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Delaying another year and trying again in July - Advice is appreciated on how to restart.
Hi, all.
I'm barely scraping a 154 (138 cold diag), and after choking on the exam yesterday, I've decided to delay a year and take the July exam.
My typical breakdown is as follows:
LG: -4 LR: -10 LR: -10 RC: -13, I can BR up to about 164
I plan to continue to fool-proof games until I can consistently go -1 or -0, I think this is very realistic for me considering I started at -18 on games. I will restart the CC on LR and RC, I am missing a lot of basic fundamental skills.
I've burned through a lot of the recent PT's, does anyone have advice on how to start over? I have about 5 months until the July test, I'm really hoping to sit down and really learn the test. I really feel like if I learned LR like I've learned LG, I could break into the high 160's. Please let me know if this is a pipe dream lol.
Thanks to all!
Comments
I'm literally in the same position as you!
At this point i'm confused if i should cancel my score from yesterday's test because i know I screwed up. This was my third attempt and i don't want so many low scores to show up on my record. Any advice on that?
Considering my recent stats, i'll most likely apply again for the next cycle. So i will be taking the July test as well. I've been studying for the test on & off for about a year now, so i'm not sure how to go abouts to start studying again in order to get the most out of it. I want the july test to be my last attempt, so i really want to get a score of 160+.
Hey there. I’m also delaying, but for family reasons. I’m branching out from the 7Sage material, since I also blew through nearly every prep test before 75. I’m going to retest in September and hopefully in the next 8 months I’ll master more of the items I’m still fuzzy in, getting me into the 175+ ranges. But for this, I’m shooting from both barrels. I’m doing 7Sage, LSAT Trainer, Blueprint and the Bible books by Powerscore. I feel that a varied approach is best, to fill in any gaps I have remaining. My best advice is to start with the Trainer to get yourself back in the groove. Best of luck!
So, I recently read this super helpful book for LR called, "Loophole to Logical Reasoning," and it actually helped me determine my LR weakness.
I BR at around -2-3 per section and timed it for about -6--9 consistently. That one book actually helps break down the foundation so much, in ways I didn't recognize before. Perhaps you may consider reading that book, as it really did help me recognize foundation stuff to work on that may be the reason why your LR isn't as good as it should be!
I really believe it may help you on your LR! And even translate some of that into boosting your RC.
@Amrina96k
I cancelled my score yesterday. Your reasoning is precisely why I cancelled; I didn't want to have too many low scores. Yesterday was my second take, and I only have 1 other score on file. I'm not sure what the consequences of having too many low scores are, but I decided to cancel anyway.
Hey there, I have the trainer + many months left on ultimate +. I may give Mike Kim's book another try.
I suggest reading this.
https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/9910/delaying-a-cycle-reflections-from-the-other-side
But it really depends. If you're already practicing 170+, then the approach would differ widely from someone practicing 150+. For anyone who hasn't broken through to the 160's, I believe the main problem with core competency, so risking disagreement with other 7sagers, I suggest focusing indepth, instead of going for breadth. For me, I went through the core curriculum twice, which took me about 4 months of full time studying (if you're doing it faster than that, then I think you aren't fully absorbing everything). I went through it slowly to truly absorb everything and triple check I understood everything, and after going through it twice, I made a 10+ point jump from my diagnostics in timed PTs, and was able to get close to 180 in BR. Through my own experience, I believe that this shows 7sage's core curriculum is alone sufficient for achieve high competency and getting a 170+ in LSAT. Once your core competency is fairly high, I believe you can branch out a bit to get a finer understanding of the details. I do not recommend the powerscore bibles and blue print, as I believe they are of lower definition (less detailed) than 7sage by far. The two widely available resources that I would recommend are the LSATTrainer(more condensed material, cheaper), and Manhattan Prep(comprehensive, expensive). For me, I went through the whole LSATTrainer book, which took me a bit more than a month, and supplemented unique question types with Manhattan Prep, for example: the substitution LG questions (which 7sage and LSATTrainer don't do a great job of solving). The LSATTrainer was able to provide a unique perspective on question stems, and change my approach to save energy and time by recognizing whether I should accept the stimulus, question the stimulus, or pre-phrase the answer based on the question stem.
On a side note... why do you need a 175+? I don't think any school really cares too much after you are over the 170 divide, except maybe HYSC, but even for them, the difference wouldn't be big. The return for the effort and finance costs will be hard to justify.
I don't NEED a 175+. I WANT a 175+. I have had a few naysayers in my life about my performance and my two motivations to master the test are a) my little girl, and b) the ability to crush these people's sad, mean little souls into moon dust when I tell them I can have the pick of any school on the continent. Childish? Yes. I don't care because I'm petty asf toward people who are looking to bring me down. Also, I didn't really see much improvement on 7Sage and am actually just here for the community at this point. The support here is the best anywhere. The methods don't really click with me- I don't like the idea of breaking down question stem types on such a micro level and having sub-types of question stems, all of which require a unique formula to solve them. I went through the curriculum twice over the span of about 6 months, did all the PTs and drilled a ton, and focusing on naming every tiny part of the question drove me nuts. I will take some things away from the curriculum, like reading the stem before the stimulus, but generally I'm 6ish chapters into Trainer and the book is clicking much more for me. It was hard admitting that 7Sage isn't my thing since I thought it was the end all, be all, but at the end of the day I'm not here to prove that 7Sage is all that and a bag of chips, I'm here to annihilate a test, and I'll do whatever is necessary to make the magic happen.
@cqas190517 @Bamboosprout
I have a 2.73 cGPA, so a 175 would really help me. (I know its probably not possible for me, however, I strongly believe 165 is possible.)
If you believe it, you can achieve it 🤷🏼♀️
I'm in a similar boat, and also really would like a mid 170's score. But just remember that the LSAT journey isn't necessarily about the destination. There is much to be gained on the journey itself. A wise man once said that happiness and success is best reached not by obsessing about a target or a goal, but by obsessing about a process or a system that can, but may or may not, take you to that goal.
I understand your motivation deeply. One of my greatest motivation was because I wanted to prove myself to some people, and prove myself to myself. It's not childish, and only natural. My only fear, which I tasted myself, is that if one does not reach this lofty goal, one will be tempted to feel that one's self worth and value is lowered. I believe it was a mistake on my part, when I aligned my sense of worth too closely to a number, and too closely to proving something to others, because no one is guaranteed to get such a score. In fact, it's quite the opposite, right? Only 1 out of 500 people would get such a score, and if we look at these numbers, it's somewhat irrational to hope that I'm the one special person who stands above 500. And I hope this doesn't sound like I'm looking down on you, because I'm not. I'm worried. Taking the LSAT with a target score in mind is almost like a gamble, since there is random chance involved (I've scored in your target range in PTs, and I really do believe that the difference between a 172 and a 178 is only in how well you guessed). So from my perspective, taking the LSAT to get a specific score is a little similar to playing the roulette, and sometimes it's just better to walk away. I really suggest not aligning any of your values with a number, and focus your motivations towards the journey, and not the destination. If you can't let go of the score, at least be open to a wider range? 172 means you're 1 out of 100, and that's really good, right? I'm not sure if I'm getting my concern across, and I don't know you, so maybe I am underestimating you, so I'll just stop with this rant.
On another note, it's weird that you say: "I don't like the idea of breaking down question stem types on such a micro level and having sub-types of question stems, all of which require a unique formula to solve them." Because quite literally, this is what the LSAT Trainer does. Like I said in my previous comment, the LSAT Trainer was what taught me how to break down question stems and approach them differently, lol. It's ok to not feel 7sage. Everyone learns differently. But again, like you said as well, you'll do anything necessary, and as would I, but that's the thing, those things are necessary, and not sufficient. Nothing is sufficient for a 175+ score. A wise teacher once told me of a rule, everything you're not improving in, is degenerating. And this rule is relevant because I believe the LSAT was designed in such a multifaceted way that we cannot hope to optimize everything. By getting better in one place, your skills elsewhere will deteriorate; by learning a new technique, your older techniques will become a bit blurry, etc. So, out of concern, I will just say this: don't put all your eggs in this precarious basket.
I wish you the best, and hit me up if you ever want to chat
Hey, thanks for posting this because I have been in the same boat as you. I can't seem to break out of the 150's, even on practice tests. I can easily get into the 160's when I blind review and take a little extra time, so I don't really know whats happening when I take a practice test or the real thing, lol. Maybe it's a timing/strategy/confidence/focusing issue ?? Maybe I just need more practice in general ?? Having a bit of a difficult time figuring out exactly where I'm going wrong, so if anyone has advice on how to get out of the same score range that I've seem to be stuck in for what feels like an eternity, I would appreciate it too!!
However, it's amazing that you're performing so well in LG! I think if you focus hard in RC and can get to -4 like you do in LG your score would improve greatly. It seems like you have the motivation and dedication, so don't give up! Going through threads on 7sage I've seen people writing about how they went from the 140's to 170's so anything is possible. Hope you get the score you're hoping for!
@Harvey_l who is the book written by?
@Bamboosprout I agree with you on what you're saying about the 175+ range. Especially because there's a margin of error on the LSAT (I've seen 3 points quoted somewhere). But also because you look at even top schools, like T3, and there's a range in their acceptance rates. Obviously, you want a higher score to outweigh your GPA, but if the 25% is 171 (like at Yale), it still means that a quarter of their class is scoring 171 or below, so if your GPA is decent, a 171-180 will still give you a shot.
I applied to schools where my 172 was at median or below, knowing that if I was in the 25%-75% range, I still had a really, really solid chance. And think about it--there's no school out there where ALL of their students are scoring 175+. There's always a substantial portion, at least 50% at Yale and Harvard and increasing as you go down the list, that is scoring under 175.
Ellen Cassidy I believe, I just bought it.