How to maximize time in the 170's

Tarheels

I am writing this because I just took my first practice test since my diagnostic, which was on December 15th (6 weeks ago). My diagnostic was a 154, with a -6 on LG, -5 on LR, and -13 on RC (I got really fatigued during this section and ended up running out of time with like 10 questions left and folded). I am applying to Harvard's Junior Deferral Program this summer. My goal score is a 175, because I have a slightly below 25th percentile GPA for Harvard, so I need to at least be slightly above the median on the LSAT. I am taking the LSAT in April, with the opportunity to take it one more time in June if I do not get my target score.

My process up to this point was that I went through the core curriculum and finished everything. I did not do blind review in the interest of time, instead I would look at the answers and watch the videos for the ones I got wrong, and the explanations for the ones I got right but spent more than the recommended time on. My reasoning for this was that I could always go back and study the questions more intensely later on, if I have trouble with a particular problem type or question, but I did not want to linger too long on anything if I was going to finish the core curriculum before taking a practice test, (which my obsessive mind felt like was necessary). That might also just have been me being lazy, but oh well.

Today I took the February 1997 Practice Test, and got a 172, -4 on LG, -2 on LR, -4 on RC. On Blind review I got a 178, -0 on LG, -2 on LR, and -1 on RC. A big thing was that I had run out of time on the last logic game and went back and pretty quickly fixed 3 incorrect answers. When I submitted I was completely expecting a 165ish score, and it popped out a 172. Obviously I was stoked, but now I have to reevaluate my plan for the next 3 months. I am just 3 points below my goal score, and 2 points below a perfect score on BR, which makes me believe that a 180 is in reach.

I was wondering if anybody had any advice on how to best handle these next 3 months to improve a 172. A big issue I am having so far is time management, which I think will come together as I do more practice tests. But would love to hear in general if anybody has any tips about inching out points in the 170's, and trying to get a perfect score.

I say all this with the thought that it could very well be a fluke and I go back to the 160's next PT, and I still have a lot more work to do like I was anticipating, but I am hoping that is not the case.

Cant Get Right

I wrote a fairly comprehensive introduction on time management in this thread a while back:

https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/27356/finishing-a-section-right-on-time-v-early-and-doing-a-2nd-round

It's just an introduction, but I think it does a good job of establishing solid theory. Happy to elaborate if there are any questions. I would just copy and paste to make it easier, but a lot of it is in response to other comments, so it really needs the whole thread. Anyway, hope this helps.

aiman.shahab

Hey @Tarheels ! First of all, congratulations on hitting a 172. It's no easy feat breaking into the 170s! It's very normal to score in the 160s after hitting a 170, but it's no fluke! It shows what your ability on this exam is, and you should move forward with that confidence. Getting into the 170s requires a deep understanding of your patterns of error and grabbing any low-hanging fruit to fine-tune your score.

Gaining each additional point in the 170s becomes increasingly more difficult, so giving yourself 3+ months to refine your score and consistently hit the mid-170s is a good spot to be in. The biggest piece of advice I have seeing your most recent score breakdown is to grab the lowest hanging fruit: LG. You can achieve this through fool proofing to get down consistently to -0/1. Here's an explanation of what fool proofing looks like if you're not familiar: https://7sage.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-score-on-the-logic-games/. It really does work, so just keep at it with consistently fool proofing LG. I would do so every day until you're consistently down to -1/0.

The second most important step is making sure you complete your blind review for every Practice Test and follow up with inputting wrong answers in a Wrong Answer Journal. I would go back into that Wrong Answer Journal once a week or every two weeks and re-do difficult questions, passages, or games you missed. Quick note: be careful of doing more than two Practice Tests a week to prevent burnout!

Lastly, for me personally, getting into the 170s required building a stronger mental stamina. This meant building healthy study and life practices and gaining my confidence for the exam to remain calm.

If you're interested in getting more tailored study plan advice based on your analytics, you're always welcome to schedule a consult with one of our tutors here: https://calendly.com/7sage-tutoring/7sage-tutoring-free-consultation?utm_source=FCA_A.