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At the offset of my LSAT studies, I worked on single sections of the test at a time, essentially getting a taste of what the test was all about. I upped this method to doing 2 sections per sitting and reviewing my answers afterwords.

Then after a few weeks of doing this, and some elementary reading of the LG bible, I decided to take the limited practice I had right to a testing. My strategy was to get a real taste of the test as it is administered in September, and then get the bulk of my practice in until my "this counts" testing coming up on December 11th.

I felt I did horribly during my first testing; I had little sleep, did not have the stamina given the kind of practicing I was doing, and did not put forth near my best effort as I knew this one wouldn't count--as much. I was convinced I TOTALLY blew it.

I did score low, but not devastatingly low (considering that the school I'm hoping to get into is ranked 80something in the US), a 149.

With about 5 weeks to go, I did my first complete practice test a few weeks ago and scored a 156. I plan to use the resources at my disposal and complete about 15-20 more practice tests and up my practice hours to 30/week until the day of the test.

My goal is 165.

Please: tips, comments, suggestions, advice, encouragement?

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I agree with everything Beetlejuice said except 1-3.

A 156 suggests that you dont have the concepts down. Learn them. Read the powerscore books. Understand the question types. DO NOT take PT's until you have this down. Taking PT after PT without a solid grasp of the concepts is a bad idea. You waste tests, you lose confidence since youre sure to keep scoring low and worst of all you ingrain bad test taking habits in yourself.

Look up pithypikes guide here on TLS and also take a look at LSAT Blogs guide. Follow them.

Good luck!

On LR understand why each answer choice is right/wrong.

Take some 32 minute sections.

Ragged wrote:On LR understand why each answer choice is right/wrong.

Take some 32 minute sections.

Absolutely not. Why the hell would someone take 32 minutes on a section if they cant even complete it in 35? This is terrible advice.

Concentrate on understanding the questions first. Once youre getting a good amount correct, then focus on timing. Usually though, timing comes naturally.

What he means is if you're already hitting 170+ you have little left to learn so to mitigate the effect of nerves on test day reduce your section time so you can subconsciously go faster anyway.

That leaves you with 3-5 minutes of just checking your answers or looking at the tough ones. Easy to catch 2 points you would have lost if not.

gdane5 wrote:

Ragged wrote:On LR understand why each answer choice is right/wrong.

Take some 32 minute sections.

Absolutely not. Why the hell would someone take 32 minutes on a section if they cant even complete it in 35? This is terrible advice.

Reduced timing helps with focus. If you know you have 3 minutes less you will work faster. Atleast that's how it was for me. When I knew I had full 35 I would sometimes slack and even daydream during some sections and as a result would sometimes run out of time (or nearly) even on the sections where I was way ahead of schudule half way. But with 30 minute sections I knew there was not a minute to lose kept up my concentration throughout the section. After you get used the reduced time, 35 minute sections will feel like a breeze.

aesis wrote: That leaves you with 3-5 minutes of just checking your answers or looking at the tough ones. Easy to catch 2 points you would have lost if not.

Or go ahead and change one of the right answer to lose a point just for kicks.

What kaftka juice wrote is, for the most part, decent advice for the specific purpose of conditioning yourself for the timed conditions you will face on test day, but doesn't offer prep advice that will improve a score much.

I disagree with item #7 as well as some of the other stuff in part (as it relates to what to do to build up your LSAT performance skills/abilities)

Now is not the time to go off caffeine cold turkey or to make drastic changes/reductions/increases of the amount you typically consume per day. If your mind and body is used to large amounts of it per day from a long term regular consumption habit and you drastically change that or go 'cold turkey', you will suffer significant caffeine withdrawal symptoms that will negatively effect your performance on December 11th.

If you are used to lots of it per day and suddenly stop or cut it down severely in the remaining 5 weeks you will suffer cognition and concentration problems, irritability, headaches and other unpleasant symptoms. Just moderate your consumption level instead of suddenly stopping if you are a long term daily 'need my caffeine' person.

There are mountains of medical research studies/journal articles about this.

Aside from that, you really need to focus a lot of your study time learning and mastering the recurring concepts the LSAT tests, the regular patterns, effective logically based techniques, etc. before jumping into the 'churn and burn' routine of just trying to power through a bunch of sections/tests timed.

Quality over quantity is one simple way to describe how you should use your available prep time. Obviously you have to condition yourself in the last ~2 weeks for timed conditions by taking timed practice tests, but if you haven't learned the tested concepts and trained yourself how to systematically approach/attack each question/set of stuff presented you have to select an answer about, you will probably just end up burning yourself and getting a score similar to what you achieved on the October test.

For now (meaning at least the next two weeks), 'slow down to speed up' by making it learning and developing your understanding and applicable skills time. You need that foundation to be able to score significantly higher when you re-take.

One of the most commonly posted pieces of advice offered on this and other LSAT discussion boards to do well is simply "Take lots of timed practice tests" without detailed qualification/explanation about how and when to do that, how much to do it, what else to do that will make a difference, etc.

DO NOT let yourself fall into the common 'churn and burn, spend most prep time taking timed tests/sections' trap.

If you do not fully understand the tested concepts and do not have the understanding and skills to know how to approach/analyze and attack the questions, it doesn't matter how fast you can finish each section.

Hope this helps.

Jeffort wrote:One of the most commonly posted pieces of advice offered on this and other LSAT discussion boards to do well is simply "Take lots of timed practice tests" without detailed qualification/explanation about how and when to do that, how much to do it, what else to do that will make a difference, etc.

DO NOT let yourself fall into the common 'churn and burn, spend most prep time taking timed tests/sections' trap.

If you do not fully understand the tested concepts and do not have the understanding and skills to know how to approach/analyze and attack the questions, it doesn't matter how fast you can finish each section.

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Fully agree. Spend more time digging into the questions and reviewing them.

One tip from me: invest in some 5-hour energy shots. Make sure your body reacts favorably to them by taking a bottle before you complete a practice test and seeing how well your concentration improves. I took one half an hour before my LSAT and scored above my PT average - no fatigue whatsoever during the test.

cw2010 wrote:

Jeffort wrote:One of the most commonly posted pieces of advice offered on this and other LSAT discussion boards to do well is simply "Take lots of timed practice tests" without detailed qualification/explanation about how and when to do that, how much to do it, what else to do that will make a difference, etc.

DO NOT let yourself fall into the common 'churn and burn, spend most prep time taking timed tests/sections' trap.

If you do not fully understand the tested concepts and do not have the understanding and skills to know how to approach/analyze and attack the questions, it doesn't matter how fast you can finish each section.

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Fully agree. Spend more time digging into the questions and reviewing them.

Yes!!!!!!! During and after getting prepped about the test via a class, from books, or however, it is a significant part of the centerpiece that leads to significantly increasing ones ultimate test day score.

In conditional reasoning terms it is a necessary condition.



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