Need Advice, a Miracle or maybe Jesus

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• 4 Likes

  Sami Live Member Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor

  September 2016 10774 karma

  Hi @sugeirybetances,
  
  I don't know if I'll be much help here because I loved the LSAT trainer and it really helped me. But to be fair, I do think it would not have been the case had I not started with the Powerscore books. They are very good help when you first start. I do think the strategy's are sound in both books.
  
  I think it would help to have more information. Are you able to implement the strategies that the books recommend?
• 2 Likes

  desire2learn Member

  September 2016 1171 karma

  In my opinion you can't go wrong with 7sage. Not because I have any idea about anything else out there, just because 7sage has improved my scores so much.
• 2 Likes

  Not Ralph Nader Alum Member Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  September 2016 2098 karma

  @sugeirybetances the good new is that you can improve rapidly on LG without inventing the wheel thanks to 7Sage community. I included some links below that might help you plus my own experience. I hope it would be useful to you. Max out your LG score and come back for LR dosage of advice. just joking I am not qualified to give advice on LR
  
  Have you done the LG Bundle and foolproof all the games from PT 1-35? It is possible to achieve -0 on LG. I started with -16 on LG and ended up -2 to -0 on my most recent PTs.
  
  My suggestion: after fool proofing LG Bundle, take LG sections of PT 1-35 under time and watch J.Y explanation after completing each section but this time when you watching focus mostly on how he teaches to perceive the right answer choice (instead of brute force) and try to implement his suggestions on the next section.
  
  Do not get bog down on one question (take a hint if possible) but if you find one super difficult and you are confident about your master game board, skip the question answer others in that particular game then come back to it use your other set ups you drew; if nothing works finish the section and if you have extra time come back to it. The ultimate goal is to be able to systematically answer any questions so when under exam pressure you just follow your system. You need to develop a system that works best for you. The system I am trying to follow is like
  
  1- read the question set up the sketch try make obvious inferences
  2- check answer choices
  3- If still confused take count of the items write them near questions and go through the rules one by one make inferences
  4- check answer choices
  5- If still stuck, SKIP the question
  6- After I have done all other questions I will take another try at it by only checking the question against all of my sketches (I do not try to make inferences again unless I already finished the section)
  
  Pacifico Logic Games Attack Strategy
  
  https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy
  
  J.Y fool-proof guide
  
  https://7sage.com/lesson/fool-proof-guide-to-perfection-on-logic-games/
  
  I hope this helps you
• 1 Like

  lmekahel Alum Member

  September 2016 edited September 2016 161 karma

  I was in the same position as you. I started studying June for September and didn't see an increase until I started doing Powerscore. I studied with Kaplan initially. However, powerscore can only get you so far. After studying for hours and hours after using the powerscore strategies I just didn't feel like it was enough. I postponed by September test and will probably take it in February. But I really recommend you to try the 7sage starter at least. It is soooo incredible and helpful. Initially I was hesitant, but I'm telling you its amazing! What 7sage does that other study books dont do is that it lets you get into the head of a high test taker. JY shows you what he thinks and how he approaches a question. At the end of the day the LSAT is not about memorization or anything like that, it is basically an IQ test meaning you have to change how you think. And the only way to realize that you are not attacking the question properly is by seeing how someone else looks at it. And not just that, but how it is supposed to be analyzed.
  I was spending hour and hours everyday trying to boost my logical reasoning score, but it can only get you so far if you aren't tackling the fundamental problems. On top of that JY teaches you strategies that are fundamental to studying that no other book tells you. Such as Blind Review and Grammar lessons. In addition, he clearly explains how you get from point A to B in the logic diagrams.
  I also just recently bought the trainer. After I finish the CC for 7sage, I'll definitely move on to the trainer and from there just do practice tests and redo the CC for 7sage again after a couple practice tests.
  I recommend starting 7sage for sure and try not to waste too many PT's before you feel like you got the core concepts down.
• 2 Likes

  lawgikal Core Member

  September 2016 108 karma

  I was in a similar position where after a significant amount of prep, I wasn't improving. I took an in-class course and only found it helpful for LG. Then, I tried the Powerscore bibles, which only helped a little bit. Then, I bought the LSAT Trainer, which really helped me with Flaws and LR foundations. I was improving, but not enough. So, I decided to try out 7Sage after watching JY's LG explanations. I found that my understanding of the "LSAT foundations" was lacking. I went through the 7Sage curriculum a couple of times and re-read the Trainer a couple of times, doing the assigned exercises. I started seeing significant gains after using 7Sage's BR and Fool Proof method, along with the Trainer's approach to tackling RC.
  
  What's my point? Try to develop a stronger 'LSAT Foundation.' How do I think you can do this? Re-read chapters, re-watch videos, BR LR/RC, 'fool proof' LG, and use Mike Kim's approach to RC. Hope this helps!
• 3 Likes

  Daniel.Sieradzki Member Sage ⭐

  September 2016 edited September 2016 2301 karma

  One thing that helped me was drilling games by type and LR by type. You start to get a feel for common trends. In addition, you build confidence and boost your score as you improve. This can be a big psychological factor.
  
  @lawgikal makes a great point. You want a program that teaches the underlying foundation of the LSAT. Both the LSAT Trainer and 7Sage offer this. PowerScore is more about individual techniques. Because the LSAT Trainer did not work for you, you should consider 7Sage.
• 2 Likes

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  September 2016 23929 karma

  @sugeirybetances said:
  I need to make a change and do it FAST. I would greatly appreciate it if someone shed some light on my situation that help me increase my score.
  

  Similar story. Started studying in June (Go back and read my posts when I was a newbie) I had the Bibles and some other junk that was pretty much a joke.
  
  The Bibles tend to work well for those who are going to do well anyways. I have yet to hear someone who started with a 140s diagnostic use the Bibles to get past the 150s or 160s. The teach you the basics and some gimmicky ways to do things. I think the LR Bible is actually great, but for LG they just don't have an intuitive approach. The double not rules and all of their grouping diagramming really left me lost.
  
  As other have said above me, go with 7Sage. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you want a change start there. The 7Sage course and philosophy is objectively better than anything else out there. My reasoning behind this statement is that the techniques make sense! The approach the LG is clean, simple, and works! The LR lessons are all based on the idea that LR questions are all related to each other in some way and once you begin to recognize the similarities and patterns, you can get really GOOD and consistent at LR.
  
  In June my diagnostic was a 151 and after 3 months of 7Sage I am well into the 160s range. You have to put the work in, but the course gives you all you need!
  
  If you've already tried The LSAT Trainer, there really isn't much else I would recommend. I am a big fan of Manhattan LSAT Prep books, but they were co-authored by Mike Kim of The LSAT Trainer so I am going to assume those books won't help much either.
  
  If you are still scoring in the 140s a couple of things to do:
  
  Stop doing PTs - at this point you are wasting them. You aren't going to learn much from just doing PTs without the skills needed.
  
  I suggest starting from the beginning again. You are clearly missing some big fundamental ideas... Do you understand things like argument structure? How to properly find the conclusion/main point, strengthen and weaken and argument? Conditional logic?
  These are core principles that are absolutely necessary conditions to doing well on this test.
  
  For about a month I tried to ignore really understand conditional logic and sufficient and necessary assumption indicators. After I went back and revised JY's lessons on these things my LR score went from missing 6-7 to about 3 per section now. That alone probably increased my score 5 points..
  
  
  
  
• 3 Likes

  WorkintilIDROP Member

  October 2016 41 karma

  Thank you to all who commented on my sad story (LOL) @MOTIVATED @lmekahel @nader.parham @lawgikal @Daniel.Sieradzki and @"Alex Divine"!! I must say that I am feeling a lotttttt better than I did 6 days ago. I took @nader.parham 's advice and started to work on the LG games. I have already seen an increase on my score (I'm not working on the recent PT's just yet, but I see my score increasing on the old ones). As for LR, I am honing in on the basics and it's definitely working. I have a better grasp on the skills and it makes me more confident when answering questions!
  
  Thank you once again to all and good luck studying!!