how to consistently score in mid 170s?

dicino63

I received a score of 171 in 3 of my last 5 PTs, but I'm having trouble getting over this hump. My goal score is a 173 based on the new T-14 medians, and I'm not sure whether I should be spending my time before the October LSAT just taking PTs or drilling. I struggle the most with Inference questions in RC and Weaken questions in LR, and I have been drilling these with some improvement. I typically miss between 4 and 6 questions in RC, between 1 and 4 questions in LR, and typically go perfect or -1 in LG. I have gone as high as 177 during BR, but cannot score higher than 171 timed. Any tips would be appreciated!

Cant Get Right

You’ve got to improve your RC range, and you need to tighten up in LR to stay closer to your higher end with greater consistency.

For one thing, you need to diagnose your issues with greater nuance. Top scorers don’t struggle because of question types, and we don't categorize our problem areas that way. So you’ve got to come up with a better explanation than that. Why do your struggles disproportionately fall in these areas? What is really going on? You know what it means to weaken an argument, so you’re not misunderstanding what you’re being asked to do. So that’s not the problem. What is?

Generally, my suspicion is that a part of the problem is that you’re trying to 160 your way into the 170’s. Scoring consistently in the upper-mid 170’s takes a whole different strategic approach and way of thinking about the test. Many plateau because they aren’t adapting their strategies to account for their increased mastery of the fundamentals. Strategies like pre-phrasing, reading for structure, and a simplistic approach to time management strategy work great for most people until they start creeping up towards the 170's. At that point, most of us can't keep improving by further refining these strategies because they have vulnerabilities which are serious enough that consistent mid-high 170 scorers can't afford.

I know that's more what not to do than what to do, but I hope it gives you something to reflect on for starters. Ultimately, the most important thing is to identify the real cause of your errors. This is often 90% of the work. Once you know what's costing you those points, workshopping solutions is often (but, of course, not always) a relatively straight-forward process.

dicino63

@"Cant Get Right" thank you for the feedback! your advice is genuinely unique compared to others and I thank you for that