THOSE IN THE 150'S TRYING TO OR HAVE MADE IT TO 160'S! TIPS! Forum

[Summer33]

Okay, so those of you that have an actual lsat or several preptests that were in the 150's and have either made it to the 160's or are trying to, lets post here and talk about the different strategies and methods that got/will get us there!

[am060459]

from what i have heard it all just starts to click.

im in the mid 150s but am still studying. i hope to get into the 160s soon.

[Kohinoor]

Study alot.

[am060459]

Study alot.

^ FML i thought i was going to get by by studying "not" a lot.

[Chris_cpb]

Figure out which category of logic is making you look bad and make an investment to fix it If it's reading comprehension it might make it a more complicated situation.

[GoBroncos22!]

This is a good idea as it seems that the majority of TLSers are those looking to raise from a high 160 or low 170 to a mid to high 170s. For myself, if I can raise my December 158 to a 165 I would be jumping for mother fucking joy. I plan to start my studying again in March for Junes test.

[Kohinoor]

This is a good idea as it seems that the majority of TLSers are those looking to raise from a high 160 or low 170 to a mid to high 170s. For myself, if I can raise my December 158 to a 165 I would be jumping for mother fucking joy. I plan to start my studying again in March for Junes test.

If you start tomorrow you can get in the 170s.

[MBZags]

You just need to practice...

Seriously. It's not going to come overnight. After awhile, though, you will see begin to see all the nuances of the test, and things will become much easier. I started in the 140s (I was clueless on LG) and ended up with a 167 in December.

[ATOIsp07]

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Follow and understand your wrong answers for each section. And also study the ones you've got correct. At some point, you start noticing patterns in the exam.

I actually practiced for over 6 hours a day during the whole summer (3.5 months). I saw a 25-point increase from my first LSAT (don't ask how poorly I did though!) just from getting familiar with the exam through practice.

Also, get those PowerScore Bibles. Those are CRUCIAL!

[MBZags]

Also, get those PowerScore Bibles. Those are CRUCIAL!

True that, though the Reading Comprehension Bible isn't very helpful unless you're absolutely clueless on RC. I ended up not using any of the methods.

[sportsfan4642]

My first LSAT was a 157 and I scored a 167 in September. End your social life and buy books with real tests. Try adding a fifth section to a four section practice exam. Make that fifth section the element of the test you struggle most with. Games ended up being my best section on the test thanks to this strategy. I didn't do great on the test, but a ten point boost for a guy with average intelligence is not terrible.

[GoBroncos22!]

This is a good idea as it seems that the majority of TLSers are those looking to raise from a high 160 or low 170 to a mid to high 170s. For myself, if I can raise my December 158 to a 165 I would be jumping for mother fucking joy. I plan to start my studying again in March for Junes test.

If you start tomorrow you can get in the 170s.

You dont think its a bit early to start studying for Junes test? If you think it would be wise to start this early out than I would definitely start. I was always under the impression that anything over 3 months out is just kinda overkilll and unneccesary...correct me if im wrong. I gave myself about 1.5 months for December test and scored a 158, Diagnostic was 151. I feel I can improve lots

[lawduder]

My diagnostic was 146 with my December LSAT being 167. I suggest buying the LGB and adapting their methods into your own unique method. You'll have a pretty strong standing by just strictly following the bible, but you'll need to be able to adapt to the newer games that have appeared in September and December which add a third element to basic group/sequencing games. Acing logic games is the best way to begin to improve your score.

I also used the LRB to work on logical reasoning, but in hindsight I really don't think that book is useful save the assumption chapter. However, it's only $50 and probably worth it if you're stuck in the 150s. The best way to improving logical reasoning is to go over every question you thought was hard or that you missed and explain, in your own words, why each of the answer choices are right or wrong. Kaplan explanations for questions seem to be the worst labeling almost half of incorrect answers as simply "out of scope."

As far as reading comp goes, I really don't know. I went from -2 on my best prep tests to -12/-13 on my worst prep tests. I ended up missing -8 in December which killed my score.

[ATOIsp07]

And make sure you also stock up on past LSAT exams! run through as many as those as possible! I practiced on at least 20 LSAT exams.

practice allows you to get familiar with the LSAT, thus, improving your overall performance!

[Summer33]

Well, with me, my practice tests are about 3-5 points higher than my actual LSAT. Number one, I want to try to get that score higher and number two I want to try to translate that score to the actual test. If I can get my score high enough on my practice test to the point where if I score 2-3 points less on the actual it wouldn't bother me, I'm good.

I think my major mistake isn't the fact that I haven't read through enough prep books. I have both the bibles and lots of princeton review books my friend gave me after she took her class and some kaplan books... LOTS of books and I've gone through every single one in details and went through the bibles twice... it's my not going back and checking my mistakes and recognizing a pattern I think. That way, if, for example, I see that I'm doing pretty horribly on weaken questions overall then I could go back and really look at that section in the bible, instead of wasting time my time going through the entire book-through sections I'm already good at.

I'm going to try that now... in fact, I took a practice lsat yesterday and I'm going to go through that. Another mistake I probably made is doing the older 10 actual lsats book more recently. Since the structure of the exam has changed in difficulty in certain sections, I think it would've been more wise if I skipped around the different books and did an older, then a more recent. I'm going to go to borders today and buy some of the actual lsats of the more recent books. So, hopefully by doing these 2 things that should help me.

I made a 155 and a 154. I would like 160+ but may even be happy with a 159 to get into the school I want to get into.

[lawrencecis]

Me 149 ---> 160. I studied for a looong time. For me, because I had never studied for anything so hard and never took philosophy in college, I practiced almost every day - didn't want to burn out. My advice:

- Add a fifth section. It makes taking the real thing that much more easy; Compared to being tired.
- On LG, this is just sheer work. Do LG after LG once you have figured out HOW TO DO THEM. If you are doing them the long way every time, evaluate your method, shape it up (using PS method IMO) then do them over and over again.
- For LR, I wrote out why I got it wrong. I basically played devil's advocate with myself and made it game. If you make it the most competitive game you've ever played, every time, I guarantee you your score WILL INCREASE.
- For RC, reading everyday helped tremendously. And I don't mean the funny papers. Read a narly novel you find somewhat interesting at the library. Begin to read it fast, while trying to retain the info. Force yourself to read fast.

- Most importantly: GET MAD. Whenever I felt like I wasn't doing well on the test or I didn't have the motivation I took the test personally. I said to myself, "No way these f'n LSAC bitches are gonna conquer me and hold me back from my dreams." Get mad for the whole test and have intensity. This work soooo well. It's hard to do it day in and day out, but try it out.

Best of luck. Phi Alpha/Odale

[Veyron]

from what i have heard it all just starts to click.

im in the mid 150s but am still studying. i hope to get into the 160s soon.

Yes, this happened for me after about 500 hours of studying. From then on, continual improvement for another 500 hours. Final result, high 150s (preptests) to low 170s (actual, was testing much higher on diags) and T-6 admission. It can be done. FWIW, I highly recommend using the Powerscore method, taking a class/getting private tutoring as needed.

[cdnguy]

Don't listen to these people, practice won't help.

I only went from like -12 games when i started to -1 on the real thing.

[dkirby87]

Do as many practice tests as possible. My first diag was 137. I about had an aneurysm. I took a lot...a whole lot of diags. Go on to LSAC's website and order the books of tests.
I also started using the Games bible a few weeks out but didn't get though the whole book.
Oh any by the way I got a 162 in September so there is hope.

[UrbanAchievers]

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