I am really discouraged, any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Comments

• 7 Likes

  _FIDELIO_ Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 98 karma

  You have nothing to worry about. Take 20 preptests, blind review each of them then come back on here if you're still having problems. Earlier today one person said they took 45 practice exams! You are probably struggling with timing and the anxiety that comes with it. We all are. You can get over this by taking more timed exams and sections. Good luck.
• 9 Likes

  synergy_101 Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 180 karma

  I used to be in a similar situation as yourself. My first diagnostic test was a measly 147 while reading the Powerscore Bible trilogy. After signing up for 7sage and going through the curriculum and doing another preptest, I scored only a 152. After reviewing each test and understanding each and every question, I saw a small increase in my score each and every time I took another preptest: 152, 153, 155 (got stuck on 155 for a while haha) and then 157. Couple of months later with 25 pt's done, my score has reached to 165-168 with a blind review of about 172ish. Long story short, you have only taken two tests and it takes time. Keep studying and I know if I can do it, you can too.
• 1 Like

  aryamansour Alum Member

  November 2014 8 karma

  Synergy_101- How many months did you study in total? How many months until you started seeing improvement?
• 5 Likes

  synergy_101 Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 180 karma

  I studied for about 5 months. I started studying beginning of May and took my first preptest early June after reading the Powerscore Bibles couple of times. I stopped for a bit and resumed again end of July while using the 7sage curriculum. I took a preptest every other day; day 1-2 = pt, blind review and then video explanations. I would see a small improvement each preptest but always hit a plateau at a certain point. For example, I saw jumps from 152 to 155 in a matter of a couple of weeks, but stayed at 155 for a week until I hit 157 a week later where I hit another wall. Few pt's later I hit 160 and so on. Now i'm hovering at 165-168 since mid October, but hit a max of 176 a couple of times.
• jyang72 Alum Member

  November 2014 844 karma

  Thank you synergy-101. Maybe I am too worried. I also studied for 5 months but I just started prep test last week. English is my second language and I've only been to the U.S less than 3 years. I think language is also a barrier. Thank you guys. I felt much better. I will just keep doing what I am doing right now. Do you think power score is helpful? I think I may need to do some extra exercises. Anyway, thanks everyone who leaves comments here!
• 3 Likes

  turnercm Alum Member ⏰ 🍌

  November 2014 770 karma

  @jyang72 powerscore is useless, stick with 7sage. there are probably some other places with practice packs that are useful (cambridge comes to mind), but powerscore at this point will likely just confuse you. I read powerscore for LR and LG and just... no haha. keep working at it and you'll do fine!!!
  
• 2 Likes

  synergy_101 Alum Member

  November 2014 180 karma

  Since English is your second language, maybe you should pick up a subscription for The Economist, Newyorker, and/or Wall Street Journal for extra practice. The content and style kind of resembles the LSAT' RC passage sections. http://7sage.com/how-to-improve-your-lsat-score-by-reading-interesting-articles/
  
  You can also read the articles for free via incognito
• 4 Likes

  Derek Kunhee Kim Member

  November 2014 131 karma

  Confidence is key on this exam. What the tentmakers are doing with each AC is that they are trying to startle you. Think of the ACs as a gauntlet you're going through, and the only way to make it through alive is having a firm grasp of the Argument (i.e. LR section of course.
  
  It has helped me a ton to simply write down arguments that I struggle with. Confidence, right? You need to breed yourself to think like the testmakers.
  
• 2 Likes

  CallMeJazzy Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 65 karma

  Nope, no need to worry. That is my story, too. I started testing at 150, and then after 6 months of study (without 7sage and without any really intensive review) I'd only moved to a 158. It's discouraging. Keep at it. The test is meant to be difficult, and I suspect that it's also meant to break your spirit a little. You've got it.
• 3 Likes

  lsatcommitted Alum Member

  November 2014 166 karma

  ah, i thought i was the only one....
  
  my cold diagnostic was 149, my first PT after 4 months of studying: 149
  was ready to throw in the towel..but now have reinvigorated... my blind review shows i understand this stuff, its just about speed....
• jyang72 Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 844 karma

  lsatcommitted, i thought I was the only one too!!
• jyang72 Alum Member

  November 2014 edited November 2014 844 karma

  Thank you everyone. I was scared because I was doubting if I study in a right way. Now it seems what I need to do is to do more timed test and do more blind review.
• 1 Like

  marleybaby Alum Member

  November 2014 194 karma

  yup remember were all here for each other. And if you keep at it you WILL improve. Don't be fooled by anything that tells you otherwise
• 2 Likes

  ddakjiking Inactive ⭐

  November 2014 2116 karma

  You can do it! Keep drilling LG over and over! Some PT's just have harder games than usual so don't let a few bad PT's be representative of the sample size!
• jyang72 Alum Member

  November 2014 844 karma

  Thank you Licknee10 and marleybaby!!
• Vriver01 Alum Member

  November 2014 60 karma

  The same thing happened to me. I also started the diagnostic at 148, but after only three PT's I've increased my score to a 153, so I know that after a couple of more PTs it will hopefully continue going up. I think blind reviews are also a good confidence boost and a very valuable way to get to the nitty-gritty of why you think an answer is wrong or why it's right. I don't know if this happens to other people, but usually the more I blind review a test, the better I do in the next PT I take.