Sorry if I repeat anything that FixedDice said, but

Don't worry about your starting diagnostic. If you took it during the holidays, you might have been stressed out or had other considerations. Also, if the 138 was really where you're starting out, don't worry. You can move up from there.

Yes, as FD says, ditch the books. The CC is clearer and more finely apportioned to your (or anyone's) needs.

I think that you can get above 160. "Wait. You haven't met me!" Yeah, I know. Taking this test is a skill that most people can learn.

If you're finishing up your undergraduate, I would suggest that you slow your LSAT study and finish well at undergrad and then don't go at a breakneck speed on 7sage. I find myself surprised how there are lots of skills that are coming together simultaneously and rushing it, as I initially wanted to do, wasn't as effective an approach. Don't be in such a hurry. 7sage is the best, but the human mind needs time to digest all that it has to offer.

The core curriculum is a knowledge base. Taking the test is a skill. You must develop both. Wait a few times after taking your timed PT and then take it again, but practice skipping anything that you're not sure about. People talk about 20 (questions) in 20 (minutes). This gives time to go back and look at mistakes.

Don't expect this to happen fast.

How much time do you have before your desired or a later acceptable admissions cycle?

I will be doing March and June in the full understanding that I might not reach my full potential on the test by either date.

I'd say it depends on your circumstances entirely.

I humbly suggest not adding five minutes to the clock during timed sessions. I have been listening to the 7sage podcast, on which multiple high scorers have talked about aggressively skipping around to find the low hanging fruit that will ensure that they are leaving more challenging, and thereby less likely to obtained points, for the end.

I recently fell ill and have just recovered. But before I got sick, this confident jumping around to find the questions I wanted to answer was what was moving me from the high 150's and low 160's into the mid-160's.

So instead of leaving you with one of the witticisms I've gleaned from Cicero or Wilde or Hitchens:

"I get up, and nothin' gets me down

You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around

And I know, baby, just how you feel

You got to roll with the punches and get to what's real....

.... might as well JUMP!"

It was either this, Kris Kross or House of Pain.

And just why there so many "jump" themed songs?

Trick question!

Everyone back to LSATing!

Respectfully.

There was an expansion of tests available in Asia, but not all centers will offer tests on all dates. It takes a bit of hunting to find the dates for a particular country.

What was your process?

Self-care is more important than any test, but that doesn't mean that one comes as the expense of the other. Take a break for a day and wade back into it. But also, please get enough sleep, enough socialization, enough food and enough exercise. Not only will this calm your nerves and increase your performance, you'll also just enjoy life more.

If you're already consistently in the 170s, then you have enough time to stay in the 170s.

Otherwise, consider taking more than two months to get there, if ever you do.

I also have experienced some burnout. Take a break to enjoy life and not think about LSAT. Then spend a day thinking about what you were doing wrong and then make an active plan not to repeat those mistakes. Try to have fun when you get back into it.

Wow! This is exactly what I was looking for!

Thank you so much!

I initially viewed every wrong answer as impugning my intelligence. In time, you'll realize that that this is a skill. We all start with certain blind spots and getting problems wrong is just teaching you what your blind spots are. Recognition gives you the chance to do something different next time. Eventually, that something different will also be the correct answer for the most part.

In Korean they say, "Mountains beyond mountains." Don't think that you'll climb just one mountain. Continuing the metaphor, luckily these are manageable Appalachian or South Korean mountains for the most part, meaning lower altitude and very hiker-friendly, but still dangerous if approached with unclear thinking. If you come to Mt. Everest on the actual test, just skip it in favor of an easier path.

I have been doing this awhile and feel like your issue is one of the last major issues that I have to conquer. It is very easy for me to get sucked into a question and not move forward.

I have decided to go back to the beginning and practice with old prep tests for the sole purpose of sharpening my LR skipping skills. The new problem sets feature with -3% time and -6% time adjustments might be really great for this. I like what ncarball was saying about reading the stimulus twice and then making a decision. I have just been able to figure things out from problem answers in the past and so am having trouble breaking the habit of staying put and dying on that particular hill; I have to change this.

Looking forward to JY's workshops in Seoul later this month!

We all choose incorrect answers. Mostly this is because we missed something in the stimulus, the stem or the questions. Yeah, I know that those are the only three places to look, but you should know that you're not alone by any stretch of the imagination.

I have begun keeping a journal every LR question that I miss. So far there has been only one which I got wrong, wrote up and wasn't 100% confident about upon completion of that exercise. Nice folks on the site were kind enough to give me some feedback and it helps me to trust my gut more, which is hard for an overthinking wonk like me.

For the vast majority of problems tackled however just writing it up gives me an idea about how problems will be structured, which in turn helps me to anticipate the content of future problems. There's no quick fix, but writing stuff out has given me an extra edge relative to where I had been.

Thanks. I appreciate your response.

I think that my explanation was shaky because my conception of the problem was shaky.

It seems like common sense. I guess I needed someone to say it aloud. I can be common sense deficient sometimes!

I appreciate the replies.

I was quite high in missed Flaw/Descriptive problems and of secondary concern were SA and Weaken. I have since done some drilling in all areas and will get back to some timed sections tomorrow.

Thanks again.

:smile: