Improving LSAT Performance

[brichmond]

I am enrolled in a current online powerscore class and I have been consistently taking practice tests on pace with the class' recommendations. However, I am having a lot of trouble improving my score. I came into the class with a 164 and I have scored since then on timed tests -> 164, 163, 163, 163, 165, 163, 165, 163. This is with implementing all of the new strategies and techniques I have learned through powerscore to the best of my ability. However, my stagnant scores are disconcerting, because I feel like most students are usually able to pull up their score with the class.

One of the biggest issues I am having is something I can only describe as "whack-a-mole". I seem to perform well or close to my goal on most most test sections, but on one section I really mess up, ie something along the lines of 6-8+ questions wrong. This usually relates to a big error like failing to set up a logic game correctly, running out of time and rushing through questions on logical reasoning, or failing to understand/rushing through a passage on critical reading.

This is all the more frustrating because I have reached my goal of 170 on an untimed tests. If this were just a timing issue, I feel like my scores would be improving incrementally. Maybe not though.

Is anyone else seeing stagnant testing results despite following class curriculum, and how have you been able to address them? My (ambitious) goal is to try to break 170 on the December test.

Thanks

[dianaknazz]

I am having literally the EXACT same problem! When I take an un-timed test I will get 170+, which is also my goal. When I take them timed, I always mess up on one section (for me it is typically Reading Comp so I am spending an entire 6 days on just focusing on speed and correct "active reading" to see if that helps)--but I have taken over over 10 tests. I will get somewhere like -2, -3, -5, -10 or something else drastic like that and unsure how to approach fixing this.

I hope that by working on just one section of the test at a time (doing RC this week and LR the following, the games for half a week, since I am confident in those) and doing only one test a week (instead of 2-3) will help me evaluate better what type of strategies I need to be taking for the LSAT.

I am glad (or maybe relieved is a better word) to see that someone else is in the same boat as me! and if anyone has any suggestions whatsoever--please pass along! I am desperately trying anything and everything!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey guys,

Let me jump in real quick and offer a few suggestions. Yes, score plateaus - especially in the mid-160's - are a common problem. Without the time constraints, you are pulling 170+, which is absolutely fantastic! It shows you have a superb grasp of the concepts, but perhaps aren't working as efficiently as you should be.

As you can imagine, it is vital to understand exactly what's slowing you down. Perhaps you got a question right but it took you 3 minutes to do it instead of 1:30 mins? Do that on 3 questions, and you're already 5 minutes behind. Or, maybe you freak out about time and rush, which is actually worse: a mistake costs you both a lost point and the time it took to lose it. No good.

To be perfectly honest, when I was in your shoes a long time ago, I started getting 172+ when I stopped trying to get a 180 (incidentally, that's when I actually got a 180). I stopped freaking out about time, and basically gave up on trying to have an absolutely perfect score. It may sound paradoxical, but giving up on that ideal gives you a sense of mental clarity: you focus on the question at hand without worrying about what comes next. Also, it is incredibly important to review your work - both the questions you missed and the ones that slowed you down; both games and RC passages. You both have access to our Online explanations, which is great. Any question from your PTs that isn't explained - feel free to post it on our forum.

Also, check out these blog posts that might be of some relevance to your questions:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/316 ... -Attention

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/309 ... st-Go-Down

Last, while I'm loathe to suggest resources that would add some cost to your test prep, we've designed the Advanced Logic Games and Logical Reasoning courses precisely with students such as yourselves in mind. If there is no pattern to the mistakes you make, it is entirely possible that you're simply messing up on the hardest questions of the test. This makes sense, since you're stuck in the mid-160's, which means you're missing about 15% of the questions. The Advanced courses are designed to get you over that hill. Even if you don't purchase either product, check out the free previews on our website:

http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/advanced-logic-games/

http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/advanced ... reasoning/

Good luck!