Advice Requested

[ctali65]

Hello Powerscore,

First of all, I am a big fan of everything you guys do. I love the podcast, and Dave and Jon's twitter feed keep me sane! I just received my May LSAT score, and I received a 162. My first score was a 158 on the LSAT in October. I am looking to break into the 170s. I have taken the Live online class, done some tutoring sessions, and some significant self studying with the online student center. I was wondering what advice you have, or what materials I should use to break into the score band I am hoping for. I have all three bibles already. Thank you!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi ctali65,

It sounds like you have a good handle on the basics of the test. Often, when people hit a plateau and are having trouble breaking through, it comes down to process. You've been studying for a while now, and it gets hard to force yourself to go through the right process every time. Make sure you are following the process every time---sorting contenders and losers, prephrasing, using appropriate techniques when needed (for example, the Assumption Negation technique if you are stumped on an assumption question), and using your time wisely. Time is one of the big drivers of your test score, so if you aren't using it efficiently, you won't get up into that elite level. Forcing yourself to keep moving on the test can be helpful. Skipping questions or moving on when a question is taking too long can also ultimately help your score. Finally, I know you've used a lot of PowerScore material so far, but you may find the Advanced LSAT Courses helpful. They are taught by Dave and Jon, and there's one for logic reasoning and one for the games. They are really fantastic.

Hope that helps!
Rachael