LSAT score improvement from 162-166 in 3 weeks

[Yvetteyyy]

Hi there,

So I started off with a 147 and have brought my score up to a 160-162 range. However, my dream is to go to USC. I know my current LSAT score is not competitive for USC. Do you think it is possible to raise my score to a 166 given the time left before the September LSAT?

The studying I have done so far is every single homework question up until Lesson 11 provided by PowerScore. Once I am done with Lesson 12 (hopefully by the middle of next week), I plan to take many practice tests. I have so far taken about 12-15 practice tests. I haven't improved on my score in a few weeks though. However, I haven't really implemented everything I have learned from the lessons. Once I am done with the lessons,I plan on reviewing my notes and trying to implement everything I've learned.

Also, when I go back and review my mistakes from the practice LSATs I notice that a lot of the answers that I get wrong, I narrowed down to two answers and picked the wrong one. Once I review the answers, it is obvious to me why the right answer was right and I have this moment of "oh duh!" If I count those answers, my score improves to a 168. Also, my weakest section is the reading comprehension section. I always have to rush through it and miss almost half the questions. Do you think I should focus on just doing 3 of the passages?

In conclusion, I'm really worried and would like to know if you have heard of any person improving substantially in the last 3 weeks. Thank you for your time.

-Yvette

[Eric Ockert]

Hi Yvette!

First of all, absolutely! Three weeks is definitely enough time to raise that score 4 points. In fact, you are already within striking distance of that score right now. It may only take one test to see that final push. The goal for the next three weeks is thus to push that current number up, obviously, but also to keep giving yourselves opportunities to improve your understanding of the test and to hone your technique.

I think your gameplan sounds good. But, don't fall into the quantity trap when it comes to practice tests. Many people try to just do as many tests as they can fit in before test day, and this really doesn't help. A good 2-3 tests per week from here on out is probably more ideal. Just make sure you are devoting significant time to reviewing and understanding each of those tests in detail. It's the review process that really gives you the opportunity to improve from test to test. If you need more work to supplement these efforts, take some timed sections interspersed throughout.

The fact that you are narrowing down to two is a common observation. First of all, many of the questions you are getting right probably qualify in that category too. So it isn't so much a problem as it is a sign that your approach is working, narrowing the field to two, but just that you are getting some of those wrong (but probably a lot more correct). The key here is to go back to those questions and not just recognize why the correct answer was right and why your answer was wrong, but why did you go for that wrong answer? What drew you into that choice? What turned you away from the right answer? What didn't you see that you should have seen? Remember too, so much of improvement is learning your own reactions and thought processes in addition to knowing the test better.

For Reading Comp, it is a difficult assessment to make without knowing the details of your timing, your accuracy, your goals, etc. However, if your goal is to score in the mid- to high-160's (or beyond) you are getting to a level where doing only three passages makes your margin of error on those three passages incredibly slim. You may want to try letting go of a question or two in the first three passages (time consuming or difficult questions) in order to preserve enough time to really do the fourth passage well. Also, take a look at how long you spend to read the passages themselves. Many students find they are spending 4-5 minutes reading. That leaves very little time to answer questions. If that is an issue, you may find reading faster actually improves performance.

Hope that helps!

[Yvetteyyy]

Hi Eric,
First of all, I just want to say thank you so much for all of your help. You gave me the hope I needed for my score to improve and it did. I applied everything you said. On a diagnostic LSAT I took the week before the test I received a 165. On the last one I received. 171, but that is because I had already taken that LSAT in the past. I realized I need to do every single reading comprehension passage if I want to get a good score.

However, there's a bit of a problem. I just took the LSAT today, and I know I did very poorly. First, there was construction during the first two sections of the test, after which they moved us into a different classroom. Secondly, the reading comprehension section was by far the hardest reading comprehension section I have ever done. I did not understand most of the passages and I felt a lot of pressure, so mentally I started to fall apart. I geniunely guessed on most of the questions in that section, and I did not even have time to read the last passage nor did I have time to answer the last few questions, so I just bubbled in an answer. I'm already signed up for the December LSAT and I don't really have a question but I thought I would update you and thank you for everything. I am really worried though, and really disappointed.

Best,
Yvette

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Yvette,

If you don't mind me jumping in here quickly, I have a few thoughts for you that might help:

First, I totally agree with Eric's comments above about the possibility of you moving your score up for the December LSAT. I don't see any barriers to that at all. You've already come a long way (congrats on that) and you are very close to where you want to be now. You just have to believe you can do it and continue to put in the hard work.

Second, as far as Saturday's test, you just have to shake that one off and put it in the past. The circumstances surrounding your exam (construction, moving rooms, etc) sound terrible, and so you shouldn't look at this exam and think it's a realistic assessment of your abilities. December will work equally well for your applications (see http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/struggl ... r-too-late), and so I'd move forward with confidence, and not worry about this exam. The setup from the start was bad, and you can safely blame that for not having everything click for you on this LSAT.

Thanks, and keep your confidence up—you can do this!

[Yvetteyyy]

Okay so! First of all, thank you so much for your response and words of encouragement; I needed to hear that after the LSAT and it helped me move forward.

Second, I need help!! So I just got the LSAT back and I did better than I expected. I got a 164. I thought I did very poorly so I am surprised. I guessed on most of the reading comprehension section but only missed 5, I feel like I just got lucky, and am worried I won’t have that luck the second time around. I missed 7 on each of the logical reasoning sections and 0 on the games section. I normally do better on logical reasoning so I am a bit disappointed.

I would really like to go to USC and I know I am not competitive enough for it yet, especially because my GPA is lower than their 25th percentile. I need a 166/167 And was wondering how likely you think it is that my score will go up (with 2 months of studying of course). I haven’t stopped studying since the September LSAT and plan on taking 2/3 tests a week as well as a few sections of tests per week. Let me know what you think and if you think I should just apply because it is better than I apply now, or if I should wait and take it again in December.

Also, I’m not sure how to do better on the reading comprehension section. In order to understand what I read, I need to read slowly. That, however, takes away my time from the last passage and even then I normally miss a lot of the questions on the passages I took my time on. I want to say I take about 4-5 min reading the passages. Let me know how I can go about attacking the questions so that I can cut my time there because I don’t think I can read faster.

Best,
Evet

Ps. Thank you so much in advance for your response, I can’t explain how much they help

[James Finch]

Hi Yvette,

It's good to hear that you scored as well as you did, you should definitely feel confident in your abilities moving forward, both with the LSAT and law school in general. You are clearly capable of mastering this test.

To answer your question about improving your score, it's totally possible. It sounds you don't have any problems with the Logic Games section, and normally score high on Logical Reasoning, both good signs. Reading Comprehension is dependent upon getting as much information as possible out of the passage on the first read, engaging with it as you read so as to retain as much pertinent information as you can, making answering the questions significantly easier. This is why we use the VIEWSTAMP method; we are reading and making note of specific elements that occur within LSAT passages because those elements will be tested in the questions. So whenever I have a student who has issues with this section, I always caution them that it isn't about reading faster or slower, but more effectively. If you can read/annotate effectively, then you should be able to answer all the questions in the section within the time limit. So my advice is to use this study time to practice your method and attacking the passage for information you'll need for the questions, rather than focus on time specifically.

When it comes to the application process, this is a bit tougher. You have a specific school in mind, and that school has rolling admissions, meaning that as time go on spots will fill up before the application deadline. With that said, roughly half (or more) of the spots in next year's class should still be open by the time the December LSAT scores are released. Right now, if your GPA is at the 25th percentile and LSAT score a 164, it looks like admittance chances are low (roughly 20%) for USC. The general rule is always apply when your application will be at its best, to give yourself the highest chance of admission. Also, despite the rolling admissions, applying doesn't necessarily help your chances when applying to a school that isn't T14. So as a general rule, take the time you need to make your application as attractive as possible, and apply when you're ready. In this specific case, definitely use this time to study and improve your LSAT score even more, so that you can send out the best application possible.

I hope this helps out!