Feeling extremely discouraged

Cayenne43

I have been studying for more than six months at this point. I am hoping to take the June 2016 LSAT. My last 10 preptest have been between 159-163 with three of the preptest at a 161 and three at a 159. My goal is around a 165. I was getting around -3 or -2 on the games but my last PT (71) I got -6 but in BR I got -0. I just started taking the 70s PT and my LR score has dropped from averaging around -5 or -6 to -8 or -9 per each section. On RC I average -7. I am feeling super discouraged. Any tips on what I can do differently in my studying? Ways to improve my score? Should I go through the 7sage curriculum or the trainer again? I will say that my first timed test score was a 149.

runiggyrun

Don't be discouraged. There are still three months until June, and you are only a few points away from your goal. It's doable, and you can do it.
How many PT's have you done totally, and what are your BR scores like? If they are mid 160's to 170 I don't think you need to redo the curriculum, but rather focus on really thorough BR, maybe even writing down the reasoning for the right and wrong answers for a couple of PT's (mostly for LR and RC). Then go back to the curriculum to shore up your specific weaknesses.
It's possible that the shift toward more subtly wrong answers in the newer tests is affecting your scores - it's common to see a drop and then go back up once you get used to the difference. Thorough BR, with reviewing JY's explanations would help pinpoint those issues and help you avoid them in the future. For instance a lot more wrong answers (both in LR and RC) will just have one little word that makes them wrong (like "all scientists believe" instead of "some scientists believe", "it's impossible" vs "it's highly unlikely" and so on. You'll catch those if you're really focused in your review, and it doesn't require going back to the curriculum, because the fundamentals are the same.

Also, drill the games. Use the foolproof method on all the games you've done, especially the hard ones, but also use it on full sections you've already taken before to work on your timing strategies. Aim for finishing "repeat" sections with time to spare (a lot of time to spare for the "easy/easiest" ranked sections. Rinse and repeat. Getting -0 on games would go a long way bridging the gap between a 162 and a 165, and games are the one section where repetition and hard work to pay off quite reliably.

Cant Get Right

Yeah, that happened to me too once I got into the 70s. I definitely agree that the LR and RC get trickier, and the games started tripping me up more as well. @runiggyrun basically nailed it. It’s probably a more frustrating process at this point because you probably feel like you really have the fundamentals down, but you just have to get past that. It’s a lot to keep straight in your head. Reviewing that one concept you had mastered but that kind of fell to the wayside may bring it forward in your mind so that you recognize something you may have missed if it were still buried under all the other fundamentals you’ve learned. You got this though. You’re totally in range.

Cayenne43

@runiggyrun -Thanks for the advice! Some follow up: I have taken 20 PTs thus far but only two in the 70s. I blind review between a 165-172. When I BR I have been writing down the reasoning for right and wrong answers for LR and RC and then reviewing each answer choice with the explanations on LSAThacks. In terms of shoring up weakness...should I re watch the videos and drill? I have not been doing that...

For LR, I have been drilling individual games. So you are suggesting to drill full sections?
@cantgetright - After you got more into the 70s do you feel like you eventually improved?

runiggyrun

Your BR scores look good, and suggest you have the fundamentals you need to score that 165. And you have plenty of PT's left, so that's awesome too. There's probably enough time for at least another 20 before June, and it's reasonable to expect that with the sort of careful BR you appear to be doing that would get you the couple extra points you need.

Two PT's in the 70's are not enough to say that you're doing much worse (especially if one was an LG bomb, which seems to be the case, if I'm reading your original post right). Drilling the LG's would help ensure that doesn't happen again.

It's good you write down the explanations, that should help drive home the points that need to be remembered. Might be helpful to watch the explanations regardless, because it gives you a different perspective from your own - for some questions, even after I BR and understand why an answer is right and 4 are wrong for a particular question, sometimes JY points out a word that's "out of whack" in one of the attractive wrong choices that make it a "duh!" rather than a "huh?". I try to remember those dirty tricks the LSAT writers use, because they use them over and over.
I think you're very likely to improve with more practice - just don't burn through all the 70's at once, as there are only 8 of them and you've done 2. People around here have had good luck going through the 70's PT's multiple times (a couple of months apart, ideally), just to get extra exposure to their particular "features". If things "jump out" the second time through a lot more than the first time, you know you're getting better at the particular skills the new tests require (just don't rely on the scores, as they are likely to be inflated by retaking).

MrSamIam

Anyone else smell that? I smell burnout. The June test is a few months away. Since you are in the PT/BR stage, try taking a few days off. See if that helps you. There's a chance that you're feeling anxious, especially since you're so close to your ideal target score.

lizmiss24

I'll be the first to say that it's completely normal for your scores to drop in the 70s PTs (not saying that everyone experiences this, but many do, including me.) It's just something to get used to. Definitely take the 70s tests multiple times to get a feel for them - you're not getting worse, the tests are just getting more subtle and, frankly, difficult (see: RC.) Once I took these tests multiple times, I wasn't thrown off by what I saw in the Feb. 2016 exam.

Best of luck

Nicole Hopkins

When I was 6 months in I was scoring around where you are. My biggest piece of advice is to play the long game.

Edward__

Video yourself doing the tests. Watch the video and get a 170+ scorer to watch the video and give you test-taking feedback. You may be making mistakes that confuse you in-test that are subconscious.

Cayenne43

Thanks for the advice everyone! @"Nicole Hopkins" What do you mean by play the long game?

Cayenne43

Also @"Nicole Hopkins" how long did you stay in that score range? Did you do anything in particular to push your score up into the mid 160s?