I got a 178 on the July Flex thanks to 7Sage, a consistent study partner, a good study environment and luck!

My study methodology:

I took my diagnostic in February, and then did the 7Sage course over the next three months while working full-time (50 hour work weeks). I started diligently studying in mid-May: I took my first practice test 5/23, and started averaging ~168, and ~171 BR. My highest practice test was a 174.

I took the week of July 4th off from work, and starting doing drills. At this point I was doing PTs about every 3-4 days. I kept a spreadsheet tracking all the question types I'd missed, and did drills of the LR types I was missing most frequently (Flaw, Weaken, NA). For drills, I did smaller problem sets (~10 questions) of each problem type at each difficulty level (i.e. 1* Flaw, 2* Flaw, etc). My study partner (a close friend with a complimentary strengths) and I would often go over questions either one of us missed on a problem set, or once did an entire LR section together and talked through how to approach each problem and predict answers. RC was the section where I saw the most improvement: I went from -7 to -2/3 on problem sets. The key for me was reading quickly, but thoroughly and making sure I understood what each paragraph or shift in structure contributed to the overall meaning. I would highlight important names or key dates, and underline the main thesis. For the most part, I would get the answers right with my gut instinct, and the ones I missed were usually answers I had changed at the last minute. So, on test day, I just decided to trust my gut and not flip flop between answers. I'm also an avid reader and spent most of my downtime reading (when not studying or working), and I think that helped me quite a bit. LG was my strongest section from the start (my diagnostic was -0) and I was pretty consistent throughout my studying. The key for me was doing the initial games pretty quickly, so that if later games were tougher I had more than enough time to map out game boards or brute force the game.

I took a day off before the test where I just read a novel all day, and didn't stress about the test. On test day, I felt pretty calm, but walked out of the test having no clue how I did. My biggest piece of advice would be to not over-study, and to be relaxed on the day of the exam (even if it means forgoing some days of studying). I even signed up for the August Flex to relieve the stress of doing well on the July test. Good luck to you all!! Feel free to PM me with questions - this community really helped me when I was studying!