Moving to the 170s from the high 160s (Help me)

JessDoctorate

Hi all,

I have hit a score plateau recently. I am scoring 167-169 consistently with BR in the 170s (which I am glad about considering I started in the high 140 range). I have focused on drilling problem areas and working on timing between PTs and I see improvement in those areas of focus, but it seems like every time I fix one problem something else comes up in the next PT. What helped you break into the 170s, and how have you maintained improvements into PTs? What made the biggest difference score wise once you reached this phase in your studies?

Thanks!

Non-Stop-1

I am not quite willing to say I have broken this plateau but I am in the process of breaking it (170 and 171 on my past two PTs). For me, I have been reviewing my missed questions as well as questions that have taken me a significant amount of time to answer. The bulk of my missed questions have been in RC (average of -6 for my last 5 tests). I have started focusing more on knowing when to skip questions for RC and LR. I've essentially made better use of my time by doing the questions I know I can answer relatively quickly versus the ones that are going to take me a little while even if I know I will get it right. For example, in LR I may skip a parallel reasoning question (not necessarily because it is difficult but because it may be time consuming). Adjusting to this format ensures I have max time for the harder (or more time intensive) questions while not sacrificing time on the easier questions.

Cant Get Right

A lot of it is going to be time management. Your BR score is your potential. How close you come to your potential is a matter of efficiency. Efficiency is complicated, but it’s basically just good time management. If you were testing with effectively perfect efficiency, you’d score your BR. So if you improve your efficiency, you will get more of your possible points and improve your score.

Near perfect efficiency sounds like a big ask and it is. But you’re targeting a big score, so you’ve got to come close. It is obtainable. When I took my final official LSAT, my timed and BR scores had converged. Both averages were a 176. I was getting every point I was capable of picking up on every test. And on test day, I scored a 176 too. On any given test I can score up to a 180. And I certainly wouldn’t have complained about any additional point. But I actually love the symmetry and wouldn’t change a thing: 176 average PT, 176 average BR, and 176 official. It’s just perfect. And I got there because I am the absolute master of time management and efficiency. And it’ll get you there too if you master it.

cpeaks13

@"Cant Get Right" how were you able to master your time management and efficiency?

CSieck3507

@cpeaks13 said:
@"Cant Get Right" how were you able to master your time management and efficiency?

Great question

Olivia Benson

@Non-Stop is this username because the Hamilton song? lol I was just listening to it....

Non-Stop-1

@"Olivia Benson" absolutely! Between work and studying I feel like I'm doing these things Non-Stop. Sometimes you just need to listen to Hamilton to brighten the mood a bit. That's why I'm constantly playing it (and why I've seen it in person twice)!

Cant Get Right

@CSieck3507 said:

@cpeaks13 said:
@"Cant Get Right" how were you able to master your time management and efficiency?

Great question

I was planning on doing some Sage Office Hours later this week, would y’all be interested in an advanced time management focused one? It’s a lot to go through and I think some back-and-forth tends to be helpful.

CSieck3507

@"Cant Get Right" That would be awesome! I would definitely attend

Jxoxo123

@"Cant Get Right" That would be amazing! I've been at a high 160s plateau for four months and I would really love advice on execution skills. Will definitely attend if you hold it!

LawschoolhereIcome

@"Cant Get Right" would love to attend!

fiftyvolcanoes

@"Cant Get Right" Yes I would be very interested.

prisshdzz

@"Cant Get Right" Yes!

Cant Get Right

Ok, scheduled it! To prevent hijacking this thread, please see https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/32566/sage-office-hours-advanced-time-management-strategy-tues-june-28-8pm-eastern