Cannot Improve My Score

Taha Jomha

I simply cannot improve my score. I have taken the LSAT before (twice) and scored 148 and 149. I used other resources to study (Kaplan). I signed up for 7sage because I know some people that took it and they highly recommended it. I used to watch the logic game videos when they were on youtube. Regardless, I have completed my core curriculum, and have begun to take full prep tests.
I have done 3 prep tests so far and completed the blind review as well. I literally scored 147, 149, 149 on my timed runs and scored 154, 159, 159 on blind review.

Any advice here? I cannot tell what is keeping me down.

After how many practice tests did you begin to notice an improvement in your score?

Keep in mind, I run my own business, so I do work long hours. My study schedule thus far has been this... Timed test on Sunday, Blind Review Monday, then Tuesday to Friday I review each section individually, and I take a break on Saturday.

help

learn2skipQs

Same boat I'm stuck around149- early150s. I honestly haven't taken as many practice tests as most people. I would advise you to look under "How to study for the Lsat" under core curriculum , one of the early posts here. J.Y says "it's not uncommon to take 35 tests to see your full potential." I'm just trying to get at 160 so maybe that could even be 20 tests. Lawschooli.com says 25 tests is good. Basically, the moral of the story is most ppl take lots of tests once their core curriculum is solid. I studied portions of the test a lot so taking the whole PT could help my skipping mechanisms, and overall test taking skills.
Good luck. You're not the only 1 struggling.

k7sage15

i think my first time ever taking the test I got a 149. My final timed score was 165. I was working full-time and aimed to study about 3 hours 6/7 days of week. For LR i recommend Loophole by Ellen Cassidy. Do her drills, record wrong answers, and connect wrong answers. What i mean by this is that say you got a flaw question and a weaken question wrong. sometimes the answers to these questions both touch on a similar answer topic ex/maybe they're both about proportions/sets. You'll start picking up on what these questions are testing. For Logic Games i used the classifications here https://www.powerscore.com/gamesbible/lsat-logic-games-classification/ to do drills of the game types. I drilled 25-30 games/wk in the following game type order: Basic linear, advanced linear, grouping, grouping/linear, pure sequencing. Five games day 1, same set next day, revisit the same 5 a week from first completion, revisit same 5 10 days from first completion. I started stacking sets so by day two sometimes i'd do 10 timed games. Make notes of inferences u missed & what you should look out for next time each time u take the set. I used the excel sheet this user provided https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/19326/all-the-tips-that-worked-for-me-my-spreadsheet
goodluck!

Taha Jomha

Thanks guys, I will check out those resources!

VerdantZephyr

@"Taha Jomha" I also work and found that I could not do more than one whole test a week but I could do individual sections. While there is something to be said for practicing the test in its entirety, if you do not have the time to take more than one test a week take individual sections from the FLEX. Do an LR section after work one day, and the LG and RC another day. Having a study buddy to keep timed appointments for BR will also keep you on schedule. I think that will help you to get more exposure to the test. If you really can't manage a whole extra test a week you can do half one week and half the next. It will also keep you lessons fresh in your mind.

st_cupertino

Hi @"Taha Jomha" - what really helped me boost my score was taking untimed practice tests and writing down my reasoning for every single question- why I thought the right answers were right and why I thought the wrong answers were wrong. Take as much time as you need to feel 100% confident with your choice. It may feel a little too taxing at times, but it will be really helpful for when you view the right answers. I would watch J.Y.'s explanations for every single question on the exam and check to see if what I wrote down matched up with his reasoning. If it didn't, I put
the correct reasoning down in red and crossed out any errors I had and then write a short reflection on where I went wrong for that particular question and how I could improve for the next time.
Once you have your untimed practice tests in your desired score range, then I would recommend doing the regular timed exams with blind review. Hope this helps!

GTFOHLSAT

I recommend really digging into the blind reviews, if not entirely untimed tests. Maybe even going through every explanation on the preptests. I think it would be really beneficial to understand the concepts first like in knowing how to read and understanding the, say, LR stimuli and why wrong answers are wrong and rights are rights before introducing timed conditions.

I don't want to mislead because i do think time is a significant portion of the test. Myself, I scored 160 (highest) after 4 months of studying, but before that my scores were consistently in the 150s (I had it all 151, 152... 159) under timed conditions. But, my BR has never been lower than 165; i got 169 once. This is after going through the book the LSAT Trainer. 7sage is now my second "prepcourse," but it is encouraging to me because I do know, then, that I spent my time relatively okay by trying to understand the concepts first before timing the preptests.

Taha Jomha

@ilovethelsat-1 I will try it for a few prep tests and see what happens! Thank you.

@GTFOHLSAT I did start taking more time during blind review. The only explanation videos I do not watch are those answers I was 100% confident in and I got them right. It seems like I need to spend more time on untimed tests and get myself more familiar with both the right answer choices and the wrong answer choices.

Thanks guys, I will try to implement what you have suggested!

GTFOHLSAT

@"Taha Jomha" said:
@ilovethelsat-1 I will try it for a few prep tests and see what happens! Thank you.

@GTFOHLSAT I did start taking more time during blind review. The only explanation videos I do not watch are those answers I was 100% confident in and I got them right. It seems like I need to spend more time on untimed tests and get myself more familiar with both the right answer choices and the wrong answer choices.

Thanks guys, I will try to implement what you have suggested!

Sorry if that was confusing. I did a lot of untimed tests first before starting to time my pts. And my untimed scores went up gradually. First untimed test was 151 I think and then last was 165. I felt confident enough then to start timing myself and it was horrible lol. And now, BR scores are just another thing on its own. In retrospect, I don't regret using about 10 pts untimed, but I regret thinking it would have been somewhat the same when I eventually transitioned to timed pts. It wasn't. There were just a few habits that I had to get rid of from when I was doing untimed pts. But those 10 untimed pts really helped me to understand the concepts really well. Good luck!

ninamatryoshka

stop taking full PTs! Doing a full PT may help improve your stamina, but they're not a very efficient way of working on accuracy and understanding. Drill specific question types within each section, and do practice full individual sections, and then only bring regular full PT practices into your study routine once you're already doing well on each individual section.

EbethStudent16

I completely agree with @ninamatryoshka. Also, if you are blind reviewing in the 150s that means you still have some basics to grapple with (we all do!). So, I suggests taking individual sections. Blind reviewing that section and really figuring out where you went wrong. Also, the gap between timed and BR in my opinion should be timing. With more time, you should be able to BR in the 170s. However, the gap you present here is some understanding so return to core curriculum if necessary!

Taha Jomha

@ninamatryoshka when you say practice full individual sections, which sections do I choose from? For example, should I do section 1 of PT 38 untimed, then move onto section 2, 3,4 untimed as well?

rix.ryskamp

Hi Taha, I noticed that you are a business owner. So am I. Something that I had to learn the hard way is hyper-focus. My scores improved dramatically when I learned to block out everything other than the question at hand. Don't worry about yesterday. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about the previous question. Don't worry about the next question. Pretend that only you and that question exist at that moment.

I wear earplugs. At least one day in advance, I tell people around me that I cannot be disturbed. I pre-plan meals so they don't take focus. I start as early in the AM as possible to eliminate distractions. I turn off my phone and only check it during breaks.

As business owners, as with many professions, we are trained to manage so many things at once. In many ways the LSAT is training you to focus intensely on a single task when required to do so.

Best wishes in your journey!

ninamatryoshka

@"Taha Jomha" said:
@ninamatryoshka when you say practice full individual sections, which sections do I choose from? For example, should I do section 1 of PT 38 untimed, then move onto section 2, 3,4 untimed as well?

I mean do full individual sections by section type depending on what you want to work on. So for example let's say you've done a full PT and you did the worst on RC and you'd like to work on RC for a week to strengthen your performance, you'd do this by picking any RC section, let's say the RC section in PT1, do it in the given 35 minutes, and see how you fare.

If you're unable to complete all 4 passages in that time, or if you are able to do them in 35 minutes them but make many errors, then do one single RC passage (timed or untimed), review it using explanations by 7sage or by another website and deconstruct the passage properly (so for example identify the structure of each paragraph, the views present, the tone/attitude, highlight any examples/dates, write down the main point), then slowly solve the questions while listening to the explanations on 7sage.

Keep practicing with individual passages on different topics and at different levels of difficulty until you're able to do passages within the suggested time (usually 8.5 min) at a high rate of accuracy (getting all or most of the questions correct), and THEN start doing 4 passage sections.

Once you're doing well on all of the sections timed while practicing them separately, you can start doing full PTs. You can of course still do full PTs to measure how you're doing/progressing overall but this can be done infrequently, let's say once a month, until you're scoring well on each section type on its own.

Regular full PT practice (once a week and then review), which is what you're currently doing, isn't necessary yet and only comes in once you're close to the score you want on each individual section.

teechj117

I used Kaplan for my first round of studies too, and although anywhere is a good start to get a frame of reference, Kaplan can have you focused on the wrong things. This will have you burning precious time. I also found their strategies a little too vague (particularly for LG) and they charge for this, that, and the other if you want additional help. A good system should give you the ability to react according to a clear objective. Clarity and simplicity works best when you are pressured by time.

You'll find a good amount of depth here. If what you find here doesn't stick, or maybe you desire different takes (it's certainly helped me), I would recommend The Loophole for LR and Logic Games Bible (powerscore) for LG. In addition to 7Sage podcasts, Powerscore also has great listening.

I also started critically reading the Economist for reading comprehension on the go. The app gives you a brief overview of a day or week and you can actively practice recall throughout your day. This improves memorizing and translating those RC sections and wordy LR stims into your own words. It's like cross-training for your mind.

In the end, don't put too much pressure on learning everything at once. Do what works for you. Forgive yourself if you can't immediately understand a concept (or few). All of this takes time to marinate, and it will. You got this.