Took Live Online Course And Score Stayed The Same

[ericau02]

Hahahaha sounds good, thank you Adam!!! I really appreciate all your advice!

[T.B.Justin]

Thanks Ericau. Best of luck with your studies as well!

That wall hurts. I am very familiar with beating my head against the cement wall!

+1 for that advice.

[ericau02]

Hi Im back on here again, sorry for the constant questions, if you haven't noticed I am a pretty anxious individual. I completed my first blind review last week and went over some logic games to try to strengthen my inferencing. I just did another PT and I struggled a little bit with time and still trying to apply what I learned through Blind review. I have not gone over the exam yet of course bc of the blind review. But I am just worried about the June exam with 6 weeks remaining and not feeling so confident from the PT test I took today. Is it really possible to be able to lift my score with in the next 6 weeks for the June exam? I really do not want to push it to July because that entails another 4 months of studying I know that if I have to I have no choice, but my highest PT like stated previously was a 152. I am yearning so desperately to reach a 168-170. I for some reason lack the confidence, but I am really trying. I guess what Im really asking is during Blind review after the whole process what should I really be focusing on? Thanks !!

[Adam Tyson]

6 weeks is plenty of time to make a lot of progress! Just focus on one step at a time, dealing with what is right in front of you. Following a blind review, when you go through and check the answers you will find that the questions fall into two categories:

1. You got them right both times, first during the timed test and again on review. The only thing to think about there is whether you struggled on any of them or took particularly long to answer them. If so, study those to see how you can be more efficient. Look for patterns in what slowed you down.

2. Wrong on the test, right on review. Congratulations! You taught yourself something valuable! Pay attention to why you got it wrong the first time so you can better understand how to get it right the next time.

3. Wrong both times. Study these especially to find patterns and figure out where you went wrong, so you can focus your studies on learning the right strategies and techniques for those question types. Did you prephrase? Identify the conclusion in the argument? Did you read every word, including in all five answers?

4. Right under timed conditions but wrong on review. Hopefully you won't have many of those! If you have any, try to figure out why you talked yourself out of a good answer and into a bad one. Are you bringing in outside info and your own assumptions? Are you letting self-doubt infect your decision making? You should never change an answer choice without a clear, articulated explanation for why you are doing it, so ask yourself what your rationale was and try to figure out where that rationale went wrong.

Don't think about July, or how long you have been or will be studying. Just focus on the task at hand - get better than you were a week ago, one step at a time. That will keep adding up until you find yourself where you want to be, whenever that happens to be. June is still a reasonable goal, if you just keep doing the work. And remember to give yourself a break now and then! Go see a movie, go out for a drink or three, take a nap! Some days you just have to rest and recover, and that is part of the process too. Anything else is unhealthy and counterproductive.

[ericau02]

Okay Thank you Adam. I just keep thinking of the amount of practice test I should be getting done and still struggling with these questions frustrates me.

with six weeks left how many PT's shld I be taking a week?
I still work but have been able to reduce my work shifts weekly.
And I thought to aim to study 6-7 hrs per day? is that too much or not enough!

[ericau02]

Also what should I be doing when Identify my weak areas should I continue with the PTS or should I go back to the course books and review the techniques again.

Any tips for Reading Comprehension?

[ericau02]

To get a better grasp of my frustration. It seems that I am struggling every department after my first blind review I took a PT and my LR section was -14 and -17 and my reading comprehension was -17 and my LG was -10, leaving me with a score of 141. I feel so incapable of this exam I don't even know where to start or begin to go over my weaknesses or how or if I am blind reviewing properly etc. I know I shouldn't be thinking about the exam but I keep thinking if its possible for me to improve in time and it is burdening me so I need to make sure I am reviewing the proper way.

[ericau02]

One more thing also so sorry I wish i could have done response. I keep reading about a bok called the LSAT trainer is this something i should look into? or Do i not have time for it!

[Adam Tyson]

Hey Erica, sorry to take so long to return to this thread! I think more than 6 hours a day is too much for almost anyone, and you have to split it up over the course of a day. One PT a week is usually sufficient, but when you identify weak areas you should return to the basics in the course books and brush up on strategies and concepts before doing another PT.

Your current numbers suggest that there is still a lot of work to be done, but you have to take it in bite-sized pieces. Choose just one thing to work on - maybe it's Assumption questions, or Flaws in the Reasoning. Maybe it's Grouping Games. Any small improvement, if it is on a topic that is frequently tested (as opposed to, say Evaluate the Argument questions, which are very rare) should have a ripple effect on your overall performance. Slow down across the board - it's better to answer fewer questions with higher accuracy than to move more quickly and get a bunch wrong.

As for the LSAT Trainer, that's not a PowerScore resource, but some people do feel they benefit from the approaches used by the author. If you feel like your current resources aren't cutting it for you, it's wise to look at different approaches and see if they make more sense to you. Anything that can help you is worth taking a look at, including from any of our competitors! There are a lot of free resources out there, too, that you might want to investigate to supplement what you've been getting from us.

Keep at it, and keep your chin up!

[ericau02]

Thanks Adam for getting back to me, I think I need to focus more on Logic Games and Reading Comprehension. I have done better in Logical reasoning the only thing I am struggling with is time. My scores have been in the mid 150's withmy blind review being in the 160's range. So there is some improvement indefinitely. I do not want to postone the June exam as I postoned the March so I will sign up for the July one just in case. But It is hard because I do sometimes feel as though it wont be possible for me to break through this range and hit high 160's. Maybe i should consider a powerscore tutor session? Im not sure I have been studying for some time, but I am really just concerned as to why my grades arent where I want them to be, just yet.