Great Advice on How to get 160+ on the LSAT... Forum

[typical1L]

173. December 06. I studied for most of November with the most recent LSAC 10 test prep book. My earliest practice test score was 171. There was a range from 169-175. In all, I completed five practice tests and the game sections from the other five.

edit - suggestions and if I could do it over.

Don't waste money on classes. I've heard the Powerscore book might help, but if you're already doing well with your own techniques it's probably not as good.

Spend more time practicing and consider your target score. When I was studying, I hadn't stumbled across various law school admissions forums and I had little inkling of the 175+ scores scattered around. After making a 171 on the first practice test I naively compared this to the Harvard 25-75 percentiles in an outdated USNWR and thought I'd be fine with something in that range If I had considered a 180 as a feasible goal and not just a hypothetical score, even though I was obviously not trying to miss questions, I would have taken a different tack with regards to studying. More targeted, especially on games. For reference, four of eight questions I missed were from the LG section, and three of those were because I ran out of time. Look at where you are missing them and work on it.

[NoaNoa]

Hello everyone, could some of you 160+ people be so kind as to explain this question to me.

If violations of any of a society's explicit rules routinely go unpunished, then that society's people will be left without moral guidance. Because people who lack moral guidance will act in many different ways, chaos results. Thus, a society ought never to allow any of its explicit rules to be broken with impunity.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument:

A- takes for granted that a society will avoid chaos as long as none of its explicit rules are routinely violated with impunity

B- fails to consider that the violated rules might have been made to prevent problems that would not arise even if the rules were removed

C- infers, from the claim that the violation of some particular rules will lead to chaos, that the violation of any rule will lead to chaos

D- confuses the routine nonpunishment of violations of a rule with sometimes not punishing violations of the rule

E- takes for granted that all of society's explicit rules result in equally serious consequences when broken

I see how going from the first assertion "If violations of any of a society's explicit rules routinely go unpunished" to "Thus, a society ought never to allow any of its explicit rules to be broken with impunity" seems a leap, but I initially chose C. The correct answer is D... Any comments/help is appreciated.
Thanks

[longodds]

The key to a lot of LR questions, and especially for this one is that the correct answer is because of matter of degree. One of the questions that I got wrong (the only LR question I got wrong) on the December 2006 LSAT was because I failed to notice that.

It says that if a rule routinely goes unpunished then people will be left without moral guidance which will result in chaos.

The next sentence, the conclusion says, therefore, society should NEVER allow a rule to go unpunished.

This conclusion leaves no room for gray areas. The first part is saying, for example, let's say we routinely don't punish people for killing someone, then chaos will result (seems obvious). The conclusion is saying, therefore, anytime someone kills another person, we must punish it. What if it was in self-defense? As the saying goes, "There are exceptions to every rule." The conclusion doesn't leave the option for exceptions open.

That's why (D) is the correct answer because of the difference in degrees between the first two sentences and the last sentence.

Hope this helps.

[AfriCanyon]

longodds write a your own LR bible....I know I'll buy it.

[longodds]

LOL

I'm much better at Logic Games than LR. Got crushed on Reading Comp.

I was actually pretty bad at LR when I first started studying for the LSAT.

[typical1L]

Ah, the garden one. I got that right. The garden and the murder one were the two that seemed to give most people trouble. Games screwed me.

[typical1L]

It takes forever, though. I never finished all four games. Eliminating answers one by one is tedious, and I really prefer the more intuitive sections.

[tunes]

A big part of Logic Games is understanding there are only so many different types of games and then being able to identify them quickly and accurately. It can take awhile, but once you "get it" they're all basically the same. LG was by far my best section.

[spursfaninla]

I read my earlier post on this thread, and I got my average (again) at the time of the december test (173)...

Anyway, I still believe the LR and LG bibles are great, although you probably don't need to read the whole LR bible. I still like 180, although not for a sub 165 person probably.

And I still think anybody who wants to be sure to do well should take the NEWEST 10+ tests they can get ahold of, the more the better.

[lightIt]

I'm writing to inquire of the methods/techniques ppl who scored 160+ used to get the score they did.

1) What score did you get? 180

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Kaplan

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?
Kaplan Night Course Weekly

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
I studied while at school. I did a few problems a night about three nights a week for a few months

5) How many preptests did you do?
Maybe four or five

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would Not take the course I would just get help on the logic games

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
I started at a 169 with absolutely no prep...I would say if you score at least 165 or thereabouts without studying then a prep course is a waste of your time unless you are just too unmotivated to study on your own. The only area it was remotely helpful was the logic games, and you could learn the Kaplan logic games strategy, or any other Kaplan strategy, from a book just as well and much faster.

[Lenin]

Iam killing time at work right now so this will be a little long-winded!

1) What score did you get?

161 (although, as everyone will say iam sure... i was scoring a good 5 points higher just prior to the actual test)

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)

LG (I was terrible at these at first! I thought it was hopeless)

LG bible ... my STRONG advice would be to NOT touch anything kaplan has to say on logic games... i swear it set me back at least 3 weeks. I studied using both LGB and the kaplan method - huge mistake. Do the logic games bible cover to cover.

Get all the pdf's of the previous tests and print out all the games specifically (it is only 4 pages per test). once i had them printed out, i grabbed a giant stack of 'used' paper from the library that was about to be recycled (usually beside the photocopiers) and did all of my work on a scrap piece of paper so as to not ruin all the printed out copies. I then timed myself. I started with a giant stack (literally every game going back to #7) and set the timer for 10 minutes. If I scored perfect in under 10 mins i added the game to the "completed" pile. If it took me longer or I got one wrong i took that game and wrote my time and score like "11 mins 5/6" along the top and stuck it under the giant stack so that I would have to do all the others before i got back to the old ones.

I did all sorts of things to try and get better... i forced myself to add 5 new games to completed pile every day, i did four at once giving myself 35 mins.

as everyone else will say, you must do so many of these things that it becomes second nature. if you haven't done 100 timed games, you haven't even begun.

as everyone probably won't say... during your studying, if you have like 3 weeks to go and you've noticed a little improvement on your games but you've sort of hit a wall -> STOP. just don't do any games for a couple days, don't think about them, don't even look at them. a couple solid days away from them can really help. I would come back and be amazed at how much better i was.

i really noticed my improvement when i got to the bottom of my pile and was doing games that i had done previously and had scored them "11mins 4/6" or something and I would do the game in 8 mins perfectly.

LR

don't read the stem first - you'll know what kinda q it is almost immediately anyway. underline key words - get a system - not crazy elaborate or anything, but underline certain types of words like "always, none, every, almost" and circle other types like key facts.

the LRbible is good... it is by far the most comprehensive approach out there to all the different types of qs.

i did poorly on this section on the actual test... i found the stress and the fact that i was having a full blown panic attack really distracting. also, i studied giving myself 34 mins. if i were to do it again, i would give myself 30 because on the actual test that 35 minutes will be the fastest of your life. they wrote "5mins left" on the board and i almost died.

RC

you have to find YOUR OWN sweet spot between reading the passage first (like how fast you read it) and how much you check back when answering the questions. I found that reading the passage thoroughly right from the get-go really helped me. marked that thing up like crazy as well... i think your brain really remembers things ( like what the three different scientists thought about the theory ) better when you've done that. don't be afraid to go back to the passage and really search for the answer. This was by far my best section.

also, when i turned the page and read the first line of a science passage i went right to the next one with skipping a beat. i went back and did it last and ended up scoring 24/27 on this section.


3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?

none.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)

month a half pretty hardcore, not working... just going to the library everyday. I found studying in my apartment to distracting. In the run-up to the test i did a test every other day at 8:30. I even did one in the very building that it was to be held.

5) How many preptests did you do?

well, i did the games from most and mostly did sections of LR and RC. I did about 5 tests fully timed at 8:30 in the 10 days leading up.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?

remember to set my timer during the actual test, which i forgot to do during TWO of the sections. having used and set the timer probably in the neighbourhood of a thousand times it was a little frustrating.

The only thing i didn't really train for was the stress of the actual day. If anyone can think of a way to somehow mitigate that I would love to know. the stress had a tremendous impact on my score which hadn't been below 165 in three weeks. maybe do a practice test on a firing range or something.

also, i would set up a rigorous yet somewhat relaxed schedule well in advance. Like a three day cycle and on day 1. a full blown test in the morning - review mistakes thoroughly... day 2. study and do timed sections (30mins) of sections that you did poorly on during your previous days test. day 3. REST RELAX


7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

i couldn't sleep at all during the lead-up to the test. i found taking a nice warm bath right before bed helped. sleeping pills did not.

[captainkechele]

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[Nikki]

Where did you buy the 10 LSAT tests from?

Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.com. Also, LSAC online sell the tests individually.

[Slash2049]

i have tips on getting a 160, 162, or even 167, but no matter how much i search i can't find out how to get them to give me that little + that will make my score so much more aesthetically pleasing....

[dmreust]

deleted

[DelDad]

bump for new TLSers.

If you've scored highly in the past, add your entry to this. If you have yet to take the exam, see what worked for others.

[brick004]

I am about to finish up the 6 week Kaplan prep course and it has not really worked for me. I get most of the questions right when I do the lessons and homework but I am scoring under 150 on the the timed practice tests. I was going to take the test in June but now I am definitely going to hold off until September. I have been considering retaking the course and possibly getting a tutor to help me raise my score. I want to at least get a 160. Do I need to get extra help or do you think I can get this score by studying on my own this summer?

[jerryike]

i think only u can answer that question.

how are your study habits?

how much free time will u have b4 september?

[brick004]

I have a full time job right but I can find about spare hours to study at work. I can also dedicate 3-4 hours after work and I am free on the weekends. I have pretty good study habits but I am afraid I will lose focus if I try to do this on my own that is why I am considering retaking the class and the getting a tutor. But I guess really my questions are, if I dedicate myself to studying, is it possible to raise your score 20 points in 4 months without some extra help? Or if the cost of extra help doesn't matter would it be better to get a tutor?

[Catherine]

Thank you everyone who has shared their personal study routines and details leading into high scores. Sometimes it seems like all I hear about (or recall at least) are the people who get 180 cold or who slave for 6-8 months for a 165.

I'm feeling much more optimistic and relaxed now that it is apparent my habits and progress have a lot in common with people who are scoring as well or better than I hope to.

[Slash2049]

Eat a big breakfast!

[LSATnooblet]

I found this thread pretty helpful when I was preparing for it last year so I'll add my three cents

1) What score did you get?
164

2) What books did you use? LSAC's SuperPrep, Powerscore LR and LG bibles. I bought Kaplan's 180 but found it worthless.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length Powerscore. By the way, if you do take Powerscore or any prepcourse for that matter, take it seriously and do all the homework.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
I began studying during the tail end of my undergraduate career (August of last year) but didn't start hitting the books hard until October for the December 06 test (which I bombed because of a panic attack).

5) How many preptests did you do?
Like all of them (50 or so?). I ended up practicing consistently in the 170s but that didn't mean diddly squat on the real deal.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would have taken my studies more seriously earlier. Though I began practicing for the LSAT and took the Powerscore class in August of 06, I didn't take the class too seriously and hardly did any of the homework. By the time October came around I had only done a few practice tests and didn't put much time into reviewing/analyzing my mistakes and weaknesses. So I only got in about 2 months of serious studying which wasn't really enough, at least for myself considering that I'm not one of those guys who has never seen an LSAT before and scored a 170 cold.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
Do not underestimate the importance of this test and study hard for it. If you have a target score, try practicing consistently 4 to 5 points higher than it on practice tests. Performance anxiety is a very common and very real thing that is almost impossible to prepare for. Good luck to you all!

[BlueDevilSarah]

1. 175

2. Most of the books that came with the Kaplan course

3. Kaplan 6 week course

4. I was doing my masters thesis research while studying my 6 week course so I was able to slack a little on that and concentrate solely on the test while simulations were running. I probably did about 3 hours a day 6 days a week.

5. 4 under "testing conditions" including the one that was given at the actual test site two weeks before at 8:30am on a Saturday.

6. I can't really say I would have done anything differently other than figuring out a way to stress out less and get more sleep the night before. I ended up with 2 hours of sleep because I was worrying so much about how important sleep was.

7. Remember, there are 4 wrong answers and 1 right one. No one's trying to trick you. There's not 3 wrong answers, then 2 that are sorta right but one's more right than the other.

[lizzy1280]

hi everyone,

i took a diagnostic yesterday and scored a 161 without studying or practicing at all, i basically took it dry. i'm taking testmasters twice a week and plan to study as much as i possibly can. my goal is to break a 170 and ideally to get a 180. what is realistic? any idea?

thanks in advance!

[BlueDevilSarah]

My best advice is not to sell yourself short. My first LSAT, totally cold, was a 158 and I told Kaplan that I wanted at least a 170. They didn't think that was remotely possible, so I adapted a "well, I'll show them!" attitude and finally ended up with a 175. Kick its butt!!!!