LSAT OVERLOAD?? HALF-DAY STUDY SESSIONS and still <160

[kayana.mcobb]

PLEASE HELP!

My goal schools rank around #25-50 so I am shooting for a 160-165 (which I've reached untimed only) I am planning to sit for the Sept. exam and I am almost regularly having mini panic attacks. I started studying for the LSAT in February this year (because my original plan was to take it in June) under a study regimen of 8 hours daily Mon-Friday taking PTs on Saturdays and Wednesdays (all as per the advice of my former med school relatives).

My diagnostic was atrocious... a 141. But I quickly started seeing progress from 148 to 149, then 150 to 152 (general plateau for about two months in the low 150's) one time I hit 158 but then dropped back down to the 150's and never saw close to 158 again. Seeing this drop my relatives recommended studying 12 hours per day along with taking a 40 hour prep course with a different company (which now seems like a waste of money because my scores dropped back down to 145, then 148 then 149) The course is over now but I'm still putting in about 72 hours every single week. Now I am essentially back to my plateau area of the low to mid 150's but the difference is now it seems like every time I sit for a PT it's mentally exhausting and I don't even want to look at the questions. My mind wanders and I can't stop myself from wasting time DURING practice tests thinking about other things. I'm dreading this exam at this point but I really REALLY don't want to give up on my dream of becoming an attorney over this exam alone. I definitely have the drive, stamina and persistence that I think would serve me well in law school and I've learned a lot of the core thinking skills of the LSAT..though still far from mastery.

I still have over two months to go and I have no idea what to do next! Hoping I haven't already shot myself in the foot and that it's not too late to realistically reach my goal given all I've already done... I've taken nearly all PTs from 30-70 and I don't know how to possibly get better when I'm feeling slightly discouraged, VERY much fed up with the exam and out of ideas and energy.

Is there anything I can still do to improve by the exam or could this just be where I'm destined to score ??

[kayana.mcobb]

***Clarification: Under timed conditions I've done PTs 29-38, 62-71 and every PT in the 50's untimed. Either way, I am running out of fresh exams.

I also wanted to add that I originally started out using all of the PowerScore Bible books, including the drill books and I feel like they REALLY helped me build the foundation I needed and I still revisit them when studying. But now I'm unsure of what else I can learn that will help because after I finished those -out of desperation from not seeing the score I wanted- I went through tons of other prep books. I WISH I COULD HIT A RESET BUTTON.

[Jonathan Evans]

Kayana,

Wow! I think we should petition the LSAC to give you your target score out of recognition for your sheer determination.

However, as someone who has taught both MCAT and LSAT (and everything in between in standardized test land), not everything someone would do to study for the MCAT works for the LSAT, including just hitting the books for hours and hours on end. I've seen plenty of bleary-eyed students who end up missing questions they would have gotten right had they just taken a step back, taken a break, and given themselves a chance to relax a little bit.

I am going to drive myself nuts sounding like a broken record, but LSAT preparation is all about quality over quantity. I've written and said this before and I probably will many more times but any given person could take fifty LSATs in a row and score roughly the same every time. I'm going to link here to another response I wrote earlier this evening with some general LSAT prep advice that I think you might find valuable:

lsat/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10228&p=26902#p26902

Basically, if I were you, I would take a step back, SLOW down, and try to set incremental goals for yourself. Prep every day for at least a half an hour, but maybe cap your preparation a 2-3 hours max. Break it up into two 90 minute sessions separated by several hours. Take practice tests to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Try to identify specific patterns that are causing you to miss questions. Adjust your approach strategically.

Above all, take a deep breath and stay cool! You're going to achieve your goal, but you're not going to do it driving yourself bananas. Now, focus less on your score and more on what you need to do to find out where and why you're missing questions; then you should pop onto this forum or ask your instructor/tutor to give you specific, directed, targeted feedback. I'm a sucker for cheap cliches: Rome wasn't built in a day.

Also, don't forget to recognize the specific things that you're doing that are working for you. Finally, get positive and get ready to do this test once and for all in September. There's more to life than the LSAT!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Kayana,

Let me second Jonathan's excellent advice above. He is right on the money: you absolutely need to slow down and stop doing what you're doing. In fact, I'd go a step further: take a nice long break from the LSAT! One week should do it. As we've said plenty of times and also written in this blog post, breaks can be an effective means of reducing stress, helping you focus, and even increasing your score.

After your break, you will have exactly 10 weeks until the September 2016 test. If I were you, I'd want a schedule to follow that is neither too stressful nor too lax. I'd also want to return to the basics and remind myself of all the wonderful strategies I learned way back in the day, and promptly forgot after panicking over the results of countless practice tests. There are two ways you can do that: either follow one of our Self-Study Plans (the 2 or 3-month plans seem the most appropriate in this case), or else take a course with us. Since you've already studied the Bibles and corresponding Workbooks (which the Self-Study plans are based on), I'd strongly recommend either the Full-Length or the Live On-line courses, both of which provide an exceptionally robust conceptual foundation to the test, coupled with rigorous training through thousands of questions in well-designed problem sets and practice tests. Rather than cycling through test after test, a course will allow you to slow down, focus on your weaknesses, and read the explanations to each and every question you get wrong. You'll also get question-type specific homework, allowing you to isolate and address specific weaknesses you may be having.

By taking a course with us, you'll also have an instructor to provide guidance and support - something you've been lacking in the past. Your former med school relatives don't count: sorry to tell you, but their advice has caused more harm than good at this point. As Jonathan pointed out, the MCAT is nothing like the LSAT. The former is a knowledge-based test you can indeed study for 72 hrs/week and do well. Many of my college classmates crammed for it, and did well. The LSAT, by contrast, is a skills-based test: it tests not knowledge but ability: the ability to engage in critical thinking, reading comprehension, information synthesis, etc.. You cannot cram ability - you need to develop it, slowly, methodically, over time. You don't study for the LSAT as much as train for it. You have clearly overtrained, which has compromised your ability to focus.

So, stop what you're doing, take a week-long break from the test, and consider changing your mindset (and approach) to test prep. You have plenty of time to fix this. We're here to help if you need us

Let us know if you have any other questions, and good luck!

[kayana.mcobb]

Thank you so much for your responses Nikki and Jonathan! (I too wish LSAC would honor an A for effort) I appreciate the advice and I apologize if your answers for students are repetitive.

One thing that I have taught myself to be (probably irrationally) fearful of (because of certain doctors I know) is the idea that if I take a break or slow down I might miss something' big and regret not trying harder. Every time my score doesn't go up they're huddling over me and asking me why I don't seem to be improving so I'm frantically trying to find out the answer myself. Lol but on the other side I can definitely see how cramming can probably do unintended harm and cause me to miss things because I'm near burnt out. Truthfully after the 8th hour I'm not really sure if I'm still studying or really just letting the LSAT questions stare at me while I scan the pages over and over for my health Lol

I notice that my biggest issues preventing me from scoring higher seem to be 1) consistently doing pretty poorly on the RC section and then 2) on my stronger sections rushing and making at least 5-6 silly careless mistakes that I can usually fix in review without even knowing the answers...but the first time around in test mode I'm never so lucky

I do see the benefits of taking a class, I was initially just worried if there is anything new I can learn and not waste more money than I already have. Maybe it would be a good idea to take a week off and then signup for an online class with you guys to pace myself like a normal person and boost my confidence again until the exam!

Thank you again! I'm sure you'll see more questions from me soon.

[Adam Tyson]

I'll add a half-cent to the great advice you've already been given and say you should stop listening to your well-meaning family. They know not of what they speak. I would never give anyone any advice about how to prepare for the MCATs because I have never even seen them. Perhaps these medical folks should stop giving advice about the LSAT? Love them, thank them, and then completely ignore them.

LSAT study is not about learning a lot of facts - it's about changing the way you think, trying new approaches and strategies, finding what works for you (which may not be what works for the next guy - very unlike medicine, I suspect)

Burn-out is a huge problem. I'm not sure I would take a week off - your anxiety at being away from it for so long might be counter-productive - but I would certainly take at least a day or two. Go for a walk, take a nap, ready a trashy novel, see a movie, hang out with friends, relax. Then, get back into the study game at a steady, measured pace, a few hours a day with occasional days off. Alternate a lot of untimed practice and analysis with occasional timed sections and full practice tests. Focus on learning the strategies. Identify your weak areas and do some focused study on those. Review your practice tests slowly and carefully, and be sure to not only go over the mistakes you made but also the ones you got right - it is just as important to learn how to repeat your past successes as it is to avoid your past failures.

Take Jonathan's and Nikki's advice to heart - they are really, really good at this LSAT stuff. A break, and then a much more measured approach that saves your health and sanity, will benefit you ever so much more than cramming until you drop from exhaustion.

Good luck, and have fun! Seriously - have fun!