After CC PT 61 Score 146 BR 160…where should I start?

alyhobbs

So I have been off the discussion forum for the most part while I was going through the CC but now I am ready to jump in and get some advice. I have been very embarrassed of my PT scores but I’ve realized I cannot improve if I don’t own them. I would like to think I am fairly intelligent but my test taking abilities have always been lacking to say the least. This is mostly due to my ADD but that wasn’t something I realized I had until after college so I am used to working hard to keep up with everyone else. Which I fully expect to do here because even though I will be requesting additional time, I plan on taking all of my PTs with regular time until my accommodations have been approved. Either way time is my enemy! I know a lot of people like to look at the clock and know how much time is left but honestly that hinders me more than anything. As soon as I hear 5 minutes are left all the questions I have left I can almost guarantee will be either left unanswered or incorrect. My ability to focus is thrown out the window and all I can think about is the clock ticking away. I have watched the webinar on Post CC Strategies but I could really use some advice on what I should focus on next. I am ready to start on fool proofing LG but after my BR I am not sure if that should be my focus right now. I actually really enjoy LG and other than reviewing conditional lawgic and working on timing, LG is actually my strongest section in my BR.

Some background info on my PTs; my diagnostic back in June 2016 was a 135. I actually reconsidered law school at that point but after some time spent reflecting I realized it is something I am really passionate about so I decided to try again. My second diagnostic in April 2017 was a 142. Both of these were done with Kaplan using PT56. Now I really didn’t want to take either score too seriously because I actually remember dozing off on one of them and guessing on some when the time was running out.

However here is my breakdown of my after CC PT I did this past weekend:
Original 1st BR 2nd BR
RC -17 -12 -10
LR -12 -5 -5
LG -11 -7 -2
LR -11 -7 -7

The reason you see a 1st and 2nd BR is because I only went over the questions circled in the 1st BR. I then scored the PT without looking at the answers and was not happy with a 157 BR score. So I went ahead and went back over the entire test and that is how I came to a 2nd BR score of 160. My plan is to now watch the explanations of the questions I got wrong. However, after I do that, I don’t know if I should go ahead with my original plan of fool-proofing LG or if I should focus on LR and RC first. What does everything think?

Also I do not plan on going to a t14 school nor do I expect my score to eventually be in the 170s. I want to focus on Child Advocacy and Juvenile Law and just want to get into school and get a scholarship. I’m hoping to get into Texas A&M and after doing research on people accepted and offered scholarships based off GPA and LSAT scores I believe a 160 should be good with my 3.38 GPA.

I really appreciate everyone for taking the time to read this

AllezAllez21

You can absolutely score highly on this test. You got this.

First off, throw any concerns about timing out the window. You're too early in your studies to worry about time. You should instead be focused on solidifying the foundational skills and then becoming an expert in the higher level skills of the LSAT. Focusing on timing strategies is the cherry on top, don't get ahead of yourself.

As far as what to focus on now: everything. You shouldn't prioritize one section over another. They need to be improved simultaneously. That means start fool proofing LG. It means drilling LR questions to figure out your weak points and return to the CC to learn how to improve those weak points. It means analyzing RC passages in immense depth.

Don't do too many practice tests. Especially with where you are scoring now, they're not going to tell you much. To be blunt: you've just got to improve on everything, and a practice test won't tell you much more than that. Take a practice test once every 2-3 weeks for now.

Don't be afraid to return to the CC often.

Most importantly, to re-emphasize: don't rush yourself, either when you're practicing questions or when you're trying to take on more material. The key is to go slowly and deliberately, to practice the perfect process, and dive as deep in to each problem as possible.

PandaRamen

I was in the same situation as you. My diagnostic was a 136 and now im PTing in the mid-high 150 after the CC, BR is around low-mid 160s. What definitely helped me was honing in on my LR and LG. RC is a tough one for me, but my rationale is if I could ace LR and LG then RC section could take a hit (for now). I watched Nicole Hopkin's RC video and uses the Surface laptop to BR. Im trying a "new" method - supplementing 7Sage with PowerScore and ManhattanPrep forum for LR. LG is 100% 7Sage. I think BR is really where my learning is happening, and PTing under timed condition is just getting used to the timing and stress level it brings. I've joined your September group and we can exchange techniques/method works for each of us.

Sami

@alyhobbs said:
So I have been off the discussion forum for the most part while I was going through the CC but now I am ready to jump in and get some advice. I have been very embarrassed of my PT scores but I’ve realized I cannot improve if I don’t own them. I would like to think I am fairly intelligent but my test taking abilities have always been lacking to say the least. This is mostly due to my ADD but that wasn’t something I realized I had until after college so I am used to working hard to keep up with everyone else.

Reading this, I think you will do great. Owning your scores and just working hard and not giving up is the way to go .

Which I fully expect to do here because even though I will be requesting additional time, I plan on taking all of my PTs with regular time until my accommodations have been approved. Either way time is my enemy! I know a lot of people like to look at the clock and know how much time is left but honestly that hinders me more than anything. As soon as I hear 5 minutes are left all the questions I have left I can almost guarantee will be either left unanswered or incorrect. My ability to focus is thrown out the window and all I can think about is the clock ticking away.

I think this anxiety will improve as you practice and you realize that you consistently have time left over.

I have watched the webinar on Post CC Strategies but I could really use some advice on what I should focus on next. I am ready to start on fool proofing LG but after my BR I am not sure if that should be my focus right now. I actually really enjoy LG and other than reviewing conditional lawgic and working on timing, LG is actually my strongest section in my BR.

If you want you can split your days. Have 3 days of LG (fool proof) with a warm up of 13 LR questions from an old PT and 1 RC passage and the next 2 days of LR with a warm up of RC and LG and 1 day of RC. Make sure to include 1 day as time off (helps with avoiding burn out). With this you are not forgetting what you have freshly learned from CC but at the same time giving the time to LG that it needs.

I hope this helped. Good luck : )

keets993

In addition to everything stated here, I would also like to strongly advocate for fool proofing LG as you had originally planned. The reason is because not only is LG the most learnable, it's also extremely trial and error. Even if you get questions right, your process might be wrong. I've been fool proofing the games as I go through the curriculum and I'll notice halfway through the game that I missed such a critical inference that had I taken a few more seconds on my setup, I would've figured it out. I've noticed that i've made an incorrect inference that luckily, the questions this time didn't penalize me for but they could've the next time. Knowing when to split and building your visualization are both skills essential to mastering LG and it's something you build up through practice. If you're not 100% sure that your setup, inferences, answers and time is where it needs to be, you should fool proof that game. Chances are you'll have made plenty of mistakes and you should be making them because they're lessons to learn from. Like learning how to not panic when you realize you made a mistake in your setup and fixing it efficiently so it doesn't negatively impact you as much as it could. All this should be preparation so that when you're PT-ing or taking the real thing nothing can throw you off your game.

_oshun1_

I think focusing on drilling LR first is the best idea. RC is just a longform version of LR. and LG uses the lawgic in LR. Once you have LR down, RC will be a breeze, and LG just comes with practice. Go back over the CC of the LR question types you missed and get the fundamentals down.

alyhobbs

@AllezAllez21 said:
You can absolutely score highly on this test. You got this.

First off, throw any concerns about timing out the window. You're too early in your studies to worry about time. You should instead be focused on solidifying the foundational skills and then becoming an expert in the higher level skills of the LSAT. Focusing on timing strategies is the cherry on top, don't get ahead of yourself.

As far as what to focus on now: everything. You shouldn't prioritize one section over another. They need to be improved simultaneously. That means start fool proofing LG. It means drilling LR questions to figure out your weak points and return to the CC to learn how to improve those weak points. It means analyzing RC passages in immense depth.

Don't do too many practice tests. Especially with where you are scoring now, they're not going to tell you much. To be blunt: you've just got to improve on everything, and a practice test won't tell you much more than that. Take a practice test once every 2-3 weeks for now.

Don't be afraid to return to the CC often.

Most importantly, to re-emphasize: don't rush yourself, either when you're practicing questions or when you're trying to take on more material. The key is to go slowly and deliberately, to practice the perfect process, and dive as deep in to each problem as possible.

Thank you for being blunt. That's how I am also and it works best for me. You are right I do need to work on everything. I think I was just expecting to see more of an improvement but I know I need to go back to the CC and hone in on the areas that I struggle with the most. Thanks for responding and the encouragement.

alyhobbs

@PandaRamen said:
I was in the same situation as you. My diagnostic was a 136 and now im PTing in the mid-high 150 after the CC, BR is around low-mid 160s. What definitely helped me was honing in on my LR and LG. RC is a tough one for me, but my rationale is if I could ace LR and LG then RC section could take a hit (for now). I watched Nicole Hopkin's RC video and uses the Surface laptop to BR. Im trying a "new" method - supplementing 7Sage with PowerScore and ManhattanPrep forum for LR. LG is 100% 7Sage. I think BR is really where my learning is happening, and PTing under timed condition is just getting used to the timing and stress level it brings. I've joined your September group and we can exchange techniques/method works for each of us.

Thanks for responding. It makes me feel better. I know a lot of people on here start off in the 150s and 160s and it took me time to accept where I started but I've learned a lot from 7Sage. I also have the PowerScore books but only read the first few chapters until I 7Sage and they've now been collecting dust. I'm going to go back to the CC and work on my weak spots but I will probably go through the books also. Yes RC is a big struggle for me regardless of timing. I need to watch her webinar. Any help in that section would be beneficial for me. I know a big hurtle for me is vocabulary. Especially on passages that are about politics and government. That is something I definitely need to learn more about. I've never done a BR group but I am excited to start and that would be great to exchange methods

alyhobbs

@Sami said:

@alyhobbs said:
So I have been off the discussion forum for the most part while I was going through the CC but now I am ready to jump in and get some advice. I have been very embarrassed of my PT scores but I’ve realized I cannot improve if I don’t own them. I would like to think I am fairly intelligent but my test taking abilities have always been lacking to say the least. This is mostly due to my ADD but that wasn’t something I realized I had until after college so I am used to working hard to keep up with everyone else.

Reading this, I think you will do great. Owning your scores and just working hard and not giving up is the way to go .

Which I fully expect to do here because even though I will be requesting additional time, I plan on taking all of my PTs with regular time until my accommodations have been approved. Either way time is my enemy! I know a lot of people like to look at the clock and know how much time is left but honestly that hinders me more than anything. As soon as I hear 5 minutes are left all the questions I have left I can almost guarantee will be either left unanswered or incorrect. My ability to focus is thrown out the window and all I can think about is the clock ticking away.

I think this anxiety will improve as you practice and you realize that you consistently have time left over.

I have watched the webinar on Post CC Strategies but I could really use some advice on what I should focus on next. I am ready to start on fool proofing LG but after my BR I am not sure if that should be my focus right now. I actually really enjoy LG and other than reviewing conditional lawgic and working on timing, LG is actually my strongest section in my BR.

If you want you can split your days. Have 3 days of LG (fool proof) with a warm up of 13 LR questions from an old PT and 1 RC passage and the next 2 days of LR with a warm up of RC and LG and 1 day of RC. Make sure to include 1 day as time off (helps with avoiding burn out). With this you are not forgetting what you have freshly learned from CC but at the same time giving the time to LG that it needs.

I hope this helped. Good luck : )

Thanks! It wasn't easy especially seeing a lot of people talk about getting 160s and BR in the 170s but I know we are all different and over time it will get better. I definitely hope that anxiety gets better because it causes me to blank out even on questions that are fairly easy.

The splitting of my days is a great idea and I think that is what I am going to do. I still have many Problem Sets in LR and RC that I am going to use. LG I already have everything printed and ready to start fool-proofing. I work full-time so I nights and weekends are my only time to study so it can be hard to get a lot done but I am working on prioritizing my time. I didn't realize in the beginning how much time was needed to study so I had to push my test date twice so I'm really wanting to be ready by September.

alyhobbs

@keets993 said:
In addition to everything stated here, I would also like to strongly advocate for fool proofing LG as you had originally planned. The reason is because not only is LG the most learnable, it's also extremely trial and error. Even if you get questions right, your process might be wrong. I've been fool proofing the games as I go through the curriculum and I'll notice halfway through the game that I missed such a critical inference that had I taken a few more seconds on my setup, I would've figured it out. I've noticed that i've made an incorrect inference that luckily, the questions this time didn't penalize me for but they could've the next time. Knowing when to split and building your visualization are both skills essential to mastering LG and it's something you build up through practice. If you're not 100% sure that your setup, inferences, answers and time is where it needs to be, you should fool proof that game. Chances are you'll have made plenty of mistakes and you should be making them because they're lessons to learn from. Like learning how to not panic when you realize you made a mistake in your setup and fixing it efficiently so it doesn't negatively impact you as much as it could. All this should be preparation so that when you're PT-ing or taking the real thing nothing can throw you off your game.

Yes you are very right! I am going to start doing this very soon. I actually noticed on this PT that one of the games I read too fast and could have gotten a lot of the questions wrong if I hadn't have caught it. But it cost me time which I could have used to finish the last game so I definitely will be fool-proofing.

alyhobbs

@"surfy surf" said:
I think focusing on drilling LR first is the best idea. RC is just a longform version of LR. and LG uses the lawgic in LR. Once you have LR down, RC will be a breeze, and LG just comes with practice. Go back over the CC of the LR question types you missed and get the fundamentals down.

Yes I agree with you. It's going to take some time but I'm going to work on Problem Sets I have left from LR and start watching the explanations and figure out what mistakes I am making so I can fix them.