Feeling Deflated

CDROMulus-1-1-1-1-1

Hey guys, I don't really know who to talk to about this because no one in my family or in my friend group has pursued law before. I'm just really nervous. My goal score is high 150s to the low 160s. My average is ~158 - 159. I took a PT last Friday, timed conditions, scored a 159. Great. Yes. Fantastic. I took a timed PT this Monday, scored a 156 (I ran out of time on the LG, totally freezed up, idk what happened). Kind of confused. I seem to really fluctuate between 157-159 to 160-161. But even then, my "160" scores were either tests with an untimed LG section or totally untimed altogether.

I've been really drilling LG and I'm pretty fast at them now, my average is -3.7 I believe, and I can comfortably complete a section of games with about like ~70 - 80% accuracy. I diagram pretty well, though sometimes I have to brute force my way through some of the harder/hardest games.

However, the rest of my section scores are kind of wonky,

I seem to fluctuate between 7-9 wrong on LR. I know this is the section that I've been struggling to wrap my head around. I'm really good at some types of questions, but dismal on others. My weakest points really seem to be NA, SA, and MC type questions. I'm going to start (tomorrow) and go through this section in the CC again.

With my RC I don't even know. I'm a decent reader (it's been my strongest skill throughout school) , but holy shit guys, I went from -6 to -8, to like pulling -8 to -11. It's like the hat trick from hell. I don't know if this is common to see such a decrease after studying for a bit?

(I have noticed on the timed portions of LR I feel like I actually do a bit better, while on the untimed doing a bit worse, while at the same time I cant really nail down what's wrong with the RC section, I feel like I just lose focus)

I guess all of this is to say, I'm taking the November LSAT. I thought I was going to be prepared when I signed up, but honestly, a month out, I'm still feeling a bit rough, and the uncertainty is killing me.

You guys think it would be possible to score a high 150/160 in NOV? My goal is the law school at Oregon University, their median LSAT score is 158 it seems (25th being 155, 75th being 161), with a GPA of 3.57 (I'm literally .01 below that lmao) Let me know below in the poll or the comments. Sorry for the relatively "Oh boo-hoo woe is me" type post, but I figured a discussion with you guys could help me sort some things out and come up with a better strategy.

CDROMulus-1-1-1-1-1

I have formulated a rough study plan, but I need to have some input and some more concrete goals. I'm also receiving some tutoring. I will add that my cold diagnostic score was a 149. I'm not sure if I did a good job explaining my situation, so if clarification is needed, I'm more than happy to write more.

If Glory then Guts

Not being confident in MC questions would be a big indicator imo and I would focus on labelling every single part of the stimulus until it becomes automatic. After all, main conclusion questions are really the foundation of LR, given that being able to identify the premise(s) and conclusion of any stimulus is necessary for high accuracy. Fluency in LR, especially the newer tests would also translate into better RC scores. And I would most definitely say, given your current average, that a jump into the 160's is possible and in fact likely! gl

Cant Get Right

I was just saying in another thread quite recently how people in your starting range so often start doing worse on RC once they begin studying for it. This is very common, so don’t panic. I’d recommend putting all your emphasis their into analyzing AC’s. The subtlety and nuance that goes into the AC’s goes further than you likely realize at this point. Unlocking some of those layers will likely be your most productive effort there.

As far as the passage, imagine you were a literate adult who could comprehend things you read just by reading them. Presumably this shouldn’t be too difficult of a thought experiment. It won’t be perfect and you’ll be foregoing some development, but honestly, just read it and stop doing LSAT stuff to it. The reason people drop off in performance so often on RC is because they get so distracted and overwhelmed by the exercises that they stop reading to comprehend the passage. Comprehension is complex and requires all of our effort. If you’re doing other shit, your comprehension is suffering. We often do worse when we first adopt new strategies and that's often fine, but you don’t have time for that process to play out on a 1 month study plan. If your RC has gotten worse and your test is in 1 month and your diagnostic range is strong for your target score, quit doing whatever you’re doing. Your objective should be to just get back to where you started and maybe to pick up a few extra points through better understanding of the answer choices. If you can do that I think your RC will be where it needs to be.