Hello, guys I have my profile open so u can see my stats, as well as my drills stats, but I am genuinely curious if anyone has made a jump from the 150s to 160s in 8 weeks. btw cant afford tutoring rn, and I am unemployed ( recession lol), so I can dedicate as much time to the LSAT as I want. I scored a 153 in August, but my test anxiety was sooo bad I legit didn't sleep the night before. I think if I slept, I would've scored in the 155-156 range. I want to score 162+ in November, which I know sounds ambitious, but I am willing to do anything. Please give me ur most unhinged methods and what you did for a big score jump for anyone who is in my range. I know it sounds ambitious, but I am choosing to be delusional and aim high!
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Disclaimer: This is a copy paste of a response I gave someone else but I think it easily applies to you as well. I credit translation drills a lot of how I scored 160 initially when I took the LSAT in November last and then a 164 in January. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.
In my opinion, people who are scoring below the high 150s likely have some key gaps that could lead to major breakthroughs and, with it, score jumps.
Translating accuracy: You're potentially not doing the best job at taking what the stim is saying which prepares you to tackle what the question is going to present you. When you leave the stim, you should have an idea of what's the flaw in argument, what the premises would be adding up to, where the point of disagreements and agreements are, or what could resolve the paradox
You don't need to always have a "prephrase" but your reading should automatically have you oriented to think about these things
Translating speed: This goes hand-in-hand with the prior point and is obviously also important. Accurately understanding what the stim says is great but you need to be able to do that in a timely manner. Get more and more comfortable with translation drills and over time this will come naturally if you commit to it
Self-assessment: Do you know your own weaknesses? Where are you consistently falling in the same pitfalls? What are things you can do to prime yourself going into a type of question?
7Sage analytics are a good start for this, letting you focus on specific question or passage types. However, you should also be working on being able to do this both without needing the analytics to tell you which things you can improve on but also so you can deeper understand what is leading you to getting the wrong answer instead of the right one. This is where Wrong Answer Journals are clutch so you can spot not just what question times are tripping you up but also so you can reflect on how you're making a mistake consistently
tysmmm I am doing translation drills but ur right I should do them more! I do make my drills timed and I do priority drilling
How much time are you able to commit to studying? I'd argue that for where you are, translation drills along with a mixture of untimed assorted question drills and untimed drills of priority questions with a good blind review would give you more bang for your buck. I'm trying to get myself from the mid 160s to 168+ and all my drills are still untimed.
If you have the time and endurance, I'd also say do one PT (ideally with a blind review) a week as your timed aspect. Once you're like 3 weeks out, if you want to throw in timed drills, go ahead, but a PT a week will "force" that aspect regardless if you do or don't.
Completely disagree! Do untimed practice sections/drills for a couple of weeks and then start doing timed sections/tests (While still focusing on the untimed). If you're unemployed you have time to really break down the fundamentals which will get you to at least 160, be consistent and do a few hours of studying 6 days a week. Also start reading! I swear reading books helped me break into the 160s
thank u bb will do!! been targetting my priorities HARD and I def see a difference!
Yes. 100%. I scored a 159 prediagnostic and tested at a 167 a few days ago after 6 weeks. I'm working full time though and have not taken any tutoring.
AMAZING!!!! drop the tut HAHAH
Tough love: you should not have signed up to the test, especially since you are not practicing around your ideal score. It's unlikely you are going to see your desired results in 8 weeks. Given that you currently are employed, for 150 scorers your issue is likely content and fundamentals, its going to take you more than 8 weeks to fix/ learn the fundamentals while having a full time job. Taking the test is wasting an attempt, withdraw from the test. Don't bank on getting "lucky" on test day. Make the safe and smart choice and withdraw, until you are ready.
yea no I wanna be in school next year lol im not aiming for harvard, I also said I am unemployed . . . I think u misread my caption and the insight I was looking for I was asking others who were in my shoes who have achieved this how they did it.
Timeline wise, I'd encourage you to be open to not needing to get into law school this cycle but you know your life better than anyone else here.
I don't think it's impossible to improve your score to what you're aiming for but I would also encourage you to be more flexible/even be open to taking it again in January to then apply. November and then January into applications is what I did last year and I did get into a school and was even offered some scholarship money. It's absolutely doable.
Im in LSAC plus and another scholarship and the hope is to be in school next year with those scholarships ive pushed off applying for 3 years now and I just dont want to push it off anymore honestly. So I am giving it all ive got bc I absolutely want to be in school next year
In other words its a requirement for my other scholarship to attend next year because of the resources they've poured into me
@yogibearboba Depends on the scholarship amount. If the scholarship are likely to cover a substantial amount of the tuition than go ahead. Keep in mind there is LSAT inflation. So aiming low really isn't a good idea. Don't put yourself in more debt than you have to especially for a degree from a institution that has low employment/ and low bar passage outcomes.
with regards to studying advice, drill, review, repeat. Review is the most important element that most people get wrong. Thoroughly review. And stop studying when you are feeling tired/ unfocused. With regards to how much you should be studying per day: as much time as you can possible without getting tired or drained.
thanks so much