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from 158 to 174 in 4 months: sharing my 2 cents and some methods that worked for me
rebecca.liujing
Alum Member
Since my last post, I got quite a few messages regarding specific questions, thought it'd be nice to just share it here with anyone who's interested, or if any of you have any follow up questions.
Timing
I started at the end of July, and took the December test, so the prep time for me is roughly 4 months. To be honest I think it's a bit tight, but because I was already 3 months pregnant and would definitely want to finish the test before my January due date, so I was left no choice. If possible, I think I'd budget for at least 6 months.
Core Curriculum
I started out using the LSAT study schedule generated by 7Sage and used that as a guideline. I finished core curriculum in 1 month and started timed PTs in September.
During the CC, I followed every single course and exercises in the LR and LG session, but only selected about 50% of the RC part. As I said, my timing was pretty tight, and honestly I think to improve RC, just following the courses won't be enough any way. So I moved into timed PTs after getting myself familiar with the types of questions that appears often in RC.
For LR, something I find extremely useful is to collect all the questions I did wrong, or those I believe contained important implication for future reference, making a scrapbook out of them with detailed analysis. When writing the analysis, it's like I'm re-doing it. And also, as the test date got closer, it'd be great last-minute reading materials.
PTs and Follow-up Exercises
So based on my course package, I started with PT 36 and I do 3-4 PTs per week, depending on if I have weekend plans 
Doing timed PT is pretty standard I think, and of course BR is very important. I usually do the BR right after, so 1 PT would take up my full day schedule.
On the days I'm not PTing, I do the following things:
1) fool proof old LG, 5-8 games per day, time it and see if I'm making improvement;
2) I purchased old PTs from Amazon, those big books, and started tearing them apart and re-do the LR and RC sessions. Some of the questions would be familiar because they are covered in CC, but that's perfectly fine. Repetition helps to reinforce memories and gets you more familiar with the mindset of the LSAT test makers;
3) Keep doing the scrapbook, and keep adding new games that I found tricky during the PTs into my fool-proofing bank;
Score Trend and The Last Month
My first timed PT was PT36 and I scored 165; and I didn't really get my first breakthrough till PT51 when I got my first 170. I think my repetitive exercise between PTs was making a difference because my performance in LG has been stable, and RC has always been hit or miss depending on if there's any topics that I'm extremely uncomfortable with lol, but as soon as I started to get less than -3 in LR, my score showed major improvement.
That's why moving into the last month, I decided to make sure I can have stable LRs during the actual test. I started to re-do LRs from PT 36 to PT 50, in which I was having -4 to -8 in those sections.
In retrospect, I think this practice, plus my scrapbook, definitely contributed a lot to my proficiency with LR. In the actual December test, I scored -0 and -1 respectively in the 2 LR sections.
The last week and What If....
The last week was pretty rough for me as I did the last 3 PTs, and got both very high and very low score. I scored a 166 that almost wrecked my confidence, but thankfully got a 176 in the September PT, which gave me a bit last minute comfort.
I had major nerve issue the night before, and was literally up all night. I think part of the 3rd trimester pregnancy was also a negative factor for me as the baby started moving and kicking real hard during these late days. But I think my adrenalin and New York's chilling winter was high enough to keep me awake.
I'm generally pretty happy with how it turned out, but as I said, if I could have more time, I'd definitely work harder on RC. I got lucky this time because I did just ok with RC in the test (-4), which was average for me. My RC performance has always been unstable, I sometimes can make -1, but sometimes can go as high as -7; Improving RC was really difficult, and I don't think I have much to say in this area, but if you have enough time, definitely spend more energy on it.
Ok, I think I've been rambling a lot. I don't know if these things would be helpful for anyone. But feel free to leave any questions in the comment and I'll make sure to try my best to give some input.
Thanks again 7Sage and JY, this journey wouldn't turn out so great without you guys!
Comments
1) congratulations on that increase!
2) how the hell did you sit for a 3 hour test in your third trimester without needing to pee. That's hard for non-pregnant people. I'm in awe
Great advice! Thanks for sharing
I know.. that part was rough. I should've known better to apply for accommodation, but I didn't realize that until it was too late and passed the application deadline
But I guess human body can just adjust to any adverse situation when we really have no choice.
Wow. I am so impressed and inspired by your story. Thank you for sharing and I hope you and your baby all the very best in the coming days!
Thanks for the LR scrapbook idea — I'll definitely be trying that is I get ready to retake.
Congrats on your awesome performance!
I am amazed by your story! Congratulations!
Wow I am so impressed! Good job! I feel so unaccomplished now lol
That was an inspiring story. Congratulations. And thank you for sharing your study schedule. Did you watch the explanation videos of all the questions after the PTs?
You're a superhero. And you have the best story to tell your child so they know how badass you are in the future
A smart AND dedicated/hard-working/committed individual.... your child is going to be lucky to have you
Congratulations on that score, and thank you so much for sharing your story -- like others, I'm in awe as well. You're an inspiration to us all!
I wish you the best in your apps and the journey that lies ahead!
Hi there, yes, I do watch the explanation videos, in fact that is a big part of how I improved my understanding of the test makers' mindset. But I'd only select questions that I got wrong and those I circled to think twice on. Otherwise the workload would be too much
I would sometimes also read the discussions under the video if JY's explanation still baffled me. Or just google the question and utilize whatever discussion source out there that's available. After fully understanding the questions, I'd put everything into the analysis part of my scrapbook.
You deserve that amazing score because you worked SO hard! Your commitment to mastering this test and pursuing your dream is admirable - I'm very inspired. And how beautiful that your baby was there with you for the whole magical journey :-)
This is going to be a great story for the baby when he/she is old enough.
Thank you! I do hope to make her proud!
Thank you for sharing your amazing story, it’s truly inspirational to me.
Hey thanks for the great advice. Could you elaborate on your method of scrapbooking? Do you have both an unmarked copy and then the analyzed version on a different page?
You're incredible! Congrats and enjoy your amazing cycle
You are my hero! Congrats and you earned it! : )
I can't imagine what it would be like studying lsat while in pregnant.
I hope you will have the best cycle!!!
One quick question: besides re-doing pt 36-51, what other PT have you done? did you do only once? Thanks : )
Hey there, so here's what I did:
1) when I print out the PT, I'll print out extra copy for the LR sessions alone, so since the original PT's printed on both sides, I won't lose any questions because of the cutting; but during CC this is generally not a big problem because the layout of each exercise only left 1 question on the back side and normally I won't need a second copy.
2) while watching the explanation video, I try to understand the questions and where my confusion come from without writing down to much notes on the actual test pages, so that when I'm actually collecting the questions into my scrapbook, I have the chance to test myself again on my understanding. If I've already lost it, I'll have to go back and watch again, and make a note to the questions because I was tripped over it once again, there's obviously something there to pay more attention to.
3) after watching all the explanation videos I generally do the scrapbooking before I go to bed. So there's a cooling period – when I test my understandings, it won't be from sheer memorizing what I've just heard maybe an hour ago. I cut and paste the questions on one side of the paper, and left the other side for answers and analysis. I try to write my own analysis based on my understanding, so it reinforces my memory. When I read the book afterwards, I simply cover up the analysis side and re-do the questions.
Does this give you any clarity?
I almost did all the PTs, from PT1 to PT82 once; I think I might have missed a few early ones only because the books I bought from Amazon includes only selective PTs from 1-20, which is from the early 90s and I think it doesn't matter that much anyway. Early questions are quite different from the modern ones.
I only redid the LR sessions of PT36-51because that was my main focus during the last month.
Yes!! Thank you!
This is so inspiring. Thank you. Hope you get into your dream law school.
@"rebecca.liujing" I'm so inspired by your story!! I wanted to ask you how exactly you worked on LR questions you had already solved/seen. My LR scores are completely unstable, which is probably why my actual test score was 6 points lower than my average...
Even though I told myself that I should look at old/solved questions with a critical eye, I couldn't help myself becoming comfortable with the answer choices, somehow fooling myself that I knew/mastered skills more than I actually had. I also made a scrapbook of sort which analyzed my mistakes and future tips for each type of question, yet.. seems like I was missing something given my December score
When you re-did your PT LR questions, did you have a special technique/formula you could share?
Hi there, I totally get what you were saying coz the same thing happened to me as well. I find myself remembering a lot of the old questions. However, when I read or re-did those questions, I tried to not only circle the right answer, but also forced myself to explain all the wrong ACs. If I find myself not 100% clear why all the wrong answers were wrong, I pay extra attention to the question and work my way to full clarity.
I hope this method would work for you
Thank you @"rebecca.liujing" I'll definitely have to try a more thorough scrapbook. Just one more question, is there any specific reason why you chose to focus on PT 36-50 for your LRs? Did you find the LR questions in those PTs more useful than those in other PTs, or was it just random?
Those PTs were my first few timed tests and I scored relatively lower in those and made more mistakes in LR compared to the more recent one. That’s really the only reason. I don’t think the questions in different PTs were that different except maybe the oldest ones in early 90s.
Hi Rebecca,
Congratulations! Your story is so inspiring!
Quick question re: the CC. Which package (starter, preminum, ultimate, ultimate+) did you use/does it make a difference?
Hi, I was using the Ultimate package.
I would definitely vouch for its effectiveness considering my own improvement. I don't think I would have done that without all these lectures and video explanations of every single questions. However, which package do you want to choose really depends on how much time do you have and how many hours per day can you realistically put in. I would start by using the "study schedule" function under the "course" tab and figure out how much effort each package requires under your own time frame until the exam and make decision from there.
Thank you for the detailed post. You're an amazing woman, and you killed it! You must have exceptional focus and discipline, in addition to being very efficient. This test will own you if you don't have enough of those qualities.
In regard to your BR method, would you write out a detailed explanation of your thought process for each question you circled, or would you just go through the thought process in your head? I ask because I'm looking for more efficient study methods. I've been writing out explanations for each question I circle. However, I've found this approach very time consuming.
Thanks, and best of luck with admissions.
I would not really write out everything except for really tough questions, but maybe a few keywords.
I personally don’t think it’s necessary to write your whole thought process down to be honest. It’s time consuming and exhausting for one, but also when you review old questions later, you may develop new ways of thinking about the same question and have new insights into it. I think that’s also part of the growth we went through PT after PT. And even if you find yourself not remembering the right way of thinking about an old question, even better. Time to re-watch the explanation and think again