Is it possible that this is my limit?

[1800-HELPME]

I have taken the in-person course twice.

I have all the Bibles and have read them all.

I have done about 20 practice tests.

My diagnostic was around a 140 (1 year ago). Now I am consistently scoring in the low 150s, and the highest score I've gotten timed is around 155. Untimed, I can get majority of the questions right no problem. My goal is 160 but I have never hit it timed.

Is it test anxiety? I am not sure what to do at this point because I'm registered for the July 2018 LSAT and it is coming up very soon.

I've spent over a year reviewing for the LSAT with PowerScore's materials. Is it possible that I've just hit my limit and can't go higher than the low 150s? Something is not clicking, maybe?

[Adam Tyson]

Without knowing you more personally and observing your work in real time, 1800-HELPME, we can't really say whether you have hit your limit or if there are things you can do to improve, but I'll say that our general philosophy is that this test is learnable and that people who do the work and apply the strategies can and will show improvement, as you have already done. We believe in our students, even when they don't always believe in themselves.

A few thoughts to help you do some self-diagnosis, and feel free to share your responses so we may be able to give additional feedback:

1. Are you prephrasing every single time in Logical Reasoning, taking a moment to determine what the right answer should say, or do, or contain? If not, start doing so! Don't worry about it slowing you down, because the trade for that extra time is higher accuracy, and that's what really matters. In fact, most students end up moving faster when they prephrase more often, because they are more confident in their selection of answer choices and waste little time debating between contenders.

2. Are you rapidly sorting losers and contenders, not stopping to analyze answer choices until after you have looked at all five and compared them all to your prephrase? Time is often wasted when students stop, think, and re-read before they have finished the sorting process. If you don't immediately know that an answer is wrong, and why it is wrong, then call it a contender and move on without hesitation. Only after you have sorted should you then compare answers to each other to see which is the best. That may involve some re-reading or it may not, but that shouldn't happen until the sorting is done.

3. Are you second-guessing yourself after having selected an answer, allowing yourself to resurrect answers that you had initially eliminated because you don't trust that you could have selected the right one? If so, stop that immediately! If you follow the steps above then there should be no reason to second guess yourself. Trust your prephrase and your process, and never change an answer once you have selected it unless you have clear and compelling evidence that the new answer choice is better than the old one. Select and move on! If you are uncertain, mark that question and return to it later, after you have finished the section, if time allows.

4. In logic games, are you diagramming not only the rules, but also searching for additional inferences? Not laws are common inferences in linear games, so be sure to track those. Conditional rules are great to play "what if" with, as in "what if the sufficient condition happens? Then what else must happen?" and also "what if the necessary condition doesn't happen?" Don't just charge ahead into the questions without at least considering a few "what ifs" and looking for inferences. That's what the authors mostly like to test - not the rules, per se, but the inferences that come from combining and applying those rules. Take your time, do it right, never rush.

5. In reading comp, are you stopping at the end of the passage to prephrase the tone and main point? Are you taking just a few notes along the way to help you find key information later if and when you need it, like viewpoints, tone indicators, lists, dates, and examples? Use the VIEWSTAMP method as you read the passage to identify the kinds of things in the passage that the authors are likely to ask about, and mark those things. Predict the questions based on your reading and your vast experience with the test, rather than simply waiting to see what those questions will be.

There is still time to improve, and ways to do it! Consider everything about your process, and a few small changes now could have measurable results when you write the test. Don't rush, but move at your most accurate pace. Yes, test anxiety is a real thing, so do what you must to remain calm, whether that be through meditation, stretching periodically in your seat, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath now and again to send good, oxygenated blood to the brain, or just reminding yourself how capable you are and that there is no reason to do anything less than your very best. When you hit a wall, don't let it stop you, but go around it! Guess and move on!

We'll be looking forward to your reply, and down the road to your very good news. Good luck, crush it!