LSAT plateau

needmylsat180

Hello guys. Really need help here. I've been in a plateau of 165 for like 4 PTs already (1.5month)? So I stopped taking full length PTs but instead I just do timed drilling mainly on LR and RC for 2 weeks.(before I do drillings during weekdays and one full length on weekend) I saw some improvements from drilling practices, -2/-3 for each LR max and 0/-2 for LG. I am not sure is it because I had done those drilling questions before that when I read a statement from LR I can just directly formulate an answer and look for that answer in AC. So yesterday, I finally decided to take a full length to see my progress etc. (PT71) Though my score remained the same, my LR got so much more terrible, -5 and -6. RC was still the same, LG -3 (boo). And for LR my error is like everywhere(I was still able to formulate the answer after finishing the stem, but still). Before I was mainly getting inference and flaw incorrect, and now I just make mistakes here and there. (So I guess maybe I did improve on inference and flaw?) I am feeling so discouraged:( and anxiety overwhelmed as my test is in September. Sorry if I am writing like elementary, just don't even know how to express this. HELP @"Nicole Hopkins"

Alejandro

plateau of 165 for 4 PT's? You haven't experienced the full of it yet. Expect to continue like that for 5-10 more PTs at least before breaking this plateau. Each additional point becomes exponentially more difficult after this point. Just keep studying diligently. You are on the right track!!! Pinpoint your weaknesses and hammer those areas even harder. Hope that helps

needmylsat180

@Alejandro oh gosh I don't even know if I can break it. 4 weeks left till exam:(

Cant Get Right

Yeah, improvement slows down dramatically the higher you go. Going from 165 to 170 is like 10x harder than going from 160 to 165. That was like a 6+ month process for me. Going from 170 to 175 is like 20 times harder than 165 to 170 was. It's exponential and you've arrived at the part of the curve that is basically just a vertical wall. So, you're in good company on a very crowded plateau. You can totally break out of it, but with 30 days left, you may need to make a decision about what you're really committed to: your score or your test date.

Alejandro

@needmylsat180 then you yould have to decide if taking the test in 4 weeks outweighs reaching your target score!

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Cant Get Right" Hello, I read your response and I was wondering if you have any advice on going from 160 to a 165? Im averaging around a 160 right now and am trying to improve to around the 165 mark. Any tips on how you made your improvements? I'd appreciate it a lot.

jknauf

@needmylsat180

And for LR my error is like everywhere(I was still able to formulate the answer after finishing the stem, but still).

This is interesting. Have you considered that maybe you're missing the harder LR questions? Perhaps it's not that you're fumbling on certain question types, but having trouble with the hardest questions in the section?

If you believe this maybe the case, try and get your hands on some really tough LR packets. I know Cambridge made a packet with something like 250 of the hardest LR questions. I'm not to sure where or if they are available now but it wouldn't hurt to check!

needmylsat180

@Alejandro do you think taking the test in december, like right before finals would be a good idea? I am working full time right now for the summer and kinda able to handle LSAT, but I've never tried LSAT and school before, do you think it is more do-able than working/LSAT?

@jknauf I am not sure if they are the harder questions. For one section, I got 4 wrong from 1-12 and only 2 wrong after that. And then the other section is more like half/half. I will def get my hands on the Cambridge thing! THANK YOU!!

twssmith

Some things to think about to break out of your score band:
- Are you using the 7Sage Analytics to identify Question "Type" weaknesses and as mentioned earlier - are they more of the curve-breaker type questions? This can be a very important delineation for moral. If you are missing a certain question Type - then you have a focus for drilling. If you are missing curve-breakers, then it is recommended to BR the crap out of those questions so that you will be more prepared for future PTs and be able to recognize them and skip accordingly to gain the easiest points and not lose momentum.
- @stepharizona shared one of the biggest nuggets of wisdom with me during the mid-160's hump... If you cannot specifically identify a question "Type" that is causing issues, re-evaluate and re-classify those questions by "Flaw" type. It helped me identify my weakness on Causation stimuli specifically and a few others that are in need of improvement. If you can find a correlation (haha) for a Flaw type, that can help redirect your focus for drilling between PT's.
All the best:)

Cant Get Right

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
Im averaging around a 160 right now and am trying to improve to around the 165 mark. Any tips on how you made your improvements?

I really think until about the upper 160's it's all about mastering the fundamentals. You probably feel pretty solid there, and you probably are on some level, but there's more to do. You've really got to have the fundamentals down so well that your logical processing speed can keep up with your reading speed. I'd imagine you're still having to kinda pause and apply the rules and work things out? At a 160, I expect you to be able to do that successfully, but the problem there is having to stop to do it at all. So keep working on that until it's second nature and natural.

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Cant Get Right" So you're basically suggesting just constant practice questions and practice tests to improve on those fundamentals? I mean i definitely do pause for a second in order to process some of the harder questions. For example, during my last PT, i didn't get to finish two of the questions in a LR section so i think what you're saying might have to do with that.

Alex

@"Cant Get Right" said:
You can totally break out of it, but with 30 days left, you may need to make a decision about what you're really committed to: your score or your test dat

As always, well said @"Cant Get Right"

cameron.b1

Try to take a break.. i had plateaud at 163 (5 PTs over 2 weeks: 163-163-163-162-163).. Then my next 2 were 161 then 159. Took 2 days off then got a 168 (had never score higher than 163).. Did another 1 the next day, got another 168.. Dont think I'll ever look back to the low 160s

Cant Get Right

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
So you're basically suggesting just constant practice questions and practice tests to improve on those fundamentals? I mean i definitely do pause for a second in order to process some of the harder questions. For example, during my last PT, i didn't get to finish two of the questions in a LR section so i think what you're saying might have to do with that.

So it's usually not on the harder questions where pacing problems happen. For the curve breakers we're all for sure going to need a moment. But the 1:35 average per question is really misleading. For one and two star questions, you really want to get to where you're answering those with high confidence in the range of about 0:40, often less. Normally this is the larger issue on pacing concerns. Have you ever taken video on a practice section? Doing that and then using the footage to break down your timing and recreate your exact thought process on individual questions is really valuable. You can see which questions took you longer than they should have and why. These are the things you've got to reinforce your mastery on.

So instead of just drilling and PTing, I really think it would be more beneficial to focus on identifying the specifics. Once you get into the 160's you've gotten good enough where to improve you've got to study with more precision.

Alejandro

@needmylsat180 in those conditions, I would probably take the test in February or even next June and wait out law school for a year after graduation. No need to go straight from college! However, if you have scored in a range that you would be content with a few times, I wouldn't be opposed for you to take it in 4 weeks.

You'll have to accept that improving as much as you want to in 4 weeks is very unlikely; and if you do improve there would be no tricks to it. Just keep PTing diligently, do thorough BR and tackle your weakness as much as you can. No secret sauce.