5 months to 172 Forum

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:17 pm

I think simply reading is hugely beneficial. It doesn't have to be Kant; just pick up a book (or Kindle) instead of turning on Netflix every night and you'll make enormous gains in your reading ability. The sad fact is that many of us are addicted to our phones, social media, etc., and are constantly multitasking, so it's difficult for us to switch back to focused text-processing mode and concentrate on anything longer than a page. Reading almost anything will help; the important thing is to read and read a lot.

For that reason, I'd recommend that OP read whatever is interesting to him. It's better to read 1000 pages of fluffy material before the test than 50 pages of dense philosophy.

However, if he wants something close to RC passages, I'd suggest the old standbys the Economist and Scientific American, or a contemporary philosopher like Rawls. No RC passage will look like anything in Plato or Homer.
I started reading the Monster of Florence last night. It's by no means dense, but I did find it relaxing to read right before bed. Peaceful even. It made me realize I haven't read for leisure in so long (thanks college). I'm curious to see how this will affect my RC.

I think I'll start reading the Economist during my lunch breaks at work. Thanks for the advice!

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:22 pm

kcdc1 wrote:
If only I could read and comprehend the material faster. I'm desperately trying out different strategies to find the right one.
What is your current strategy for reading and annotating the passages? FWIW, I did my best when I relaxed and read thoroughly enough that I understood everything on the first pass. For me, it was less about reading quickly than eliminating the need to re-read.
It usually takes me anywhere from 2:30 to 3:30 to read the passage. I put arrows in the margin when the argument shifts to a different viewpoint and an exclamation mark in the margin whenever I see a hint giving away the author's point of view. I don't annotate many things besides that. Hmm. Maybe if I slow down, I won't have to go back to the passage as much for the answers. Trying to find the perfect balance.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:25 pm

Nik9639 wrote:Just wanted to say thanks for posting your progress.

I'm keeping up with my hard schedule so far too, but sometimes I just want to put off LSAT study till later and hope for the best on the test day. Threads like this help me keep the motivation.

Keep up the hard work!
If my thread helps a few stay motivated, I'll be happy. My biggest regret was not leaving adequate time to reach my goal score. Hence why I'm sitting out this cycle.

Best of luck! We have plenty of time to improve.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by kcdc1 » Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:48 pm

Hotlinebling1024 wrote:It usually takes me anywhere from 2:30 to 3:30 to read the passage. I put arrows in the margin when the argument shifts to a different viewpoint and an exclamation mark in the margin whenever I see a hint giving away the author's point of view. I don't annotate many things besides that. Hmm. Maybe if I slow down, I won't have to go back to the passage as much for the answers. Trying to find the perfect balance.
I don't recall exactly how long I spent reading the passages, but I think it was between 3 and 4 minutes. It was far from a blistering pace, but I consistently hit -1 to -4 on RC for PT's (-2 on test day). Of course, what worked for me might not be what's best for you. Just wanted to say that it's possible to do well even with a more deliberate pace.

I'd also add that you should make sure you understand the paragraph-by-paragraph structure of the passage before wading into the questions. By this I mean that you want to know that in Paragraph 1 the author is making Point A, in Paragraph 2 he's making Point B, etc. You can annotate this if you want; I just made mental notes.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by erugani » Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:36 pm

I am one of those ppl who don't have much time to allocate to studying, do to work (deployed to Afghanistan). I have some study materials but not many means of doing classes before the amazing test. I plan on hitting the books hard when I get home in a couple months and i'll have a solid 2 months of study prep. Any suggestions for the aspiring law student? Classes are not a feasible option at this point due to money, family, and work location.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Bluex12 » Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:16 am

Just dropping by to say good luck to you all and don't get discouraged. I got a 158 the first time I sat in Oct '14. I then devoted about four months to learning the LSAT inside and out, wound up with a 172 when I took again, and am now headed to the T14 (Michigan)! The LSAT is definitely a beatable test if you put in the time and effort!

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:00 am

Hello all,



I really need to get better at posting more often. My LSAT game has been strong though!! I’m slowly making my way through the 40s. I took a PT from the 70s to get acquainted with the newer exams. The last thing I need is a confidence crusher right before L-day. 

I’m going to tone down the PTing a bit- just one a week. Working full time while studying and training for a half marathon is taking its toll. This will allow me to drill my weaknesses and BR my exams much more thoroughly. Luckily my half marathon is on Sunday.



PT 40 168
RC -7, LR -5, LG -1

PT 43 169
RC -7, LR -6, LG -0

PT 44 169
RC -6, LR -6, LG -0

Interesting note: I took this PT on a plane with babies crying and flight attendants bothering me. Definitely plan on taking a few more PTs in less-than-ideal environments.

PT 45 171!!!!!!
RC -5, LR -5, LG -1

PT 71 170
RC -6, LR -5, LG -3

Hopefully I can keep the 170 momentum going. I still have a lot of room for improvement these next few months. I’m finally starting to see all the patterns across the tests. LSAC uses the same tricks over and over. I never knew what people were talking about, then I put 15+ PTs under my belt. Ideally I’d like to be scoring 175+ by June to make up for any test day anxiety I may come across. I’m saving a couple PTs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s just in case I need them for a retake in October. I’ve heard too many horror stories of people using up all fresh material before a retake.


Keeping up with the LG challenge. I thought PT15-G2 was ridiculously hard. Even after watching JY’s videos, I’m not entirely sure I could come up with that setup on game day. Marked it in red to go over again and again.


PT 10
G1- 4:37
G2- 8:23, 7:13
G3- 5:56
G4- 8:03

PT 11
G1- 8:59
G2- 4:07
G3- 10:15, 7:39
G4- 8:03

PT 12
G1- 4:42
G2- 7:18
G3- 6:36
G4- 8:52


PT 13
G1- 7:57, 6:50
G2- 4:50
G3- 10:50, 6:57
G4- 9:58

PT 14
G1- 7:55
G2- 4:49
G3- 7:17
G4- 7:12

PT 15
G1- 6:07
G2- 11:29, 8:42
G3- 5:46
G4- 7:04


“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”
Last edited by Hotlinebling1024 on Tue Feb 09, 2016 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:01 am

Bluex12 wrote:Just dropping by to say good luck to you all and don't get discouraged. I got a 158 the first time I sat in Oct '14. I then devoted about four months to learning the LSAT inside and out, wound up with a 172 when I took again, and am now headed to the T14 (Michigan)! The LSAT is definitely a beatable test if you put in the time and effort!
Love hearing success stories! Thank you and congrats!!

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by railyard » Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:25 am

Thanks for the update OP, keep it up!

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Wed Feb 10, 2016 11:33 pm

Hey guys,

I just wanted to reach out regarding my sleeping patterns. I got a fitbit a couple weeks ago. I checked the sleep monitor and was horrified to find that I average 3-4 hours of sleep a night when I'm in bed for 7-8 hours. It says I'm "restless" 40x a night. This pattern has continued since last month. It makes sense because I always complain to coworkers about being tired even after getting a full night's rest.

I would like to get this settled ASAP, as I'm sure it's affecting my LSAT studying. Has anyone here participated in a sleep study or something similar? I have tried melatonin tablets and sleeping pills... no luck :(

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by ac8876a » Thu Feb 11, 2016 12:18 am

Can you give an example of the tricks that LSAC uses?
Feel like i am barely finding any..

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by railyard » Thu Feb 11, 2016 12:59 am

Hotlinebling1024 wrote:Hey guys,

I just wanted to reach out regarding my sleeping patterns. I got a fitbit a couple weeks ago. I checked the sleep monitor and was horrified to find that I average 3-4 hours of sleep a night when I'm in bed for 7-8 hours. It says I'm "restless" 40x a night. This pattern has continued since last month. It makes sense because I always complain to coworkers about being tired even after getting a full night's rest.

I would like to get this settled ASAP, as I'm sure it's affecting my LSAT studying. Has anyone here participated in a sleep study or something similar? I have tried melatonin tablets and sleeping pills... no luck :(
Have you tried watching golf before bed? :lol: I'm sure you've already considered these but sleepy time tea? Stretching before bed? Too much caffeine before bed? This may be a huuuge stretch, but as noted by my doctor my thyroid wasn't producing enough hormones, sure enough this caused me to feel fatigued even when I had slept. I feel better rested now on medication.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by lawschoolgirl312 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 8:29 pm

where are you getting the PT 1-30 from?? Also, I feel you on the RC bus :( its my worst section and I can't seem to figure out what works for me yet

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:04 pm

ac8876a wrote:Can you give an example of the tricks that LSAC uses?
Feel like i am barely finding any..
For example, in MSS questions, we're sometimes given a stimulus containing only descriptive language. Then one or more of the ACs will have language about what one "should" do. If opinions weren't stated, we can immediately eliminate any answer containing this language. Saves a bunch of time.

For SA questions, they'll throw in a bunch of unnecessary sentences. If you can find the new element in the conclusion and link it up to one of the premises, you're golden. They love giving the contrapositive form of your pre-phrase for these types.

In RC, they'll have ACs that are just a mish mash of words all seen in the passage, but they make zero sense if you really understand what the passage was saying. These are major traps.

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:07 pm

railyard wrote:
Hotlinebling1024 wrote:Hey guys,

Have you tried watching golf before bed? :lol: I'm sure you've already considered these but sleepy time tea? Stretching before bed? Too much caffeine before bed? This may be a huuuge stretch, but as noted by my doctor my thyroid wasn't producing enough hormones, sure enough this caused me to feel fatigued even when I had slept. I feel better rested now on medication.

I haven't tried stretching. I will give it a shot! And the current #1 golfer in the world went to my alma mater, so I'll try watching golf as well :p

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:12 pm

lawschoolgirl312 wrote:where are you getting the PT 1-30 from?? Also, I feel you on the RC bus :( its my worst section and I can't seem to figure out what works for me yet
Cambridge website. And RC is the worst....luckily, we have plenty of time to improve!

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by oh lawd » Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:35 pm

Feel free to ignore/rip apart this advice, but I still consider it to be one of the keys to my last jump from the high 60s to low 70s. Take a week off. Visualize, meditate, do things you like. I spent a week taking two hour long walks, took my niece to the zoo and to a movie, fancy dinner that I overpaid for with my fiancée, etc. I intentionally planned them for times when I would have normally been studying. When I came back my scores were higher. I spent a lot of time imagining the "perfect" test in my head. It helped. All of the other suggestions on here have been extremely valuable too, and I probably should have also partaken in some of them. If it helps, kudos. Regardless best of luck OP!

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:42 am

Hey y’all, it’s been a while. Back at it again with the updates!!




I did a sleep study last week to address my sleeping issues. It was very interesting to say the least- I had about 40 wires hooked up to me, and someone watched me sleep the entire night. I should be getting my results within the next few weeks. Hopefully I can start sleeping better these next few months while studying for the June LSAT.

I ran my half marathon a couple weeks ago! I was pretty excited to break 2 hours this year.



Doing one PT a week has been great. I have more time to work on RC and drill my weaknesses. RC is still somewhat of a nightmare. I’m improving at a snail’s pace, but I’m happy to see some improvement regardless. It’s still the only section I never have time left in. I would love to have a few minutes at the end to deal with the curve breakers.




PT 41- 172 (-5 LR, -1 LG, -3 RC)

PT 43- 170 ( -7 LR, -0 LG, -5 RC)

PT 46- 169 (-4 LR, -0 LG, -6 RC)

PT 48- 171 (-4 LR, -0 LG, -3 RC) (94 raw got me a 171? Killer curve...)

PT 70- 170 (-4 LR, -1 LG, -6 RC)




I took PT 54 today and will blind review tomorrow, then review with some fellow LSATers on Saturday. We call it “LSATurdays.” :)

More times for my Logic Games challenge:



PT 16
G1: 10:00, 6:34
G2: 5:23
G3: 6:40
G4: 6:17

PT 17
G1: 4:36
G2: 7:04
G3: 4:43
G4: 5:40

PT 18
G1: 9:04, 6:12
G2: 7:53
G3: 9:01
G4: 7:50

PT 19
G1: 4:50
G2: 5:16
G3: 10:49, 6:58
G4: 6:32

PT 20
G1: 7:22
G2: 7:11
G3: 7:22
G4: 7:11

PT 21
G1: 6:44
G2: 3:43
G3: 8:28
G4: 8:59


PT 22
G1: 3:33
G2: 7:23, 4:14
G3: 4:31
G4: 7:23


PT 23
G1: 3:58
G2: 5:56
G3: 11:29, 9:15
G4: 10:09

PT 24
G1: 7:03, 4:51
G2: 4:49
G3: 11:19
G4: 9:54

PT 25
G1: 6:42
G2: 6:16
G3: 6:37
G4: 9:04, 5:20

PT 26
G1: 6:55
G2: 5:00
G3: 10:03, 7:28
G4: 8:06 *hard

PT 27
G1: 6:52
G2: 14:01, 9:21
G3: 8:20
G4: 6:02, 3:15



Holy sh!+, PT27 G2 gave me a run for my money. That’s the hardest game I’ve encountered to date. I pray the LSAC doesn’t play me like that on game day. I’m going to have nightmares for months.

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Hotlinebling1024

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:47 am

oh lawd wrote:Feel free to ignore/rip apart this advice, but I still consider it to be one of the keys to my last jump from the high 60s to low 70s. Take a week off. Visualize, meditate, do things you like. I spent a week taking two hour long walks, took my niece to the zoo and to a movie, fancy dinner that I overpaid for with my fiancée, etc. I intentionally planned them for times when I would have normally been studying. When I came back my scores were higher. I spent a lot of time imagining the "perfect" test in my head. It helped. All of the other suggestions on here have been extremely valuable too, and I probably should have also partaken in some of them. If it helps, kudos. Regardless best of luck OP!
This sounds perfect...haven't taken a break since December. I will be relaxing in the Bahamas next week! Hope it helps. Thank you.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by RamTitan » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:41 pm

Hotlinebling, we are in similar places and have similar goals; I've been stuck in the 167-171 range for almost 6 months now, and have been doing my damnedest to crack above it. Missing 5-7 in RC has been holding me back.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by beenoparte125 » Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:27 pm

Hotlinebling - I'm right there with you... we'll crack into the mid 170s with patience and fortitude. You da man!

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by beenoparte125 » Mon Mar 14, 2016 11:43 am

Womp... got another 170 this weekend.. could have scored significantly better but ran out of time on RC and had to guess 4 questions (guessed them all wrong)

It seems like every PT has something.. you know?.. like if a LR section gets me on one PT then a RC section gets me the next time...

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Blueprint Mithun » Mon Mar 14, 2016 12:17 pm

erugani wrote:I am one of those ppl who don't have much time to allocate to studying, do to work (deployed to Afghanistan). I have some study materials but not many means of doing classes before the amazing test. I plan on hitting the books hard when I get home in a couple months and i'll have a solid 2 months of study prep. Any suggestions for the aspiring law student? Classes are not a feasible option at this point due to money, family, and work location.
This website has a ton of valuable free resources for LSAT study. Read some of the articles on this board until you have an idea of how to plan out your studying. In general, you'll want to learn the material first, drill lots of questions/sections carefully to familiarize yourself with the content, and take full, timed preptests to simulate the real LSAT. I was able to get a 175 (from a diagnostic of 154) after 3 months of disciplined self-study. Of course, everyone has different needs and development schedules, but the point is that it's very possible to see huge improvements.

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Lexaholik » Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:37 pm

Hotlinebling1024 wrote:



PT 41- 172 (-5 LR, -1 LG, -3 RC)

PT 43- 170 ( -7 LR, -0 LG, -5 RC)

PT 46- 169 (-4 LR, -0 LG, -6 RC)

PT 48- 171 (-4 LR, -0 LG, -3 RC) (94 raw got me a 171? Killer curve...)

PT 70- 170 (-4 LR, -1 LG, -6 RC)
Your improvement is super impressive. I actually had a very, very similar situation years ago. I was plateauing in the mid 160s and was trying to score a 170+. I was struggling mightily on RC and devoured each issue of the Economist in the hopes that I'd improve my reading comp skills. The problem is RC improvements move at a glacial pace compared to LG/LR.

What I found effective was to get my LG performance to be consistently -0 (which you're very close to) and my LR performance to be consistently -3 to -4 (which you're also very close to). If the LSAT curve is similar to what it used to be, then you can "afford" up to 4-5 RC errors (which you're also close to) while still getting a 172+.

In other words, though your RC is your weakest section, it may still be easier to improve your LR/LG performance. For example, I found being able to absolutely dominate the first 10 LR questions of each section insanely quickly very helpful. That allowed me more time in the later LR questions, which reduced my level of mistakes, which helped me get to <4 questions wrong.

There's a bunch of different little things you can do to improve your score. It's pretty hard because you have so little margin for error. But you've been really systematically improving your scores so I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off. Good luck!

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Re: 5 months to 172

Post by Hotlinebling1024 » Mon May 02, 2016 9:10 pm

I'm way overdue for an update.

I've completed all the games from PT 1-60 using the 7Sage Fool Proof Method. I'm consistently going -0, missing a rule substitution question every now and then. For games, I'm just trying to stay sharp by revisiting the oddball games and time consuming games.

I've whittled LR down to -5 or less total over both sections. RC is now -4 or less. Over the past month I have been drilling RC like crazy. What ended up working for me wasn't what I expected- I hardly annotate at all. I have drilled so many passages that I now know what to focus on and what is merely fluff. Trap answers don't seem as trappy.

I've been sticking to 2 PTs a week this past month. I'm still scoring mainly low 170s, but I broke my ceiling and scored a 177 (180 BR) on PT 63 this past weekend. I'm excited to know that I'm not done improving just yet. I still make careless errors every now and then, so I'm going to fine-tune my test taking strategies over the last couple weeks before game day. I fully intend on scoring that precious 172+.

Back in August, I printed out a quote and taped it above my desk at home and work. "The best way to ensure success is to deserve it." -Mike Kim, The LSAT Trainer. It's crazy to think I've spent nearly an entire school year preparing for this beast. The LSAT has completely consumed my life. It can be annoying at times (especially when stuck in the same score range for months), but I''ve gained a deep appreciation for the test. I know I'll be ready for my first take next month. If something goes wrong in June, I'll be ready to get back up and keep fighting for that score with my remaining two takes.

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