20 point improvement possible for June LSAT 2020

lmunoz2628

Hey guys!

So my lsat journey has been crazy a lot of ups and downs. I have been studying for the lsat for about 3 years on and off, I was never consistent. I would study one week for 5 days, then the next week, 3 days then so on. I would take months off because I was discourage, honestly I had a fixed mindset. I spent so much money for lsat preps. I was ripped off from Kaplan, I signed up for test masters twice, and I bought the power score books, I did so much.

I will not blame the lsat courses because it depends on me. Throughout my 3 years, I feel like I know the lsat, the questions, patterns, and the approaches. It’s not like, I didn’t learn anything at all. I actually learned a lot. This is my last shot. I withdrew my apps last year due to my lsat scores. I have everything all ready. It is just the lsat.

So my last two scores were 133-June 2018, 138-June 2019. I signed up for 7 sage in feb. I can honestly say this time is different, I have been consistent for 5 weeks straight, I’m focusing on the fundamentals, doing the blind review, and beasting on the problem sets. 7 sage has far been the best course I took out of all of them.

I don’t know if I’m deceived, but I believe I can increase my score by 20 pts this time, if I keep being consistent and work hard. So I would jump my score from a 138 to a 158. I guess my realistic goal is to get at least a 150 but I don’t want to settle and I don’t know if that score will compensate my gpa. The lsat is imperative for me to get in to law since my gpa in undergrad wasn’t all that.

So guys, with your honest oppinion, do you think it is realistic for me to get at least a 158 on the upcoming June lsat? Or am I just dreaming and having an unrealistic goal? If so, how about a 150? Like I said previously, I truly have been going hard this time and I notice the improvements.

Please respond with advice, study tips and most importantly be honest.

Thanks,

Louie

lexxx745

How many hours can you devote per day? Are you working full time/part time? What is your schedule

Cant Get Right

20 points is an enormous increase, and you’re talking about a very short timeframe. I don’t think 158 is realistic, but if you study all the right things correctly, effectively, and diligently, a 150 is not inconceivable. Point increases become more difficult the higher we score; every point is more difficult than the last. So that means you’ve been leaving a lot of the relatively easier points on the table. Just by solidifying basics, you can make substantial gains.

After studying for three years, even on and off, with a resulting score level in the 130’s, you should be very critical of your study methodology. It’s practically certain that your prior studies were lacking in quality as well as quantity. A good indication is the amount of resistance you’re experiencing as you study.

Study habits that result in quick disposal of many questions are low-resistance methods and are ineffective. A good example of a low-resistance study method is grading PT’s before review and then reviewing only the questions you miss by looking at the right answer to “figure it out.” It feels productive, but there’s little slowing you down and preventing you from completing one question and moving to the next. I used to do this and could review a whole PT in under and hour. Considering it was a complete waste of time, I’m glad it didn’t take me any longer!

Compare that to Blind Review—a very effective high-resistance method. To BR properly, you have to review without knowing what the correct answer is, without knowing if you got a given question right or wrong, and without having your original work or answer choice for reference. You should be writing out detailed analysis for the stimulus to break down both the logic and the language. You must also write out detailed explanations for each AC which analyze why each is either right or wrong. To do this effectively, you will frequently be required to return to the core curriculum in order to identify how to correctly work with specific concepts, and it will require frequent and meticulous diagramming and grammatical deconstruction. This is a very high-resistance method. (And this is the abridged version.) It is very difficult to complete your work for one question before moving to the next. I’ve spent hours on single questions with this method.

In short, you must seriously reflect on whether or not you are actually working effectively. Very few people actually are, and you should be highly skeptical if you think you’re an exception. High-resistance study methods are slow and arduous. Low-resistance methods are fast and make us feel highly productive with none of the pain and frustration. The attraction of this is enormous, and for most, overwhelming. If you do work effectively though, a 150 is absolutely plausible. Shit, work effectively enough, and maybe even the 158 is not impossible.

Constantine

You can, I've got over 20 points within 3 month

This_is_Hard

You can do it! A lot of the point increases from the low 130s to 150s are easily learnable and I think 7Sage provides ample practice/strategy to get you to where you want. I've heard of substantial increases after people doing the CC.

Focus on getting the strategies down for each of the specific question types and keep on drilling these specific questions, you will find that you will start to see patterns and it will become easier. Also, you can get a substantial increase in points by getting better with Logic Games. Logic Games are easy to catch on since they do not differentiate from one another too much.

FindingSage

As someone who has also delayed multiple cycles I can tell you I understand what it is like to delay multiple cycles and to make progress that often feels very slow and uphill. It is often very frusturating to study part time and feel like you are taking so much longer than everyone else. But June isn't your last shot, and in my opinion you should strongly consider a later test. You want to get your best score you can, and putting a hard date really puts an enormas amount of pressure on yourself.
You said your 138 score was from the June 2019 LSAT? You may already be doing signifcantly better than that right now, because you are taking the time to work on your fundamentals. I know you have already wasted money with Kaplan and others but there really is some amazing tutors on 7 Sage! Don't be afraid to ask for help. Also, even if you don't have some tutor you privatley, there are blind review sessions, study groups ect you can find or you can start your own. The community is amazing and can really help you!
I also agree that you can see substantial increases with logic games, take the time to fool proof and really get good at them. Depending on what your section break down is, going perfect or near perfect on games may be enough to get you to the low 150s.

lmunoz2628

@Constantine I study amount 5-6 days a week for at least 4 hours.

lmunoz2628

@"Cant Get Right" thank you, I will implement those strategies.

lmunoz2628

@FindingSage thank you, LG are actually my strengths I’m confident I can get 18 right in that’s section. As for tutors, where can I find one?

lmunoz2628

@"Richard N" really? You think is possible? Yeah LG are my strengths, it just LR is what I’m having trouble with.

lmunoz2628

@lexxx745 5-6 days a week for at least 4 hours mon-fri. On Saturday’s or sundays it’s about 6-8 hours.

This_is_Hard

@lmunoz2628 Yes, I think its possible! I actually had a lower score than you at 135 (diagnostic) and I increased 12 points to a 147 (about 2 weeks time) after going through only 30% of the CC. I am currently still going through the CC, but taking it slow and making sure I practice a lot of the problem sets and periodically go back to review theory/strategy.

GoVaCaMaDaAqNe

This is really a helpful thread, i sure appreciate it. I have a question similar to this...when doing problem sets, at what point should i “move on?” I’ve barely started doing Main Point questions and did 4 problem sets and in each one did not get, every after blind review, all of the questions right. So I’ve gone back to core curriculum regarding blind review and realized that i wasn’t doing the blind review correctly, but also, i was rushing through the details and simply misreading. But the worrisome thing is that it takes me FOREVER to actually read and comprehend the stimulus....I sure hope getting to identify the conclusion goes faster with more practice! Also, I don’t want to “waste” real LSAT questions and want to eventually save them for actual practice LSATs so at point should i be “moving on” from problem sets—when I get every question correct after blind reviewing? Or until I’ve completed all the available problem set questions? Thanks for your help. I hope to one day, actually be sage enough to be able to help others in figuring some of this out.

FindingSage

@lmunoz2628 said:
@FindingSage thank you, LG are actually my strengths I’m confident I can get 18 right in that’s section. As for tutors, where can I find one?

Getting 18 right isn't bad but LG you can improve a lot more. Going -0 to -2 could make a big impact in your score.