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Hey all,
Background:
Wanted to get the opinions of some of you who have been PTing longer than I have. Do you think that the whole "let the repetition do the work" approach to studying is a myth. I do not refute that familiarity with the test certainly helps. My first cold test back in February was 150 (definition of cold: read the introductory parts of the superprep for two days and then took the first test on day 3). I bought bibles in June,spent July working through those, & Started PTing again in August. In 3 tests the highest score I've posted is a 159.

I'm very accurate (scored 176 twice untimed), but I have huge timing issues. Haven't Finished a section yet. And when I say haven't finished I'm talking at least 5 un-attempted questions per section. Since this is a timed test, and timed scores are the only things that count, changed my test date to December, and I am hoping two tests a week with section work in between for the next 14 weeks (28 tests) will help get rid of my timing problems.

There seems to be two camps on this website. One believing 170s are born not made. The other believes that you can get there as long as you're not too far below 155ish, with lots of tests and review. Seeing as how timing is my biggest issue at this point, do any of you think 14 weeks of structured repetition can do it for someone like me? Any of you experience anything similar?

Yes, I think I can. If you are already scoring 176 untimed you're halfway home. You need to practice until it becomes second nature, automatic, where you don't even have to think about it.

What I would do is just try and improve in minute or two increments at a time, you can't try and do too much. Slow and steady decrease the time until your safely under the mark. You need to figure out a pacing that works for you. For me, my pacing, at least on LR, was to try and do the first 15 questions in 15 minutes, leaving me 20 minutes for the last 10 questions. This helped me a fair amount with my timing issues; I realized I had to take advantage of the relatively more straightforward questions in order to give myself enough time to cope with the more in-depth ones and still finish on-time or early.

I think you can do it man. Hang in there no matter what. Progression on the LSAT isn't linear for many people. One day it just "clicks" and you step up a whole level. I know this happened to me a couple times. When I first started scoring in the low to mid 170s and then when I started scoring high 170s a lot. I couldn't anticipate either, it just happened one day.

You have 14 weeks. Work through a test and record how long it takes you to finish each section with accuracy in the 170's. Then, try and take baby steps, removing a minute a week maybe, or even less depending on how long it's taking you. Always push yourself, and especially, take advantage of the earlier questions in LR.

You may have to experiment with strategies for all 3 sections. Perhaps you can finish the sections faster if you read the questions first for RC; or maybe reading the question stem before the stimulus is causing you to have re-read the question stem anyways and wasting some time (or vice-versa).

For LG, make sure to take the time to make a solid set up and make some inferences. Although this may seem counter-intuitive, and you may be anxious to start answering questions, a good set-up makes a world of difference. With a good set up, you can pound through the questions.

Good luck, hang in there. You made the right decision pushing back to December.

PS: As far as 170's being "born not made", I think this is false. There are some people who can score in the 170's with minimal preparation, but those are definitely the exception. The majority of people work hard for their 170's score, and many people came from scores 10 or 20 points worse.

Myself, I couldn't even finish a PT my first attempt (6 months or so before I picked up the Powerscore Bibles and began studying seriously). I quit on the first LG question . But I worked hard, and ended up having some success. I took 55 PT's and ended up scoring a 171 on test day (although that was despite a PT average for the last couple months or around 176). I'm now preparing for an October retake hoping to score closer or above my PT average.

Barack O'Clinton wrote:Hey all,
Background:
Wanted to get the opinions of some of you who have been PTing longer than I have. Do you think that the whole "let the repetition do the work" approach to studying is a myth. I do not refute that familiarity with the test certainly helps. My first cold test back in February was 150 (definition of cold: read the introductory parts of the superprep for two days and then took the first test on day 3). I bought bibles in June,spent July working through those, & Started PTing again in August. In 3 tests the highest score I've posted is a 159.

I'm very accurate (scored 176 twice untimed), but I have huge timing issues. Haven't Finished a section yet. And when I say haven't finished I'm talking at least 5 un-attempted questions per section. Since this is a timed test, and timed scores are the only things that count, changed my test date to December, and I am hoping two tests a week with section work in between for the next 14 weeks (28 tests) will help get rid of my timing problems.

There seems to be two camps on this website. One believing 170s are born not made. The other believes that you can get there as long as you're not too far below 155ish, with lots of tests and review. Seeing as how timing is my biggest issue at this point, do any of you think 14 weeks of structured repetition can do it for someone like me? Any of you experience anything similar?

Make predictions, and don't read all the choices once you find one that matches it.

Reading all the choices is a luxury you only deserve when you can finish the section with time to spare.

Confidence = Time
OCD = Score Cancellation.

Yes, you'll miss 2 questions you'd otherwise have gotten right because of this. But you'll get to at least 10 more questions. Worth the trade?

@ justadude: Definitely worth the trade!

@knockglock: Thanks for sharing your experiences. I look forward to the couple points over the next 13 weeks where things "click"! Good luck in October!

Thank you both for your insights!

Just the other night I went through the LRB again, and thought about how I might be able to improve significantly, especially on the first 15 questions, by prephrasing more during those. I've been aiming modestly for 10 in 10 in the last couple sections I've done. Got to start somewhere. I've started reading some of my old Austrian Economics books (very dense) and public policy texts that I have laying around the house from school to get used to processing text quickly and comprehensibly.

Its the constant practice that allows certain parts of the test to just jump out at you as the clues to what the answer will be, and also what words are being used to try to trick you into a wrong answer. When your able to pick answers intuitively like that, rather than having to justify with yourself every answer you choose, its what allows you to speed through the easier questions, giving you ample time for the harder questions.

fosterp wrote:Its the constant practice that allows certain parts of the test to just jump out at you as the clues to what the answer will be, and also what words are being used to try to trick you into a wrong answer. When your able to pick answers intuitively like that, rather than having to justify with yourself every answer you choose, its what allows you to speed through the easier questions, giving you ample time for the harder questions.

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