Going from low 170s to 175+ Forum

[flomotion]

I haven't seen anything so far on the forums about tips to go from the low 170s to 175+. I've been testing around 173 with fluctuations (170 - 175 range), but can't seem to increase beyond that. It'd be amazing to increase my average to a ~178, but I can't pinpoint specific weaknesses-- a lot of it seems like luck.

Essentially:

1) I'm more or less "stuck" at low 170s. For those who scored above 175, what are some of your tips? It feels like I've mastered the basics, and I'm not sure where to go from here. Was it just doing a ton more practices?
2) Is a 5 point fluctuation considered okay/normal?

Just to put things in context, I've done about 2 months of prep, but not a lot of it has been intensive (it was quite sporadic until recently, when I did 2-3 tests a week, for 3 weeks).

Thanks in advance!!

[CptnAwesome]

Look at all your previous tests and figure out which questions give you the most trouble. Then figure out why and drill those. Eliminate weaknesses one by one

[Clyde Frog]

What's a typical breakdown on each section?

[flomotion]

CptnAwesome: I tried for a bit, but it didn't appear as if I was missing anything specific... I hardly ever get the same thing wrong multiple times, although I have to say that (strangely), I have trouble with role questions and main point ones in LR?! It's pretty bizarre. there aren't usually that many of them but I can look around for more drills on those.

What's a typical breakdown on each section?

misses are usually pretty even:
LR (both sections): 3-4
RC: 2-4
Games: 2 (I know I def have problems with the rule substitution questions)

thanks for your replies!

[Calbears123]

I feel like once you break 173-5 the ability to get scores like 178 or 180 basically comes down to seeing through the LSAC's "BS" inference questions on RC and making it through that one poorly worded question in LR

[Clearly]

Honestly, have a good day.

[FOM]

Honestly, if you want to score 175+, you probably should consistently get -0 on LG. This is the easiest section to master and be sure that you got -0 on. If you are getting -3 or -4 on each LR, you need to figure out which type of question you are consistently missing and work that down to -1 to -2 for each LR. For RC, reading efficiently is key. You want to have as much time as possible to answer questions while still being able to understand the passage.

Basically, to score 175+ on the real LSAT, you should be PTing at 175-180. Even if you can do this, you are not guaranteed to score 175+ on the test and you will need an element of luck. Once you get really good at the LSAT, 2 questions in each section is the difference between getting a 172 and getting a 180.

You are in good shape. Make sure you can get -0 on logic games consistently and try in to improve LR. RC is tough to improve significantly on especially when you are only missing a few per section. Unless you are willing to put in a ton of time, it is unlikely you can improve significantly when it comes down to 170-180. It's basically a crapshoot come test day. My advice would be to take the test multiple times and if you are PTing 173-180, you will probably be able to get 173+ on the real thing.

[Jeffort]

I haven't seen anything so far on the forums about tips to go from the low 170s to 175+. I've been testing around 173 with fluctuations (170 - 175 range), but can't seem to increase beyond that. It'd be amazing to increase my average to a ~178, but I can't pinpoint specific weaknesses-- a lot of it seems like luck.

Essentially:

1) I'm more or less "stuck" at low 170s. For those who scored above 175, what are some of your tips? It feels like I've mastered the basics, and I'm not sure where to go from here. Was it just doing a ton more practices?
2) Is a 5 point fluctuation considered okay/normal?

Just to put things in context, I've done about 2 months of prep, but not a lot of it has been intensive (it was quite sporadic until recently, when I did 2-3 tests a week, for 3 weeks).

Thanks in advance!!

I'm concerned about the bold above. Some clarity/more detail is important for better advice depending on the specifics of your context/current situation. Are you saying that the majority of your prep has been taking around 7-9 fully timed/strict test day conditions practice tests over the last three weeks after sporadically reading some prep guides and/or working some questions a little bit for about a month before?

If your score range is from 7-9 fully timed/test day conditions fresh recent (PT60s or 70 range) practice tests, you're in great shape and a rare person when it comes to the LSAT. Relax and just be a little extra careful with your thinking on Monday. Nothing to stress about, just review your missed questions in more detail to pinpoint your exact thought process mistakes for each individual question to find patterns. Even at at the top level there are still important patterns to be found if you examine your exact thought process when you did the questions in extreme detail to figure exactly where and how it went wrong each time. You need to look deeper than just which question types.

Which PTs have your used so far and how many of them did you take fully timed to determine your current score range? That is really important to know if it isn't what I described in the previous paragraph since good advice would be different for a different situation.

[Rexdan]

CptnAwesome: I tried for a bit, but it didn't appear as if I was missing anything specific... I hardly ever get the same thing wrong multiple times, although I have to say that (strangely), I have trouble with role questions and main point ones in LR?! It's pretty bizarre. there aren't usually that many of them but I can look around for more drills on those.

What's a typical breakdown on each section?

misses are usually pretty even:
LR (both sections): 3-4
RC: 2-4
Games: 2 (I know I def have problems with the rule substitution questions)

thanks for your replies!

For the games, check out the LG video explanations by 7Sage. They're free and incredibly thorough. I owe my incredible improvement in LG to that guy. Went from missing a game in each test to none with very little wrong, if any.

[jasper09]

I will second the sentiment here that you should consistently be getting -0 on the LG section. When I was studying back in the fall, I was consistently getting -0 until I got to the newer games with the rule substitution questions, which you mentioned were giving you some trouble. Once I realized that the correct answer choice will be a rule that, when combined with the other rules, allows you to sketch out the same schematic as you do for the original stimulus, with no additional or missing restrictions/inferences, it clicked. My highest PT was a 174, then I spent a few extra minutes the day before specifically on rule substitution questions, easily got the question correct on the actual test day, and ended up with a 176. So, my $.02 is to find your favorite games that contain these questions, and practice with them, focusing on what inferences you can draw from each of the answer choices to help you find the correct one.

[flomotion]

Jasper09-- that seems like a good way to look at the rule substation questions. I'll try that next time; thanks!

And everyone, thank you for your helpful replies. I'm going to work on LG for those 1-2 points, since that could very much be the crucial bump I need. I don't think I've really "tapped into my LSAT potential" yet, and what I had meant in my original post was that I have really taken only a few (6ish) fully times tests, plus drills.

Let me know if some other strategy comes to you! Thanks again for your help.

Edited: Substitution, not substation