Need Help!

tmd12

I have been studying close to three months now. I took a month long prep course through my university to kick off my studying. My diagnostic was low as expected. Although I have literally stayed at the same score with a slight 2 point improvement a few weeks ago. I took a PT today but it was one I had already taken by accident and obviously scored the best because the material was familiar. I just am so frustrated and cannot get the improvement I am wanting to see despite studying 5 days a week. I would love to personally talk to someone where I could give them more details about my situation etc. Someone please help

carreno.kate

Hi. I was similarly frustrated a few months ago, and I think I've managed to push past the road block. I can try to give you some insight as to what worked for me. What's your strategy been thus far?

tmd12

I would love to hear it. I usually work with different types of problems and based on my PT focus on my weak spots. It is hard to explain my exact strategy but essentially just work with my weak points based on PTs and understand why I got something wrong or right.

carreno.kate

I took my time with the curriculum, working through everything as suggested by 7Sage. I started PTs recently. I'm taking 2 PTs per week, one on Monday morning and one on Friday morning. I get everything ready the night before the PT, so when I'm done with my morning routine, I'm ready to start...not frustrated by printer problems or a messy working space. Just before I start the test, I write out reminders to myself on the cover-page: focused, relaxed, careful etc. All this helps to put me in a clear, positive frame of mind. When I'm anxious or negative (which I tend to be), I tank. The other days of the week are days for Blind Review and Fool Proof. I work through every problem on the test, even ones I thought I had no trouble with the first time around. If I still missed a few questions when I grade the test, I go back and try to figure it out myself before watching the video explanations. I go back through the curriculum for any concepts that gave me trouble, though this is a quick process -- just until it clicks. I try not to dwell on curriculum because I just spent a few months with it, this time around it's only to refresh my memory if needed. This process takes about 2 days, leaving me some time to briefly review the most recent PT one last time before I take the next one. This solidifies everything I've learned in the past few days. With each PT, you should start to see more and more similarities between tests. Figure out what's tricking you, and consciously stop yourself from falling for the same trap over and over again! Ultimately, I think the key is exposing yourself to as much material as possible, in an effective and reasonable manner. You want to see as many questions as possible, but also learn as much as you can from those questions. It's a balance. I also think that maintaining a healthy, positive, and confident view towards your preparation is CRITICAL. I have struggled with this tremendously, and changing my mindset has made all the difference. I have stagnated and been very frustrated at times, but you have to make the decision to push through it with dedication and confidence. I have been interning three days a week (with an hour commute) and preparing curriculum for a course I'm TAing in the Fall for a few months now...so this has not been a 24-7 operation, though it has been quite the commitment. This is not insurmountable. You are capable of achieving a score that you are proud of, whatever that score may be. Envision success.

tmd12

Thanks a lot I struggle to keep my confidence up. I start my internship soon 8-5 Mon-Fri so I really am going to be crunched on time so hopefully I see some improvement soon atleast

carreno.kate

If you're giving this your best effort, there is no reason to beat yourself up. Stay focused on your inevitable success, and by success I mean getting into law school. Perhaps a shift in perspective will help: this is a prerequisite, it's a weed-out. That's it. The LSAT is not a measure of your self-worth, intelligence, or even your ability to succeed in law school. I think it's a nine percent positive correlation between LSAT score and first-year GPA, and after that it really doesn't make a difference. For a while I thought that I could only be happy with a 170 on the LSAT. But, in reality, I will be happy with whatever score I earn because it will reflect my best effort, and I will be even happier with my acceptance to a law school. I've come to this realization after a considerable amount of worry, stress, anxiety, frustration, panic, and the works: it is what it is. The next LSAT administration is two months away, you have time to sharpen your skills and perfect a strategy. And you can always choose to take it at a later date. But if you're anything like me, the fear of failure will paralyze you if you don't decide to get past it. Take the pressure off yourself and have some fun with it! Good luck!!

chrijani7

^ Words of wisdom right there. Well put.

tmd12

Yeah but my score is literally terrible your mindset on a 170 means your already scoring higher than I ever will haha. My scores will get me in somewhere because I have a good resume and GPA but I would rather compliment all of that with a decent score

MattTarHeelLSAT

Well said tmd. Well said.

carreno.kate

I'm just concerned that you might be so worried that you're not going to improve, that you're actually preventing yourself from improving. While preparing for the June 2014 administration, I found myself in this situation. Before the June administration I was stuck in the high-140s, low-150s. I was putting in more hours than I am now, but the quality of my study was hampered by my pessimism. I decided to postpone my exam to September. I took a week off from studying, and started again with a healthier mindset. This time around I was determined to be focused and careful, but mostly just efficient. While I used to waste time being annoyed and discouraged with difficult questions, now I just laugh it off, knowing that I'm going to figure out exactly what happened after the test. I still have plenty of room for improvement, but I would rather focus on what I've accomplished than focus on what I have yet to accomplish. You should absolutely prefer to compliment your application with an LSAT score you are proud of, I just think that will be more feasible to accomplish with a changed perspective. I completely understand your frustration, but I encourage you not fester in it for too long. I'm sure by now you have the fundamentals down, you just have to learn how to apply them strategically and under timed pressure. Anyone will tell you this process is grueling and at times, discouraging, but you can learn this test.

tmd12

Thanks Kate I am so aware of what I am doing in regards to my stress and hindering my improvement by being pessimistic. Those were encouraging words though thank you any more tips would be awesome if we could talk more personally if my trouble persists.

vandyzach

Where are you stuck at? I ask because being stuck in the 140s is much different than being stuck in, say, the low 170s.

Also, yes, studying for this test w/ an 8 to 5 job will suck, but it can be done. I am doing it now. But you CAN do it. You will just have to make sacrifices.

tmd12

I am no where near the 170s

chrijani7

Everything Kate stated regarding pessimism was true during the beginning of my studies. I am in a similar situation as her. I was held back by being so terrified and worried about my score and the LSAT and whatever else that it actually prevented me from learning anything really. I ended up plateauing around the mid-high 150's, and decided to post-pone the June LSAT to September. I ended up going a mini vacation for about 5 days and came back with the attitude that I need to get back to the basics and learn this friggen test. I did just that, I went back and restarted the 7sage course, brushed up the Trainer, began reading outside sources (as I did not take that serious before). I will tell you this, while I am not a 170 test taker, I did manage to break my plateau. I began doing testing last week after a little over a month of slow drilling, relearning the basics, etc. My first test I did I scored 163 and my second test I scored 161 (fudged up an LG). What's more important is that I used to dread RC like the plague, now it is manageable. I went from around -10+ on RC to around -6. The point is that improvements CAN be done, but it takes a lot of self discipline and maintaining a positive outlook (which I feel sometimes is overlooked). Having a positive attitude about the test, finding ways to make it enjoyable (somehow), and keeping a "can do" attitude will help you break past your barrier. Couple that with focused studying AND MOST IMPORTANTLY consistency (as in keeping the LSAT on your schedule nearly everyday) will eventually lead to solid results that you can be proud of, whether your a 170 test taker or not.

Erika123

Don't give up! Take a long break & relax. You will do it