Going from a low score to 150+ Forum

[vroman]

Im going to start preparing for the December Lsat any words of advice my goal is 165- 170.

any success stories of going from a low score to 150+

[FayRays]

First of all, best of luck, hope you reach your goal and more.
Secondly, you have about 5 months, so you should be able to practice a lot.
Start with the concepts and ideas, then do drilling from the books that people recommend. After that, try to do a real test every weekend after you master the basics, so you should be doing real lsat practice test after a month from now.
Don't let your life revolve about the lsat, try to have fun on Fridays or Sundays.
Don't lose hope when you get low scores during practice, that means you have to work harder or sometimes you just didn't feel well.
also another advice I have read, try to do some of you practice tests in not so quite areas ( because you are not sure your test will be in a very comfortably quite place, so you have to be ready to all situations.) as for the other practice test, try to do it in some places similar to the testing centers conditions.

Read novels, scientific and business articles. , logic books, and play brain games online or on your phone on the side.

Don't lose hope, you can do it..

[vroman]

Will do thanks so much !

[zeglo]

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[Deardevil]

Try to stay focused on the task at hand and have fun while doing so.

LG and LR can be frustrating at times, but also very enjoyable. And if you're into reading, RC can be, too.

[MyNameIsntJames]

Im going to start preparing for the December Lsat any words of advice my goal is 165- 170.

any success stories of going from a low score to 150+

I PT'd at a 146 I think and hit 161 on my first LSAT attempt 2-3 months later w no classes, tutors, one Kaplan book & one prep test book by LSAC while school was still going on. I'm taking the exam September and realistically looking at 175+ given initial prep results, familiarity and honest self assessment.

I'm not saying that to brag or imply I'm a genius because I'm not. I just think I'm a good example that this test is pretty learnable and some people just start off with shitty diagnostics because they don't understand the nuance of the exam. I was one of those people.

Once you "get" the LSAT, studying becomes WAY easier. My advice is take the time to really understand the mechanics of this exam. Understand all the question types, what kinds of right/wrong answers they typically throw, the tricks they play to get you to pick wrong answers, and start developing a plan of attack. It won't be long before you're smacking 170+ trust me. Just be dedicated to it and patient. Don't get angry at yourself or the exam if you complete a section and think "I got them all right!" and you check it and realize you missed 8. It's a slow, but steady process and anyone can get there with time & effort. You just have to really focus on studying. There's no hacks or cheat codes or shortcuts w this exam. You gotta just grind out the preps, read & absorb the info and start applying it until the question all seem to have a level of familiarity

[vroman]

THANKS !!

[SunDevil14]

Im going to start preparing for the December Lsat any words of advice my goal is 165- 170.

any success stories of going from a low score to 150+

My first diagnostic ever was in the low 150's, now scoring in the high 160's. My advice would be to either take a prep course or buy a prep book series and get good grasp of the fundamentals first. You have time. The good part is once you get the fundamentals down, then your score will jump quite a bit.

[RamTitan]

Went from a 146 to a 169 (and hopefully higher); put in the work, and it can be done

[lgsb2014]

Went from a 146 to a 169 (and hopefully higher); put in the work, and it can be done

Can you explain how you get there? Currently on the 140s range. Hoping to get to mid 160s.

[RamTitan]

Went from a 146 to a 169 (and hopefully higher); put in the work, and it can be done

Can you explain how you get there? Currently on the 140s range. Hoping to get to mid 160s.

May not want to hear this, but lots of time; I really stretched my studying out because A) wasn't trying to go to law school at a specific time and B) wanted to avoid burnout/that's how I learn best. You're learning a way of thinking with the LSAT, so putting in 8 hours days for a month is going to have little benefit compared to repetitive drilling for months at a time where you can allow the concepts to sink in. My studying went like this:

Phase I (4 months) - dedicated to the power bibles with the occasional practice test (really studied the bibles though; read them thoroughly 2x, some sections more)
Phase 2 (6 months) - drilled a section every day and BRed it, practice test every other weekend. This was probably my most relaxed period, and could be shortened depending on what station in life you are in. It was during this time though that I went from the 157-159 range to the 167-171 range.
Phase 3 (2 months) - quit my job and did 3 practice tests a week with BRs. The least helpful period in my opinion; mostly stressed me out, and I saw zero improvement.

What I am doing now is 2 practice test retakes a week (mostly to keep my conditioning in shape), along with drilling the hardest games and stimuli in order to shore up weakspots; also was able to start a new job, which I'm thinking will help distract me from obsessing about the LSAT. Here's to hoping this approach gets me into the 170s.......

[FayRays]

Went from a 146 to a 169 (and hopefully higher); put in the work, and it can be done

Can you explain how you get there? Currently on the 140s range. Hoping to get to mid 160s.

May not want to hear this, but lots of time; I really stretched my studying out because A) wasn't trying to go to law school at a specific time and B) wanted to avoid burnout/that's how I learn best. You're learning a way of thinking with the LSAT, so putting in 8 hours days for a month is going to have little benefit compared to repetitive drilling for months at a time where you can allow the concepts to sink in. My studying went like this:

Phase I (4 months) - dedicated to the power bibles with the occasional practice test (really studied the bibles though; read them thoroughly 2x, some sections more)
Phase 2 (6 months) - drilled a section every day and BRed it, practice test every other weekend. This was probably my most relaxed period, and could be shortened depending on what station in life you are in. It was during this time though that I went from the 157-159 range to the 167-171 range.
Phase 3 (2 months) - quit my job and did 3 practice tests a week with BRs. The least helpful period in my opinion; mostly stressed me out, and I saw zero improvement.

What I am doing now is 2 practice test retakes a week (mostly to keep my conditioning in shape), along with drilling the hardest games and stimuli in order to shore up weakspots; also was able to start a new job, which I'm thinking will help distract me from obsessing about the LSAT. Here's to hoping this approach gets me into the 170s.......

This is very helpful because I won't take the LSAT any time soon and I was looking for a more relaxed and long plan.
Thank you very much, hopefully you will get more than 175 You can do it.

[RamTitan]

Went from a 146 to a 169 (and hopefully higher); put in the work, and it can be done

Can you explain how you get there? Currently on the 140s range. Hoping to get to mid 160s.

May not want to hear this, but lots of time; I really stretched my studying out because A) wasn't trying to go to law school at a specific time and B) wanted to avoid burnout/that's how I learn best. You're learning a way of thinking with the LSAT, so putting in 8 hours days for a month is going to have little benefit compared to repetitive drilling for months at a time where you can allow the concepts to sink in. My studying went like this:

Phase I (4 months) - dedicated to the power bibles with the occasional practice test (really studied the bibles though; read them thoroughly 2x, some sections more)
Phase 2 (6 months) - drilled a section every day and BRed it, practice test every other weekend. This was probably my most relaxed period, and could be shortened depending on what station in life you are in. It was during this time though that I went from the 157-159 range to the 167-171 range.
Phase 3 (2 months) - quit my job and did 3 practice tests a week with BRs. The least helpful period in my opinion; mostly stressed me out, and I saw zero improvement.

What I am doing now is 2 practice test retakes a week (mostly to keep my conditioning in shape), along with drilling the hardest games and stimuli in order to shore up weakspots; also was able to start a new job, which I'm thinking will help distract me from obsessing about the LSAT. Here's to hoping this approach gets me into the 170s.......

This is very helpful because I won't take the LSAT any time soon and I was looking for a more relaxed and long plan.
Thank you very much, hopefully you will get more than 175 You can do it.

That is the best approach (in my mind); it is more relaxing and I think most people would learn these concepts better that way.

[Mr. Momo]

Hi OP!

My initial diagnostic was an abysmal 143. I'm currently PTing at above 160, with my highest being 165. I'm definitely hoping that I can remain at a constant 165+ for future PTs. I think anything is possible. GL!

[grades??]

Went from a 142 on my first diagnostic to a high 170s score on the real thing.

[rosieposie12]

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[z0mbiecatz1234]

I went from a 145 diagnostic to a 161 on the actual test. Got a full ride to a T25. I attribute that to taking a prep course. I can't imagine studying for the LSAT without a serious structure. Of course, you can succeed without it, but I would say it's worth dropping $1000 for a solid prep class to save literally tens of thousands of dollars later. Thanking myself for doing that now that I won't have to graduate in $200k+ of debt! It can be done and good luck to you!

Edit: I should have retaken to do even better. I realistically probably could have ended higher than that but I was too eager to begin law school lol

[bmathers]

My diag was 153 (actual LSAT was 158), PT'd a 165 yesterday (taking the September 24th LSAT). It's definitely possible. Personally, I miss having the structured, once a week class of my LSAT prep course. If I wasn't sitting a month out right now, I would definitely consider taking another prep course.