Study Help please! Stuck in the low 150's

[heartofsunshine]

Hi, I have been studying LSAT over the last three months about 20/hours week. Although school started a few weeks ago and I have had to decrease my study time. I have made it through all three PowerScore Bibles and have taken 3 full PT. (155,154,152 in that order). I REALLY want to be in the 160's as a minimum and would love to be in the upper 160's (OR HIGHER?), but I'm worried I don't have enough time. I completed the three month self-study guide and have done most of the type training, except I have about half of the LRTT that I am still drilling. My logic games seem to be improving by about 3-5 points which is nice, but I'm still missing ~7 per section.

The last few weeks I have been trying to drill Reading Comprehension as it seems to be really weak, although even after doing 20+ passages I'm not doing well. Rarely I finish in time. I am starting to have greater accuracy but it will take me 12-13 minutes to finish a passage and 25% of the time I still miss 1-2 questions on it. I'm feeling very lost on where to go from here, and where I should spend my time as I really need help on everything. I was considering signing up for the on demand subscription but don't know if that will be a repeat of information. Tutoring seems like a good option, but it's very expensive.

I don't know if I should focus on full PT, or more individual timed sections, or what. I really want to break through this ceiling. I am taking a speed reading course starting next week and I hope that helps!

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi heartofsunshine,

Great questions!

Given that you've been through the Bibles and the three month self-study plan, your primary focus at this point should be on taking practice tests and complete review of practice tests using the blind review method outlined here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-be ... ice-tests/. During your review process, focus both on understanding (make sure you've identified concrete reasons any wrong answers are wrong, and right answers are right) and on efficiency (for every question, ask what the most efficient process would be to arrive at the correct answer).

A couple things to keep in mind: first, it's not at all uncommon to have improvements in PT scores occur only after a student has gotten a sufficient number of practice tests under their belt (at least 5 to 10). Having taken 3 is a great start! But you really need to make your way through more practice tests before you can expect to see the benefits of what you've learned from the Bibles playing out in a 3-hour timed test (which, as you know from having done it, is a significant challenge all its own!).

That being said, if during the review process of your practice tests you're finding it difficult to identify where you're going wrong, you may find it beneficial to have the material explained by someone else. That would be where the on-demand course could come in handy. You might've missed some things in the Bibles that the explanations provided in the course make clear. If you prefer the flexibility of the on-demand option, that would be ideal. Tutoring is also a great option, even if just for a few hours. A good tutor can look at your practice tests with you and identify weaknesses and targeted study strategies for overcoming those weaknesses. It can also be helpful to have someone with a tutor's expertise to have a dialogue with--sometimes talking things out helps more than just staring at a page!

If there's anything else we can do to help, please let us know. Keep at it, and best of luck as you continue studying!

Jeremy

[heartofsunshine]

Thank you Jeremy for the reply! It's helpful to know where to focus. I'm glad to know sometimes it can take 5-10 PT before seeing more results. One more thing, what is your opinion on taking timed sections?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi heartofsunshine,

I think it can be very useful, so long as you do an immediate review of the section. It's often helpful to identify section-management strategies that can let you more efficiently navigate the 35 minutes you have. Doing complete tests is ideal for building test-day endurance. Doing individual sections is helpful (with immediate review) for learning how better to navigate the questions within the 35-minute limit. So I'm a big fan of individual section drilling, particularly if you have a "problem section" that continues to give you difficulty!

I hope this helps!

Jeremy