How to Approach Retake Forum

[oldsport]

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[PoopNpants]

I don't want to sound like a dick but breaking 160 isn't going to get you T14 no matter what your GPA is. And PTing around 156-159 and scoring a 154 seems pretty typical to me, a lot of people under perform by a few points a deviation of 2-3 points should be expected to some extent.

[MrBalloons]

Unfortunately he's right. Your odds aren't good even at GULC with 160, regardless of GPA.

You're right, though. -23 LR is unsustainable. I'd get the PowerScore LR Bible and try to master those techniques. Just out of curiosity, how much time did you put into studying for your first take? I worry that you might have to adjust your expectations.

[oldsport]

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[BlueprintJason]

Hello everyone. Long-time lurker here. My June LSAT result was 154. It was rough to see. I was pt-ing around 156-159 prior to the exam, even though I was aiming to break higher. I took a prep course and felt somewhat good going into the exam. However, LR has always been an issue and really hurt me this time. -10/-6/-8/-13 (LR/LG/RC/LR), granted I could've done better all-around. I finished games feeling alright (finished, not most accurate) and RC was alright (time issue). LR was time struggle and didn't finish, especially last section (some questions became time drains and then I was bogged down then panic kicked in).

I'm aiming to break 160 and hopefully hit the T-14. I'm now planning for October retake, but I'm unsure how to tackle sections, especially LR. I took a course and have narrowed down some of the question types. I have still have books from the course and questions. Should I look at other resources to drill? Also, i'm not sure how many PT's that are "fresh" left, with the course having many questions. Does that matter or will I mostly forget? People have mentioned things like Cambridge packets, Trainer, Bibles, etc. What do you think I should focus on, especially for LR? I don't know how to approach the next couple months and I really want to use this time effectively. I didn't really begin to study hard until the mid/latter portion of the course. Any advice/help appreciated. Thanks!

For LR, I think a really important thing as you are trying to improve from where you are at this stage is focusing on mastering question types. I would start by really reviewing and defining your method for each question type, then practice a lot of questions of that specific type, and then refine the approach for that question before moving on to the next. You have ample time here to really be thorough with each type and make sure you truly master it before worrying about timing strategies, etc. For where you are scoring, accuracy is a huge issue, and you really should nail things down untimed first. It's impossible to score at your goal level timed if you can't do it untimed.

Good luck!

[shump92]

Another thing to keep in mind is that by being strong in certain sections you create a bit of a buffer for yourself. For example, I struggle a lot with RC and am not fully secure with LR but I can always get -0 for LG. That's why I scored fairly well my first time. I think you should definitely practice a lot on LR like some people said but keep in mind that it is not too difficult to get at a level of -0 with consistency for LG. If you understand the rules you have no reason to ever doubt yourself. So I would mix it up between perfecting LG and getting to a better level for LR. Good luck!

[oldsport]

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