but are struggling to execute under time and figuring out what their blind spots are. Students around 160s know the content very well and are working through the blind spots, but the execution falls as they start to demand perfection. Students around 170s are comfortable with content and execution.
Significant score jumps aren't impossible, but they aren't as drastic as you'd want. I celebrate a mere 2 point jump. You'll see countless posts here and on Reddit celebrating a jump between 169 and 170. This is also because as you start averaging higher PTs, the amount of questions you get wrong will cost you more. In other words, jumping from 120s-130s and 130s-140s is 'easier' than jumping from 165-170s. I put 'easier' in quotes because I don't think that any part of this journey is 'easy,' but anecdotally people agree that getting questions wrong when scoring sub140s is relatively more forgiving then when scoring 160s+. So if you study consistently, I think you can feasibly get to 150s in a few months, but I'm not sure if 170s is possible by October.
It is recommended not to register for an exam until you are averaging your goal score but this is sometimes unrealistic because of the nature of scheduling months before the actual exam and also needing to submit your applications on time. If you have the time and flexibility, I would definitely wait until you are averaging 170+ to register. And if you're dead set on a 178, you should aim for 180s on PTs.
If you're not doing so already, wrong answer journal and blind review is imperative for your studies. It's laborious and annoying to do but it works. There is unfortunately no secret hack to jump scores, just hours to be put in.
Since you've asked, I started in mid 150s, and it took me a year of daily studying to get to a PT score of 170. And even now, my real test scores are not where they want to be. Not everyone follows the same track, and I think I could have been more efficient in my studies but lots of people get stuck in one score range for a couple years. I say all of this as someone who thought that I could go from a 150 to 170 overnight.
Wishing you luck, fellow 7sager. This exam is equally rewarding and punishing, but it will ultimately help open doors for you if you really want it to.
@haena Thank you so much, this is very helpful. I moved my test date to April and will assess until then.
@AnouarAyadi That's great! Keep pushing forward, this is a learnable test so you will get there eventually
139 -> 172 speaking. It took me 18 months to reach that score
I will make this very short and I really hope this advice helps(and I know it will)
1 PT a week is enough. For now, with just a few hours of learning the concept, you will easily reach the 150s. But I would not consider that much of a progress because the low to mid 150s is something you can easily reach even without learning the LSAT concepts.
I was stuck at 152 for a full year, but this is what I changed in my study plan:
Prioritize drilling & Blind reviewing(please write down your reasoning)& review your Blind Review(a lot of people miss this part when they are in their 150s)
When I do the Practice Test, I only Blind review, and that is pretty much it.
Once you feel comfortable drilling and get most questions right, from there, instead of doing drills, change that to 1 section a day and blind review that
Literally, this is it. Do not push yourself too much on this. LSAT is a test which Quantity does not win over quality, imo.
This post reminded me of my LSAT journey. Good luck! It will feel great once you reach the score you want.
stop worrying about time. It will do you no good, just drill and study until you are ready. Anyone can score a 170.
October for 170+ is diabolical. You can pick between a strict timeline or a really good score, but it's almost impossible to have both. Cheers.
Please don't apply this cycle
@Optimusbladerunner I won’t