Stressing myself out... Forum

[pilarduarte]

I didn't find a post that is similar to what I'm about to post, so here I go.

I just finished my junior year of college, have a 3.56 GPA, and I'm taking the LSAT in June. I've been studying sporadically throughout the past few months, but began studying everyday as soon as finals were over about a month ago. Three practice tests later, and I'm going crazy. 140, 143, and 137 were my scores respectively.

Of course, I still continue studying and plan on taking many more prep tests over the next two weeks, but I fear as though I will not make any more progress. These scores are not indicative of my aptitude and from the looks of it, it's a slim chance of me getting into a lower tier school.

Encouragement, helpful tips, reassuring (that I'll do okay or that I'm a complete joke) are much appreciated.

[Strange]

Section breakdown?

[pilarduarte]

I actually did this in between my 143 and 137, because LR is my worst, but I ended up tanking on that section anyway.

[tourdeforcex]

it would be helpful to know exact or average number wrong per type:

LR -10
RC -6
LG -7

stuff like that

and what does "studying everyday" consist of? are you timing? are you reviewing?

[Strange]

It goes without saying, first of all, that you should wait till october

[almightypush]

Three practice tests later, and I'm going crazy. 140, 143, and 137 were my scores respectively.

at the very least, hold off for the October test so that you can maximize your study efforts - you'll be retaking it otherwise.

edit: Strange beat me to it, but you get the idea.

[pilarduarte]

it would be helpful to know exact or average number wrong per type:

LR -10
RC -6
LG -7

stuff like that

and what does "studying everyday" consist of? are you timing? are you reviewing?

On average:
LR - 8
RC - 10
LG - 13

It started off with going over strategies and practice problems. I still go over strategies, but I've been taking timed tests more often and have been going over the questions I got wrong.

It goes without saying, first of all, that you should wait till october

It's come to the point where taking the October test is a given.

[Strange]

it would be helpful to know exact or average number wrong per type:

LR -10
RC -6
LG -7

stuff like that

and what does "studying everyday" consist of? are you timing? are you reviewing?

On average:
LR - 8
RC - 10
LG - 13

It started off with going over strategies and practice problems. I still go over strategies, but I've been taking timed tests more often and have been going over the questions I got wrong.

It goes without saying, first of all, that you should wait till october

It's come to the point where taking the October test is a given.

Taking timed tests at this point is not useful. You're obviously starting from a low point, so you need to build foundations first. That means getting the Bibles at the very least, and working through individual sections or questions to help yourself apply principles.

I wouldn't stress out too much, because LG can be improved A LOT just with drilling. Your scores for LR and RC are not encouraging, because those are harder to improve, but still possible. I think you can safely aim for a 165, but like I said you need to change your studying. Don't take PT's until you get closer to the test.

[pilarduarte]

Taking timed tests at this point is not useful. You're obviously starting from a low point, so you need to build foundations first. That means getting the Bibles at the very least, and working through individual sections or questions to help yourself apply principles.

I wouldn't stress out too much, because LG can be improved A LOT just with drilling. Your scores for LR and RC are not encouraging, because those are harder to improve, but still possible. I think you can safely aim for a 165, but like I said you need to change your studying. Don't take PT's until you get closer to the test.

Thanks for the tips.

[tourdeforcex]

i think working on the bibles is a good starting point.

also, learn, for every question that you got wrong or spent a lot of time mulling over, the reason why the correct answer is correct and why you chose or were tempted by the wrong answer.

[Corwin]

You've got a good GPA to work with, so push back the LSAT until October. TLS has plenty of resources on doing well on the LSAT. Buy the books and tests and study for a few months. A good score in October will put you in to some great places!

[Strange]

i think working on the bibles is a good starting point.

also, learn, for every question that you got wrong or spent a lot of time mulling over, the reason why the correct answer is correct and why you chose or were tempted by the wrong answer.

I wouldn't even do that at this point, because there's so many things he's going to get wrong that it's not useful. Better to just stick to foundations first

[fltanglab]

Have you considered investing in a class for the summer? It would probably help you a lot if you're unsure of where to start.

[dooood]

It goes without saying, first of all, that you should wait till october

+1

[Eichörnchen]

i think working on the bibles is a good starting point.

also, learn, for every question that you got wrong or spent a lot of time mulling over, the reason why the correct answer is correct and why you chose or were tempted by the wrong answer.

I wouldn't even do that at this point, because there's so many things he's going to get wrong that it's not useful. Better to just stick to foundations first

Firstly, Oct is a given. And I agree - with scores in that range there's a fundamental lack of skill with logic, so I would say strip it back to reading each of the bibles at least once. Since you're still in college, I would see if you have any summer intro to logic courses, especially if it can cover a gen ed. I took intro to logic in college and really enjoyed it, and I see a lot of what we learned being used as a groundwork for the bibles. At the least I would pick up a book on logic (I read Intro to Logic by Cohen). It seems as though even the common fallacies are taking you down, so read up on them. There's also a good article here on TLS in conditional logic that you should read.
Definitely stop doing PTs. You're just wasting them at this point. Take the PTs you've used and squeeze every bit of usefulness out of them so they aren't wasted. After you learn the ropes, do them as sections to refresh yourself of the content and then dissect them. Search for all the fallacies you've learned, find the conclusion and premises of each arg, write out why the correct answer is correct and why each of the wrong answers is wrong. Redo the games until you understand how they function.

[Underdog180]

I'm assuming you are already registered for the June test. Are you going to just take it and cancel it? Take an absence? Or is there a way you can change the date?

[pilarduarte]

I'm assuming you are already registered for the June test. Are you going to just take it and cancel it? Take an absence? Or is there a way you can change the date?

Yes, I am, but I don't plan on canceling it.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.