Tips for "restarting" studying for a 165+ score?

sgoyal93

Hi 7Sagers!

I am looking for advice regarding the best way to boost my score for a retake.

I was planning to apply for the 2021 cycle but have decided to wait, partially so I can apply ASAP for the next cycle to increase chances at admission/scholarships and partially because my LSAT score isn't quite where I want it to be/believe it can be.

Some background:
1. I self-studied last summer for around 2.5 months using Khan Academy and PTs, was scoring around 160-161, but I scored a 158 on the August LSAT.
2. I switched to 7Sage in October and have since been using that to do PTs, timed sections, and watch videos of areas that I need to strengthen. I have not done the core curriculum in its entirety - wasn't sure if it would be helpful since I had a foundation from studying the first time around and wasn't necessarily brand new to the test.
3. In December, I was still PTing around 160-161 (with the occasional higher score), which was frustrating because I felt like the additional studying hadn't done anything.

Since making the decision to wait a cycle, I have pushed my Jan test to April (would be open to pushing it to May if that's an option & is flex) with a goal of 165+ and am now wondering what is the best way for me to prepare during these next few months - focus on whole PTs? Do the core curriculum? Do a combination of the two at the same time? I'm worried that if I focus too much time on the curriculum, I am just delaying practicing my skills & will have less time ultimately to do PTs; on the other hand, it seems that the curriculum might be important in strengthening my foundation.

I want to feel as confident as possible going into the next LSAT and would love any suggestions you all have for how to best approach studying this time around!

P.S. I do work full-time in case that changes anything.

Thank you!

purplecat

I'm basically in the same boat as you so I'm probably not helpful, but I figured I'd let you know what I'm doing. I signed up for 7Sage a few days ago, so I'm a newbie, but have been studying on my own off-and-on for a while. (I was getting 158-159 consistently for a few months, which was pissing me off and that's what led me to finally try 7Sage this past weekend lol). Even though I have familiarity with the test, I'm following the Core Curriculum plan fully because whatever the heck I was doing clearly wasn't working. I have been watching a lot of the videos with increased speed since I'm familiar with those concepts, so maybe that's something you could do as well? I'm planning to take it this summer though, so I have a bit more time than you.

EagerestBeaver

Hello. 7sage alum here. Scored a 157 on March 2019 and a 165 on July 2019. So I was where you are and I got to where you are trying to go (even if on the low end). First, good job on being where you are. To get to 160 means you have figured out what is going on the LSAT. The bad news is, you are just about out of shortcuts. While you are right, the CC in its entirety might be a touch redundant, analyze your analytics. What are you getting wrong? Why? What is your BR score? Is it improving? Why or why not?

Once you have studied the analytics, if you can discern a few areas to strengthen, maybe do those sections in the CC. For LG, every question you get wrong, do the entire game five times again like JY recommends. Memorize it. While you will never get that exact question again, the patterns do repeat. If you can memorize or become comfortable with almost all the LG tricks and traps, that is how you get to the -0/-1. I can offer no RC advice. That is why the 165 was not higher.

If it fits your financial constraints, consider a few hours of quality tutoring. You don't need the classes at this point, you have surpassed that. However, if you aren't sure how to figure out your own weaknesses like I mentioned above, they will. Getting on the path to success starting today with no wasted or misplaced effort will save you valuable time. Also, if they can get you 2 points higher for less than 1000$ (4-8 hours or more depending on cost of tutor), they will pay for themselves many times over in outcomes you will earn.

Good luck. Be kind to yourself.

finaagaar

Hi, I'm pretty much in the same situation you are in: this will be my second time taking the LSAT, I will also be taking the April 2021 Flex, was considering applying in 2021 but decided to apply 2022 to improve my chances of acceptance/scholarships, and I am working full time. I did find that going through the core curriculum has helped me improve my logical reasoning skills (which is where I believe I lacked in my first LSAT). Going through the syllabus and lessons for LR provided a different perspective of how to approach the LR questions and helped me understand how my way of thinking/analyzing could improve.

I think for the most part you could skip the lessons on Logic Games. The videos do provide different approaches, but if you have a fairly good handle on Games it's not necessary. Good luck studying!

chaplin___

Hi, I'm also pretty much in the same situation. I was in the low 160s and took the July 2020 Flex and it didn't go as planned, was really anxious and my proctor made me wait three hours. But more importantly, my foundation just wasn't as solid as it should be so I decided to sit this cycle out and plan on taking the April 2021 Flex. Now that I've gone through the CC and am now a few weeks into the PT phase, my LR has significantly improved all thanks to relearning and really internalizing the fundamentals (and also thanks to @Christopherr's very helpful free group tutoring sessions). I used to score around -8, but I've gotten it down to a consistent -3 on average. I didn't finish the LG core because it's my strongest section but I still watch JY's explanation videos and and redo games even if I got them all right. Currently I'm at a -2 on average but I need to be more consistent which comes from drilling, so I've redone most games at least three times, some five or more times even. These are all lessons from the core, and I wish I had a more comprehensive BR process when I started studying instead of blindly going through the Powerscore Bibles. My RC still fluctuates but I feel much more confident now than even just a few months ago. As laborious and sometimes disheartening it felt, going through the CC was necessary for me to get out of the plateau I was in.