diag 156 possibilities Forum

[ihavemathtodo]

Hey all,

I just took my first diagnostic (I used the free June 2007 lsat from the lsac website) and scored a 156. Here are the 4 sections:

Section 1: LG (13/23), did not finish #18-23 in time (did not continue the section after the alarm beeped)
Section 2: LR (19/25), did not finish #22-25 in time (ditto above)
Section 3: LR (20/25), finished all with a second or two to spare
Section 4: RC (20/27), finished with 1:10 left on the clock

I bought PS LBG and LRB and Kaplan Mastery, but have not touched them (I wanted to see my skill level cold first). I'll probably try pithypike's approach to studying.

I think at the beginning I had timing issues, and I think I could be more organized with how I approached LG. I want to take Dec LSAT (but I have school from Sept-Dec), maybe Feb? Is this plenty of time to improve to a high score (170+)? Should I definitely take it in Feb instead?


Thanks all

[pbarber]

You can definitely score in the 160s at this rate. For LG it helped me to approach them as a GAME, made them a lot more enjoyable. With LG you will only get better with practice b/c your speed will improve once you see how you diagram the different games. And if you diagram them correctly, the answers usually stand out.

For LR, read the bibles and see which questions throw you off and understand how they are setup and what you are looking for.
RC, I can't say much, this was my worst section, I read slow so I focused on only finishing 3/4 passages.

But if you put in the work/time, there is no reason for you to get a sub 160 score.

GL

[toddly76]

I diagnosed at a 156 back on June 26. I took the powerscore full length and am pt-ing between 169-172 now (highest 175). I think if you use the powerscore materials and practice a great deal it shouldn't be a problem.

[bruss]

My Dia was 143...i'm now pting at 163-167. If you work hard enough and understand why you missed questions then anything is possible.Do Pikes method and you will be fine. Also the thing that really put me over the top was thorough review of Pt's. Make sure you make a Doc or Excel sheet And write out the questions you got wrong. Then using Powerscores method of classification separate them by type and tally them up. If you mostly miss Assumption question figure out why then read LRB, then drill. Sky is the limit and when you get tired remember another guy is out working you.

GL

[ihavemathtodo]

Thanks for all the response guys. I dont plan on taking a prep course i'mgoing to self study and i will drill the hell out of LG. Thanks for the excel idea because i want to make a spreadsheet for my progress anyway so having one with solutions written out will be great (just like pithypike said). My gpa is fairly high and I don't want to waste it so a 170+ is where I want to end up.

@toddly: Did you spend all summer working full-time on LSAT (more than 5 hours a day) or were you attending school at the same time? I will put in at least 20 hours a week for the next 3 months but being in school full-time is going to make it very hard to do more than 30 hours a week. What was your schedule?

Once again, you've all been very encouraging and gracious! all of your feedback is much appreciated. Cheers!

[ihavemathtodo]

oh and also same questions @bruss!!!

[imjustjoking22]

My cold diagnostic was a 156 and I've done about 3 months of prep (I am doing a course but it's not necessary if you want to do the work of putting question types together and all that). My last PT was a 174 and I had extra time left for each section (though tbh I always have had time left over aside from LG). So I would say your diagnostic score shouldn't limit you at all if you're willing to study (I probably put in about 15-20 hrs a week).

[bruss]

Well I will try to answer your question in the quickest way possible.

I started in July just skimming the Lrb and lgb. At that time I had summer classes, they werent that tough just annoying, but I still found time to do my Lrb/lgb readings. I would say I put in 35hrs a week. Then I went to Spain for 6weeks. While in Spain I put in 15hrs a week. Now that I'm back home and school has started I put in ~25hrs a week. I drill during the week and pt on the sat. I usually make it a full day routine. I wake up around 8am, do my school readings so I can stay gunning, go to class @12, then come home and read the Lrb/lgb, drill one Lr type and two LG types. Then I review them. Then I drill some more. I do this until 10pm. I repeat this schedule everyday of the week. I then pt on Saturday and review that same day write out the question number that I missed and the type of question it was. By analyzing my word doc I find out what I need to drill on Sunday. Then I drill those areas on Sunday. You should try to find a schedule that works for you. And remember don't be a lazy ass use every minute of the day. Don't play the game that shit will ruin you. Also to keep yourself from burning out you should make a schedule and randomly putt in breaks from studying.

[imjustjoking22]

I diagnosed at a 156 back on June 26. I took the powerscore full length and am pt-ing between 169-172 now (highest 175). I think if you use the powerscore materials and practice a great deal it shouldn't be a problem.

Very similar to my stats. I am taking a full course, what I put in (with class included) is probably comparable to ~20 hrs/week of full self-studying, I'd say.

[mtbssd]

I started with a 156 myself. I also did it online, didn't write anything down, didn't really take it too seriously etc etc. Anyway my last 5 practice tests have been 177, 180, 177, 180 and 175. Improvement is definitely possible. I was in the same boat as you as far as the logic games and the thing that helped me to most was putting the games from test 1-40 into stacks by type (powerscore types) and doing one type at a time (timed of course). After doing that, I'm angry at myself if I miss a single question on the LG.