sad :(

haleyj95

Hi everyone- just finished a practice test and am feeling like I'm just not cut out for this. I've been studying since Feb and am taking the August LSAT. My score has remained the same, if not gotten worse. I feel prepared when studying but when it comes to the test I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.

Wondering if anyone has any tips or ideas as to why I'm unable to improve. Or just if anyone else feels this same way- misery loves company.

JustaKid

Hey Haley,

How have you been studying? Also do you NEED to take August LSAT? Maybe just try putting more time in. Score increases happen at a different rate for everyone so don't be discouraged!

haleyj95

I took a Kaplan course, been doing 7sage- the whole 9 yards. I'm not sure what's going on honestly. I work full time so I'd really like to take the August LSAT, apply in September/October and then be done with everything. I started out so confident and now I feel like I'm in my head and so stressed all the time that my studying has become ineffective. IDK, I am just so upset about my progress

giulia.pines

I've basically been at the same score for 4 months and I also feel like everyone else has that same quintessential something that I happen to be missing. I can't offer any words of advice but I can offer sympathy. I just postponed June at the last minute (and from early chatter about how hard it was, that seems like it was the right decision) and hoping to take it August, but leaving it open for myself to postpone again and not be as hard on myself as I have been.

Benx4HT_

I had the same issue as you. I began with a cold diagnostic of 141, and after studying for 2 months, got to a 149- not at all my goal score. It seems as if we face plateaus every few points, the only advice I can give is to just push through. I know it sounds like the most obvious thing ever, but a month after that 149, I got to 156, I got 159 for five or six preptests after that. My issue was logic games, I was getting -5 to -3 on reading comprehension but for some reason logic games just didn't come to me, and it was bad enough (in addition to missed questions in logical reasoning, of course) to bring me down to the high 140s.

I took time each day to immerse myself in only the types of questions I got incorrect, and as I began to understand them, that feeling of "what the heck am I doing?" faded away. Just keep pushing forward, if you see a study program you'd like to try then go for it if you're able to, just keep pushing forward and give yourself time to understand the material, you've got this!

Bagelinthemorning-2-1-1

Hey @haleyj95, I can definitely relate! I begun studying again after the pandemic started and after reading the LSAT Trainer and other books, I was still at the same score I started with. At the beginning of this year, I started PTing regularly with thorough BR and that's when I saw improvement. Everyone learns differently. You might just need frequent exposure to the test material to absorb what you learned and that's alright. Try booking regular PT sessions.

sarahblair

Which section do you perform worst on? I think it's helpful to set sights on mastering LG if you haven't done so already.

jimmyphan1993

I've seen a lot of people in different forums recommend taking a break to refocus. I'm not someone who can do that; I'd feel too crappy for not doing anything lol.

Instead, if I ever feel like I'm plateauing or feel discouraged, I make some adjustments to how I study. Instead of doing a few PTs a week, focus on doing one full PT and review/retake each section for the rest of the week. Or, do a single PT, highlight the questions you got wrong, and do problem sets until you start understanding that specific question type. For example, I noticed I got 2-3 flaw questions wrong. So I did the flaw problem sets and reviewed JY's videos on flaw questions until I started getting most of them right.

clear227

I second the advice about focusing on the question types you are getting wrong, as well as taking a break.

I studied from august to december (4 months) and my score barely budged. I decided to take a two week break after the january LSAT, and for some reason that made a significant difference. The break gave me the clarity to change HOW I was studying. I started doing timed problem sets that were made of a mix of only my weakest question types.

My average score improved 8 points, but the amount of time I was putting in didn’t change at all.

Tl;dr a break can give you the clarity you need to create a better study plan.