There Is No "Limit" To How High You Can Score

burstei6

I constantly see people asking, "I got X score on my first diagnostic, how many points can I really improve?" but the truth is that there is no answer to this question and I am sick of people replying with "10 points or so". There is NO reason that anyone who dedicates the time and focus to studying for this test can't improve to the maximum level of scoring. By telling yourself that you're only looking to improve "10 points or so" is one of the worst things that you can do in your prep, at least in my mind. I had a diagnostic of 150 the first time I took one, then took a Testmasters course before the June 2013 exam and ended up scoring a 160 on the real one (I had told myself I would be ok with a 160, which limited my mental goals after I was averaging 164-165). I have now been studying for the past two months using 7sage and the LSAT Trainer to take the December 2014 test, and I have scored as high as 169 and have 32 PT's to go.

Bottom line, there are a few requirements that if achieved, I believe enable anyone to score in the 170's and even higher in some cases. (not necessarily in this order)

First, you must MASTER Logic Games, to the point where you are excited when it comes time to do them in a full Practice Test. LG is the only section, at least I believe, where you get the opportunity to see answers as "black and white". Yes, I know for every question there are always 4 wrong answers and 1 right one, but for other sections it is much harder to check which are what. For LG, whichever answer you select, you must 100% be certain that the other 4 are wrong, because only ONE can be right. Eliminating 4 answers on LG is the best way to assure yourself that you have gotten them all right.

Second, you must see the macro concepts of each individual LR question stem. The WORST thing that Testmasters taught me was that it was in my best interest to avoid reading the question stem first...Now that I use it as a trigger and truly focus on fully understanding the stimulus, I find it much easier to see incorrect answers (which is the key to scoring high). LR isn't testing your ability to analyze a stimulus, it is testing your ability to analyze for a SPECIFIC GOAL. Obviously many question types overlap and allow you get a feel of the key to this section (recognizing the parts of an argument and further, how they actually relate to one another). However, reading a stimulus with purpose will save you MASSIVE amounts of time when it comes time to do the difficult questions. Overall, you must get comfortable with LR to the point where you are happy that it is 50% of the test, you cannot score high without decent mastery in this section.

Third, you MUST MUST MUST, develop an internal questioning system in which you are constantly questioning your reasoning for choosing an answer. I used to easily eliminate 3 answers for a specific question and would then try to focus on which of the remaining two is more "right", however this is as misguided as can be. The difference between getting a 160 and a 170, in my opinion, is seeing why four answer choices are WRONG rather than why one is RIGHT. The latter is important, but if you can find the 4 that are wrong, you won't need to truly understand why the 5th is right (it helps obviously, but sometimes for the curve breaking questions this method is easier for me).

I know I haven't talked about Reading Comp, but to me that is a section that comes with extreme repetition and will improve the more you improve on LR. I see them related in the sense that LR stimulus is just as difficult to read as a paragraph from a passage, therefore the more comfortable you get with reading and understanding LR stim, the easier time you will have sorting through the information in RC.

This is not a "for sure" guide to getting a 170 but these principles seem, to me at least, essential elements for dominating this test. Do not be intimidated to try intense study practices, because the more intense, the more prepared you will be for test day. People talk about burnout, but burning out only means you have lost focus on the goal at hand, which is to dominate this test. People don't run marathons thinking they're only going to run 20 miles, they set their goal to the highest point they can and they strive for it, the most important way to view your potential score on the LSAT. Just wanted to give those who are retaking a little extra motivation for gearing up to study for the next 6 weeks, and obviously these are my "opinions" and I am not an authority on the LSAT, but I feel that this post may help some people who are struggling with seeing themselves scoring very high.

Matt1234567

Awesome advice, thanks!

kraft.phillip

false, 180 is the limit.

Just messing with you. Seriously though, score increases are real, and they can happen as long as you are willing to put in the work. I just got my September score back, and I hit a 173. That's up from a diagnostic of 158/9, and a previous score of 165. And I've gotten a couple 178s in practice. 7sage's BR method can do wonders with the right work ethic.

poohbear

really awesome advice. thanks for this

ah15301278-1

I'm a grad student and have been studying habits. The questions are basically the same in all the tests. There are studies that show that a person picks the right answer, not because they know the answer, but because they are used to picking that answer. That is even when the choice order was changed. Practice, practice, practice...

I just received my score and it was 147. I know my score sucks, but it is intimidating reading about how awesome you guys are and wanted to let people who are struggling know that a 180 is not impossible. I limited myself to start with.

I had a bunch of chaos happening in my life, but I had paid for the test and wanted to see what it was like. I hadn't slept when I took the test and had major problems in my life. My score reflected what I had been scoring. Keep in mind that I did not study that much. I had also taken a Kaplan course several times and could not break 140. My life is really busy and it hasn't been a priority. After reading about our habits, everything clicked for me. When I took the test, I was in autopilot and received the score that I had resigned to get. I don't even remember the questions. All I remember was that some answers just seemed ridiculous. During practice tests, I remember eliminating answers using the same words as we are taught.

LG used to be my strength and I didn't practice it because I wanted to work on other areas. Big mistake! You have to practice, practice, practice! You have to resolve how much this really means to you.

There was/is a posting about the LSAT beast. Forgot his name. He wrote about the intense study sessions he did. He wanted to dominate the LSAT. I received my score a couple of days ago and RESOLVED to study. My friends, social life, family etc. will have to wait.

Do not limit yourself! Shoot for the 180. What are you afraid of? What is the worst that can happen.

Lastly, follow the techniques that you are given. If you can't to a game. Print the 10 copies and do them. Program the HABIT. Is the amount of money you
will spend on printing worth not getting the score you can get? What are you afraid of? Resolve to DOMINATE the LSAT.

I'm retaking it in February.

dreamlawschool

THANK YOU for this! your post really helped to put things into perspective for me. I am also retaking the test for a second time and have just come off an intense run with testmasters, but as you've pointed out so well, each test prep source has its own strengths/weaknesses. The first time I sat for the test, I was seriously underprepared and scored a 153, which was devastating. After recovering from that, I took up a testmasters tutoring course, and now I'm scoring higher, in the mid to high160's, but my scores on practice tests tend to fluctuate quite a bit and I also tend to struggle with keeping time, so most of these scores are not based on true test taking conditions. Now I'm tempted to consider pushing back my scheduled test date (Feb 6) so that I can try out this blind review method... However I should say that I think pushing back the test will only be worth the sacrifice in time if this method is likely to help me significantly increase me score (ideally breaking into the low to mid 170's). Do you think I should do it? I would appreciate any thoughts/advice on this!

bbutler

@shannonv1029 My personal opinion on the matter is that unless there is an extreme reason why you need to take it now, I'm now a huge advocate for delaying if people even question whether or not they should delay, especially if they've already sat for the test once. The Blind Review method has helped many people improve their overall understanding of their own thought processes and how the test makers think which I think is half the battle. However, with that being said everyone is different so I don't feel comfortable saying that if you do the Blind Review that you'll definitely be scoring mid 170's in June. I do feel comfortable saying that I know you're capable of scoring that high, and that by doing the blind review you'll gain a much higher understanding of how you think and why you get certain answers wrong. With that knowledge I believe you're better armed to be able to score as high as you want and can limit the variability in your scores. Regardless of what you decide to do, good luck and I know you'll crush the test!

MrSamIam

Great advice! When I first started studying, a friend of mine would constantly say, "you've reached your peak, just take the test." After reading many of the stories provided by members here, I realized that the only peak is the one we call "180."