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I just finished the core curriculum, yay me. I am taking the Sept Lsat. I took a diagnostic a few months ago and got a terrible 148. I just took my first lsat since then timed proctored etc. I scored a 154 improvement but not much. I did the BR though and scored a 170. I was wondering since it seems that my grasp on the material is good how to improve my actual PT score from here. I am currently fool proofing games. Break down on missed PT -16 LR -8LG -14 RC, BR -10 LR -0LG -3RC. I misread a rule on the last game and missed everyone. I felt really strong during cc on drills. I have trouble concentrating through the test, and feel myself fumbling about and running blindly instead of staying calm and doing what I have been practicing doing. Any tips to improve on anything would be appreciated. 83 DAYS!
Comments
Hi @tn7sager. First of all, a 6 point increase from your diagnostic to your first PT post-CC is nothing to scoff at! I scored exactly the same score on both of mine...
A 170 BR score is impressive at this early stage of your studies. The big gap between your timed score and your BR score means there is _definite _room for improvement come September. From your score breakdown, I think you know well what you need to do. First and foremost, I would continue fool proofing the LG bundle. By the time September rolls around, you need to have LG in the bag to the point where you miss no more a few per section on average. This is the most learnable section, and with a little time and dedication, you can definitely make that happen in the next 83 days.
For LR, it seems as though you may have some more fundamental gaps in your understanding of what the question is asking, what the stimulus is saying, or what the logic means, based on your still missing 10 in BR. I'm not saying this is a bad score by any means for your first time out of the CC, but it does signal that there is significant room for improvement in learning the fundamentals. Be sure to track which types of questions you are missing/guessing and revisit the CC to hone in on those skills. Then, when your mastery level increases through your studies, be sure to implement a solid skipping strategy. But that will come later down the line...
Ahh RC. Everybody's favorite section (NOT!). The fact that you were able to cut your wrong answers to -3 in BR tells me that you know _how _to answer RC questions. My guess would be that it comes down to a timing thing, as RC always does. You'll find sages on here who annotate a lot and others like JY who barely write anything. I fall into the later camp, but it was only through drilling numerous passages that I was able to figure out what works best for me. I suggest you give the 7sage memory method a try, but know that RC unlike LR or LG is a lot more up to your personal style in terms of how you wish to attack the section. At the end of the day, it comes down to reading for structure, but how you go about doing that can be a largely individualistic decision.
I hope this helps a bit! Be sure to use the forum as you continue with your post-CC studies. Let me know if I can clarify/elaborate on anything for you. Best of luck!
hey when did you start studying i am almost done and in the same period but i pushed my test to December; but i still have scheduled for September to see if i can have improvements by the change or cancel date.
Fool proofing games is a great thing to do following the CC and I would recommend everyone do that!
I think your score would improve greatly if you took some time and really tried to improve LR. The first step to improving will be digging into the questions you missed and trying to uncover why you missed them. Don't be afraid to spend time returning to the CC and re-visiting lessons. Honestly, I've made some of my biggest breakthroughs that ultimately translated to massive improvements after re-visiting the CC.
Also, Sage @"Cant Get Right" has an amazing Webinar coming out soon that perfectly addresses your question. I think it was aptly titled "Done with CC Now what?" Or at least something similar
Wow thank all of you for your amazing responses! I have seen a lot of posts at different time points in studying for lsat. Not many where I currently am, so I thought I would add my experience and update it throughout.
The LR I did worse on it because I realized after BR test 60 that I had finished the CC doing only RC and LG the past month. I was a bit rusty. I thought it was my best section until recently. Rc is a bit more tricky. I have gone -1 (rarely) on a section but tend to go -6 to -9. I am aiming for a 180 of course, but a 166 would do for my dream school. I'm hoping to get LR -8 LG -0,-1 and RC -5. If I can't do this before August or getting close I think I will postpone to December.
Sounds like a good plan! Definitely postpone until you are consistently hitting your goal score (166+)
Good luck!
Update: Took my second PT since finishing the Core Curriculum. I decided to take pt 36 since my games haven't been fool proofed, and to make sure I don't run out of current material later.
PT Breakdown LR -10 RC -5 LR -7 LG -5 = -27 160
Blind Review LR -4 RC -3 LR -2 LG -0 = -9 171
I missed a lot of questions in a cluster on the first section. A homeless person decided to enter the quiet study room of the library and talk to themselves. I was in an existential crisis. I felt bad for the person, but at the same time LSATTT. I actually paused proctor after the sections and hurried to another area. So not completely "Proctored". The RC felt easy, and I was more interested in the topics. LG I skipped a question set and I think that gave me a couple more points this go around. I ran into a game I was vaguely familiar with, but couldn't remember how to set it up.
On a side note it feels really good to hit the 160 mark. I have been a lurker since November of last year for all things law school. I half way studied for a few months with the LSAT Trainer from January to March. I bought 7sage a few months ago and have been going ham(most days). Looking back from the middle of my studies I shouldn't have spent so much time finding a way to study and just studied more. I found 7sage and Mike.Kim.Made.It, but I feel like I lost 2 months that could have been used to fool proof which I didn't really account for. Thanks for reading!
How long did the CC take? Also, how much more confident do you feel since you started 7sage compared to now?
Hey @Taxlaw127, i started studying with the bibles and, though woefully unprepared, took the test in december.i was unhappy with the result and started 7sage. the CC took my around 6 weeks. The LSAT is such a monstrous yet learnable test, i didnt even know what i had to understand to conquer this test. With JYs clear instruction i finally feel like everyday i am getting better and my testing confidence had skyrocketed. Good luck.!
i have the bibles as well and am going through the CC right now; i still have the RC Bible should I just ignore it? Or, is there anything in there i could learn? Also, I read half the LG Bible up to the end of the Grouping chapter. I am trying to prepare for either December or February, but i so badly want to start PTing, but I am still encoding all these fundamentals into habit.
Hey, @tn7sager use the 7Sage analytics and question bank to drill your highest priority LR questions. In my case, after finishing the CC flaw questions still gave me a hard time, so I printed 80 or so of the flaw questions and drilled them as well as BRing them and watched J.Y.'s explanation for each of the question. Needless to say, my score improved on the next PT that I took.
Also, you can still improve your score in a relatively short span of time by getting -2 to -0 on LG consistently. LG bundle is part of CC for Ultimate+ users. I would recommend fool proofing LG bundle before taking any new PTs. I quoted one of my recent comments about the way I approached LG bundle I hope it would be useful to you.
Hey @MichaelTheArchAngel, for RC i would suggest the LSAT trainer. The bibles just didnt speak to me. Mr Kim has a different approach that has helped me grom the getgo
thanks i am trying to get through the trainer and this.
It took me quite awhile because that's how I planned it. If you have no job or have determination, I think it could be done in under two months(if you are rushing). The sooner you start the better. I have a lot more confidence because honestly the way 7sage is setup shows you if you know the material, especially if you have ultimate+. After I upgraded I realized that the hard version of some questions I didn't actually understand.
@"Not Ralph Nader" How would you suggest keeping up my LR and RC? Do sections timed and BR? I also have been doing tests because I have adhd and have trouble sitting there for 3 hours. My mind wonders and I look back and have read the same paragraph 4 times. I may cut down to one a week on Saturday.
Hey guys, so the webinar I did on this that @"Alex Divine" mentioned in a previous comment is now posted. Hope it's useful!
YASSS!
Can I just print out the RC's from prep test 1-35 for my RC practice? I'm currently doing the LR and LG packets and trying to finish them in the next 3 weeks. I am terrible at RC and need to get it up to par just don't know where to get the practice material.
1-35 are good tests to drill/study from.
https://7sage.com/webinar/post-core-curriculum-study-strategies/
Everyone go and watch this webinar. Especially if you are going through the CC or recently finished. This is a must watch!