Perseverance or arrogance?

joseluisglez

I’ve taken the LSAT 3 times. The first was in Sep. 2017, went in somewhat blind and got wrecked by reading comp, scoring 157. Panicked, I registered for the Dec. 2017 test with only days before registration closed. During the 6 weeks I had to prepare I took advantage of all the free materials 7sage has to offer and obtained a 161.

I applied to schools with this score and my 3.4 GPA. I’m the son of immigrants and the first in my family to attend college, which allowed me to write purposeful statements that got me waitlisted at Berkeley, USC, and Michigan. Unfortunately I didn’t get in off the waitlist at any of these schools, but it inspired me to believe that with a better LSAT score, I could attend a top school.

I didn’t enroll at schools that had offered me admission and retook Nov. 2018, feeling hopeful about this next cycle. For a solid 3-4 months I went over the free logic game videos, multiple times, and took PTs, making sure to review after. My performance range was between 163-167, but only scored a 162 on test day: -4 in LG, -3 RC, and -16! in LR (when I was averaging -10 max).

I’m disappointed, but have applied to schools with this new score nonetheless. I told friends and family that last time was the last time I was taking the LSAT, but... March 2019. This test would allow me to potentially get off waitlists, get better scholarship money, finally get the score I’ve been chasing (even if that means delaying for another cycle), or finally realize that the low 160s are my limit.

So I’ve just signed up for the premium course and plan to upgrade in a few weeks when I have more money, as I want access to the harder questions. I’m going to do what I haven’t done, complete the CC and do all the drills. Time to find out if this will be a story of perseverance or arrogance.

LSAT_Wrecker

FWIW, I believe you have a solid plan. One piece of advice I would offer is to not rush through the CC. Take your time and really focus on learning and understanding the material. There are no "tips or tricks" in the CC. Its a solid grounding in the information and fundamentals needed to improve on your score. That knowledge is gained through your work grinding with the concepts, getting things wrong, and then going back and really engaging the lessons.

Stay active in the forum, ask any and all questions you have, and work hard. I believe yours will be an epic tale of perseverance. Good luck!

Lucas Carter

Going -3 on RC is something to be very proud of, congrats on that. I think that alone is indicative of the fact that you are able to understand the structure of what you read at a very high level. That skill should transfer over to LR success. It sounds like you just need a little bit more familiarity and practice with LR. Blind review is extremely helpful with this as you will start to see more and more structural patterns that repeat and the nuance in LR will become almost superficial. I would also recommend really focusing on LG and trying to get down to missing 1 or 2 at most. The fool proofing method (https://7sage.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-score-on-the-logic-games/) is effective at helping you get there.

It sounds like you have a ton of potential left and the grit to reach it!! I can feel your pain with friends and family thinking you are crazy for spending so much time on the LSAT and not giving up. 7Sage is awesome because we are all kind of in the same boat with this and here to support each other. Best of luck!!