I just got 164 on the real thing... How should I study for Oct. test?

vitamincoverdose

I took international test and got my first official score today.
I have 13 weeks to study, and want to ask what would be the best course of action.
It was non-disclosed, so I don't really know how I did on each section. but I've been PTing at 164 for like 10 tests in a row.

For RC, I skipped the last passage totally and didn't even read the passage, skipping 5Q.
For LR, I skipped parallel questions and logic heavy questions(I think 5~6Q total from both LR sections) initially and came back afterwards to check if D is indeed the right answer.
I've done 22 PTs from PT 50+ so far, and have 17 fresh ones from PT 50+.

I've came up with three plans, but can't decide which one would be better.
Plan 1)
wk 1~3: CC + Manhattan prep LR book, 4 games, 2 passages every day
wk 4~13: 2 PTs / wk (1 used PT, 1 fresh PT)

Plan 2)
wk 1~13: 2 PTs / wk (1 used PT, 1 fresh PT)

Plan 3)
wk 1~3: 1LR timed section, 4 games, 2 passages every day.

I can't decide on what to do next. I've been getting the same score for last two months of PTs, so there might be something wrong with my current studying method... is 3 months enough to get 170+?

Cant Get Right

Your current study method almost certainly is wrong. It almost always is in the mid 160’s, haha.

Before I can say much, I’d need to know where you’re BRing.

What I can say with very high confidence is that sacrificing whole passages and question types has got to go. The fact that you’re using that strategy and still scoring consistently in mid 160’s is actually quite impressive, but it also means you’re stuck. Time management strategy has got to be a big part of what you develop in the coming weeks.

drbrown2

Another thing I’ll add to @"Cant Get Right"’s comment about BR’ing... You didn’t mention your BR scores, which makes it seem like you are paying too much attention to each timed scaled score and not enough attention on your BR score.

Dive deep into every question you have trouble with during BR. You’ll gain speed and accuracy. You’ll also become more comfortable with parallel and conditional logic heavy questions. Some of those questions can be really quick and easy so skipping every single one before attempting is bad. When you BR, along with writing out explanations for the different ACs try to articulate why you missed the question. Did you misread? Did you skip without giving it a real attempt? Was there something about the question type mechanics that you didn’t understand?

As far as your plan options go, why would you start retaking PTs when you have 17 relatively recent fresh PTs? I know you don’t want to run out of materials, but the act of taking a PT isn’t going to get you to 170+. You need to spend more time with each test BRing, identifying areas where you can improve, and implementing drills into your studying routine to address those areas. You can retake old sections for individual section work and timing practice, but that shouldn’t be half of your study material for the week.

berathocam

I think there was a similar question to this so I'll just rephrase what I said in that post. skip the manhattan book there is nothing in there that can teach you in this phase imo. concentrate on the core curriculum. go slow and take your time. never ever skip entire an entire passage or an entire game. do blind review. I'd even go as far as to say that the only way to improve from 160s to 170 is through blind review. deep dive on each question, understand each and every answer choice and come up with a concrete and logical reason why an answer choice is wrong and why the right answer choice is right.

best

studyingandrestudying

I wonder about one PT and BR to see where you're scoring on the different sections? That way you'd have something you can go back to. Or maybe you already did this?

vitamincoverdose

@"Cant Get Right" @drbrown2 @berathocam @lsatplaylist

Thank you for the comments.
I might as well just write down everything as it’s obvious I have no idea what I’m doing…

My BR score ranges from 168 to 175, Averaging at 171.2.
For RC and LG, I redo them untimed and watch videos,
For LR I circle questions and do them again, write out reasoning, and score.
I try not to look at the answers, give myself another day, and return to the missed questions and then watch the videos for those.
It takes about 7-8 hrs to do BR.

The reason I wanted to go back to CC was because it takes me too long on each questions. I shot the video of myself doing the PT, and noticed it takes me 1:30+ to do easier questions, and 3:00+ for harder ones. I feel like if I had fully understood the concepts, it wouldn’t take me 2 min to do a question.

I was thinking about doing one used PT as something like a timed drill, but since I study full time, I might as well practice taking the whole test at the same time.

Analytics say PF, Parallel, flaw, strengthen are my priorities. I started skipping parallel questions because I noticed I’ve been spending 3~4 min on those, and didn’t get to the last few questions that were easier. When I don't skip, I usually get to Q21~22. It was only recently I implemented skipping at all, albeit by question type. I didn't have time at the end to return to flagged questions, so I thought there was really no point in skipping questions.

Actual/BR
PT80
161/170
[RC:-9/-2 LR1:-6/-2 LR2:-10/6 ]

PT70
164/171
[RC:-7/-3 LR1:-5/-2 LR2:-9/-5 ]

PT72
164/169
[RC:-8/-5 LR1:-9/-5 LR2:-5/-4 ]

PT74
164/168
[RC:-11/-7 LR1:-2/-3 LR2:-7/-4 ]

PT76
166/173
[RC:-4/-2 LR1:-8/-6 LR2: -6/-1]

PT83
164/175
[RC:-10/-0 LR1:-8/-4 LR2:-4/-3 ]

Here’s the link to my study plan.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10S9D9Rv8G8MxMrG2Uosk18HXjdvkvMvbh62imqv2C84

I’ve done LSAT Trainer and CC.
I also have
Fox LSAT encyclopedia
Manhattan prep LR
3 bibles(I got them for free from a friend... but never really opened them)
2 copies of PTs from 36~87
2 copies of all the 4 and 5 star games
7sage ultimate+

I know I’m asking for a lot, but any short advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you so much!!

drbrown2

@Lemongrab just keep at it and you will see results. A lot of the time speed comes with being able to predict what you need to answer the question before moving into the answer choices. Practice the question types you know you need to work on and before looking at the answers, answer the question: What do I need here? The question will be different for certain question types. For parallel questions, you go "ok so I see a conditional statement, with 2 necessary conditions, and the next premise is triggering the sufficient condition, and the conclusion says that both necessary conditions must have happened." For the answer choices you would first do a "shallow dip" as J.Y. likes to say in the lessons, followed by a "deep dive" into the contenders. Realistically the giant wall of text questions are going to take a lot more time, so if you prefer to do these questions at the end so be it. However, a lot of parallel questions are going to be easier than the 5 star curve breaker questions that are still going to take you 2-3 minutes.

I definitely think you have a good plan to retake old sections to work on timing. Better understanding of the test and what you need to answer the questions will lead to better timing and accuracy. Keep at it!