Plateaued with Three Weeks Left, Any Advice?

joehillman9

Hi, I'm taking the March 30th test and have hit a plateau after finishing the core curriculum a few weeks ago. Before the core curriculum my diagnostic was a 156 which matched my real LSAT score of 157 from September 2018. I've been in the low to mid-160s since finishing the core curriculum, with little evidence of improvement. Ideally, I want to break 170, but scoring above 165 is my definite target. I'm looking for advice that anyone may have on making improvements in the home stretch. (I trust in the 7sage process and part of that process is in discussing on forum).

Here's some more details about my study regiment and performance:

I have stepped up on fool proofing for LG, been thoroughly blind reviewing tests in my lsat journal, spending time explaining each answer choice, and have been doing drills.

With three weeks out, I've noticed I have had no actual improvement with RC since the end of the curriculum (I get 5 or 6 wrong on each RC section before BR) and no actual improvement on LGs since I began 7sage in January (I almost always have 6 wrong before BR). My LRs, range more dramatically (even after blind review), getting 1 wrong on one section of one test and 7 on another. I feel as though the more thoroughly I blind review, the less confident and worse score I get on the following test.

36 Score: 164, BR: 166
37 Score: 164, BR: 170
38 Score: 166, BR: 174
39 Score: 162, BR: 170

I'm fairly happy with the improvement I've made, but am worried that my overall average of 163-4 would be reduced on test day to a 160 or below, leaving me basically where I was in September of 2018.

Any advice for me?

Princess

Hey! When you wrote 36 score, 37 score...did you mean that it is the preptest? If yes, I would suggest that you take more recent tests just to get accurate results on the newer tests.

Alex

Are you applying next cycle? If so, I would consider holding off on a March take. I think the test has changed quite a lot from the 30s to the late 80s where we are now. Ultimately, I think it’s super important to do most of the newest tests before sitting for the exam.

Have you done any of the modern tests (62+)?

almostthere17

I would absolutely take more modern tests. I scored a 155 in September and scored a 167 in January. The jump is manageable if you study the most effective way-- blind review and foolproof logic games. I have found that on every real test I did better on RC than anticipated. So concern yourself less with RC and more with LR and LG. I would even consider putting the LSAT off until June. If you don't feel more prepared than you did in September, then you probably are not ready. I faced the same issue with the November test, and almost wish I didn't take it in November, because my score increased by so little.

joehillman9

Thanks for the advice. I took prep test 40 (score 162, BR 174) and noticed my LR score went down while my LG (my recent focus) went up. I definitely intend to focus my last efforts on getting back up in LR and staying strong in LG.

I have done a little bit of drilling from both the 70s and 80s. Last summer, I went through some of the LSAT trainer and did take a modern test (In the 70s i think) and scored a 158 (which roughly matched my real Sept 2018 LSAT and my 7sage diagnostic).

I think I'll work in a more recent preptest, as well as use a couple recent LR and LG drills in these last couple of weeks.

Thanks again for the advice