Is it possible to go from a 160 average to a 165 average by December?

Artak Mamikonyan

That's my only question to be honest... I've scored 164 on a few occasions before but these new tests dropped me closer to a 160 so I'm most likely postponing to December. Just wondering if I go over past tests, drill LG and BR, it should be a realistic goal to get to 165 average by December, right? Thanks for the feedback. I know i've posted a couple times now recently but I just want to make sure I'm setting realistic goals.

zanqvi861

YES.
Yeah the new tests are different definitely, LR can be more subtle, they sometimes throw in wacky games and if they feel horrible you might get a tough RC.
But the skills are all the same. So it's still about practice

I'd say BR, and really figuring out which are your weak spots. If it's games, then you will be golden cuz you can literally get a -0 just by insane amounts of practice.
If it's LR then it's about drilling question types you get wrong most often and figuring out the questions you do get wrong completely.
RC can be a tiny bit tougher, depends on your reading strength, but there are great threads on here to improve RC.

The best part is you have scored 164 before and you're scoring in the 160's so it's not a massive jump, more about practicing till you get those few points caught on a consistent basis. And you have a good amount of time as well.

LawAndDisorder

Definitely! I plateaued at around 164 a month ago and now I'm bouncing around 167-173

Cant Get Right

Totally.

Artak Mamikonyan

@zanqvi861 Yeah i noticed that when i took PT 73, which was my first PT in the 70's and my score dipped to a 158. I began missing around 2 more questions per section than i usually do, which is what caused my score to drop. I noticed a lot of times during LR, i was down to two answer choices and picked the "sucker choice."
As far as RC, I'm getting anywhere from 18-21, which is fine to be honest. I just need to do a lot of LG practice cuz I'm always like 17-19 out of 23 usually. I can definitely get better at games and LR. I'm gonna take your advice and approach it that way. Thanks!

@tristanschmoor Nice! That's a pretty big jump. I hope to be doing the same kind of improving in like the next month or so.

@"Cant Get Right" Then let's do it! Good luck on your test Saturday man.

Alex

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
so I'm most likely postponing to December. Just wondering if I go over past tests, drill LG and BR, it should be a realistic goal to get to 165 average by December, right?

@"Cant Get Right" said:
Totally.

Yup, you absolutely can do that by December I would think. First, you've already hit a 164, so you can do it. Second, 2.5 months sounds like the perfect amount of time to get there.

The way I see it is that a 160 is about -24. A 165 is about -16. So you need to get 1/3rd better. If your games aren't -0, start there. That might be an easy way to get closer.
Then for the rest of the sections you just need to be able to shave a couple of points off.

You got this !

Cant Get Right

https://66.media.tumblr.com/b50cb0c6811148f2b8e324fc024ec9f1/tumblr_nr8lrhxLkG1qz8x31o1_500.gif

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Alex Divine" Makes sense to me man. I mean, I definitely am going to start at LG because I'm around 17-19/23 for those so i can for sure improve and get some points there.

Alex

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
Makes sense to me man. I mean, I definitely am going to start at LG because I'm around 17-19/23 for those so i can for sure improve and get some points there.

Dude, if you can pick up a few points from LG and then find 4-5 more points between LR and RC you are golden!

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Alex Divine" I appreciate your response bro. Looking at it this way makes it seem more doable. For LR, I'm planning on just doing a lot of the question types that I'm struggling with until i improve (I also saw you recommended the LSAT Trainer in a different post for flaw questions so I might actually use that as well) but as far as improving LG's, should i just do every game over and over again until i can replicate the exact answers that the video provides while getting -0 obviously?

Alex

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
@"Alex Divine" I appreciate your response bro. Looking at it this way makes it seem more doable. For LR, I'm planning on just doing a lot of the question types that I'm struggling with until i improve (I also saw you recommended the LSAT Trainer in a different post for flaw questions so I might actually use that as well) but as far as improving LG's, should i just do every game over and over again until i can replicate the exact answers that the video provides while getting -0 obviously?

No problem man! Breaking it down point by point makes everything easier. "inch by inch everything's a cinch."

Yeah, pick up The LSAT Trainer and go through at least the first section on flaws. It changed my entire mindset with respect to how I see and understand flaws. Best $40 I spent on LSAT prep.

For logic games, you got it! Fool proof every single game until you go -0 and complete it within the recommended time JY sets. You will just get quicker and better. And if you feel like you're just memorizing the inferences, good! That means next time you come across a game with similar inferences (which you are bound to) you'll be that much quicker.

I was able to improve drastically by doing a logic games intensive in which I did mostly LG for a few weeks. I still did a few LR sections to stay fresh as well. But for 6 hours a day I was fool proofing every game from PTs 1-36. It sucked, but it paid off!

You could consider doing something like that... Especially if it can get you 4-5 more points!

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Alex Divine" I considered what you said and that's exactly how I'm going to approach the next two months or so. Planning on fool proofing every LG from 1-36 within a couple weeks while also taking a PT per week to stay fresh. Then going through the LSAT trainer for flaw questions because I could use the improvement with those along with drilling other types of questions I can improve on. And then finally going to try to put it all together with PTs and see if i can make that jump.

Alex

@"Artak Mamikonyan"

That sounds like a great idea, man! You'll be staying fresh and improving! I think you'll really find The Trainer super helpful with LR and RC as well. It has some great LG exercises you should check out too!

I promise you if you put in the work over the next couple of months with that plan in action a 165 is yours!

combsni

Easily

Artak Mamikonyan

@"Alex Divine" @combsni I Appreciate your comments. Hearing it encourages me to keep going and I'm more sure of my decision of postponing to December now.

MrSamIam

2 months to go from a 160 to a 165 average? Sure. But, be realistic. If you're sitting around and studying for 5 hours a week, it just isn't going to happen. However, if you put in the work, push yourself, and show a willingness to change what isn't working, then yes you can reach that 165 average by December.

Artak Mamikonyan

@MrSamIam Planning on studying 4 hours a day or so. Gna perfect every LG from PT 1-36 for a couple weeks and then focus on LR questions I'm weak on while taking a PT or two per week. Putting in the time and effort is not my issue. I just wanted to know whether or not i can realistically expect to pull that off from people that had done it before, etc.

MrSamIam

@"Artak Mamikonyan" You seem to know what you're doing. Focus on your weaknesses, and you should be able to make that 5 point jump by December.

danielznelson

Yes, it is very much doable, and I would recommend retaking tests to really learn from your mistakes/lucky answers. Don't make that the focus of your prep or anything, but definitely mix them in if you are not already doing so.

Artak Mamikonyan

@danielznelson I was actually considering doing that, especially with the newer tests that I've taken since i had some trouble with those.

J_Clarkson

Hard to say, but it seems reasonable.

FoolProofFun

My answer is an emphatic yes (but that you should take it sooner). I think there is a huge misconception in test prep whereby people feel they are only ready if they can "average" a given score over a period of time. I certainly won't disagree that it is IDEAL to be able to establish a pattern of a certain score, and that it is certainly reassuring to have this. But I think it is very easy to get unnecessarily discouraged when you pursue this route, specifically because I think the very thing that drives us to establish an average—taking lots of tests—may also drive us to burnout!

In short, you absolutely can get a 165 because you gotten close to that before. If what you're asking is, "can I average a 165 across 4 PTs before taking the exam," well, just consider that lots of things, especially burnout, can influence what you get. I've driven myself and my scores into the ground so many times from trying to establish a "pattern" of high scores, and it is so pointless. I'd get a 170 and then try to replicate that over and over, but what is the point of that? Once you've established you can get something, then you can get it. At the end of the day, you only need to get one 165 to get that score. The key is how to best position yourself for that.

I think its possible there are some people out there who just have the mental capacity to take PTs every day and get these ridiculous patterns going. That was never me personally. The more I studied, the weaker I got, after a certain specific point, because after a while the LSAT is just boring (to me). You've got to figure out where that point is and maximize it before the real test.

I'm not saying practice isn't worthwhile. I'm just saying practice that tires you out—which it sounds like might be happening with your score drop—is definitely not worthwhile. You'll get stuck in this everlasting loop where you get a high score on a PT, and then the very attempt to heavily replicate will drive down your score. You can spend 3 years figuring this out, or just figure it out now. That's my two cents.

Also...I will add that you have already established a pattern of 164-ish scores. Dear god. I think you need to rest up, and approach the next soonest test with the mentality that it will be a PT you are taking. And then take it. Seriously—like, in July.

I realize that, as stated, you want to convinced that you made the right decision to delay. I don't know all of the details, so maybe it isn't burnout. I'm just saying, if it is burnout, then you're just going to be spinning your wheels. I could see delaying to December to shoot for a 170. But I think you know what you're capable of.

Lawster9

@FoolProofFun said:
My answer is an emphatic yes. I think there is a huge misconception in test prep whereby people feel they are only ready if they can "average" a given score over a period of time. I certainly won't disagree that it is IDEAL to be able to establish a pattern of a certain score, and that it is certainly reassuring to have this. But I think it is very easy to get unnecessarily discouraged when you pursue this route, specifically because I think the very thing that drives us to establish an average—taking lots of tests—may also drive us to burnout!

In short, you absolutely can get a 165 because you gotten close to that before. If what you're asking is, "can I average a 165 across 4 PTs before taking the exam," well, just consider that lots of things, especially burnout, can influence what you get. I've driven myself and my scores into the ground so many times from trying to establish a "pattern" of high scores, and it is so pointless. I'd get a 170 and then try to replicate that over and over, but what is the point of that? Once you've established you can get something, then you can get it. At the end of the day, you only need to get one 165 to get that score. The key is how to best position yourself for that.

I think its possible there are some people out there who just have the mental capacity to take PTs every day and get these ridiculous patterns going. That was never me personally. The more I studied, the weaker I got, after a certain specific point, because after a while the LSAT is just boring (to me). You've got to figure out where that point is and maximize it before the real test.

I'm not saying practice isn't worthwhile. I'm just saying practice that tires you out—which it sounds like might be happening with your score drop—is definitely not worthwhile. You'll get stuck in this everlasting loop where you get a high score on a PT, and then the very attempt to heavily replicate will drive down your score. You can spend 3 years figuring this out, or just figure it out now. That's my two cents.

Also...I will add that you have already established a pattern of 164-ish scores. Dear god. I think you need to rest up, and approach the next soonest test with the mentality that it will be a PT you are taking. And then take it. Seriously—like, in July.

I realize that, as stated, you want to convinced that you made the right decision to delay. I don't know all of the details, so maybe it isn't burnout. I'm just saying, if it is burnout, then you're just going to be spinning your wheels. I could see delaying to December to shoot for a 170. But I think you know what you're capable of.

Yo, this post is from three years ago

FoolProofFun

@Lawster9 hahahah...guess I'm done for the day.