Took a 4 section diagnostic. Scored 167. What should be my study strategy? Forum

[calmike]

I was thinking of doing Powerscore's 2 month study schedule but realized that maybe I should change my focus. I really need to study logical reasoning and make sure I score perfect in reading comprehension. I'll probably finish the Powerscore's books for those sections. And I'll keep practicing logic games

[180pedia]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

[Platopus]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

Seconded. A class will likely not be worth your time. Also, a breakdown of your sections would be helpful.

My general advice would be to drill the hell out of LR and RC. Buy all the prep tests available and use 1-45 or so to drill. Break out each section and make photocopies for future use. Take each section, one at a time, timed, noting the questions that give you trouble and review these questions intensively. Find out what makes the correct answer correct, but more importantly find out why your answer (and all the others) are wrong. Look at what thought process lead you to the incorrect answer and identify the questions that are giving you the most trouble. Spend extra time reviewing these questions.

[albinododobird]

My cold diagnostic was 167, as well. I bought a couple of collections of official LSAT PTs and took one every couple weeks with blind review (go through each test question in-depth before grading). I assume you took your diagnostic timed. I also used 7sage analytics to figure out what sorts of questions were giving me the most trouble. Eventually I stopped studying LR and RC and just focused on LG (using 7sage's free videos), because it seemed that the returns would be significantly greater.

[dm1683]

167? Holy Sweet Lord Jesus Mary Mother of God, Individual, with Liberty and Justice for All that's a good diagnostic.

[laqueredup]

Had a 166 diagnostic, with most of my misses in LG. I bought the LSAT trainer and went through that. While I didn't have that many issues on RC or LR, some of the strategies there helped me save time so I would consistently finish with a few minutes left to check over/ go back to any 50/50 questions.

Then I started doing the 7-sage fool-proof LG method with older games to improve my speed and consistency on LG and get to the -0 point. Then I basically took all the PTs from 50ish on with an older LG section thrown into each. I took 2 or 3 a week and used the 7sage proctor/ blind review. By the time I was in the 60s I was consistently scoring mid-upper 170s, and managed a few 180s on PTs in the 70s. I underperformed a bit on test day but was high enough I decided not to retake. Test day does take a lot longer than 5 sections in practice because of admin stuff, so make sure you sort out your hydration situation and minimize your coffee intake lol (holding it for the last section isn't the best idea...)

I don't see how a class could have really helped me much, so I would recommend the self study+ 7sage approach.

[calmike]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

I took the LSAT in Sep 2015 and scored a 160. I haven't touched LSAT material since then. This is my first diagnostic since then. When I was prepping for that LSAT, I was consistently scoring around 165. I dont know what happened.

[calmike]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

My Breakdown

LG: 0
RC: -4
LR: -7

I was rushed at the end of RC and at the end of the 2nd section of LR.

[calmike]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

Seconded. A class will likely not be worth your time. Also, a breakdown of your sections would be helpful.

My general advice would be to drill the hell out of LR and RC. Buy all the prep tests available and use 1-45 or so to drill. Break out each section and make photocopies for future use. Take each section, one at a time, timed, noting the questions that give you trouble and review these questions intensively. Find out what makes the correct answer correct, but more importantly find out why your answer (and all the others) are wrong. Look at what thought process lead you to the incorrect answer and identify the questions that are giving you the most trouble. Spend extra time reviewing these questions.

Right now, I am actually drilling the PT 1-40's LR by type. Do you think I should just be dilling sections instead?

[180pedia]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

My Breakdown

LG: 0
RC: -4
LR: -7

I was rushed at the end of RC and at the end of the 2nd section of LR.

Scoring below your PT average isn't atypical. I scored a two or three points below mine when I took it. -5 is probably a bit more significant.

What test? That sounds off. -11 is usually a 169-171 with a lot of consistency. I'm not even sure of a test that had a -8 to 170 curve off the top of my head.

-4 RC isn't a bad place to be IMO... it's the harder of the sections IMO... How much did you get off each LR section (the one rushed vs. not rushed and were the mistakes on the rushed one clustered at the end - i.e. last few questions?)

[calmike]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

My Breakdown

LG: 0
RC: -4
LR: -7

I was rushed at the end of RC and at the end of the 2nd section of LR.

Scoring below your PT average isn't atypical. I scored a two or three points below mine when I took it. -5 is probably a bit more significant.

What test? That sounds off. -11 is usually a 169-171 with a lot of consistency. I'm not even sure of a test that had a -8 to 170 curve off the top of my head.

-4 RC isn't a bad place to be IMO... it's the harder of the sections IMO... How much did you get off each LR section (the one rushed vs. not rushed and were the mistakes on the rushed one clustered at the end - i.e. last few questions?)

It was the free June 2007 practice test. Its curve is -8 for a 170. -11 for a 167. I wish I could score better on LR. With RC, I haven't really seen any improvement. RC has always been from 4-7 wrong haha.

My mistakes in LR were one in the middle and two-three around the end.

[180pedia]

A 167 diagnostic is *extremely* strong. Is this a cold timed test or have you been prepping already? I wouldn't go near prep classes, as you are near the upper range of where you could reasonably benefit.

For more help, let people know your section breakdown (# wrong on LR, LG, and RC) as well as if any sections were tight for time.

My Breakdown

LG: 0
RC: -4
LR: -7

I was rushed at the end of RC and at the end of the 2nd section of LR.

Scoring below your PT average isn't atypical. I scored a two or three points below mine when I took it. -5 is probably a bit more significant.

What test? That sounds off. -11 is usually a 169-171 with a lot of consistency. I'm not even sure of a test that had a -8 to 170 curve off the top of my head.

-4 RC isn't a bad place to be IMO... it's the harder of the sections IMO... How much did you get off each LR section (the one rushed vs. not rushed and were the mistakes on the rushed one clustered at the end - i.e. last few questions?)

It was the free June 2007 practice test. Its curve is -8 for a 170. -11 for a 167. I wish I could score better on LR. With RC, I haven't really seen any improvement. RC has always been from 4-7 wrong haha.

My mistakes in LR were one in the middle and two-three around the end.

Damn - I didn't realize how aggressive the curve for J07 is. Another problem is people are going to take diagnostic to mean your first test that you did with little to no prep. Personally, that is what I assumed you meant. What have you studied already? And how many other tests have you done? If you've done more than one, you should definitely plug into 7Sage to see what question types you are missing. For the ones you are missing, it sounds like it could be a harder one or two + time.

For RC, I explored different methods and saw improvement from a similar range of where you are scoring now to averaging -0/-1 with an occasional -2. I, personally, think everyone needs to find their own RC strategy. For me, it was reading mostly for structure and notating relatively little during my first read through; I actively avoided remembering too many details. This method forced me to repeatedly go back to the text for every question. My original RC tribulations came from being like, 'Oh - I remember that!' It turns out the LSAC had an answer choice that sounded like something you remembered rather than something that was actually in there. Relying on memory is dangerous for RC IMO. My improvement came from reading a ton of passages by type and working through the Manhattan Prep RC book. Personally, the Blueprint system didn't work for me, but I'm sure it would work for others.

I think you're scoring at a point that people cannot really help you without super detailed information. Once you get past 165, every point is much harder IMO. You really need to do you and find the issues. -7 between two LR sections is ~85% accuracy which means you are probably 90%+ untimed. You need to work on LR questions by type and also see whether certain things give you issue - i.e. "math" questions, quantifiers, NA, SA, parallel reasoning, abstract reasoning, etc.

Also, help will be really dependent on what you've done already, and, based on your score, I suspect you've read something equivalent to a PowerScore LR / Manhattan LR / LSAT Trainer / etc.