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Is it possible?

edited December 2020 in General 4 karma

Hi! I'm just now starting studying for the LSAT and I'm taking my first test in April of 2021. My diagnostic score was a 137 ( I had to guess on a lot because I ran out of time reading) and I am trying to get into the 150's. I am working on my reading comprehension but honestly I felt really discouraged by my diagnostic score. Is it possible to get into the 150's with a diagnostic score of 137?

Comments

  • kilgoretroutkilgoretrout Alum Member
    795 karma

    of course it is. take your diagnostic with a grain of salt. i hadnt even seen a logic game before when i did mine. 150s is very attainable.

  • sircharlessircharles Member
    14 karma

    It's 100% possible! Don't be discouraged at all-- I've seen multiple other people make that sort of improvement. Just make sure your study time is focused and that you work hard. You'll be surprised at how much you can improve on this test.

  • CSieck3507CSieck3507 Member
    1376 karma

    Of course! There have been people that have gone from 137 to 173! Just make sure you put in the work and you'll be in the 150's in no time!

  • yazzie711yazzie711 Core Member
    19 karma

    Diagnostics are a little hard to judge because untimed I was able to score in the 160's but timed for the first time I was in the high 140's. One month later using 7sage I'm scoring 170 timed with some extra time to go back and check answers. It's definitely possible.

  • masimasi Alum Member
    170 karma

    There is nothing to worry about here. Let me give you an analogy.

    Let's say you have never ran a marathon and one day decide, "okay let me give it a shot". So you decide to sign up and run in a marathon without any training or whatsoever. You start running by the first kilometre you are out of breathe by the third kilometre you throw in the towel.

    This is completely normal. No body expected you to run the whole marathon. The fact that you ran three kilometres shows how far you can run without any training and how much work you have ahead of you.

    Similarly, this diagnostic that you took is the same. Don't beat yourself or think "ohh man I am stupid".

    The LSAT is exactly like a marathon. Just because everyone knows how to run doesn't mean that he or she should be expected to run a whole marathon without prior training.

    In this regard, just because you know how to read and have some logical skills doesn't mean you are going to do well in LSAT without training. Granted some people do well and score 160 in their first diagnostic. But those individuals are the exception not the rule. I would bet that those that start with a 160 in a diagnostic had some form of training or a strong background (undergrad in mathematics, philosophy and so on).

    Similarly if you were Mike who routinely exercised and went to the gym worked out for say an hour 4 days of the week and one day randomly decided to ran a marathon, I can bet Mike would run more than the average person. In this regard the person who scores a 160 cold in a diagnostic and Mike are the same. They have had some form of training.

    This is my point.

    Do not be discouraged because you got 137. This score shows nothing about what you are capable off.

    Start your training as of today. Treat the LSAT like it is a marathon and not a race. You can do it anyone can do it if they knew how to approach it.

    And you are in the best place 7sage will teach you how to run/train so you can complete the marathon.

    GOOD LUCK!!!

  • Clementine-2Clementine-2 Member
    208 karma

    Yes! It is totally possible. I started with a 138 and now I have a 165!! It took a lot of resources and personalizing my study process so I get the most out of my studying. My methods are odd but they work for me! Take breaks when you need it and don’t give up! You got this!

  • pranesh.vittal98pranesh.vittal98 Core Member
    5 karma

    @ianmorrison1904 said:
    Hi! I'm just now starting studying for the LSAT and I'm taking my first test in April of 2021. My diagnostic score was a 137 ( I had to guess on a lot because I ran out of time reading) and I am trying to get into the 150's. I am working on my reading comprehension but honestly I felt really discouraged by my diagnostic score. Is it possible to get into the 150's with a diagnostic score of 137?

    Hey, it's definitely possible. I initially had issues with my timing in the RC section. What I did is set myself a hard deadline of 2-2 and a half minutes for reading a passage. Don't focus too much on the details. Just try to make sure you understand the point of the passage and for more specific questions you can always refer to the passage later. That really helped me improve my speed and tackle every single question. Hope that helps!

  • emmorensemmorens Core Member
    1470 karma

    Anything is possible, even reading comp! My first diagnostic was a 142 and I'm now scoring 156 aiming for a 160 for Jan!

  • delfinmortondelfinmorton Core Member
    21 karma

    Well, first of all through God all things are possible, so jot that down. Second, this course is extremely good at breaking down the LSAT into formulaic ways of solving the questions, so you will get better if you do all the material. Have faith in yourself!

  • javanrojjavanroj Core Member
    38 karma

    YES, I can tell you from my personal experience. I got 127 (July 2020) on my diagnostic test and just like you I had to guess so many of the Q because of the time. Since July I've been studying almost everyday and now Im scoring at 155 considering that Im second language and my diagnostic test is lower than yours Im sure you can get to 150s.
    Good Luck.

  • I started at 143 (i.e. I got 5 more questions right than you, probably by chance) and got a 165 on my first take, 167 on my second. It took 6 months of rigorous studying to get there, though.

    The most important thing to remember is that this test is learnable, and the test-makers repeat the same content for every test, just in a different format. For example, they might cover fossil evidence on one exam and low birth weight babies on another, but the underlying logical reasoning might be the same. Learn how to diagram various games quickly and how to make inferences on them, study the different question types on LR, and find a reading strategy that works for you on RC. You can do it.

  • karko2525karko2525 Member
    620 karma

    Definitely possible! I started out in the low 140's and was able to score mid-high 160's even a 170 in my PTs. Ended up with a high 160's on the real thing so don't give up! For reading comp, what helped me the most was reading the passage carefully and summarizing each paragraph which helps cut down time on the actual questions. Reading fro structure is very important for RC imo. 7sage and the LSAT trainer were quite helpful with that method. Overall study methods, I found drilling problem areas and taking multiple exams most helpful when I was studying. Best of luck to you!

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member
    2054 karma

    @ianmorrison1904 It is definitely possible. The lower the diagnostic the more room for improvement. LG games especially are easily improvable and a 137 should leave you plenty of room for improvement in LR as well. Just doing the curriculum on 7Sage will almost certainly lead to some improvement in every section at that level I would think. You can definitely get to those mid 150's.

  • ShannonLShannonL Member
    26 karma

    100% possible! I've seen a 19 point improvement from my diagnostic to my first ever practice test post syllabus. Just make sure you take your time to really absorb and understand everything as you're going through the lessons to get the most out of them :)

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