Plateauing at 172

billybool

Any idea on how to break through the 172 plateau? Been taking a PT every week for the last month and pretty much stuck between 168 - 172. Not entirely sure what i can do next because i feel like i have a firm grasp of what's being asked but somehow.. i always end up getting 6-8 questions wrong between RC and LR. I take one section of either LR/RC/LG every day except Sat when i take the PT and then BR/watch explanation videos and been seeing no improvements (my score when i take test sections has been slumping actually) and i'm not sure what i can do to push this out to a 175+ range come November. Any advice or direction would be appreciated!

howdoichangemyavatar

Burnout is a real thing. I was in a similar spot not too long ago. I was plateauing at 169 (so hard in-fact that the consistency was infuriating). I thought that the obvious solution was more drilling and PTs but it didnt work. Then I was watched an LSAT tutor on my prep course talk about excessively long score plateaus often being a sign of burnout. I gave my self a full week away from LSAT prep and came back to a lighter work load. All of a sudden I was hitting 175s and 176s.

melonballer

Wish I could say I was already hitting much higher in 170s, but I plateaued recently at 168-170, too. I took a few days away and my scores have begun to see slow/steady improvement again. Burnout and psyching yourself out are super real!

VerdantZephyr

I think this is a common spot to plateau. Between timing and difficulty it is extraordinarily difficult to break into that 98th/99th percentile club. What helped me break that barrier was BRing with other high scorers. Listening to their reasoning and getting tips from them has made a dramatic difference. Before that I was hovering in the same range, upper 160's to low 170's. Immediately after doing that my score jumped. Doing it with different people who are also in the same range is also useful. I had been working for several weeks in a pair of BR groups and then added a new BR buddy and she gave me a simple tip that erased my weakest question type issue immediately. I have not gotten a single main point question wrong since then when I used to get a third or so of them wrong. The website has a study buddy function or you can post here in the forums. You are already well over the 90th percentile, and I found BRing with another person in that 170+ range we rarely missed anything in BR and usually the questions made more sense after listening to their explanations.

Not everyone learns the same way of course, but for me, who really likes learning by talking things out, it was a very sudden jump. Not every BR partner or group will be as useful as every other of course. If you feel like you are not getting anything out of the situation move on, but I was very lucky to have a solid group to start with and two exceptional study buddies I have kept up with. The important thing I think is that if you are already that high, there is no reason you can not improve a bit more. Believe in yourselves, you got this!