Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Apply for Membership

Categories

I can't see any improvement. Please advice.

louis2014louis2014 Alum Member
in General 190 karma
Hello all,

So here I am whining again. I started PTing from PT36 and now I am at PT39. Between PT38 and PT39, I did 50 questions of Flaw and 50 questions of NA from Cambridge, and I got most, if not all, correct.

My score on PT39 went down by 6 points from PT38. I am devastated and don't know what to do. There are so many great stories in this forum but I see that might not be applicable to me. I am trying and trying but I just can't see improvement. I seriously want to cry while writing this message.

I am drilling but I am not improving. When I BR, I do way better, duh!

Be honest, is it possible that there are people who can never improve in this test?


Show Related Discussions

Comments

  • jyang72jyang72 Alum Member
    844 karma
    Calm down buddy. First of all, tell us what is your score like from PT36 to PT 39? What's your BR score?
  • GSU HopefulGSU Hopeful Core ⭐
    edited August 2015 1644 karma
    My first reaction is to say calm down. You're only three tests in. Don't start panicking about improvement until you have at least 10 tests down. Then you can run the analytics to see where your problem areas are. What you're going through is all part of the process. And:
    @louis2014 said:
    Be honest, is it possible that there are people who can never improve in this test?
    No offense and I have no intention of being rude, but your mindset is already effed up. By even asking this you are opening the door subconsciously that you might be one of the ones in this group. To quote Confucius, "he who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right." Your first step in this is to stop worrying about the future and what ifs. The only thing you have control over is what you do with your time right now! If you put in the work and study the right way, you will improve. If you don't drop that negative mindset, you might end up being one of the members of the group you asked about. Trust the process and keep at it.
  • jyang72jyang72 Alum Member
    edited August 2015 844 karma
    @"GSU Hopeful" , did Confucius say that? I am Chinese and I felt really bad I do not know that. lol
  • GSU HopefulGSU Hopeful Core ⭐
    1644 karma
    He did. One of my favorite non-Biblical quotes.
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @louis2014 said:
    There are so many great stories in this forum but I see that might not be applicable to me.
    If you've completed the curriculum, then I'd advise that you stop using your energy on drilling and just PT. You've only taken .. 3 PT's? Oh my gosh ... if I based my assessment of progress on just three PT's I'm sure I would be very discouraged as well. The stories of success you hear are from people who take about 40 PT's at a minimum. I've taken almost 50, with about 20 to go, and am only recently really "hitting my stride."

    You've got a long road ahead of you and I hope it is a joyous one. I am certain that it won't be if you hyperfocus on such a small sample size at such an early phase in your prep.
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @"GSU Hopeful" said:
    No offense and I have no intention of being rude, but your mindset is already effed up. By even asking this is opening the door subconsciously that you might be one of the ones in this group. To quote Confucius, "he who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right." You're first step in this is to stop worrying about the future and what ifs. The only thing you have control over is what you do with your time right now! If you put in the work and study the right way, you will improve. If you don't drop that negative mindset, you might end up being one of the members of the group you asked about. Trust the process and keep at it.
    7sage hall of fame material right here.
  • jyang72jyang72 Alum Member
    844 karma
    @nicole.hopkins , I've only taken 30 PTs and only stayed in low 160s. Thank you for telling me you took 50. What an amount of positive energy!
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @jyang72 said:
    I've only taken 30 PTs and only stayed in low 160s. Thank you for telling me you took 50.
    A lot of them are retakes, but fresh PT scores have also increased substantially (about 20 points over diagnostic). Trust the process!
  • jyang72jyang72 Alum Member
    edited August 2015 844 karma
    @nicole.hopkins , for sure. I took 25 fresh PTs and 5 retake PTs. I score 20 points sharp from my diagnostic (Thanks to my low and brutal diagnostic). You are right, trust the process.
  • medianplus30medianplus30 Member
    36 karma
    Let me preface this: I regret not finishing the core curriculum before I started PTing/doing whole sections. However, I guess hearing my story may help:

    I basically began doing like 1 LR and 1 RC section a day before I finished the curriculum. Within 2 weeks, I saw improvement; I went from getting like 12 wrong on both the LR and RC sections, to getting like 8 wrong. I've improved since then, and I think I'll be able to improve more by October.

    By no means do I recommend skimping on the curriculum. Nor am I saying everyone can improve the same way I did. In fact, I think I'm just odd. But maybe you'll see yourself improve after you practice more.
  • louis2014louis2014 Alum Member
    190 karma
    @jyang72 thank you :) my BR is usually in 159-160 but my actual test score is too low (embarrassing 140 :( ) .

    @"GSU Hopeful" thank you very much. That's a great wake up slap. I very appreciate it. I will keep swimming. I know nothing can change my mind about law school.

    Thank you very much @nicole.hopkins . I didn't know that I need that many PTs :). Do you suggest joining your BR skype? Should I stop PTing and do more of drilling now? I am scared that I am wasting these PTs. What do you say?

    Thank you @medianplus30 , do you use sections from olders PTs?

    Thank you all for the encouragement. I will keep swimming.
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @louis2014 said:
    didn't know that I need that many PTs :). Do you suggest joining your BR skype? Should I stop PTing and do more of drilling now?
    If you've finished the curriculum, it's probably time to move into PT's. You're more than welcome to join the BR group—just do what is instructed in the Study Groups subforum :)
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    edited August 2015 8021 karma
    I'm going to disagree with the advice given so far since you said you have a 140/160 timed/BR split. Both are big red flags that you need to work on your fundamentals and at the very least your LG skills should be more on point than a 140 would indicate. If you were in the mid to high 150s with at least a mid to high 160s BR then I would say do a few more PTs. A 140 means you pretty much got more than half the test wrong. Taking more PTs is not going to solve that problem for you and neither is drilling really. You need to go back to the curriculum and work on developing a deep understanding of the concepts at work. If you can do that then your timed score should be at least where your BR is now.
  • nicole.hopkinsnicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    7965 karma
    @Pacifico said:
    I'm going to disagree with the advice given so far since you said you have a 140/160 timed/BR split. Both are big red flags that you need to work on your fundamentals and at the very least your LG skills should be more on point than a 140 would indicate.
    Yeah I missed that point. Something's wrong if you're getting 140's, period. Seriously wrong. If you've completed the curriculum and are still getting these scores ... Well, only you know how seriously you went through the curriculum. You should be at least around 160 if you study the curriculum seriously ... I think anyone can get to that range if they've really learned the fundamentals.
  • GSU HopefulGSU Hopeful Core ⭐
    1644 karma
    @nicole.hopkins @Pacifico Would you call a mid to high 150's avg with a 172-175 BR average a problem with fundamentals or time constraints? (15 PT)
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    I think fundamentals and timing are closely related. While you may have a decent grasp on the fundamentals as evidenced by your BR score, your timed score shows that your understanding lacks depth and applicability under pressure. The better your fundamentals, the less time it will take to apply them. And while sitting around for a 5 hour BR will help show you what your biggest weaknesses are, it can be misleading when your BR score is that high because it's not reflecting your ability to translate that understanding under timed conditions. Depending on what your weak areas are I would shore up your LG, and any specific LR question types that are causing problems. In your case I think a little drilling could be of help, but don't go too overboard at the expense of other areas. I'd still do 1-2 PTs per week if I were you, and just really try to understand why you're missing certain questions under timed conditions as well as under BR conditions.
  • jyang72jyang72 Alum Member
    844 karma
    @louis2014 , dude, if there is only one person in 7sage community who can understand you, then this person gotta be me and has to be me. Among my first 5 prep tests, my highest score is 152 with 162 BR . Then I realized that something went wrong. I think your situation is very similar to my experience. You should definitely check out analytic and see where your weakness is. Based on your 140s score, I think you have serious trouble with LR. You need to get back to the curriculum and see how JY does LR. I will also recommend you to get the Trainer and see how Mike Kim uses process of elimination. In order to be in a good shape(160s and 170s), you need 170s BR. After I went through the Trainer, cambridge pacages and applied 7sage skills to PTs, I finally hit 160s with 170 BR after roughly 28 PTs. I still have a long way to go. But I believe you can do it. Please do not lose heart. good luck with your LSAT prept. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask us on 7sage. Thanks to 7sage to give us such a wonderful community.
  • medianplus30medianplus30 Member
    36 karma
    @louis2014 Yes, I'm using old PT sections. I'm signed up for the Ultimate plan, and I'm just using the sections from tests 1-35.

    Today, I posted a question in the RC subforum. I took PT 37 yesterday and I noticed I did well on the first three RC passages. I noted how the score contrasted with how I was doing when I was doing individual sections. @"GSU Hopeful" told me my method of charting my own improvement might not be totally accurate.

    http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/3494/huge-jump-on-rc-section-help

    I think doing sections may be good for some people, but I should re-empathize I'm no expert.
Sign In or Register to comment.