Hi! I would love some thoughts and perspectives on my LSAT journey if anyone has been through something similar. I have been studying full time since around May of this year, aiming for high 160s/low 170s (though I did 7sage's cc in December of last year, but I was working FT then so I couldn't dedicate the same level to the LSAT). During this time, I did a mixture of slow work, review, and took 10 PTs total. I hit the low 160s in August but then I felt pretty burned out by the end of summer and took a 2-week break in September.
To get back in, I started slowly with drills and now I'm doing sections (all untimed). I did ONE timed exam last week and I got a 160, which was pretty discouraging. My sections (in both) have been between -3 and -6 lately.
I have tried doing the deep WAJ review but I don't know if it actually helps? I think my problem is in synthesizing/reading the info. So some stimuli literally just don't resonate with me or I feel like I have to reread multiple times (I have ADHD too).
I'm signed up for the November exam, but instead of feeling like I'm at the finish line and pushing these last few weeks, I'm scared that I've hit a cieling for the meantime? Or otherwise that this is going to require significantly more time? I just can't gauge how close/far I am in this broader journey....
On an admissions note: I was initially targeting T-6s (I graduated salutatorian at a pretty elite university, w/ some of the highest academic awards, and I have extremely strong LORs from professors who knew I was targeting those schools). As we move forward this cycle, I'm conflicted on whether to keep going w/ the LSAT and maybe consider taking another cycle or just settling for a lower-tier school because I literally just don't know if I'll be able to get my LSAT score up within a reasonable timeframe). The fatigue of this test is pretty real too I think...
2 comments
My humbly offered two cents: you are not at a ceiling, but rather a plateau. To breakthrough will require a foundational change in your underlying understanding and ability to process the questions quickly, which will only come with lots of time and practice and deep review. In addition, figuring out how to do all of those things in a way that works best for you is a process in and of itself. For example, WAJ doesn't help me at all, so I don't use it. (Many people will present a flaw in reasoning by assuming that what worked for them is the best way for everyone, but that is a tangent for another day). You will almost certainly continue to improve with more study (if done effectively), but the trade off is waiting a year. On the other hand you may have some sort of epiphanic breakthrough in the next weeks and pull off a crazy score in November.
@STS Hi! Thank you!! This is helpful to hear. I think about the LSAT way too much that I totally lose track of the BP.
I think that's actually what I'm worried about-- that I don't study effectively-- because I feel like I haven't found something that truly works for me even after months of studying. So that's why I can't tell if I'm just not studying effectively all the time or that my learning is just incremental because I know this process can be slow for some.
What do you do instead of a WAJ? Have you found something that's helpful?