How to overcome plateau with the March exam coming up

jasminesade

Hello all! I really could use some advice.

I've registered/canceled 3 LSAT exams (basically the day before each of em) because I was not ready and was not hitting my goal of 160 or higher. I'm trying to be realistic here. My first exam in June 17' was a 137 (8%) and I can't keep pushing this out longer. The purpose of this post is not me asking whether I should or should not take March because I'm 100% committed to March and want June to be my second chance. I've hit a point where I'm tired of studying this exam (it's been basically 2 years) and it's tiring. Yes, I've taken breaks (periods of couple days, to a month) and no I'm not burnout because I'm feeling close to the finish line and it's definitely motivating, but I'm also feeling discouraged cause my score isn't really moving.

Although the March exam is around the corner, I believe that I can make slight differences if I change my approach & that's where I'm hoping someone can recommend what I should do or a method that works for them...

I started with PT 36 and now I'm on 51. The highest score I've hit was 157 on PT 46 and 156 on PT 38, 44, and 48. Within those PT's I've scored between the 153-155 fluctuating. I'm on PT 51 now and scored a 155, PT 50 I also scored 155.
Here is the breakdown on PT 50 (155) which I did last week:
Section 1 RC 15/28
Section 2 LR 13/25
Section 3 LG 21/22
Section 4 LR 19/25

And here is the breakdown on PT 51 which is my most recent timed exam:
Section 1 LR 14/25
Section 2 RC 16/28
Section 3 LR 15/25
Section 4 LG 21/22

I know it will be incredibly hard to hit a 160 by March 30 but I feel that I'm capable for the following reasons: I've realized a feeling I get where on the first section, whether it is LR or RC, I'm a bit rusty. I can't fully comprehend sentences and I find it overall more difficult than a LR or RC section near the end. I've been consistently getting -1 or -2 max on LG and I'm aiming to get -0 cause I know that'll help my score a bit, but the LR/RC is really hindering my score. I feel I've hit a plateau because no matter how many drills or how extensive I am during BR, it seems to repeat in the mid 150's. I don't know what to do anymore.

Does anyone recommend I change/do anything specific before taking another PT next week? I was thinking of doing an LR section prior to a timed PT as a warm-up but I'm afraid I might burnout cause after taking a 4 section exam, I'm super exhausted. Please, any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

Better every day

Focus on the more recent PTs. I would take the last 5-6 before the March test and Blind review them thoroughly. The LR is a little different and the next test is probably going to be most similar to the recent PTs. Don’t freak out if you have a lower score than usual.

What kind of LR questions are you struggling with?

There is probably some low hanging fruit you can grab within a month. It’s certainly possible to snag 5 points.

I also would maybe experiment with a small warm up section. I had the same problem with starting off slow and found this helpful. I typically did like 5-6 questions only though.

Stay positive you also have he July test with the option to see your score before deciding whether to cancel. You can get that 160+.

jasminesade

@"Better every day" thank you. I will definitely take the more recent exams & I think the LR questions I'm having the most struggle with are flaw questions, PSA, and occasionally strengthen/weaken, NA.

Thank you for the support and encouragement I really appreciate it and will also try to do a couple problems before my next timed exam.