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My first diagnostic was a 165, and after months of studying I'm still averaging 168. I've gotten a few PTs between 170-174, but I'm really consistently getting 168s. I feel so stuck! Is this just how it is when you're trying to get 170+? Do I just need to drill more of the question types I'm stuck on? More time on wrong answer journaling? What's been helping you the most?
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Im in the same situation, ive gotten exactly 169 on the last 4 or 5 pts ive taken and just cant seem to break the 170 ceiling. I've personally been working on taking more time on LR questions and not being as stressed about the timer since theres usually one or two that upon BR I realize was a reading error on my part, but tbh idk if its worked out much considering my scores lol. Hope you find the way forward!!
I went from a 158-168 just by better understanding questions. Now (1ish month after that time) i consistently score 170-174 (last 6 or so tests). The biggest thing for me was getting better at judging which questions I know that if I spend more time on I will work out the right answer and which questions its better just to go with my gut. I usually have enough time to go back to a few LR questions so making sure I prioritize ones with conditional reasoning is important for me. That helped me get the 2-3 more right questions that brings me up to the low 170s.
I have been working on getting up to the high 170s but that might be a little too much for me unless I get my ideal test order (LR, RC, LR, Experimental) and have my types of questions be the hardest (Flaw, Parallel, or SA, not NA). I think people down play the role of luck in the difference between a 174 and a 177, that is truly 2 correct guesses vs a 164 and a 167 is 4 or more questions. I ALWAYS have some level 2 causal reasoning question that throws me for a loop because I overthink it so on those I just trust my gut and I know now not to change my first answer unless I have a REALLY good reason.
In short, work on test strategy. You are going to have unique quirks about your testing at this level that won't be because you don't know Unless is a group 3 indicator, or you don't understand the difference between SA and NA. Figure out when to trust your gut and when to know it is a dirty little liar .
Hi Im not sure if you can help me with this but id figured id reach out and ask anyway. My diagnostic was 141, I don't have much help and I don't know anyone who could help me understand the questions better. I plan to give myself some time and take the test in January. To my point I was wondering what do you do to get a high score, your diagnostic test is my goal lol. Im curious to see if you have certain things that help you or any studying tips?
Frankly, you might be doing too much. I was in a similar position and it was because I was studying several hours every day. If you feel comfortable with doing so, take days off. Sharpening your mind is important, but using it too much can leave it duller than when you started.
This was me until not too long ago (and honestly, even now, I'm getting low 170s only, which is another few points after 168). I think for me, the issue wasn't just LSAT-specific skills. It was related to life skills as well, haha. For example -- letting nerves get to me, having a perfectionist mindset with questions, trying to read RC passages too closely.
I'd really recommend identifying what's holding your score down. It might be a specific question type, or it might just be RC vs. LR in general. For me, since I was doing a lot better on LR than RC, and I knew I was having trouble completing all RC questions on time, I think I really started to improve in RC after practicing reading in general. News articles, books, and stuff like that. I think starting a new job where I had to read dozens of legal documents really helped, too. It's only after months of "life" I realized that I had to start embracing SKIMMING to break that 170 ceiling.
Last thought is -- I've seen lots of sources say that 170 is called a "ceiling" for a reason. It's harder to break from high 160s to low 170s, for example, than mid 160s to high 160s. Also, if you're already scoring in the high 160s range, you're already doing really, really well. So it's about getting just a couple of questions more right.........and there's likely a specific reason those couple of questions evade you.
Good luck! Don't give up. It was so discouraging for me when I was stuck in that mid-to-high 160s range, but I promise, even if it takes forever, it is possible.