Getting discouraged, can anyone give me some motivation? Forum

[fosterp]

I've been studying for for the last month now, been through all of LGB and LRB. Done a lot of timed LR sections from preptests. Generally I get between -2 and -6 on LR sections, barely finishing within the allotted time. Haven't really touched on RC studying except trying a few sections here and there. the LG seem to be a big hit and miss, some games I just nail on the head and others I just can't seem to pull it together. Tried my hand at doing a full preptest timed from superprep, and was disappointed with my performance. I am aiming to get 170+ on the actual test and only scored 163. LG was the worst section at -7, my LR at -4 and -2, and RC at -5. Even more, I felt I got lucky on LR and RC as a lot of the questions I couldn't really nail a confident answer, and I was just sort of pulling a "this looks good" answer because I was being overly aware of time constraints. The LG I only got -1 on the first two games within a decent amount of time. Third game though really screwed me up and I ended up getting frustrated halfway through the game because I couldn't see a clear way to figure them out, and just skipped to the last, and even then ended up running out of time on that one.

Has anyone who has scored in that area after a month of studying been able to improve to 170+? I feel like I have hit my potential limit, not seeing much improvement in games or LR as time goes on, with only more preptests left to practice on. I spent about 4 hours a day the last month studying. Anyone offer maybe some additional reading to help in various sections? I am probably going to get the RCB since I feel that needs some work.

[inmans]

I was in the 160-165 range at this time last year (took oct 09 exam).

kept on working... doing lg over and over and over... and doing full length PT's (about 3-4 per week)

wasn't scoring high 160's consistently until last week and a half of preparation... that gave me the confidence to do well on test day. i ended up with a 170.

keep working hard and the benefits will come on test day.

[pkpop]

I feel like I have hit my potential limit

For starters, stop doing that.

Second, have you gone over that superprep test and looked at what questions you got wrong and WHY? What types of logic games questions did you get wrong? What type of game in general was the 3rd one that gave you difficulties? Find out weaknesses and try to eliminate them. Go through the LGB again, find posts with people who have had the same issues, and figure what you're doing wrong and why you're doing it. I think changing a single thought process and what to look for when you attack certain games could go a long way.

Same thing with LR questions..what types of questions are you getting wrong. Go over all of them, even the ones you felt lucky to have gotten right. Figure out why they're right. Superprep has all those explanations - use them.

[bigben]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

[artichoke]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

[bigben]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

Awesome.

[nStiver]

Stop being so negative, for one.

Also, just resign yourself to the fact that you may need to do tons and tons of prep before you get to your goal. Around here you often hear of people who "got a 164 on their diagnostic" and were "testing in the mid 170s after a month of practice". Great. There are a lot of internet geniuses out there, more power to them. The reality is that the vast, vast majority of us mortals need more practice than that. Thats ok, as long as you are willing to actually put in that time. Remember, a 164 is the 90th percentile. A 170 is nearing the 99th. This is an elite group. Do you really think that most people who get those scores didn't practice very much? Bull shit. The LSAT is a test of your ability up to a certain point. Beyond that, its pure diligence.

NOW GET YOUR PUSSY ASS OF THE INTERNET AND START HITTING THOSE BOOKS!!!!

[Hedwig]

I've been studying for for the last month now, been through all of LGB and LRB. Done a lot of timed LR sections from preptests. Generally I get between -2 and -6 on LR sections, barely finishing within the allotted time. Haven't really touched on RC studying except trying a few sections here and there. the LG seem to be a big hit and miss, some games I just nail on the head and others I just can't seem to pull it together. Tried my hand at doing a full preptest timed from superprep, and was disappointed with my performance. I am aiming to get 170+ on the actual test and only scored 163. LG was the worst section at -7, my LR at -4 and -2, and RC at -5. Even more, I felt I got lucky on LR and RC as a lot of the questions I couldn't really nail a confident answer, and I was just sort of pulling a "this looks good" answer because I was being overly aware of time constraints. The LG I only got -1 on the first two games within a decent amount of time. Third game though really screwed me up and I ended up getting frustrated halfway through the game because I couldn't see a clear way to figure them out, and just skipped to the last, and even then ended up running out of time on that one.

Has anyone who has scored in that area after a month of studying been able to improve to 170+? I feel like I have hit my potential limit, not seeing much improvement in games or LR as time goes on, with only more preptests left to practice on. I spent about 4 hours a day the last month studying. Anyone offer maybe some additional reading to help in various sections? I am probably going to get the RCB since I feel that needs some work.

This may be entirely different from your process, but for RC especially I've decided to go with my gut instinct most of the time towards answers, and I've found it works better to go with what you immediately think is right (don't do this for detail questions, obviously) and just feel good about than to try to look and make things work and struggle with it. This isn't the BEST in LR, because I think sometimes in LR the answer you like is really just not the right answer, but you know, maybe you're good at guessing, you don't have to feel like you got lucky.

Anyways, in general, I agree with everyone else. Try to think a bit more positively and steer away from the Debbie Downer persona you seem to be emulating currently.

[Knock]

I've been studying for for the last month now, been through all of LGB and LRB. Done a lot of timed LR sections from preptests. Generally I get between -2 and -6 on LR sections, barely finishing within the allotted time. Haven't really touched on RC studying except trying a few sections here and there. the LG seem to be a big hit and miss, some games I just nail on the head and others I just can't seem to pull it together. Tried my hand at doing a full preptest timed from superprep, and was disappointed with my performance. I am aiming to get 170+ on the actual test and only scored 163. LG was the worst section at -7, my LR at -4 and -2, and RC at -5. Even more, I felt I got lucky on LR and RC as a lot of the questions I couldn't really nail a confident answer, and I was just sort of pulling a "this looks good" answer because I was being overly aware of time constraints. The LG I only got -1 on the first two games within a decent amount of time. Third game though really screwed me up and I ended up getting frustrated halfway through the game because I couldn't see a clear way to figure them out, and just skipped to the last, and even then ended up running out of time on that one.

Has anyone who has scored in that area after a month of studying been able to improve to 170+? I feel like I have hit my potential limit, not seeing much improvement in games or LR as time goes on, with only more preptests left to practice on. I spent about 4 hours a day the last month studying. Anyone offer maybe some additional reading to help in various sections? I am probably going to get the RCB since I feel that needs some work.

For what it's worth, I don't think progression is linear. You put in a ton of work, and you may regress or slightly improve and fluctuate, but practice enough and you will step up to a new "level" and your worst days won't be nearly as bad as before. Just keep putting in the work. Think about it this way, if you work your ass off, you are at least attempting to improve; if you give up you will definitely not improve.

This is coming from someone who literally could not complete a full PT my first attempt. I literally could not answer the first LG, nor could I even diagram the first game. I had to consult with my dad (a lawyer) and it had both of us stumped. I worked pretty hard, giving it my best shot. I took and reviewed 55 PT's, averaged around a 176, experienced a test day drop, but still ended up with a respectable 171 on the June 2010 LSAT. I hope my experience can inspire you. Remember, I was almost certainly worse than you when I first started, but I ended up scoring 170+.

Some advice I would give myself if I were to do it again, and i've said this a few times on these forums so forgive me, but don't get too high or too low, and don't focus too much on the score. When you score well don't get too high, when you score low don't get too low; progress isn't linear. It's much like golf or some other sports -- some days are just your off days. It's best not to force it, which I kind of did.

Check out my June 2010 LSAT study thread, including how I reviewed:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=112107

Here is some highlights out of that thread just from me (note that there are tons of gems from other people in that thread, and it's worth reading through):
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=120353

[kazu]

For what it's worth, I don't think progression is linear. You put in a ton of work, and you may regress or slightly improve and fluctuate, but practice enough and you will step up to a new "level" and your worst days won't be nearly as bad as before. Just keep putting in the work. Think about it this way, if you work your ass off, you are at least attempting to improve; if you give up you will definitely not improve.

Some advice I would give myself if I were to do it again, and i've said this a few times on these forums so forgive me, but don't get too high or too low, and don't focus too much on the score. When you score well don't get too high, when you score low don't get too low; progress isn't linear. It's much like golf or some other sports -- some days are just your off days. It's best not to force it, which I kind of did.

This is all very credited. QF not being able to say it any better.

[Knock]

For what it's worth, I don't think progression is linear. You put in a ton of work, and you may regress or slightly improve and fluctuate, but practice enough and you will step up to a new "level" and your worst days won't be nearly as bad as before. Just keep putting in the work. Think about it this way, if you work your ass off, you are at least attempting to improve; if you give up you will definitely not improve.

Some advice I would give myself if I were to do it again, and i've said this a few times on these forums so forgive me, but don't get too high or too low, and don't focus too much on the score. When you score well don't get too high, when you score low don't get too low; progress isn't linear. It's much like golf or some other sports -- some days are just your off days. It's best not to force it, which I kind of did.

This is all very credited. QF not being able to say it any better.

You always make me feel good about my posts, I should hire you to follow my posts around +1 them .

[kazu]

You always make me feel good about my posts, I should hire you to follow my posts around +1 them .

Hahaha well you deserve it . (Plus I actually didn't notice I was +1-ing the same user's posts....)

Although I would definitely accept such a position should it be offered. It sounds a hell of a lot better than my current job

[Knock]

You always make me feel good about my posts, I should hire you to follow my posts around +1 them .

Hahaha well you deserve it . (Plus I actually didn't notice I was +1-ing the same user's posts....)

Although I would definitely accept such a position should it be offered. It sounds a hell of a lot better than my current job

Hmm, for a starting salary I can offer you the change under my couch cushions, left-over pizza, and I will read over your PS and tell you it doesn't suck. ITE, that's not a bad offer. Let me know .

[dub]

Man up.

[kazu]

You always make me feel good about my posts, I should hire you to follow my posts around +1 them .

Hahaha well you deserve it . (Plus I actually didn't notice I was +1-ing the same user's posts....)

Although I would definitely accept such a position should it be offered. It sounds a hell of a lot better than my current job

Hmm, for a starting salary I can offer you the change under my couch cushions, left-over pizza, and I will read over your PS and tell you it doesn't suck. ITE, that's not a bad offer. Let me know .

Sounds like too good of an offer to refuse

[nStiver]

Man up.

+1. Just direct him to the courage wolf youtube video...thats all he needs.

[lawschool2014]

Man up.

+1 stop being a baby. If you are meant to score well, you will on test day. Otherwise you dont belong at a t14 and you will find something else with do with your life. Its just a test bro

[Knock]

C'mon guys, were a community here and we should support each other. If you say you never got discouraged during LSAT prep, you haven't studied for it yet or are lying. I know I got extremely discouraged at times, but a lot of times TLS was the only place I could find encouragement. Certainly my IRL friends couldn't understand what I was going though. And though "manning up" is some good partial advice, it isn't a good complete answer.

[3|ink]

If LG is your biggest problem, you should be happy. LG is the most learnable section.

[094320]

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[Knock]

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[094320]

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[nStiver]

My "IRL" friends thought I was a lunatic and a hermit for spending so much time on the LSAT. When I tell people I am re-taking they just look at me like I am crazy.

[094320]

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[thecilent]

ITT: People pretend to have IRL friends.