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I am so upset by my fluctuating grades... Please help :((((((
therein.s.here
Free Trial Member
Gosh I can't hold it anymore, I am taking the October LSAT, barely a month from now. All I wanna get is a 165, ideally 168. I practiced so hard for the whole summer, like a PT every two to three days and smashed the Bible trilogy and LSAT trainer. But my grades just keep fluctuating...
I went from a 147 diagnosic mark (2 months ago) to a 151 (a month ago) to 156 (two weeks ago), to a 160, BR 162 ( last week, PT 88). I was so happy, but I dare not to celebrate cuz I know whenever I am contented with my LSAT grades, something bad just follows right away. I put away my PTs and revisited the LR Bible cuz I feel like I can make the biggest improvement in a short period of time. And my grades started dropping, like till they meet the deepest point of Mariana Trench. My LG is pretty much stable, at the -6 to -4 range. But my LR just fluctuates SO BADLY. I was going from a -13 to a -5 over the past few months, but then it just happens that I went back to the starting point again... I tried three LR sections today, ends up -10, -12 and -12. What's happening out there... I reviewed the questions I got wrong, they are TERRIBLE CARELESS MISTAKES, if I had a second chance, I am definitely getting them right...
Can anyone give me some guidance on how to attain stable grades in LR? I don't know why but every time I broke my record, I just restart everything and need a whole week or two to get to another peak. I am so frustrated right now. My poor little heart... I'm so afraid that I will be performing like this in the actual LSAT...
Comments
You tried three LR sections in one day? It sounds like you may not be allotting the appropriate time to review these sections. It also sounds like you may be approaching burnout. Not taking the time to celebrate your achievements can really hurt in the long run. It teaches you to not appreciate how much you learn and is overall demotivating.
In short, take a break. Even if it's only a couple days, you see will a tremendous difference in how you feel.
@DontPay4LawSchool shall I? cuz every time I score a new high, my grades just go all the way down... I just dare not to put LSAT away
(((((((((
Putting a ton of pressure on yourself to do well can be extremely counterproductive and harmful to your overall improvement. The more stressed and anxious you are about the whole thing, the more likely you'll do poorly. (I'm speaking from my own experiences studying.) @DontPay4LawSchool is probably right. Take a break and try to relax a bit (or at least worry about something else for a while).
If you're going -10 or more and that's not where you want to be, you probably shouldn't be taking LR sections back to back. The thing is to make a conscious, deep review of each and every missed question. LSAC is tricky and subtle. They purposefully design each question to include traps that seem stupid when you spot them but are damning if you don't.
The way to a strong LR section is through deliberate and conscious actions that mitigate our unconscious/standard thought process until these new actions override the old unconscious habits. Because of that, we must take the time to understand the nuances of how test writers think, what is important to them -- whether its the types of questions they ask or how they attempt to confuse and distract us. This is only possible by breaking down and evaluating each question. This takes a ton of time (though it's relative to each person).
You can definitely improve your LR score. It just takes some patience, not merely with the amount of studying, but also with yourself.
@McBeck418 Thanks for the comment! I am definitely taking a break for a day or two with all the books and PTs closed. As for the patience one, may I put it this way? It takes time for those thought processes to be internalised. It is not that I am not capable of thinking that way, but if I am not focused enough, my old habits just pop up?
Slow down. Try getting every question you attempt correct instead.
I'm in the same boat as you and felt extremely discouraged this past week after fluctuating in LR. I took this whole weekend off and did one LR section today with a WAYYY better score. Just give yourself a break and be kind to your brain. It will thank you!
Hi @"therein.s.here" I don't want to downplay the importance of the fundamentals. You may have a wide knowledge/understanding gap and that is what is leading you to inconsistent scores. Sometimes we can apply what we know in one instance, but not another. I don't know your specific situation, but returning to the curriculum is often a really helpful way to improve and check what you know.
That said, for many people the way we think and read (comprehension) in real life is vastly different from how we think and read on the LSAT. We don't typically scrutinise every word someone says to us. We don't only think within the bounds of the exact sentences they use. We don't use conditional logic. We often skip past what we don't understand. I can go on and on.
Training ourselves out of doing this is hard. Its easy to fall back on these comfortable ways of thinking and reading during a timed, stressful exam. We have to build the habits of good reading and reasoning by practice them over and over again. Doing a deliberate review of questions helps to ingrain these habits, which in turn helps increase our accuracy, understanding, and speed.
I'm sure you'll improve.
Your experience resonates well with mine! In the last few months, one of the most important lessons that I learned is to reframe my thinking to have a more positive mindset. I noticed that every time I do well, I used that as a benchmark for the next PT. I got a 169 on this PT so next week, it better be a 170. Inevitably, it wouldn't happen and I get frustrated. The roller coaster starts. Few weeks later, same thing.
Instead, I begin to see every PT as a good learning experience, regardless of the outcome. I simplified my studying and PT prep. Sometimes, less really is more. The fluctuations are still there, albeit to a lesser degree. More importantly, they no longer control me. This helped me feel less susceptible to negative thoughts and this, I think, will be foundational to my future success.
Hello. my LSAT sister/brother out there!
I just wanted to say, I am sure that everything is getting better! While I am in the process myself, here are two relevant observations I made on myself and I hope they will help you:
1.I personally came to 7Sage after reading the LR bible.
1.(a)My personal feeling is that, compared to bible, 7Sage handles concepts potentially tested in LR with a higher level of precision and explanatory strength.
1.(b) most of the question discussed by LR bible are much straight forward and less complicated than real questions you encounter in PT.
1.(c) 7sage offers step-by-step explanation to later PT
I think doing 7sage attunes you to a more systematic way of approaching the LR. The decreased familiarity with a system after you switch back to bible and dis-attach from 7sage videos might be one of the reasons of the grade drop. Noticing your feeling that the LR bible helps you improve w/in a shorter interval, my feeling is that the LR bible surveys them but does not discuss them in-detailed as 7sage. Maybeyou were previously under momentum while the 7sage methods were sitting in. It might help to solidify these method by pinpointing the things you were forgetting, instead of switching to a new system. Which are the concepts that you are feeling unsure about? conditional statement? premise/ conclusion identification? I personally found it really helpful to write down the kind of mistakes I am making and review videos and topic-wise drills if there is a repetitive patterns.
2.I think learning processes are not linear.
2.(a) it is a learning process itself to re-learn and review old materials. You will probably master them even better after reviewing it.
2.(b) just because you are fluctuating does not mean that you are not improving. Most of the progressing chart look does not like liner function where grades go straight up. Instead, most of them are upward wavy curves - it shifts, even dramatically. But it is getting better as long as the over-well trend is positive : )
2.(c)While we know that grades do not instantly reflect each day of the knowledge command and retention, we are studying to get a good grade. I am totally with you on worrying over grades and its trend. Maybe it is less stressful to track your progress in a bigger view. Surely note each of the grade you receive from each of the daily PT, but don't zoom in so much. Consider how you are doing this week compared to last week, or two weeks ago.
Once again, it is all my personal feelings and I am only hoping to help you. I have been inspired so much by the positive climate here and I feel like I have genuinely been in a similar position when my friends helped me so I am writing it here.
LSAT is tough but we are all in this together! Sending lots of virtual hugs!
-- Hannah
@"Forever Addicted to Coffee" thanks for your comment
)) that’s exactly what i am/was thinking… cuz i am always expecting myself to improve as i worked hard. I equated improving with numerical ups and downs. Thanks for pointing that out :’)
@Hannah56 thanks for spending time sharing with me your experiences! I’m a new comer for 7sage, are you talking about the explanatory videos of PTs? I got like 80% or more questions right in the LR Bible, I’m like GURL I M GETTING NICER GRADES THIS TIME. And i just got slapped in my face 🙂
I get your point in approaching the analytics in a big picture way. But then what frustrates me is that my range of fluctuation is so big that its a 12mark fluctuation… I want to get it stablized, or at least narrow down the range
Please read the Loophole. I was in the same boat as you scoring -12/-11 and now im scoring -6/-4. It helps SO SO much.
@ledkarly thanks i am definitely getting it. It’s not a common one right 🤭 i havent heard of it
I first heard of it on amazon, but returned it. I wish I hadn't because I bought it 4 months later and it was one of the most helpful things I have come across. It doesn't only help with LR but with RC too.
I bought it again because I couldn't improve just using 7sage. Definitely worth the money. It took me about a week to get through it.