First PT was a 148, Now What?

CSieck3507

Hey 7Sagers,

Just took PT 59 and got a 148. I plan on taking the October LSAT and have a goal of getting at least a 157. What should be my next steps and what insights do you all have on studying, taking tests and BR?

DINOSAUR

Finish CC first, then practice as many PTs as you can

Confidence150

Try to improve on games! I think games is the easiest to improve and try to get as many points as you can on games. Review CC, drill question types, and review them.

This_is_Hard

My first PT was 135, now what...

meganday2121

My first PT was around where you were in April and I just hit a 170 this weekend! So what you aim for it totally doable, if not even aiming lower than you can achieve. I like others here would advise you work on LG, get your timing and accuracy down and you will see major improvement in your scores. I also saw a huge improvement when I started on 7sage's curriculum, before I was pretty much just doing problem sets alone without understanding the logic theories behind them. So keep it up! Your goal is within reach!

Defender

148 is not bad for a first PT! You can get to 155 quickly if you take your time going through the questions in your timed practice. A lot of times students try to blaze through the questions to get through the section. That’s a big mistake. You do not need to get through every question to get a good score. What is important is that you invest in the reading and slow down. I practiced a 157 once where I didn’t get through more than 21 questions per section.

Then in BR (untimed) try to focus on the reading and logic of the test. BR is where you learn this test. Take your time and study why the correct answers are correct and the other answer choices are nowhere near correct.

Also, forget about the scores for now—just focus on what the test wants you to do (finding gaps in arguments, etc.). Maybe even try doing a few timed sections without scoring them. I wasted a lot of time and emotions early on because I was so anxious to score myself. The score is a by-product of your understanding.

Last, do games over and over again foolproof style. It works. Just keep doing them. I was at -15 after two months, -8 after four months, -4 after 6 months. Once you get the hang of it you will have fun. Trust me. It’s a skill that becomes your favorite when you put in the time.

CSieck3507

@Defender @meganday2121 @Superb2021 @DINOSAUR Thanks for the replies everyone! My plan is to take the October test (hopefully in person) and if I need to delay until November I will! My low ball score is a 157 but my ultimate goal is to get a 165. I think I can easily achieve a 157 by October since I went through my first two sections on my test and saw a ton of answers I could have gotten right but didnt due to stress of time. Do ya'll think that timeline is feasible?

cool-apple07

I'd like to think that timeline is feasible! I was in the same boat as you about 2 months ago. My initial diagnostic was a 148, I'm consistently testing around 160-161 with a 164 as my high this past weekend. You can make massive improvements by learning how to do the games, and in my opinion, in the right place to learn how to do them.

meganday2121

@CSieck3507 I think that timeline is doable for sure! Big improvements come early on, I think it was within the first month for me with LG. In that time, you'll also get a better handle for timing and feel less pressure. If you keep practicing and get the fundamentals down by October, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to exceed or surpass your goal! Best of luck to you!

CSieck3507

@meganday2121 Thank you! I've been studying pretty hard these last few days and seeing a ton of improvement. I may even shoot for high 160's or low 170's. My dream school is UCLA so I really need to kill the test so I may extend my studies to take the November test or January test. Any other suggestions for being able to score in that range?