Am I being too ambitious?

ridgec17

Hi everyone,
this is my first time posting in this community. I won't go into my life story, so I'll just get right into the question. My goal is to earn at least a 170-172 on the LSAT and I have roughly a year of studying for this test, using 7sage but also supplementing my studying with the LSAT Trainer and the Powerscore Bibles. I just started the 7sage core curriculum and I've started to become a bit discouraged, specifically on the Main Point/Main Conclusion questions/explanations, as I'm getting almost all of them wrong. This has made me believe that I may be being unrealistic in my goal of earning such a high score on the LSAT. I understand the average LSAT score is around a 152 but unfortunately with my low GPA (3.23) I simply can't afford to get a merely average score, especially since my goal is to attend a reputable, highly ranked law school (not necessarily T14). Any advice is appreciated!

Constantine

Too ambitious? Roughly a year of studying. Not at all! Too ambitious is when people have a month of studying and want 170+. PM me, and I'll explain how to deal with MP questions.

montibae

I'm in a similar situation. Studying for Jan 2023 for the first time. I am planning to take it again in June hopefully with better preparation.
Any useful insight or motivation, I'd love to hear!

leonduwow

bruh you got a year so 170 is a reasonable expectation. Like in a year if you are studying rigorously you can probably do every single LSAT prep test that has come out

selah403

This is sooo attainable. I think if you shoot for the stars and you fall short at least you'll fall somewhere in space. But if you don't shoot for the stars and jump, you're just going to fall to the ground. Shoot high.

A year is an awesome time frame to get some serious work in. Good luck!

valentina.soares-1

Hi @ridgec17 ,

The fact that you have one year to study makes reaching a 170 an attainable goal. This test is complicated and has so many different concepts to learn at the start. Once you become really familiar with the fundamentals, the question types, and what is required of you in different sections, you will start to see how all of these concepts actually overlap. Now having a year is great, but the challenge (and the key to success) is going to be staying consistent. This requires patience and focus.

I think that going through the core curriculum is going to be very important for you, and as you reach concepts that you’re struggling with, don’t just move on. Dedicate the time to re watching videos, practicing, and asking questions so that you really understand it before you move on to something completely different.

With main point questions, for example, you’re looking to identify the main claim that the author of the argument is making. This claim will be accompanied by some sort of support or evidence. As you read the argument try and ask yourself which one of these ideas begs the question “why?”. Is there one claim that feels like it needs explaining? The other parts of the argument should feel like they’re trying to do that job, explaining why we should believe the claim or main point. If you haven't dealt with arguments before, this is just going to take some practice and getting used to. It doesn't mean that you aren't capable of doing well on this test.

You’re going to want to really focus on the process, especially the next few months, rather than scores or outcomes. Brick by brick you have to build your foundation, and when the time comes, you can start testing, identifying weak areas, and drilling them. That is when you can focus on timing, strategies, scores, etc. But again, for now, focus on building a really strong foundation.

If you get through the core curriculum or even feel that you need assistance while you are completing it and want to talk to one of our expert tutors about how we can help you create a game plan for the time between now and test day, feel free to use this link to schedule a free consultation! We work with you to diagnose your current weaknesses and put together a weekly study plan to help you spend your time as efficiently as possible, pick up those points, and reach your goal score. https://calendly.com/7sage-tutoring/7sage-tutoring-free-consultation?utm_source=FCA_A

WinningHere

What is the author fighting for? Dig deep on argument structure.