So much prep, so little time. Retraining for the LSAT

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• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  August 2017 edited August 2017 23929 karma

  @ZachTheBookman said:
  Dear 7Sage fam,

  I am going to register for the December LSAT and will begin prepping mid September. This leaves me a solid 10 weeks of studying time to shoot for 170+ coming from PTs 157-160. I was prepping for the LSAT at one time (where I got my PTs from), and then decided to post-pone test taking for another time since I took up a demanding full-time position. I actually was a 7Sager before the whole copy-right incident happened!

  Anyways... is this a possibility? Literally the only thing I need for HYS is a 170+
  LSAT score and the reason I cannot take a later test is because my 80-88hr work weeks start back up in January until the end of August. (My job is freakin awesome, it just requires work). The cool thing is the only work required of me during this 10 week period are attending a 2 conferences in Jacksonville and Puerto Vallarta for a few days each. Other than that I have all the time in the world to prep!

  LG was my most solid section typically -3 to -5
  LR and RC... welp.

  Any tips? Encouragement to go for it? Discouragement because I'm crazy?

  Zach the Bookman

  Is that increase in 10 weeks possible, yes. Is it at all likely, no, probably not. I've been studying on and off for this test (also have a job I love that requires many hours) for a while. Even before beginning my prep, since freshman year, I frequented these forums and those like Reddit, TLS, and Law school confidential. In all those years, I don't think I remember anyone having such an increase in such a short period of time. Most people who are able to make such an increase usually have diagnostic scores in the 160s to begin with, indicating they have natural abilities needed to master this test.

  It's great news that you'll have that time to dedicate to studying, and it's even better that you have some experience and your LG score is off to a solid start. Just realize that a lot of your skills may have atrophied a bit if it's been a while since you've prepped. Due to work, I've had to take off months and weeks from prep and when I returned I noticed my LG skills were the first to go. I remembered how to diagram and do most of the games, but my speeds decreased significantly. So that's something to plan for...

  If literally ALL that stands between you and a T3 school like HYS, and you want to attend one of these schools, then I think you owe it to yourself to completely forget about dates and focus on getting your score there. Take 3 years if that's what it takes. There is no way to reliably predict how long achieving such a superb score will take. Some people take years to hit 170+ & I think one way to gauge how long it will take you is to consider where you started off last time, and how long your previous increases took. Though, increasing from the 150s to the 160s is significantly easier than going from 160-170. I would go so far as to say it is exponentially more difficult. After all, it only makes sense because you'll have gotten all the easy questions down and all that's left is mastering more abstract ideas and strategies to nail the harder ones.

  Advice:

  First, as I mentioned above, just get tunnel vision about improving to the 170+ level. To do that master the fundamentals because the more I've prepped and improved, the more I see that that's 90% of this test. The arguments, passages, and games on this test aren't actually hard once you develop a mastery of the basics. So spend as much time as needed up front to really instill the basics you'll encounter while taking a course or reading a book.

  Second, I really recommend signing up for a 7Sage course, the ultimate + if you can afford it. It will include everything you need (course, practice sets, drills, question banks, every PT 1-81) and more to hit that 170+ if you put in the work and time.

  Hitting a 170+ means you'll probably have to study and work harder than almost everyone else taking this test. There's a reason it's a 99th-tile score so get ready to put in as much work as required!

  Good luck!
• 1 Like

  nevadacity37 Free Trial Member

  August 2017 163 karma

  Might I add that just because you hit 170 on PT's, it doesn't follow that will be your score on test day. I think most people find they hit the median or a little lower on test day. Of course, some folks shine on test day and score above their median or even higher than their best PT, but I believe that is far less common. In sum, if you want to be sure you hit 170 on test day, you probably want to be aiming for 170 as the low end of your practice tests. Thus, to jump from a 160ish to a low to mid 170ish on PT's, that is a massive jump in a hurry. Like the previous poster, I believe it is possible, but not likely. I hope you can pull it off though, and I wish you the best in obtaining your goals.
• 1 Like

  Victoria14 Alum Member

  August 2017 776 karma

  I think it's all been said here. It's not technically impossible but it is going to be VERY hard. I would take a cold PT right now and see how far you need to climb. 5 points? Totally doable. 10 points? Will take work, but can do. 15? I would look at taking a later test.
• nathanieljschwartz Alum Member

  August 2017 1723 karma

  Hey dont mean to hijack tye thread
  but @lipsitz im struggling w RC stuck at -5 for months . Would u be interested in helping me out?
• 1 Like

  The Bookman-1 Core Member

  August 2017 22 karma

  Thank you guys for the feedback! Especially Alex with your very in depth advice for my situation. It does make a lot of sense since this is the one factor keeping me from T3 that I do take the time I need for my score. It's just difficult with this schedule unless I take even more time off work... which I could do but I feel is so unproductive.

  I guess it's a matter of priorities