LSAT Plateau

mel_emm8

I started studying for the September LSAT in May while working 40hrs a week (which I will be doing until the end of August). I feel like I've plateaued with my last 4 tests - 162+/- 1pt and as much as I drill logic reasoning (I average -5 per section), it seems like I always get the same number of questions right. Also, when I drill the question types I have problems with and time myself doing so, I get about 90% of them right.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Would it be better to do a mix of drilling and timed sections instead of full prep tests? Would anyone recommend taking a break? I'm not really sure what to do.

Seriously freaking out because my goal is a 165 and it feels like the September test is really creeping up!

LSATcantwin

You are me about a month ago. Three major changes helped me break through it.

The first was drilling, even though I was getting them right, each type of question. I also noticed that for different question types my mindset had to change a bit. Especially for Flaw, NA and MSS type of questions. So I'd put those back to back and let my mind bend and shift. This helped me with a smoother transistion between each question.

The second major thing was confidence. I got a tutor, he suggested filming myself on a section. After reviewing the video I noticed that some questions, I was EXTREMELY confident on my answer. I would then sit there making sure the other answer choices were wrong. Why? This wasted my time. Now I have about 5min at the end of a section to go back over harder questions.

And third, taking a break. I studied for about 3 months straight, while also working 40 a week. Saturday's I would take a full PT and I would take Sunday off. Last week I had to ignore the LSAT for work. I also took the entire weekend off. When I came back to the test I feel rejuvenated and it felt smoother and easier. Deffinetly take time to yourself.

Alex

@mel_emm8 said:
I started studying for the September LSAT in May while working 40hrs a week (which I will be doing until the end of August). I feel like I've plateaued with my last 4 tests - 162+/- 1pt and as much as I drill logic reasoning (I average -5 per section), it seems like I always get the same number of questions right. Also, when I drill the question types I have problems with and time myself doing so, I get about 90% of them right.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Would it be better to do a mix of drilling and timed sections instead of full prep tests? Would anyone recommend taking a break? I'm not really sure what to do.

Seriously freaking out because my goal is a 165 and it feels like the September test is really creeping up!

I agree with a lot of what @LSATcantwin said. I was plateaued between 158-162 for what felt like a while. And I'm also studying while working so it can be hard to get as much prep in as we'd like. I'd definitely endorse giving yourself a bit of a break. 3 days won't kill you and will probably help. Getting a tutor can also be a huge turn around for your prep. I've been able to review things with some of the Sages/tutors on here and having someone who can give you personalized advice and methods is going to be huge.

Question: What types of questions are you noticing you're having trouble with?

mel_emm8

@"Alex Divine" I know that I spend WAY too much time on parallel questions even though they're time traps but I can't help it. I also struggle with flaw, assumption, and weaken questions.