Intelligent, but just can't seem to score high on LSAT Forum

[Aequitas_]

This is going to sound arrogant, but I'm sure others can understand where I'm coming from. I'd like to think I'm pretty intelligent. My IQ is in the top 99th percentile and have always been in advanced classes/curriculums and have always had very high marks without much effort. Point is I know I am smart yet I still donk it at the lsat. Which I am not used to nor am I willing to accept. Diag score was 143 over a year ago, took a prep course with a local company at my university and it was dogshit. My score has jumped slightly, so I'm now hovering around low 150s to mid 150s ( on a good day ). I am going to take a prep course with a notable company once I graduate come summertime. Either TM, Kaplan, Blueprint.

I'm shooting for 98th percentile at least on the LSAT as I want to end up at a t20 school. So my question is what do you recommend to someone whose mental capacity is high, but is struggling with this standardized exam in order for score within the 98th percentile?

[AffordablePrep]

This is going to sound arrogant, but I'm sure others can understand where I'm coming from. I'd like to think I'm pretty intelligent. My IQ is in the top 99th percentile and have always been in advanced classes/curriculums and have always had very high marks without much effort. Point is I know I am smart yet I still donk it at the lsat. Which I am not used to nor am I willing to accept. Diag score was 143 over a year ago, took a prep course with a local company at my university and it was dogshit. My score has jumped slightly, so I'm now hovering around low 150s to mid 150s ( on a good day ). I am going to take a prep course with a notable company once I graduate come summertime. Either TM, Kaplan, Blueprint.

I'm shooting for 98th percentile at least on the LSAT as I want to end up at a t20 school. So my question is what do you recommend to someone whose mental capacity is high, but is struggling with this standardized exam in order for score within the 98th percentile?

1.) How do you know your iq is in the 99th percentile?
2.) Where were these classes?

You improved like 15 points with the prep course. Dog shit? Maybe take some responsibility....?

[AreJay711]

IQ doesn't mean much since you might be good at non-verbal parts which you don't need for the LSAT.

[Aequitas_]

Gifted as child which already is a prereq of 132 for IQ. Magnet program throughout high school. Honors program at my university, UCI.

[AffordablePrep]

IQ doesn't mean much since you might be good at non-verbal parts which you don't need for the LSAT.

this is true. i feel like quentin tarantino and the seinfeld writers would do ridiculously well on the LSAT - or any sharp dialogue writer.

[AffordablePrep]

Gifted as child which already is a prereq of 132 for IQ. Magnet program throughout high school. Honors program at my university, UCI.

maybe your brain didn't stay up to the competition post puberty, and you just worked hard?

[Aequitas_]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

[soj]

You sound not just arrogant but delusional.

[AreJay711]

IQ doesn't mean much since you might be good at non-verbal parts which you don't need for the LSAT.

this is true. i feel like quentin tarantino and the seinfeld writers would do ridiculously well on the LSAT - or any sharp dialogue writer.

Oh

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

[Scotusnerd]

Intelligence is no substitute for hard work. Sorry. Use the search function and figure out how other people did good.

[smaug_]

You sound not just arrogant but delusional.

[Crowing]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

I don't really know what kind of response you were expecting with an OP like that. I doubt there is very much correlation between IQ and LSAT scores, and the same general concept of studying applies to everybody. FWIW my diagnostic was in the 170s but I still had to prep and take more PTs like everybody else when I wanted to improve my score.

[VasaVasori]

.

[hereyago]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

I don't really know what kind of response you were expecting with an OP like that. I doubt there is very much correlation between IQ and LSAT scores, and the same general concept of studying applies to everybody. FWIW my diagnostic was in the 170s but I still had to prep and take more PTs like everybody else when I wanted to improve my score.

your DIAGNOSTIC was in the 170s?????

are you cereal?

[Mr. Pancakes]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

your not being trolled. You aren't that smart. It's not hard to be in Gifted.

[piccolittle]

Playing devil's advocate here, but if you are as smart as you think you are, maybe your success has impacted your work ethic. Often, taking a class is not as helpful for improvement as self studying, as you can measure your own strengths, weakness, and progress better than anyone else can, and you're also getting a "curriculum" that's designed for only you, and not a classroom or nation of other test-takers. My advice would be to read all of the self-study threads around here, join up with any of the study threads in the prep forum, and work your ass off over the next few months instead of signing up for another class and letting that dictate your success.

[JamMasterJ]

are you sure you don't just have an iq of 99?

[AffordablePrep]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

I don't really know what kind of response you were expecting with an OP like that. I doubt there is very much correlation between IQ and LSAT scores, and the same general concept of studying applies to everybody. FWIW my diagnostic was in the 170s but I still had to prep and take more PTs like everybody else when I wanted to improve my score.

Kind of a ridiculous statement.

The same people who do well on the LSAT tend to do well on the GMAT, GRE, etc. This is why OP's post is kind of ridiculous. If he was as much of a genius as he claims the LSAT would be a joke.

[Mr. Pancakes]

The same people who do well on the LSAT tend to do well on the GMAT, GRE, etc. This is why OP's post is kind of ridiculous. If he was as much of a genius as he claims the LSAT would be a joke.

I was in gifted, I can't do math to save my life, and my grammar is horrendous. I think that op got her sense of intelligence from being a member of something that doesn't require much intelligence.

[RedBirds2011]

The same people who do well on the LSAT tend to do well on the GMAT, GRE, etc. This is why OP's post is kind of ridiculous. If he was as much of a genius as he claims the LSAT would be a joke.

I was in gifted, I can't do math to save my life, and my grammar is horrendous. I think that op got her sense of intelligence from being a member of something that doesn't require much intelligence.

There really are different types of intelligence. You could suck at math and still be a really smart person in some other way.

[Crowing]

Jeez, I should've expected to get trolled.

I don't really know what kind of response you were expecting with an OP like that. I doubt there is very much correlation between IQ and LSAT scores, and the same general concept of studying applies to everybody. FWIW my diagnostic was in the 170s but I still had to prep and take more PTs like everybody else when I wanted to improve my score.

Kind of a ridiculous statement.

The same people who do well on the LSAT tend to do well on the GMAT, GRE, etc. This is why OP's post is kind of ridiculous. If he was as much of a genius as he claims the LSAT would be a joke.

Well, I don't really know about that. Obviously I think some sort of general concept of intelligence would correlate with scores on the LSAT, but automatically assuming high IQ = high LSAT seems rather sweeping. Anyway, the OP hasn't really established that he's a genius; 132 is certainly an above average IQ but not 99% and not genius territory.

[Ruxin1]

subtle hiding of splitter fact as well, if you were THAT intelligent and had high gpa you wouldn't need a 98% score. HTH

[Mr. Pancakes]

The same people who do well on the LSAT tend to do well on the GMAT, GRE, etc. This is why OP's post is kind of ridiculous. If he was as much of a genius as he claims the LSAT would be a joke.

I was in gifted, I can't do math to save my life, and my grammar is horrendous. I think that op got her sense of intelligence from being a member of something that doesn't require much intelligence.

There really are different types of intelligence. You could suck at math and still be a really smart person in some other way.

well, maybe, but I think that she has been told her entire life that she is very smart when in fact her intelligence might be just above average.
I am not one who thinks that intelligence and the LSAT have a strong correlation though. I do think people with very low intelligence are capable of good scores and vice versa. Some people are just incapable of high LSAT scores.

[2012JayDee]

The LSAT isn't about how smart you are. It's not about comprehending a certain topic. The LSAT measures your ability to do well on the LSAT. It's a timed test that measures how well you know the tips and tools necessary to answer the questions.

You may be the President of MENSA but without constant preparation you're not going to do well on the LSAT.
I disagree that the LSAT is just like the GMAT or the GRE. If you can memorize a bunch of words and learn analogies you can do well on the GRE. If you're decent in basic math/finance principles you can do well on the GMAT and the logic portion of the GMAT is not nearly as difficult as the logic on the LSAT. The LSAT requires dedication to learning how to take it.

Even if you are scoring well on practice exams it doesn't mean you don't need more practice because actual exam day adds another level of stress to the test that you can hardly mimic during home or class room study.

Just about everyone that takes the test is intelligent. They all graduated from undergrad, many with high GPA, honors classes and whatever other notable awards that make someone smart. But it's just not realistic to think that any of that translates into doing well on the LSAT when it's been proven time and again that what works is practice on the LSAT.

I also don't think you're giving classroom study a fair shake. A 143 is a fairly common cold diagnostic. I would guess that most people probably scored in that same general range the very first time they took the test. You can't expect to go from a 143 to a 173 with just one course. Expect that every method you use to improve may help 10-15 points. So no that you're in the 150 range a different course or different set of study materials may help you get into the 160 range. To go from 160 to 170 may just require a lot of time and dedication. You may never get that on an actual test and it has nothing to do with a measured intelligence quotient.

[Aequitas_]

Thanks for any constructive responses. As for the trolls, you can piss off. 132+ isnt genius, never claimed that. Yea i plan on hacking away at it over the summer. I made a much bigger jump on my own than with that prep course. Not really a splitter for lower end of t20. Also, i am giving prep course a shot - just not the one k took. My friend who is currently taking kaplan and took that course with me ( he convinced me to take the first one with him ) explained the difference in quality. I got cheap about it and wanted to save $400 versus kaplan, testmasters. Ill be taking one of the big 4 in the summer and look forward to the help.