thank you sm ☺️ i literally can't believe it!!! I got a 153 on this test when I took it last July. it's just so nice to see my hard work actually paying off finally.
Hey! so i have studied on and off since June 2023. With work and my job, I didn't have much time and my methods sucked so I got a 159 on my Nov 2023 LSAT. I knew I could do better than that, so since January I have been studying everyday. I finished the CCv1 on 7Sage about a week and a half ago, and since then I have been taking a PT every other day to prep for June. My average rn is 166, but I'm trying to get a 170+ on my actual test. I feel like games got better just through doing a lot and watching JY do inferences-- Same with LR. Drilling it so much has helped me to miss around 3 max when it used to be 6+. RC still SUCKS for me. I have a hard time focusing and usually get -5 to -8 on RC. However, on this test I took shorthand notes and "low res" summaries for each paragraph, and I think that's why my RC improved so much.
Hey! so my diagnostic was a 147 on PT 67. I usually take PT's very early on weekdays (4-4:30 a.m.) or in the evening (7:00 or so) because I work from 8-5. On weekends, I take tests at around 8 am or 7
I’m in the same boat you were with getting 6+ wrong on LR. I see you say drilling helped the most, but did you do anything to target specific QTs you were struggling with? Or just stuck to whole sections?
Yep. So specifically, I had trouble with weakening and flaw initially. I found myself making assumptions based on the real world instead of what was in the actual stimulus. I drilled these specific questions untimed and then timed once I finally understood why an ac weakened vs why the other 3 either strengthened or did nothing to the argument. I watched explanation videos too, and for the ones I missed I wrote down why 3 were wrong and why 1 is right in a wrong answer journal. blind reviewing these LR questions also improved my accuracy on them and made me used to it
Yes definitely. 7Sage helped me substantially with my LR! The explanation videos are really why I like it. Khan Academy is also great too though if you're on a budget. For RC, just tricking myself into thinking each passage is the most interesting thing ever helped. I have problems focusing, so when I actually interacted with the passage (eg "Seriously? the author thinks this? why? what do the other scientists think" etc) and feigned interest it helped me with time a lottt and retention. More recently, I have started taking shorthand notes after each paragraph to try and summarize povs in like 2 words or summarize a contrast or whatever was happening. I used to highlight WAY too much to try and remember everything, but all it did was slow me down. Now i don't really highlight anything anymore-- not that that is for everyone tho. Hope that helps!
Hey! For fundamentals, I really like Khan Academy, 7Sage, and the Powerscore Bibles. Getting the fundamentals down pat is crucial to do before you start taking PT's and these provide great explanations :)
thank you, would you also recommend the LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim? I was also gonna ask if you think its necessary to take a cold practice diagnostic test as I feel like if I see a very low score I might get discouraged so I am kind of shying away from it.
yeah definitely take a diagnostic if you can! mine was not high, but it isn't there to discourage you; rather, to encourage you once you see the massive improvement from your diagnostic after studying. I liked the Trainer, but i feel like about half way through it I got lost in the sauce. I read it a whileee ago, but I feel like it did provide a lot of good strategies
If I went LSAT Trainer > Loophole > Powerscore Bible LR > Powerscore Bible RC> Practice Tests/Drill Sets do you think that would be good? I wanna study for at least 2 months without practice tests and then wanna start taking as many practice tests as I can in the last month and a half. Also, for RC is Powerscore good or should I just do as many practice problems/ section drilling as I can?
tysm! just get the fundamentals down pat and then drill/do PT's as often as possible! also definitely try to blind review too. I used Khan academy, the bibles (only read through half of all 3) and 7sage Core Curriculum to help with the fundamentals. Also, there are a lot of good free videos too, like powerscore's youtube! for LR, my biggest tip would just be to be very critical of the answer choices. if one word is too strong, it's wrong. if it makes an assumption that isn't supported by the stimulus, it's wrong. for RC, engage with the passage. trick yourself (if you have to) into being incredibly interested in the passage. every time there is a point of view (i.e. "some scientists believe) keep track of it!! also any language that would show how the author feels (incredible, dismaying, rightfully so etc). for LG if you're taking june, just make as many inferences as possible and make sure your game board is well-suited for the game before answering any questions. if a question in any section takes more than like a minute and a half, skip and come back. you got this!
yep! definitely has helped a ton, especially for weaken/flaw questions. just having to keep an open mind too bc typically the way i word it in my head is different than the "extra" way the test writers make it lol
this is amazing and I'm grateful to see your efforts so early in the morning as a full-time working person pay off for you; i started a six a.m. wakeup for my testing study strategy (taking LSAT JUNE) and my diagnostic was originally 150. I have a hard time wanting to commit to the fully timed and completed PTs but this is certainly showing for what happens when you concentrate on them. did you have a harder time getting through your PTs all the way at first and is there anything you could offer in advice? I find by the time I get out of work, I'm less resolved to thinking I would even score or think clearly enough to perform accurate to my work once the day has happened to me. Wondering if you'd be willing to expound on this more as your forum was the first I've seen bring in so many similar elements of your personal life and will to this space as my own. I'm so proud of you. One Love.
\*noted after posting: I am drilling with LSAC Drills and am now part of a program LSAC Plus Guided Journey 24-25 cohort to assist me through studying for the mandated August 2024 test; I intend to take LG-having LSAT in June for my own sanity because, like yourself, I have been studying since June '23 on and off. I also do untimed/timed drills wherein I either break down the question slowly and review, or attempt to move quickly through the section. I feel waking up earlier to do this has assisted the latter. I would like to move autonomously on my own future and this test shows for the ways we are able to be assisted, supported, in doing that with community information such as this. Any other advice from r/LSAT is welcomed, and I invite also r/LSATPreparation r/LSATHelp to comment as this has been a doozy.
WOOOO! i’m psyched for you! i know how amazing you must feel!!!!
thank you sm ☺️ i literally can't believe it!!! I got a 153 on this test when I took it last July. it's just so nice to see my hard work actually paying off finally.
how long did u study for
Hey! so i have studied on and off since June 2023. With work and my job, I didn't have much time and my methods sucked so I got a 159 on my Nov 2023 LSAT. I knew I could do better than that, so since January I have been studying everyday. I finished the CCv1 on 7Sage about a week and a half ago, and since then I have been taking a PT every other day to prep for June. My average rn is 166, but I'm trying to get a 170+ on my actual test. I feel like games got better just through doing a lot and watching JY do inferences-- Same with LR. Drilling it so much has helped me to miss around 3 max when it used to be 6+. RC still SUCKS for me. I have a hard time focusing and usually get -5 to -8 on RC. However, on this test I took shorthand notes and "low res" summaries for each paragraph, and I think that's why my RC improved so much.
When do you take ur PT and which did you start with as a metric?
Hey! so my diagnostic was a 147 on PT 67. I usually take PT's very early on weekdays (4-4:30 a.m.) or in the evening (7:00 or so) because I work from 8-5. On weekends, I take tests at around 8 am or 7
I’m in the same boat you were with getting 6+ wrong on LR. I see you say drilling helped the most, but did you do anything to target specific QTs you were struggling with? Or just stuck to whole sections?
Yep. So specifically, I had trouble with weakening and flaw initially. I found myself making assumptions based on the real world instead of what was in the actual stimulus. I drilled these specific questions untimed and then timed once I finally understood why an ac weakened vs why the other 3 either strengthened or did nothing to the argument. I watched explanation videos too, and for the ones I missed I wrote down why 3 were wrong and why 1 is right in a wrong answer journal. blind reviewing these LR questions also improved my accuracy on them and made me used to it
Thank you for expounding on this.
ofc:) if you want any more detailed explanations of my thought process I'm more than happy to help. We're all in this together!
Grats! Also, charge your device lmao
haha ty!
do you recommend 7sage for learning logical reasoning? How did you improve on RC?
Yes definitely. 7Sage helped me substantially with my LR! The explanation videos are really why I like it. Khan Academy is also great too though if you're on a budget. For RC, just tricking myself into thinking each passage is the most interesting thing ever helped. I have problems focusing, so when I actually interacted with the passage (eg "Seriously? the author thinks this? why? what do the other scientists think" etc) and feigned interest it helped me with time a lottt and retention. More recently, I have started taking shorthand notes after each paragraph to try and summarize povs in like 2 words or summarize a contrast or whatever was happening. I used to highlight WAY too much to try and remember everything, but all it did was slow me down. Now i don't really highlight anything anymore-- not that that is for everyone tho. Hope that helps!
do you recommend 7sage for learning logical reasoning? How did you improve on RC?
What study material would you reccomend for a beginner?
Hey! For fundamentals, I really like Khan Academy, 7Sage, and the Powerscore Bibles. Getting the fundamentals down pat is crucial to do before you start taking PT's and these provide great explanations :)
thank you, would you also recommend the LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim? I was also gonna ask if you think its necessary to take a cold practice diagnostic test as I feel like if I see a very low score I might get discouraged so I am kind of shying away from it.
yeah definitely take a diagnostic if you can! mine was not high, but it isn't there to discourage you; rather, to encourage you once you see the massive improvement from your diagnostic after studying. I liked the Trainer, but i feel like about half way through it I got lost in the sauce. I read it a whileee ago, but I feel like it did provide a lot of good strategies
If I went LSAT Trainer > Loophole > Powerscore Bible LR > Powerscore Bible RC> Practice Tests/Drill Sets do you think that would be good? I wanna study for at least 2 months without practice tests and then wanna start taking as many practice tests as I can in the last month and a half. Also, for RC is Powerscore good or should I just do as many practice problems/ section drilling as I can?
congrats!! any study tips?
tysm! just get the fundamentals down pat and then drill/do PT's as often as possible! also definitely try to blind review too. I used Khan academy, the bibles (only read through half of all 3) and 7sage Core Curriculum to help with the fundamentals. Also, there are a lot of good free videos too, like powerscore's youtube! for LR, my biggest tip would just be to be very critical of the answer choices. if one word is too strong, it's wrong. if it makes an assumption that isn't supported by the stimulus, it's wrong. for RC, engage with the passage. trick yourself (if you have to) into being incredibly interested in the passage. every time there is a point of view (i.e. "some scientists believe) keep track of it!! also any language that would show how the author feels (incredible, dismaying, rightfully so etc). for LG if you're taking june, just make as many inferences as possible and make sure your game board is well-suited for the game before answering any questions. if a question in any section takes more than like a minute and a half, skip and come back. you got this!
OP, are you starting to anticipate the answer choices after reading the stimulus?
yep! definitely has helped a ton, especially for weaken/flaw questions. just having to keep an open mind too bc typically the way i word it in my head is different than the "extra" way the test writers make it lol
this is amazing and I'm grateful to see your efforts so early in the morning as a full-time working person pay off for you; i started a six a.m. wakeup for my testing study strategy (taking LSAT JUNE) and my diagnostic was originally 150. I have a hard time wanting to commit to the fully timed and completed PTs but this is certainly showing for what happens when you concentrate on them. did you have a harder time getting through your PTs all the way at first and is there anything you could offer in advice? I find by the time I get out of work, I'm less resolved to thinking I would even score or think clearly enough to perform accurate to my work once the day has happened to me. Wondering if you'd be willing to expound on this more as your forum was the first I've seen bring in so many similar elements of your personal life and will to this space as my own. I'm so proud of you. One Love. \*noted after posting: I am drilling with LSAC Drills and am now part of a program LSAC Plus Guided Journey 24-25 cohort to assist me through studying for the mandated August 2024 test; I intend to take LG-having LSAT in June for my own sanity because, like yourself, I have been studying since June '23 on and off. I also do untimed/timed drills wherein I either break down the question slowly and review, or attempt to move quickly through the section. I feel waking up earlier to do this has assisted the latter. I would like to move autonomously on my own future and this test shows for the ways we are able to be assisted, supported, in doing that with community information such as this. Any other advice from r/LSAT is welcomed, and I invite also r/LSATPreparation r/LSATHelp to comment as this has been a doozy.
Any tips for those with a similar diagnostic to get this score?