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Progress not translating to better numbers!!!??? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
sanchezeric821
Alum Member
Hi guys, Does anyone else feel like they are improving but it is not translating to a better LSAT score??? Like I feel I'm getting to more questions more efficiently and I have a better grip on the test but yet I'm not improving. I'm feeling a bit discouraged still stuck in the 140's. Wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this or feels the same way.-Eric
Comments
I definitely feel that. What kept me in the 140's (even though I had a better knowledge/understanding of the question types) was the time pressure and not having the best strategies to overcome this step. I am glad I am not the only one who was feeling this way. Better scores will come but they take time.
@Casandra Hi Cassandra thanks for replying. Any strategies you'd like to share to help me overcome this?? Thanks
Pick one section and focus single mindedly on that. Within that section pick a question type (i.e. Sequencing/Grouping for Logic games) and focus single mindedly on that. If you're in the 140s, progress will come incredibly quick, you're not shooting for 170 at this stage, you're shooting for slightly higher than you scored last time 150s are a huge win. After 150s, 160s and so on.
@josephwilliamsimon So you think if I focus on one question type on LR like weaking and try to master it Ill improve my score quicker?
I agree with @josephwilliamsimon. When I was stuck in the 140s, I felt like I had to climb a mountain to see improvement. I decided to tackle LG's first and dedicate most of my time to it. I went from sequencing, to grouping, and so on until I felt like I had a solid understanding of each.
It's hard to say whether or not this will make it faster, or whether or not you can even control the speed of your understanding. I know it can be super frustrating, but a lot of people spend way longer studying for this test than they originally anticipated. Don't worry about rushing and just take it day by day! Honestly, to me it sounds like you're already making great progress. Sometimes it takes progressing in 10 different areas just to see your score jump 2 or 3 points, but remember if you're studying, you're improving!
I'm going through the same thing. I feel like my skills have improved but my score continues to hover around mid 160s without much progress. Working full time doesn't help
All I can think to do is drill as much as possible and try to learn from my mistakes instead of just taking PTs to take them. It's very frustrating to study for months and not see much improvement no matter how many hours you put in
@lekSAT__ Well at least you are in a solid place already. I havent seen any improvement since I started studying and Ive been studying for a while now. If this was untimed i could get into the 160's i feel though
Um... You should be in the 150s unless you still need to go over something because marginal returns usually happen from 155+ where you actually need to start getting sections either just under perfect or ok.
I started with a 143 diag and am testing low 160s and here are some things I needed to learn.
LR: You need to go over the basics in the curriculum of finding conclusions. What happens in more advanced types of questions like strengthen or weaken, you tend to get lost in them because theyre very wordy and you probably tend to misidentify the conclusion. Parallel questions come from understanding and translating basic logic (not something to focus on until you hit the 150s bc they tend to be two questions usually.) Flaw/Principle questions become easier if you go over logical fallacies. End of story, you can def improve a ton just by learning how to identify conclusions/ doing the basics.
LR: Concentrate on perfecting or at least getting 4/5 on simple sequencing and basic in out. If you still struggle with these types, its because you haven't drilled them long enough. I know, its so much work and can be torture, but I promise once you get these two types down, the other question types will come to you. I'm still working on them because getting to minus 0 is so tricky. Double layered sequencing should also be looked at because its one of the only game types where splitting boards actually works a majority of the time. I've never had a double layered sequencing game where sub game boards wasted time.
RC: Honestly, I can't help you much there. Do the basic ones and follow JY and his advice on short summaries. Personally, I think spending too much time on a passage hurts me because the later tests have questions that are extremely long/practically mini passages, and lots of times reading the questions helps me more than rereading the passage. Hardest to improve.
Overall, you can still make massive gains and getting in the 140s just means you need to go back to your foundations for LR/LG. This applies especially for the later tests because lots of people feel that LR is harder in the 70s/80s because its much trickier to find the conclusion. Hope this helps
keep your head up KING - improvements happen when you least expect it!!
Not to throw a pity party but it's not a very big point improvement from where I started at all and I've put in exactly 247 hours into this so far .... so I'm definitely with you there in feeling like it's all been for nothing
@lekSAT__ improvements happen when you least expect it! Hope for the catalyst that'll spike your score and seek the catalyst as you would the Quidditch Seeker. I hope you'll soon be awakened to the truth and crack open this stupid bitcha*ss "L-SAT.” Let me know if you need help cuz I'm literally in this with you my fam
Hi Eric, this is totally normal. LSAT progress is not usually linear. Don't let a bad PT get you down because what you're learning is a cumulative process.
@sanchezeric821 That's part of the principle but what I'm saying is to focus on sequencing or grouping in logic games specially first. Focus on the principles that underline the most questions on the test. Things like conditional logic, sequencing games, grouping games. DO NOT try to learn every section/improve on every section all at once, that inefficient.
If you think about it, you might get 3-5 weakening questions of various difficulty but you could easily get 10 questions that involve sequencing in one logic games section alone. Therefore you can improve faster by mastering sequencing than you can trying to master weakening questions (I particularly think its much harder to get perfect on all weakening questions than it is to get perfect on all sequencing questions, which typically are 1-2 star difficulty).
Pick grouping or sequencing and focus all your practice on that, when you do practice tests, give yourself the psychological affirmation that you're not going to show much improvement anywhere else and that's ok, but on grouping or sequencing, you're going to destroy those questions, that will get you out of the 140s. Then move on to the next major principle.
If you want some credentials, I was diagnosed at 158 (economics/logic background) and have hit scores higher than 173 5 times in the l've been studying 1-2 hours a day for 3 months.
@sanchezeric821 - I would suggest you stay away from full timed tests for the time being. Think of learning this test like learning to ride a bike or learning to play a musical instrument. You need to develop a fool-proof foundation. That is what the core curriculum is designed to do. Have you completed the CC?- how many months have you been studying in between your first diagnostic and your second 140's score? I started in the 140's and the biggest thing that helped me break into the 160's was near mastery over logic games (after 6 months) and having a strategy for ever type of logical reasoning question/stimulus.
Also at this point, if you do take a full test, make sure you blind review, and when you blind review, do the entire test again but untimed, and don't move on from a question until you and 100% convinced it is correct. Put more stock into your blind review score - it will usually be much higher than your timed score - this will help boost your confidence because it shows what you're capable of.
Do untimed sections until you can score in the 160s, this will help you get the fundamentals down. Then start adding time to it... I started at 134, averaging 169-172 right now. send me a pm if you need more help
@shaybaebee what were your weakest areas? And, how much drilling did you do before you hit the upper 160s/170s? Congrats on those gains, btw
When I Started I was weak at everything, -20 in LR, -17 in RC and -15 in LG. Took a few months to go from 134 to 155 consistently. From 155-160 was another journey, breaking that 160 took perfecting games. 160-165 was a huge uphill battle, I gave up a few times, but had to reduce the number of incorrect ac choices in LR and RC. 165-170, hardest time of my life lmao, essentially getting very close to perfect in LR and RC, a 170-172 (had one test at 175), took such a deep understanding of the test and deeply looking into my performance.
Thanks for breaking this down. I started at 157 and am currently in the mid-160s trying to hit 170. It definitely has been the hardest to get from 165 to 170 and I had a feeling that was by design. It helps to know others have had a hard time in this bracket as well.
Yeah arguably the hardest resistance to break; Lots of people I've talked to have mentioned this. But dont quit! You got this!!
Thanks for making this post. I feel I might need it later down the road and these comments are super helpful.
I'm going through the same thing and have been in the process of modifying my study routine for the past weeks now... You're not alone in this!
How was your test if you ever took one