Tips on Study Strategies (~170)

LuckyPig

Hi everyone,

I'm currently scoring around the 170 area in PTs, and I'm trying to come up with ways to improve. I think the biggest issue is a mix of silly mistakes + getting wrong on the tough questions for LR. I've been taking a PT roughly every week and have been BR-ing and reviewing thoroughly. I was wondering if anyone who was in a similar position found any drilling strategies or study strategies in general effective for improving from 170 onward. Any help would be appreciated!

32ljflori

Hi! This is gonna sound weird but I really think daily exercise + hydrating bumped my score from the lower to upper 170 range. I focused on doing everything in my control to make studying effective and didn't sweat the slip ups. I chewed mint gum everyday while studying, meditated during the test's 10 minute break, listened to lsat podcasts on long walks, did 5 question LR drills whenever I was bored, started adding protein powder to my coffee, etc. All random, but combined I really believe the small lifestyle change made the difference on test day. Speaking of which, I also recommend taking the test in-person at a testing center if it is an option for you. It may just be how my brain works, but the environment kept me locked in the entire test.

Finally, I know this tip is annoying, but gaslight yourself into thinking every single RC passage is super interesting. Pause after the first paragraph for your lo res summary and then force the thought "that is so cool, i love _____." Basically it just helped me get in the zone while reading. I started to remember more without going back into the passage which sped up easy sections and gave me time to sit with the 1 or 2 inference questions I got stuck on. For LR I actually had to do the opposite and make myself slow down even during timed PTs. I would not read any answers until I understood the stimulus, even if it meant I had to read the whole thing 3-4 times. And sometimes I read the question stem more times than the actual stimulus because often my dumb mistakes were mixing up "except" v. not, MBT instead of MBF, etc.

Keep up the good work--you got this!

LuckyPig

@32ljflori This is super helpful. Thanks for the great advice!