Discouraged by diagnostic score.

[brett777 0]

Hello,

I just wrote my diagnostic test for the lsat and I am feeling a little discouraged. I scored a 151 under timed conditions and I guessed on 15ish questions because of the time restraint. A lot of people I have spoken to say that most people only improve a couple points on average even with studying. My goal is to score somewhere in the mid to high 160s. Is this feasible? I plan to study 20-25hrs per week before writing the lsat in September; is this enough or should I try for more revision time?

-Brett

[Staygold 4]

Don’t be discouraged.

I scored about 141 on my diagnostic and ended up writing a 160 after self study (1-5 hours per week for 3 months).

 

from my experience you can improve your score substantially by drilling under timed conditions. That’s definitely where most (if not all) of my improvement came from. 

 

Im sure that with 20-25hrs of studying per week you’ll be able to get your target score. Best of luck! 

[Kada 4]

Just here to say that I also scored 151 on my timed diagnostic and after ~3 months of studying I ended up scoring 165 on the actual test. I was working full-time and didn't have the time to finish reading prep materials, but I did do a lot of PTs. Based on my extremely anecdotal n=1, you should not be discouraged by your diagnostic score at all. Just put the time and effort in and see how you do on the tests once you've actually had a chance to study.

[GingerBreadCookie 28]

Duuuude (or duuuuudette), your diagnostic score was higher than what half the people who actually wrote the test got on the specific LSAT you did your diagnostic on. A 151 on your diagnostic is something you should be very proud of! Whoever told you that most people improve only a couple points doesn't know what the hell they are talking about and if assault were legal, I would have slapped them in the face. A diagnostic of 151 puts you in a VERY good position to hit the 160s because this is a VERY learnable test. 20-25 hours a week seems like a pretty solid amount as long as you're studying efficiently. The main thing that improved my score drastically is looking at the wrong answers and really trying to figure out why I got it wrong and why LSAC's answer was better than mine. Nevertheless, it is just as important to look at your correct answers and figure out why you got those questions correct. This is of course done after you've gone through some prep material. My advice would be to start with trying to improve on LG since that's the easiest section to learn and then move on to LR where the bulk of the marks are. Don't feel discouraged if RC takes a long time to improve because that's the hardest section to improve on... heck I barely improved on RC and yet still had a 15 point increase from my diagnostic because I became a lot better at LG and LR.  

I ended up getting a 166 on the LSAT and guess what my diagnostic score was? You do the math  

[objection123 14]

I don't think that you should be worried. Your diagnostic score is average for people who've studied the test for months and you've just begun! I also think that the diagnostic is somewhat overrated (Imo) since it's akin to throwing you into the deep end of a pool before you know how to swim and then having someone tell you that you'll never swim well because you almost drowned that one time they thew you in the deep end. The test is very learnable and you need to learn how to write and practice in order to do well. Hope this helps! 

[TheAEGIS 113]

My diagnostic was in the mid 130's, my final LSAT was in the mid 160's. 

Yeah, the people who say you only improve a few points are full of ... wrong information. 

@GingerBreadCookie is right, the test is very learnable for a lot of people (there are exceptions of course, but I have no reason to think you are one) and 151 is an excellent diagnostic score.

The easiest section to improve on imo is logic games. With work people can become nearly perfect at it every time. I would highly recommend 7sage. Assuming you weren't already murdering the section in your diagnostic, improving this part alone could bump you into the mid 150's, and with some work on LR, you'll hit your target score.

[scheong 9]

My diagnostic score was about 153, and I scored a 166 on the LSAT. It's all about getting used to the type of questions and the time pressure (so it becomes more akin to muscle memory). 

[emtee 34]

my diagnostic score was a 135 and final score was 150! 

[RickyBubbles01 18]

My diagnostic was a 147 I believe. My final score was 167. You can do it!

[boat 1]

I scored 151 on my diagnostic and got 164 on the actual thing, and even higher on other practice exams. I started in early July and wrote in September. I studied for about 5 hours a day (with weekends off aside from bi-weekly practice exams).

[TWD3333 10]

my diagnostic was 144, ended up with a 158, Definitely a learnable test. 

[MelonMango 8]

It's not about how much time; it's about what you take from the time you put in. If you need more time, you need more time. If you need less time, you need less time. It might be difficult to study 5 hours every day for the LSAT -- you might burn out. But if you feel that is right for you, try it out. But studying x hours a day doesn't mean you will improve to y LSAT score. At some point, you will likely experience "diminishing returns" or you might burn out.

Wen you ask if it's feasible to go from 151 to mid 160s to high 160s, it is possible - people have done it. Whether it's feasible depends on the test-writer.

Keep in mind that what you have is only a diagnostic (and it's not like it's terrible at that). It gives you a rough baseline, so there's no reason to worry at this stage.

[JakeHonig 3]

I mean, with the diagnostic test, you're basically trying the LSAT for the first time or after only a cursory study of the test material, structure, etc. It's a tough test, especially under real time conditions, and a 151 is what some people achieve after several months of rigorous practice. For all intents and purposes, 150 and above may even get you into a few schools (maybe not UBC or UofT, but you never know). I think you should be very content with that. 20-25 hours a week is a LOT to dedicate to the test in my opinion, but if you do that, your goal of high 160s is a very real possibility. 

Keep up the great work and best of luck!     

[sunnyskies1992 257]

On 6/3/2019 at 12:03 PM, brett777 said:

Hello,

I just wrote my diagnostic test for the lsat and I am feeling a little discouraged. I scored a 151 under timed conditions and I guessed on 15ish questions because of the time restraint. A lot of people I have spoken to say that most people only improve a couple points on average even with studying. My goal is to score somewhere in the mid to high 160s. Is this feasible? I plan to study 20-25hrs per week before writing the lsat in September; is this enough or should I try for more revision time?

-Brett

My first cold diagnostic was 147. After 8 weeks of studying, it jumped to 161 under timed conditions. My final test score was 167. It's very possible, especially if your weakness is in logic games. 

Edited June 12 by sunnyskies1992

[lawyor 4]

What resources did all of you high scorers use?! Thank you

[bigfudge2017 67]

my diagnostic was a 155 and ended up with a 163! a word of advice is dont neglect what you dread. i hated logic games and would always put off learning them adequately. if i had my score wouldve been 166+. you're fine, just study hard and dont give up! 

[GingerBreadCookie 28]

7 hours ago, lawyor said:

What resources did all of you high scorers use?! Thank you

In terms of prep, I self-studied with the PowerScore bibles as well as watching 7sage’s free YouTube videos which provided explanations for nearly every logic game in existence. After finishing the bibles, I did 1-2 practice tests a week. However, usually, I only did one practice test a week with the rest of the week including review for that specific test as well as drilling specific sections/question types. It’s better to spend more time reviewing, drilling, and ensuring that you understand how to apply the concepts rather than burning through too many practice tests. Good luck! 

Edited June 15 by GingerBreadCookie

[MelonMango 8]

1 hour ago, GingerBreadCookie said:

In terms of prep, I self-studied with the PowerScore bibles as well as watching 7sage’s free YouTube videos which provided explanations for nearly every logic game in existence. After finishing the bibles, I did 1-2 practice tests a week. However, usually, I only did one practice test a week with the rest of the week including review for that specific test as well as drilling specific sections/question types. It’s better to spend more time reviewing, drilling, and ensuring that you understand how to apply the concepts rather than burning through too many practice tests. Good luck! 

I agree with everything you've said. I read PowerScore and Manhattan for Logic Games, supplemented by 7sage. For logical reasoning, I used Manhattan (PowerScore was too convoluted). For reading comprehension, I didn't read anything.

As the saying goes, quality not quantity! I personally only used the first two practice books for prepping; I didn't have the time to do the more recent ones. So even the old $10 LSAT books (in my opinion) can be helpful for getting above the 160 range.

How I studied (after reading the books or while reading the books or both):

1) Open an old practice test

2) Slowly do the section you want to study, familiarizing yourself with how it works. Answer the questions.

3) Once you've answered all the questions for that section, make sure you are content with all your answers.

4) Go onto 7Sage, have your answers marked - try not to look at the answers; just try to see whether your answer is right or wrong. I believe you can do this on 7sage.

5) If your answer is wrong, try to figure out why it's wrong. ("Blind review")

6) Whether you figure it out or not, check the solution -- using Manhattan or whatever.

7) Eventually, try doing it timed with other practice tests. Try building the number of questions you can finish within a given time.

Edited June 15 by MelonMango

[Notnotadog 39]

To add to what other posters have said, my diagnostic was also a 151 and I was similarly discouraged. In the end, with a lot of work, I scored a 169. The LSAT is a learnable test, despite what other people may tell you. It's a difficult process but the work you put in will be so worth it. 

What helped me out most was 7sage Logic Games videos and doing blind review every single time. You can do this!

[AJD19 114]

Thats a great diagnostic, hell i barley did better after studying for a year. Still got into like 8+ schools.