seeking a little advice...postpone till Sept?

MelindaDee

I'm a bit stuck in the 161-165 range. Which isn't bad, but my diagnostic was 161, so I'm feeling pretty discouraged that I haven't improved in three months of studying. (though I've only done 3 full timed PTs since the diagnostic.)

I'm nearly perfect on RC, running out of time on LG, and consistently missing way too many LRs.

I'm registered for July, but wondering about postponing until September.

HOWEVER...I'm non-traditional -- that's the euphemism for old, right? -- yes, I am old. My work schedule for the next month is manageable for study-time, but August is going to be a mess, and I'm worried that I'll be rusty and/or distracted when the Sept test day comes.

Anyone have any thoughts? Is a 5 to 9 pt improvement possible in the next five weeks?

Any advice would be very appreciated.
I've been keeping my studying and law school plans secret from almost everyone I know, since I don't want anyone I work with to know I'm leaving quite yet...so don't really have anyone I can seek advice from...

eta: oh, and monday is the last day to postpone without a penalty, or...i cant remember but there's some fee I think if I wait until later to decide.

Habeas Porpoise

Hey there!

First off, that's a pretty fantastic diagnostic, and since your weaker sections are both considered more learnable, I'm sure you can improve with some time. How's your BR score?

And I see you have the Starter package. Have you finished the CC?

If you have, then my first recommendation is to foolproof LG. With practice, you could definitely get LG down to max -2 and consistently under time. Depending on how many points you're missing now with LG, foolproofing might be enough to get you into your target range.

Next, I would take a look at your last three tests in analytics. It's hard to figure out what aspect of LR is leading to missed questions without digging a bit deeper. Is there a specific question type that you're struggling with? Is it timing/strategy-related? Based on that I would advise drilling by question-type/section, or maybe even confidence-drilling. I highly recommend checking out this webinar: https://7sage.com/webinar/post-core-curriculum-study-strategies/

Lastly, make sure to blind review every test. That's pretty important in figuring out whether you're missing questions due to a gap in your knowledge or because of the time-pressure. While helping you asses the questions you've missed so you don't miss them again, it will give you an idea of how to proceed next with drilling.

Considering that all of this might take some time, I would postpone to September. Since August seems to be busy for you, if you can address the timing issue with LG and figure out what to focus on with LR, you can spend more time studying/drilling through July. Then use August to reinforce what you've practiced and address any remaining weak spots by taking just a PT a week until the exam with some light drilling (for example, a 3.5 hour commitment with a PT on Saturday, BR the exam for a couple hours on Sunday and Monday, couple hours of light drilling/foolproofing Tuesday through Thursday, and a rest day on Friday).

Balancing work with studying is tough, but I definitely think a 5 to 9-point increase is doable by September, especially considering where you're starting.

Hope this helps!

MelindaDee

Wow, thanks so much for your nice and thoughtful reply.

I have finished CC, and I've been fool-proofing LG. I have had some improvement there for sure. Not yet enough, but some.

On LR I'm ashamed to admit this, but I think I might be a little over-confident? Like, I feel great doing the test, then I'm having several 'doh!' moments when I review my (silly-mistake wrong answers afterwards. Kind of embarrassing, ha. I need to slow down and follow the process.

And you're absolutely right, I have to start BRing properly to diagnose my weak areas.

Was very helpful to read your answer. When I started this process I was still a bit unsure if I was really going to take the plunge into a second career, so I just put one little toe in, and then another toe, and another...and now I'm IN and I'm DOING IT and I want to do it right and do my best.

Thanks again.

Habeas Porpoise

@annieDee

Not at all, glad to help!

Just keep at it! It's definitely one step at a time. Just don't brush of mistakes (silly or otherwise) and be honest with yourself about your progress, when you need to take breaks, etc, and I'm sure you'll reach your goal.

LivingThatLSATdream

Considering joining the September BR Study Group. https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/16433/september18-study-group-blind-review-pt-39-thursday-june-14th-7-30-pm-est

We are blind reviewing 5 PTs before the July test and the calls discuss LR only.

Also what @"Habeas Porpoise" said is great!

MelindaDee

@LivingThatLSATdream thanks for the invite! Will try to join the next (or the next)...sounds fun.

Jane1990

Have you considered taking in both July and September?

And I also highly recommend the BR calls - I saw so much improvement in LR after joining BR calls for my June LSAT.

JustDoIt

Going off what @"Habeas Porpoise" said, there is so much to be gained here. Don't be discouraged! 161 is a great diagnostic and a little bit of knowledge can go a long way.

I often found myself asking this question. When I did, I knew that I should probably postpone. Taking when I wasn't ready was my biggest regret. I understand the sentiment that "you'll never be as ready as you want to be." That certainly is true. But you have to balance that perspective with you feeling whether or not there are some points you feel that you can reasonably get. If you do, you owe it to yourself to get them; they can make all of the difference in the world.

Logic games is formulaic so you should be able to go up with practice. Do games and fool proof them until you get under the time mentioned in the videos. Doing so will make you feel much more comfortable and it is less likely you will run out of time.