Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

First of all, your instinct is correct that note-taking wastes time. You can use highlighting or take notes to a minimum if necessary, but relying on them too much will take time away from you. Your realization that note-taking is substituting for understanding is a huge breakthrough. Try to process the information mentally instead of putting it on paper.

Second, you are supposed to go back to the passage! I know that a lot of high-scorers go back and forth between the passage and the questions constantly. Plus, our memory is not perfectly reliable; what we thought was a stated fact might actually be an invalid inference we unconsciously made while reading for the first time. We may need to validate it by going back to the passage.

I used to spend 4+ minutes trying to memorize every detail so I wouldn't have to look back. I still forgot the details and had to look back anyway! So, I changed my strategy. I capped my passage-reading time at 3 to 3.5 minutes. This strict limit forced me to stop memorizing details and start focusing on the overall structure. You are just building a 'mental map' so you know exactly where to look when a question asks for a detail.

Lastly, reading dense articles like The Economist during your free time can really help you build endurance and get familiar with difficult passages.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello,

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

What the other commenter said is exactly what you need to do to eliminate trap answers: ask yourself, 1) Is this AC accurately describing what the author did? and 2) Is this actually a logical error?

On top of that, I highly recommend figuring out what the logical error is before moving into the answer choices. If you read a stimulus and cannot notice the flaw right away, use the common flaws as a mental checklist: Necessary vs. Sufficient, Correlation vs. Causation, Absolute vs. Relative, Part-to-Whole, etc. 7Sage has this great resource for learning what these common flaws are. Ask yourself: 'Does this stimulus confuse necessary conditions with sufficient ones?', 'Does this make a causal claim merely from a correlation?'

Once you have a prediction, then you move on to the ACs and see if there's one that exactly matches what you found. Although not all flawed stimuli rely on a 'classic' flaw, a lot of them do, so identifying which of those common candidates is present will definitely help you.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

Time management is the key in RC; it is what a lot of test takers struggle with. I used to spend way too much time reading the passage on my first pass, leaving very little time for the questions. So, I changed my strategy. I used to spend 4+ minutes on dense passages, but I decided to cap my reading time at 3 to 3.5 minutes maximum before forcing myself to move on to the questions.

When I set that strict timeframe, I noticed that I naturally focused much more on the overall structure and the purpose of the author's arguments rather than getting caught in the details. I got comfortable doing a faster initial read and going back and forth between the text and the questions. This helped me a lot with timing.

Also, I found flag-and-move-on especially helpful with RC. Try not to waste too much time on a single question that is tripping you off. Just flag it and move on. While you work on the next questions, you will often pick up on something relevant for the flagged one. Then you can go back and solve it.

Lastly, if you want to practice reading dense passages, you can read articles from places like The Economist during you free time, which can really help you build endurance and get familiar with difficult passages. And for those articles, try to find the main point, and map out the purpose of each paragraph.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello,

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

When it is difficult to notice the flaw after reading the stimulus, you don't need to come up with the reason from the scratch. There are many common flaws that you can use as a checklist: Necessary-Sufficient, Part-to-Whole or Whole-to-Part, Correlation-Causation, Relative-Absolute, etc. 7Sage has a great resource here to see common flaws at once. A lot of times, the stimulus with a flaw will contain a flaw from this cheat sheet. So ask yourself: 'Does this stimulus mix up necessary conditions with sufficient conditions? Does this claim a causal relationship while it only has a correlational relationship? Does this mix up # with %?'

Lastly, you are correct that not all stimuli have a gap. Strengthen, Weaken, Flaw, NA, SA, PSA, Flawed Parallel, Evaluate will have a stimulus with a logical error.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello,

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

It is absolutely not impossible to make that jump! You still have over a month left, so you have time. There is no problem at all with having an ambitious goal; in fact, having a high target can provide the exact motivation you need to grind through this next month.

As the August exam approaches, check to see if you are hitting that 160+ level consistently in your PTs. Ideally, you should only sit for the official exam when your PTs prove you are ready.

Speaking from my experience, although I did give myself a bit more time, the difference between my first official score and my final one is over 10 points. So that kind of jump is definitely possible.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

On top of all the great advice from others, I want to add my own strategy in case it helps!

I used to get LR MSS and Resolution questions wrong because I missed a piece of information in the stimulus. To fix this, I started treating each LR stimulus like a treasure hunt. It sounds simple, but it shifts your mentality into something fun and exciting that requires your full attention to every single word and phrase. Treating it like a game set my mind to: 'Okay, I am going to discover every hidden clue in here, let's go!'

It is totally understandable that you are glazing through the text; the LSAT drains a massive amount of stamina. But it is actually a great thing that you have already identified your bad pattern! Now that you know exactly what is eating your score, you can consciously catch yourself and reset your focus. I believe in you; you can absolutely fix this habit!

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

On top of all the great advice from others, I want to share the strategy that helped me a lot with RC.

I assume time management is one of the problems, since that's common for a lot of LSAT students. If you know that your current strategy doesn't work, then to improve quickly, you have to change how you read. I used to spend 4+ minutes trying to absorb dense passages, leaving very little time for the questions. I found that I still couldn't recall the specific details anyway, which forced me to go back to the text. So, I decided to cap my reading time at 3 to 3.5 minutes maximum before forcing myself to move on to the questions.

When I set that strict timeframe, I naturally stopped getting caught up in the details and focused much more on the overall structure and the purpose of the author's arguments. I got comfortable doing a faster initial read and going back and forth between the text and the questions. Like this, try to explore different ways of tackling passages and see if you can find one that works well for you.

Lastly, reading dense articles like The Economist during your free time can really help you build endurance and get familiar with difficult passages.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

Ideally, you should only take the official exam once you are hitting your goal score range consistently in your PTs. Considering you have already taken the LSAT twice, the decision to sit for the exam again needs to be made very carefully to protect your remaining attempts.

I would not recommend taking it in both August and September. With only a one-month difference between the two dates, it is highly unlikely that your score will change significantly, and you risk burning yourself out.

Ultimately, my best advice is to take one whenever you are consistently hitting your goal score in your PTs and truly feel confident. I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

I totally understand what you mean! I used to spend way too much time reading the passage on my first pass, leaving very little time for the questions. I found that despite spending a lot of time on the passage, I still couldn't recall the specific details when answering the questions, forcing me to go back to the text anyway! So, I changed my strategy. I used to spend 4+ minutes on dense passages, but I decided to cap my reading time at 3 to 3.5 minutes maximum before forcing myself to move on to the questions.

When I set that strict timeframe, I noticed that I naturally focused much more on the overall structure and the purpose of the author's arguments rather than getting caught in the details. I got comfortable doing a faster initial read and going back and forth between the text and the questions. This helped me a lot with timing.

Also, I found flag-and-move-on especially helpful with RC. Try not to waste too much time on a single question that is tripping you off. Just flag it and move on. While you work on the next questions, you will often pick up on something relevant for the flagged one. Then you can go back and solve it.

Lastly, reading dense articles like The Economist during your free time can help you with getting familiar with difficult texts or building your reading endurance.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

It would depend on what score you're getting from your PTs and how close they are with your goal score. Ideally, you would take the official exam after you consistently earn your goal range on your PTs.

If you are definitely going to apply for the 2027 cycle so you want to finish LSAT before the end of this year, then it may worth to take September exam and see what score you get to determine your November schedule. According to LSAC's LSAT Timeline, it seems like you will be able to register/cancel for the November exam on the day you get your September score back. But these schedules sometimes changes, so keep that in mind.

Until then, work on regular PTs to hit reach goal score! I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

First of all, what you are experiencing is completely normal, and a lot of LSAT students go through this score drop as well.

Here is why it happens: when you took your diagnostic, you didn't know any tactics, so you just relied purely on your natural intuition and moved quickly. But now that you know the question stems, what to look for, and what methods to apply, there are suddenly a lot of parts to consider for every single question. Even when you intuitively like an answer, you are now slowing down to doubt it and confirm it using your newly earned knowledge.

Because there are more things going on within the same time limit, you run out of time. It is definitely normal to see your score drop a bit right after learning all the theoretical parts. But as you continue practicing, you will internalize these theoretical strategies until they become yours, and your speed will naturally increase.

There are a few different ways to go from here. For instead, instead of jumping into strict 35-minute timed sections, you may try giving yourself a bit more time at first (maybe 4~45 minutes per section) so you can practice applying the strategies without panicking. Afterward, always do a Blind Review on the questions untimed so you can solidify your understanding.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help as you look toward a potential August retake!

On top of the great advice from other users in the comments. there are three things I want to add.

First, whenever you take a full test, you might finish a section feeling like you completely ruined it. It is okay to acknowledge that feeling, but you have to move on from it instantly. For instance, after finishing Section 1, you might feel "That was crazy; I think I missed more than 10 questions." Don't let that ruin the other three sections; you can still get the score you want if you do well enough on the rest. Tell yourself, "Okay I might have done terribly on my first section, but here we go."

Second, if you have run out of fresh PTs, look for PTs that you took several weeks or months ago and retry them. Retrying a PT is incredibly valuable; if you get a question wrong a second time, it proves that there is a fundamental flaw in your method or logical reasoning that you need to fix.

Lastly, regarding timing, I found flag-and-move-on helpful, especially with RC. If there is a question that's tripping you off, try not to waste too much time on this single question. Just flag it and move on. While you work on next questions, you will often pick up on something relevant for the flagged one. Then you can go back and solve it.

I hope this helps!

Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

To answer your first question: I highly recommend taking a full PT first! Since you just finished the curriculum and haven't tested since January, you need a brand-new baseline score to start off. Take a test to see how much you have improved, and then use those results to figure out exactly which practice blocks and question types you need to drill.

Regarding your busy schedule, it may be difficult to take full PTs frequently, but whenever you do, I highly recommend taking them in one sitting to simulate the actual exam environment. For example, when I didn't practice doing 2.5-hour exams, my brain would go on strike by the time I reached the fourth section. Only after I regularly simulated the actual exam time did I stop feeling fatigued at the end.

And when you do not have much time to study, you may work on wrong answer journal to see why you got questions wrong or confused. Once you build enough data after practice, try to find which specific question types you find the most difficult.

Lastly, if your goal is 168+, then ideally, it is better if you hold off taking the official exam until you are consistently hitting your goal from the full PrepTests.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

Some people find the reverse-order method incredibly helpful, while some others don't like it at all. It really varies from person to person. Those who love it usually cite similar reasons you mentioned: getting the hardest questions out of the way first.

However, those who dislike this method usually have two main reasons: 1) they use the easier questions in the first half to warm their logic gears up before tackling harder questions, and 2) they don't want to risk running out of time at the very end and missing an 'easy' question that they would have easily gotten right.

That being said, you should also be aware that there is a trend in more recent PTs where test-makers plant some highly challenging questions in the first half section. Because of this, the order of the questions doesn't always indicate a progressing level of difficulty.

Ultimately, as others have said, if you test this method a few more times and your scores remain consistently higher, then it may be the right method for you. Good luck!

Hello!

I know this is a slightly older post, but I am writing this anyway hoping it can still help!

I used to struggle with the exact same thing. I spent way too much time reading the passage on my first pass, leaving very little time for the questions. So, I completely changed my strategy. I used to spend 4+ minutes on dense passages, but I decided to cap my reading time at 3 to 3.5 minutes maximum before forcing myself to move on to the questions.

When I set that strict timeframe, I noticed that I naturally focused much more on the overall structure and the purpose of the author's arguments rather than getting caught in the details. I got comfortable doing a faster initial read and going back and forth between the text and the questions. This helped me a lot with timing.

Also, I found flag-and-move-on especially helpful with RC. If there is a question that's tripping you off, try not to waste too much time on this single question. Just flag it and move on. While you work on next questions, you will often pick up on something relevant for the flagged one. Then you can go back and solve it.

These are two ways I reduced my time on RC! I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

First of all, take a deep breath. A 160 combined with a 3.95 STEM GPA is already an incredibly strong foundation. Your self-doubt is totally normal, especially when you are testing slightly below your practice range, but you are in a much better position than your brain is letting you believe right now.

Regarding your mental block with full PTs, I can share a little bit of my own experience. I didn't get the score I wanted on my first two exams, and what I realized was that I simply lacked the physical and mental stamina to stay focused for the entire test. I would do great early on, but by the third section, my brain would go on strike. Forcing myself to take full PTs in one sitting was the only way I built the endurance needed for test day. You have to simulate the actual exam to get over that hump.

As for RC, I totally understand wanting to prioritize it, but unless you are 100% sure you will get a perfect score on LR, it is worth studying! I was also much more confident in LR than RC. Because I knew RC was my weakness, my strategy was to make my LR absolutely bulletproof so I wouldn't lose any points there. If you get a -0 or -1 on LR, you can afford to get a -8 or -10 on RC and still comfortably hit your goal of 165. Let LR do the heavy lifting to take the mental pressure off your RC!

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Hello!

You are definitely not overreacting! I completely understand what you mean, and I have seen a lot of complaints from other students about this exact layout change. Having to expend extra energy and clicks just to eliminate answer choices is definitely frustrating when you are trying to save every second.

That being said, I honestly believe getting used to the new UI soon is going to be much more beneficial for you than postponing it.

When I was studying, getting comfortable with the exact test format mattered so much to me that I actually did all my practice in the official LawHub just so the UI would match the actual exam. Test day brings enough anxiety on its own; you want the interface to feel like second nature.

If you wait to learn the new format, you are going to build your entire pacing and reading strategy around a tool that won't be there on test day. Once you build a solid strategy, it is incredibly challenging to rewire your muscle memory and change those habits. Since every LSAT will use this new format from now on, adjusting to the change now means you will have one less thing to stress about as your test date approaches. I believe that you will adjust to it faster than you think.

Best of luck!

Hello,

It is completely normal to feel unsure about your score on a repeated section, but remember that even if your familiarity with the topic made the read a bit easier, you still had to correctly execute the logic to get the answers right.

In my case, I actually found reviewing already-seen RC passages to be incredibly beneficial. I went through every single RC passage at least three times before my final exam. Here is how you can ensure you are still progressing with reused material:

• Notice repeating mistakes: The questions you get wrong twice or more are gold. They indicate a persistent flaw in your method or logic that you need to fundamentally change.

• Space out your retakes: As others have said, focus on the passages you haven't touched in the longest amount of time to minimize your memory. You can also dip into much older PTs for extra practice.

• Focus on structure: Since you already have a vague idea of the content, use these passages to strictly practice your structural reading. Read a paragraph, quickly recall the key info, and identify its purpose (Is it introducing the main point? Is it outlining a critic's perspective?).

• Read outside material: As Altan suggested, you can practice your structural reading on dense articles from places like The Economist. Try to identify the purpose of each paragraph, the overall structure, and the main point.

I hope this helps!

Hello!

LSAC do round to the nearest .01 place. However, that is not the only calculation they do for your final CAS GPA. On their Transcript Summarization page, LSAC explains exactly how they convert grades. Based on their rules, your GPA calculation might differ from theirs due to factors like how repeated courses are handled or your undergraduate institution using a slightly different numerical grading system.

You can check if your undergrad's calculation system aligns with the LSAC's on their Interpretive Guide Page.

There is also a great feature on 7Sage that calculates CAS GPA for you to try.

To answer your final question: it is usually not worth contacting LSAC to argue about rounding. However, if you read through the pages and you plug your exact transcript into the 7Sage calculator and realize LSAC made a genuine data-entry error, it would be worth to contact them to get it fixed. I hope this helps!

Hello!

First of all, congratulations on completing your first LSAT!

While you won't know for sure until you get your score back, it is always a good idea to plan for a retake after your first official attempt.

The right amount of time to take off varies from person to person, but personally, taking more than a week off was not helpful. My brain froze, and it took me a while just to recover the skills I had before the break. If you are aiming for August or September, I highly recommend not taking too much time completely off.

When I took my exam, I only took a few days off before getting right back into studying. I spent much less time studying each day, but I kept at it because I didn't want to lose my momentum and test habits.

When I finally got my score back, I actually didn't need to study anymore because I got the score I wanted. So strictly speaking, those few weeks of studying were for 'nothing.' But I don't see it as a waste of time. Maintaining a low-level study routine was the great distraction to keep me from agonizing over the score release.

I hope this helps!

Hello!

I completely agree with Asma: RC is much more about structure than minute details. Even if you struggle to understand the nitty-gritty details of a dense science passage, try to focus on identifying its purpose. Constantly ask yourself: Why is the author including this?

Another thing that helped me immensely was time management. I used to spend way too much time reading the passage on my first pass, leaving very little time for the questions. I found that despite spending a lot of time on the passage, I still couldn't recall the specific details when answering the questions, forcing me to go back to the text anyway. So, I changed my strategy. I started spending less time on the initial read and got comfortable going back and forth between the text and the questions. This helped me a lot with timing.

Lastly, I found flag-and-move-on especially helpful with RC. Try not to waste too much time on a single question. Just flag it and move on. While you work on next questions, you will often pick up on something relevant for the flagged one. Then you can go back and solve it.

In short, I thought 1) focusing on author's purpose and 2) managing time were the keys to the RC!

I hope this helps!

Hello,

If I understood your question correctly, you're asking if there's a way to pull out only bookmarked lessons.

There is a 'Show bookmarks' toggle right below the header; if you click that switch, the list only shows the bookmarked lessons.

I hope this helps!

Hello!

First, it would be incredibly helpful for you to identify exactly which LR question types you have the most trouble with. Once you know that, you can do targeted drills with those specific types to practice them in isolation.

Also, look closely at the pattern of your choices during review. Ask yourself: Why did I discard the correct AC, and why did I choose the wrong AC instead?

For question types that require you to notice logical gaps, try to find the gap before moving into the ACs. If you cannot spot the flaw immediately, try running through a mental checklist of common ones: Necessary vs. Sufficient, Part-to-Whole, Relative vs. Absolute, Lack of Evidence, etc.

One final piece of general advice: once you have solved a lot of questions, it helps a lot to retry questions you did several weeks or months ago. If you get a question wrong again, it is a massive red flag indicating there is something you definitely need to fix in your method or underlying logic.

Hope this helps!