Plateauing and needing guidance in how to improve

[wright2summer]

Hello.
I have two questions.

First, due to the cancelling of the March test, I have pulled my application from Vanderbilt (the school I really had my eye on) since I do not currently have a score to get into that school. I am pretty gutted and finding myself in a place of reassessing my plan moving forward. I am applying to USD and Pepperdine as well and I could potentially still get into those schools with my score but I'm nervous that by applying so late in the game that my options for scholarships are limited.
I am having to make the difficult decision whether to withdraw all of my applications and re-apply for 2021 or move forward with taking my chances on trying to get in this year.
Would love your thoughts.
Secondly, should I decide to take the LSAT again, once they allow us to take it, I need a real change in my studying as I'm not seeing any progress currently. I have been studying with the Powerscore materials for several months now. I have been through two tutors and am still struggling to better my score. What do you suggest I do to change up my studying to see improvement? The highest score I've gotten is a 151 but I am mostly landing at 148. I need to get in the high 150s low 160s for the schools of my choice. I've done the On Demand course, I've spent thousands of dollars on tutoring and using the On demand access to all of the materials but, I'm just stuck. I can't seem to get my score up.
I am struggling with my timing, it takes me a long time to get through the sections. I seem to be missing Flaw, Strengthen, Weaken, POI, questions but even some Must Be True questions. I struggle to finish all of the games and can usually only get through 3 RC questions. Overall it just feels like I'm moving so slow. When I go through questions with my tutor, I can get them and I mostly understand, but when I take a practice test it feels like I lose it all.
If it looks like I have another several months ahead of me to allocate to studying, how should I spend this time? I would say I could take a class in person, but I'm not sure that will even be an option any time soon with the Covid19 outbreak.
It doesn't seem like there is really any difference between the Live Online Course and the On Demand Course, they are in essence the same thing, correct?
I looked at TestMasters as well but I'm not even sure if course material is the issue.
Forgive the processive nature of this post, I'm just needing some guidance and suggestions on how to see some real improvement here.

Any insight you can offer is greatly appreciated.
Best,
Summer

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Summer!

These are definitely uncertain times so I absolutely feel your anxiety over what to do with your law school applications. This is uncharted territory for everyone so there isn't much I can say with absolute certainty. But one thing I would encourage you to do, if you're able, is to attend this webinar from LSAC on Friday regarding how the COVID-19 situation is affecting the law school admission process. It will feature a panel of law school admissions officers and deans (including someone from USD!). They'll be able to give you a much better picture of what law school admissions are looking like right now than I will:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_71o ... hZ1UwINRUg

That said, is there a reason for withdrawing your applications early? You've already submitted the applications, you might as well see whether or not they accept you. Most schools do not penalize you for reapplying even if you were rejected in a previous year, though they do expect you to update your application and submit it again. If you're worried about it, you can contact the admissions offices at the schools you are applying to and ask them what their policy is (some may even have it on their websites).

As for how to improve your score, first let me say that I'm sorry you've been working so hard and have yet to see the improvement you were hoping for! My suggestion is to check out this study regimen from a former PowerScore student. It can feel a bit tedious. But this constant repetition and drilling can help increase your speed and accuracy:

https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/my-lsa ... nt-part-1/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/my-lsa ... en-part-2/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/my-lsa ... en-part-3/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/my-lsa ... en-part-4/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/my-lsat-reflection/

Also, when you are drilling questions, remember to focus on process. Go back and review the basics and make sure that you approach every LSAT question in a consistent way. "Studying" for the LSAT is a bit of a misnomer--what you're really doing is training for the LSAT. Approach your LSAT preparation in a similar way to how you might train for an athletic event or learn a musical instrument. You're basically training your brain muscle to perform in certain ways. You have to go slow at first to make sure that you are using all of the proper techniques (identifying conclusions, analyzing how the premises support the conclusion, looking for flaws, identifying the type of question, prephrasing, etc.). You have to practice over and over and over, carefully applying those same techniques until they become second nature and you are using them without thinking. Then, you will naturally get faster and more confident. It can take hours and hours of careful practice and repetition before you start seeing those big gains. So stay focused on your goal and remember that you're in training.

Here's a blog post that elaborates on focusing on process: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/how-to ... sat-study/

Hope this helps and good luck with your applications!

Best,
Kelsey