4 point increase by November? Need advice

PineapplePizzaSucks

Hello all! How difficult do you all think it would be to increase an LSAT score from 162 (official score) to 166 or higher by the November test date? I know it’s only 4 points, but I really need it and am considering quitting my job to study full-time so that I can get it.

MindyKale

What is your BR score?

PineapplePizzaSucks

@MindyKale said:
What is your BR score?
if I’m honest I haven’t been doing BR much at all but plan to start immediately

keets993

Agree with @MindyKale (btw been meaning to ask forever but is that a reference to Mindy Kaling?)

It depends on your BR score and your section breakdown. I think 4 points is certainly possible but the strategy recommended will depend on where you need to get those 4 points from (and how many more questions you need to get right).

PineapplePizzaSucks

@keets993 said:
Agree with @MindyKale (btw been meaning to ask forever but is that a reference to Mindy Kaling?)

It depends on your BR score and your section breakdown. I think 4 points is certainly possible but the strategy recommended will depend on where you need to get those 4 points from (and how many more questions you need to get right).

So unfortunately my score came from an undisclosed date, but in my PTs, I usually get the following:

-4/-5 logical reasoning
-5/-9 reading comp
-3/-4 logic games

Again, I haven’t been doing blind review but plan to start.

akistotle

Hi @"Michaela.Pratt1"

On average, you can get 23.68 questions wrong to get a 162. As for a 166, it’s 17.2. So you need to get about 6 more questions.

You can get these numbers using Score Conversion Statistics on this page: https://7sage.com/lsat-score-percentile-conversion/

So you need to figure out how you can get about 6 more questions!

akistotle

@keets993 said:
Agree with @MindyKale (btw been meaning to ask forever but is that a reference to Mindy Kaling?)

I Mindy Kaling (and so does @"Leah M B"!)

Sam Tyler

You can improve in all the sections, but obviously RC and LR stand out as the most obvious areas. Im currently around 167, with the extra points being made up in LR and RC (about two or three more correct answers per section. I don't consider myself good at reading comp so i wont give you any advice there, becides maybe like, if time is an issue, just refuse to dwell on any question too long. If your around thirty seconds left in and still pretty unsure, spend ten seconds making an educated guess and move on. Its worth trying to get a stab at all the questions, but becides that RC is just not my strongest area so someone else can prob help you there.

I used to be at minus 5 on LR and my biggest moves into mastery were really learning to do the blind reviews well, like, really spend the time to know exactly why your answer choice is wrong, and why the correct one is correct. you need to be able to teach a class on every answer you guessed or got wrong by the end of the review, and you need to find the correct answer before you look online. Doing this will highlight your particular weaknesses.

One of the most common themes for mistakes in LR is not being disciplined in terms of the stem. You need to read the stem and understand exactly what the question is asking you. just because the stem says principal, does not mean its a principal question. You need to read the stem and go into the question knowing exactly what is being asked of you. Being vauge or general about what your being asked going into the question is probably the most common mistake that seperates really good LR from decent LR.

Anyways you have tons of time. Study a lot. Over prepare early so you can relax later. You can get this increase for sure, and your already doing great, but you need to be disciplined in terms of your apporach and your review if you want to get into those really high scores!

Good luck!

MindyKale

@keets993 YES. Definitely a reference to her. I didn't put in much thought to my username really. I am a south indian woman and I love her so I stuck to it.

samantha.ashley92

I'm going to send you a message but if you don't quit your job, would you be able to drop down in hours? If you continued to work the hours you're currently working, how many hours a week would you be able to study?

_oshun1_

You could request 2 weeks off before the lsat to study full time and unwind. That time with no work before the lsat helped me a lot.

drbrown2

It's hard to give advice about keeping/dropping your job without knowing your schedule, hours, leftover energy, etc. You have enough time to improve to your target score. 2+ months is a long enough time for you to implement a rigorous weekly study schedule that should help you with both timing and mastery over the material in each section.

I think that having the proper mindset is crucial. If you already have a mindset that work is interfering with your ability to improve, that may be preventing you from studying as often as you could, or prevent you from doing BR for every practice section. Start with something manageable. Even 1 section per day with BR on days you work will be beneficial. If you get some extra momentum from studying every single day, you can always add more!

You mentioned that you haven't done BR at all and plan to start immediately. That is a great first step. If you work hard from now until November you will definitely see results. Go get it!

PineapplePizzaSucks

@drbrown2 said:
It's hard to give advice about keeping/dropping your job without knowing your schedule, hours, leftover energy, etc. You have enough time to improve to your target score. 2+ months is a long enough time for you to implement a rigorous weekly study schedule that should help you with both timing and mastery over the material in each section.

I think that having the proper mindset is crucial. If you already have a mindset that work is interfering with your ability to improve, that may be preventing you from studying as often as you could, or prevent you from doing BR for every practice section. Start with something manageable. Even 1 section per day with BR on days you work will be beneficial. If you get some extra momentum from studying every single day, you can always add more!

You mentioned that you haven't done BR at all and plan to start immediately. That is a great first step. If you work hard from now until November you will definitely see results. Go get it!

Thanks for the advice! I work at a start up for 40 to 45 hours a week depending on workload. Part of the issue is that my commute is around 1.5 hours each way and I’m just generally exhausted after working and commuting. I’ve considered paying to get a short-term apartment walking distance from my office, but that would be an expensive gamble and I still may not find that I’m able to study long enough at the right energy level. Daytime sleepiness is a major roadblock for me so the kind of schedule I had in college (being able to study hard then nap then study hard again) definitely worked way better for me. It’s an issue I’m in the process of getting addressed with a sleep medicine doctor, but that could take months to resolve. Such a tough decision!

drbrown2

@Michaela.Pratt1 Yikes! So realistically on workdays you really only have time for 1 section, and not much left over for untimed blind review. You could still attempt to do a combination of logic games practice and timed individual sections on workdays. On your days off, if you have the energy, you should be able to cram a full PT with BR. I have to assume that 1 PT per week with review and a little bit of practice in between over 2 months will push up your average.

The difference between your score on record and your target score could mean a full ride scholarship at some schools. That far outweighs any salary you would give up by reducing hours or leaving completely. If your job is interfering with your sleep that could also impact your next test. When I first read your post my initial reaction was "keep your job" but I see you truly are facing a tough decision. Good luck

Fraction37

@"Michaela.Pratt1" Is your commute 1.5 hours because of distance or traffic? If it's because traffic and not distance, you could go to a near by Starbucks right after work and study late. Then, drive home when there is no traffic to avoid the long commute home.

PineapplePizzaSucks

@Fraction37 said:
@"Michaela.Pratt1" Is your commute 1.5 hours because of distance or traffic? If it's because traffic and not distance, you could go to a near by Starbucks right after work and study late. Then, drive home when there is no traffic to avoid the long commute home.

Unfortunately, both. I live in a high-traffic city, but my job is also 39 miles away. No traffic at all still equals 45 minutes of commuting.

Pride Only Hurts

I don't know your money situation but I was in a similar boat not too long ago and only had the Starter version of the course. I decided to upgrade to Ultimate+ (should've done it waay earlier but better late than never). The sheer amount of printable drills and video explanations have made a big difference for me. BRing without the video explanation made it easy for me to go over questions without a full grasp or understanding (especially in RC).

You definitely can improve 4 points in that amount of time!

PineapplePizzaSucks

@jdmccar95 said:
I don't know your money situation but I was in a similar boat not too long ago and only had the Starter version of the course. I decided to upgrade to Ultimate+ (should've done it waay earlier but better late than never). The sheer amount of printable drills and video explanations have made a big difference for me. BRing without the video explanation made it easy for me to go over questions without a full grasp or understanding (especially in RC).

You definitely can improve 4 points in that amount of time!

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you decide in regards to your job and why?

Pride Only Hurts

@"Michaela.Pratt1" said:

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you decide in regards to your job and why?

So I also work full time and because of that i've been forced to space out my studying. I try to study when I can during work and I try to get to work early so that I don't end up in rush hour traffic. As far as studying while working is concerned you just have to make sure you're not burning yourself out. Studying during burn out is incredibly wasteful. If just study hard and know when you're getting tired. Aim to reach your goal but if you find yourself not ready when the time comes just take it in stride and aim for the next test. I thought I'd be done studying in July!