Already feel defeated

Knee-uhhh

Hi everyone,
I am new to the 7sage community and I am new to discussion posts. Everyone here sounds really encouraging so I decided to write on this forum and see what happens lol. Anyways have taken a cold diagnostic twice and have scored to my demise 141 both times. So many other forums are saying that it is impossible to raise it to a 170+ and now I feel like I already failed before I even started. Just for context, I am going to attempt to apply early to law schools in fall 2022, therefore I would hope to take the LSAT in about 6 months give or take. I just would like to hear some of you all's success stories and how much you were able to raise your scores to help make me feel motivated and focused again.

a_pmorenoc

I started my journey in April 2021 with a 141 diagnostic as well, have scored 165, 168 on 2 LSATs and now I'm PT'ing in the mid 170s and hope to break into the 170s on the January LSAT. It is SO possible to achieve your goal score despite how far away it may seem. I had people tell me the most I would raise my score is 15 points but that was unacceptable to me and my motivation was to prove it to myself that I've already come so far, and that this is a very learnable test with the right amount of practice and time. The only person putting limits to what you can achieve, is yourself, if you tell yourself you can't do it, you won't, so do your best to stay positive and really take this as an enjoyable learning experience and see how it impacts your view on the LSAT for the better!

Determined_-1

Agree with @a_pmorenoc 100000%! Believe you can do it. Attitude is everything.

Knee-uhhh

Thank you @a_pmorenoc that gives me a lot of hope

kmullins2525

For Logic Games alone I was averaging -13 per section when I first started studying. This was pretty demoralizing - I never thought I would be able to shore up my score to break the 170 mark.

I am not being paid to say this, but the 7Sage Blind Review/Foolproofing method really works. I spent nearly a month doing nothing but trying logic games, watching J.Y.'s videos, and doing the games again. I have now achieved perfect LG scores on a few of my PT's.

So, big gains are possible but I don't think there's any way around the hard work it will take to get there. Good luck!

Lizardking-1

Started at 145, now scoring in the high 160's (168/169, etc). Trying to break 170 too. It's totally possible, but it's even more work than people say it is. Undergrad // jobs, etc were easy compared to improving at this test (for me at least). I will say that I don't think it's possible to raise your score 30 points in that time frame. I think you'd need at least a year, and even then, you'll need to study very intelligently and very diligently to make that kind of leap. A lot of 7sage users have dedicated 1.5/2+ years to make big improvements. It takes time. There are probably people out there who have started with low diagnostics and accelerated quickly, but usually there are good reasons for a low score, and it takes a lot of tedious work to improve. My first diagnostic, I went -20 in LG. It was not a fluke or mishap, I was literally that shitty at LG. It has taken me countless hours to improve at logic games. It would be embarrassing for me to actually relay the number of hours spent if I had bothered keeping track. The point is that it's possible, but tons and tons of work. There's a reason a 170 is the 97.1 percentile.

Be_of_good_cheer

I do not see any reason you cannot do this if it becomes a driving focus in your life.
Most folks have comittments, families, and jobs so I'm not sure how this figures into your plan but everyone has the same 24hours per day. Just remember that

JDream2025

I started with 134 and now I am at 145. You are still in the "lead" compare to where I started. Put in good, solid work and you got this. I am working towards the median. I wanted to quit and take the easier way out but if we can't put our minds towards beating this LSAT, law school is a whole different ball game. If you really want this, don't give up.

itonydelatorre

I think a couple things here:
1) It is totally possible to increase your score that high. Especially if you struggled in logic games, that is probably the easiest section to improve on. If you have no background in formal logic, then I think you'll find it not too difficult to bump up that logical reasoning score as well.

2) While it's great to shoot for the 170s and I think everyone should be aiming high, don't define yourself based on the score of this test. You're not a failure if it turns out you cant break into the 170s, your just one of 90 out of 100 people. 170 is tough. There's great opportunities for everyone, so do your best, but don't be discouraged.

Knee-uhhh

@Lizardking-1 good point, I appreciate your honesty maybe I'll pick a different LSAT date that is is closer to the end of the year so that I have a lot more time to study and really learn how to take this test

Knee-uhhh

@itonydelatorre thank you for the comfort, I am just such perfectionist that I always aim extremely high. It's a blessing and a curse lol. I do need to just focus on doing my best and not letting this score define me so you are completely right

shrek takes the lsat

Why are you spending so much time researching if you can even get to 170? sounds like you're trying to give yourself a reason not to have those high expectations.

embrady

You can definitely do it if you put your mind to it. Researching whether you can increase to a 170 might be discouraging, law school forums can get really competitive and make you feel like you can't do it.

z.stan31

Not impossible!!! But be realistic about how long it will take to get there/how much time you're willing to put in.