Strategy for the January Exam

[lsat3094]

Hi everyone,

I needed some advice regarding the January LSAT. When I first took the LSAT, I scored in the 130s. I have been studying since mid July and have improved my score to 155 (UNTIMED). I have heard that you should take the untimed score and minus 10 from it, so I am assuming that would leave me at a 140. I want to score in the 160s by January. I was wondering if that is realistic ? The only reason I want to write it in January is because I live in Canada, and I have already applied. January is the last exam schools take for the year.

I am adding how I am performing in each section to give you guys some idea.
Logic Games: I am scoring around 18-22, but struggle with timing.
Logical Reasoning: I am scoring between 13-17. I have been using the Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible from the past 2 and a half weeks, and it has helped a lot. Once again, I struggle with timings. I would love to increase my score to 20-22 on both of the sections.
Reading Comprehension: I have been scoring around 16-17.

My plan for the next month was to drill as many untimed practice tests as I can. Then focus on doing timed tests in the last month. Would that be a good approach ? I will also be focusing my weaknesses, since there are certain types of questions that I always get wrong. Also, is it realistic for me to meet my target score in the next two months ?. I would like to add that I will be studying full time.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[Dave Killoran]

Hi LSAT,

There is quit a bit to unpack here, and I'll try to cover it all in the short time I have.

First, I'd strongly consider getting a tutor. You have some distance to go here and not much time, and what you need in your studies and learning is efficiency! That said, let's look at some things here:

I have heard that you should take the untimed score and minus 10 from it, so I am assuming that would leave me at a 140. I want to score in the 160s by January. I was wondering if that is realistic ?

It varies from person to person, and actually depends on how much extra time you take when you are doing it untimed. An extra 5 minutes looks a lot different in terms of "actual" score than does an extra 50 minutes per section

I am adding how I am performing in each section to give you guys some idea.
Logic Games: I am scoring around 18-22, but struggle with timing.
Logical Reasoning: I am scoring between 13-17. I have been using the Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible from the past 2 and a half weeks, and it has helped a lot. Once again, I struggle with timings. I would love to increase my score to 20-22 on both of the sections.
Reading Comprehension: I have been scoring around 16-17.

Again, really tough to tell what is realistic without having some sense of how fast you are capable of going. I'm all for starting your studies untimed but at some point you need markers of speed so you can begin focusing on timing elements.

Also, two weeks with the LRB is a good start, but there is a ton of info in that book so keep working with it The nuance in the material there is easy to miss at times, and often requires two passes to get. But, if you are only two weeks in, it also means you still have a lot to learn, and that's a great sign! I'm also unsure what you are doing to study the other sections, so it's really tough to provide advice there, but we do have books for each section as well.

My plan for the next month was to drill as many untimed practice tests as I can. Then focus on doing timed tests in the last month. Would that be a good approach ? I will also be focusing my weaknesses, since there are certain types of questions that I always get wrong. Also, is it realistic for me to meet my target score in the next two months ?. I would like to add that I will be studying full time.

It really depends on how well you know the methods and strategies of the test as to whether doing test after test will help.

Sometimes I analogize to improving scores on the LSAT to digging a mile-long trench—how easy it will be depends on the tools you have at your disposal. If you don't know what you are doing or don't have a good methods, it's almost like you are trying to dig a mile-long trench with a fork. If you are working hard on doing all these PTs, but your grasp of the tools isn't strong yet, you then are working way harder than you need to be and improving is slow and tough. If you study strategies and your process, you can get better tools. It's as if you upgrade your fork to a shovel, and then digging that long trench with a shovel is a lot easier. Eventually you hope to be good enough with the methods and techniques so that you are digging that same trench with a backhoe.

To sum up, I think taking tests is great, but you don't want to rush headlong into that until you feel like you kind of know what you are doing and want to do. Otherwise you are wasting energy by working harder when you should instead be working smarter. Instead, make sure you have a great grasp of the ideas, mix in tests and practice sets to test your knowledge and work on timing, and try to put it all together as a whole, not just focusing on all tests.

Thanks!