Only scoring in low to mid 160s: Advice Needed Forum

[naht]

Hi all, ever since going through the Powerscore books in December/January, I've taken 10 preptests, and my highest score has been a 166. While I acknowledge this is quite a dramatic improvement from my diagnostic of 148, I'm starting to freak out because I haven't reached the upper 160's lower 170's yet, and I was planning on going to Gulf Shores for Spring Break in two weeks. Now I'm wondering if I should cancel my plans and crack down on the LSAT. I really want a 171+ on the June test, as my goal is HYS. My LSAC GPA is a 4.05. When I'm done with a test, I go back over all the questions I missed and give myself as much time as I need to think through the problems. While I get most of these right, I'm still getting frustrated because it's not reflecting in improvements on future tests. My breakdown is roughly -6 on RC, -5/6 on LR, and LG can be wild, from -1 to -6/7 (Preptest 36). Any suggestions? I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get in the 170s, even if it means cutting Spring Break.

[naht]

bump

[beenoparte125]

I'm also battling with improving my score on PTs. I would definitely try to conquer logic games- really spend some time on getting to the point that, barring any insane game, you miss 0-2 for every LG section. How you do that is sort of a matter of personal preference, I think, but there are lots of resources on TLS and elsewhere.

[Blueprint Mithun]

Hi all, ever since going through the Powerscore books in December/January, I've taken 10 preptests, and my highest score has been a 166. While I acknowledge this is quite a dramatic improvement from my diagnostic of 148, I'm starting to freak out because I haven't reached the upper 160's lower 170's yet, and I was planning on going to Gulf Shores for Spring Break in two weeks. Now I'm wondering if I should cancel my plans and crack down on the LSAT. I really want a 171+ on the June test, as my goal is HYS. My LSAC GPA is a 4.05. When I'm done with a test, I go back over all the questions I missed and give myself as much time as I need to think through the problems. While I get most of these right, I'm still getting frustrated because it's not reflecting in improvements on future tests. My breakdown is roughly -6 on RC, -5/6 on LR, and LG can be wild, from -1 to -6/7 (Preptest 36). Any suggestions? I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get in the 170s, even if it means cutting Spring Break.

Hello. It's common for students to plateau around the mid-high 160s region. At this point, you're probably very familiar with the material, and have reliable methods for solving a lot of the question types. Improvements will come slower from this point on, and may require more careful planning and review, but they are definitely attainable!

For Logic Games, I'd recommend saving any games where you miss a question. Keep them in a log, and after reviewing them with solutions, go back and complete them again a week or two later. The same deductions and patterns will appear over and over, so if you're thorough about reviewing and perfecting your mistakes, you'll recognize those same elements in future games.

For LR, tally up the question types of the questions you got wrong. You'll probably notice that certain types are giving you more trouble than others. Go back and review your methods for solving these, then drill a ton of those questions. When you review any LSAT question, especially ones that you got wrong, you should always read each answer choice carefully and be able to describe why a certain answer is wrong.

For RC, try to anticipate key elements of the passage as you read it for the first time. These include the main point, any major perspectives on the issue, the author's attitude, and the structure of the passage. Many of the questions concern these elements, and training yourself to identify them will build really important habits.

I can't say for sure whether you should skip your spring break. That's up to you. Maybe you can spend a couple of hours studying every day during your vacation. Relaxation and de-stressing are important to doing well on this test too!

[BasilHallward]

Relax. Go to the Gulf Shores. Come back with a fresh mind. It goes a long way