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Hi,

I've been reading various discussions on here for a couple of years. I finally joined because I need to blow off steam and ask if there is anyone out there that feels the way I do.

I have always been a good, hard-working student. I have a 3.85 LSAC GPA and was hoping to combine it with a 160 LSAT score. That doesn't seem terribly out of reach, does it? I thought I could achieve my score goal. This hasn't been the case. I've been studying, but what I'm doing obviously isn't working as I haven't improved much since my cold diagnostic.

I took a Kaplan course and read the PowerScore bibles. I've taken 5 strictly timed practice tests and broke out of the 140s only once. I got a 151.

LG continue to be my worst area despite getting better at setup and and the overall attack strategy. I've practiced the material for 3 months. The answer explanations do not surprise me. Most of my wrong answers are the questions I didn't get to because I ran out of time.

Timing for LG - I inevitably have a meltdown during LG. Because your understanding of the game and good setup is a must to answer the questions quickly, I freak out as soon as I hit a roadblock. It deteriorates my confidence. I finish the "easy" game in 8-9 minutes (maybe skipping 1 question). I try to select a 2nd game that looks promising. If the game proves to be a good fit for me, I usually get halfway through it until I hit my first roadblock. I reluctantly move on after staring at my sketch and rereading the rules. Worried about time, I try to find the lesser of the two evils among game 3 and 4. I never get far in my 3rd game and I'm lucky if I get 3 answers out of it.

Timing for LR - Timing never stressed me out in LR. Having two conflicting methods from Kaplan and PowerScore has weakened my performance. I'm still tweaking what is optimal for me. Test fatigue is a problem because if LR is in the 4th or 5th my accuracy goes way down.

Timing for Reading - If this appears in the 4th or 5th section it can kill me. If it appears in the beginning of the test, I do much better.

I'm sensitive to section placement due to test fatigue. I try to live a healthy life style and I get enough sleep. My brain is fried after the 3rd section. I really hate that an experimental section exists. Once I start the writing section I feel completely delirious.

I've studied consistently for 3-5 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week. Study includes untimed and timed section practice - usually 1 or 2 sections timed a day or maybe timing a game or an individual passage. Some sources say that taking tons of timed tests is not the best way to improve. However, since my strategy hasn't included this maybe I should try it?

Any advice from someone that was like me and improved? Or do some people never improve?

You sound like a good candidate for the Cambridge drilling packets

bettynewbie wrote: I have always been a good, hard-working student. I have a 3.85 LSAC GPA and was hoping to combine it with a 160 LSAT score. That doesn't seem terribly out of reach, does it?

Not at all.

bettynewbie wrote: Timing for LG - I inevitably have a meltdown during LG. Because your understanding of the game and good setup is a must to answer the questions quickly, I freak out as soon as I hit a roadblock. It deteriorates my confidence. I finish the "easy" game in 8-9 minutes (maybe skipping 1 question). I try to select a 2nd game that looks promising. If the game proves to be a good fit for me, I usually get halfway through it until I hit my first roadblock. I reluctantly move on after staring at my sketch and rereading the rules. Worried about time, I try to find the lesser of the two evils among game 3 and 4. I never get far in my 3rd game and I'm lucky if I get 3 answers out of it.

Buy this Cambridge LG Book.
Make multiple copies of each game.
Do a game.
Watch the 7 Sage Explanation for that game.
Get a fresh copy of that game and do it again, incorporating what you learned.
Watch the video again if needed.
Move onto the next game and repeat the process.
Do the games you did again the next day and see if you remember how to set them up and solve them. If not, watch the video again.

It's a tedious process, but you're guaranteed to improve by drilling like this. Similar inferences can be made across all games and you are able to make them correctly and quickly the more experience you get.

bettynewbie wrote:Timing for LR - Timing never stressed me out in LR. Having two conflicting methods from Kaplan and PowerScore has weakened my performance. I'm still tweaking what is optimal for me. Test fatigue is a problem because if LR is in the 4th or 5th my accuracy goes way down.

Kaplan is renowned to be crappy, so if you can't decide between methods, go with Powerscore. However, since you have such a long way to go and nothing has worked for you thus far, I would look into buying The Trainer. It may just be the godsend you need.

bettynewbie wrote:Timing for Reading - If this appears in the 4th or 5th section it can kill me. If it appears in the beginning of the test, I do much better.
I'm sensitive to section placement due to test fatigue. I try to live a healthy life style and I get enough sleep. My brain is fried after the 3rd section. I really hate that an experimental section exists. Once I start the writing section I feel completely delirious.

You'll definitely have to work on building stamina so you can do the 5 sections to your fullest potential. The Writing Sample doesn't matter. Don't focus on that for now. In it's place, consider adding another RC section to force yourself to get used to RC sections late in the test.

bettynewbie wrote:I've studied consistently for 3-5 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week. Study includes untimed and timed section practice - usually 1 or 2 sections timed a day or maybe timing a game or an individual passage. Some sources say that taking tons of timed tests is not the best way to improve. However, since my strategy hasn't included this maybe I should try it?

Don't do this. You shouldn't be wasting PT's when you don't even know the fundamentals yet. First fix the underlying issue of not really knowing what you're doing or how to do it efficiently. Focus on LG drilling and learning how to properly tackle LR.

bettynewbie wrote:Any advice from someone that was like me and improved? Or do some people never improve?

The LSAT is a very learnable test. Take this opportunity to change course and start studying smarter. Your GPA is great and it indicates that you have a lot of potential and you have a 160+ score in you.