Results vs. Studying: Did you plateau? Forum

[rockstar4488]

I felt that while studying for the LSAT, I consistently improved for the duration. (170, Sept 2009) I also feel that I could have done significantly better had I continued to study for another few months.

I'm curious as to what experiences people had as far as hitting a score plateau or not hitting one.

[StrictlyLiable]

I have hit plateaus, but I take a break and isolate whatever section is troubling me when I come back after a couple days.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Got a 174 last June, which was at the high end of my practice scores. I now think i could probably get a 175+ since I've been teaching and tutoring for the last year, though I would probably need a few weeks of studying to get my pacing right.

-I hit a wall in the low 160's.
-I hit a wall in the mid 160's.

[pjo]

Got a 174 last June, which was at the high end of my practice scores. I now think i could probably get a 175+ since I've been teaching and tutoring for the last year, though I would probably need a few weeks of studying to get my pacing right.

-I hit a wall in the low 160's.
-I hit a wall in the mid 160's.

how did you overcome your plateau's? Also, how long did it take you to overcome them?

[rockstar4488]

I hit a rough spot in the mid 160's as well. Not a plateau, but at least two weeks of stagnation. What pushed me over was just taking a step back and looking at the whole process. I feel that when you're in the upper 90's percentiles, the test is no longer about whether or not you can get the right answers, but rather, test taking strategy. I found a few things that helped me. 1. Taking tests "warm". (usually doing 10-20 LR problems before entering the "testing center". (AKA, the room where I studied) 2. Practicing RC passages with a strict 5 minute timer. I found that this really improved my referent reading skills because you simply don't have time to do the section honestly.

[LawSuccess]

Great tips. Thanks. Anymore?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Got a 174 last June, which was at the high end of my practice scores. I now think i could probably get a 175+ since I've been teaching and tutoring for the last year, though I would probably need a few weeks of studying to get my pacing right.

-I hit a wall in the low 160's.
-I hit a wall in the mid 160's.

how did you overcome your plateau's? Also, how long did it take you to overcome them?

Reading Comp just finally clicked for me after a month or two when I first began studying. That help me get a few scores in the high 160's on some old tests, and mid 160's on more recent tests.

Not as sure how long it took to overcome the wall in the mid 160's. I had started tutoring at this point, thus studying=working.

To give a time-line:
Started studying in July 08
Took a class, got a 163 in Oct
Self-studied since I did a bit lower than PT average
166 in Dec 08
No studying for awhile.
Started tutoring in Feb, decided to retake in June in May.
174 in June 09

When it feels like you hit a wall you just need to keep on putting in the time and effort (and make sure it's quality time). I'm a firm believer in a jump happening if you do that.

[Sentry]

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