February 2012 LSAT Study Group Forum

[LSAT Blog]

Since the February LSAT's rapidly approaching, I figured it'd be good to start a thread for folks specifically preparing for this test to meet, offer advice, motivate each other, discuss study plans and strategies, etc.

If you're taking the February LSAT, keep everyone posted on your progress and find study partners here!

I'll chime in from time to time and offer study advice, tips, answer questions, etc.

[naillsat]

ok, first question: do you guys think the Cambridge LSAT LR bundle worth buying? My LR section sucks

[willwash]

PT 61 on 11/6= 161
PT 64 on 11/9= 168

[GirlStop]

PT 61 on 11/6= 161
PT 64 on 11/9= 168

Good job man!!!

And @nailsat, Ive heard really good things about that book, I bought the kaplan mastery practice book and it divides the logical reasoning section by question type and difficulty. It also has logic games and reading comp sections tho..

[bernaldiaz]

Checking in. Just signed up for the February LSAT last night.

[willwash]

Well, I think I'm going to take the Feb LSAT, which will be the culmination of years of contemplation. I'll just throw my life story out there. I was a UNC undergrad, class of '06, major in political science. I was all set to go to law school through my junior year and was prepping for the LSAT like mad (high PT score of 174, average in the mid-high 160s). I got married the summer after junior year, and, lo and behold, my wife got pregnant and I was in the position of requiring immediate gainful employment. So instead of applying to law school, I talked to the Navy. They took me in, sent me to OCS, flight school, and now I am a Naval Flight Officer (read: Goose) about halfway through my first tour. The money is pretty good and the job security is stellar. That being said, there is a program the Navy has called the Law Education Program (LEP) that is seriously too good to be true. After your first tour, you go on shore duty...for those accepted to this program, their shore duty IS law school. Your tuition is completely paid, you continue to be paid your active duty salary, and when you graduate you enter the JAG corps. That's a full ride to law school, a near-six-figure salary while enrolled in law school (with no other military duties), and guaranteed employment upon graduation at about 100k a year.

Needless to say, now that I'm about halfway through my tour and need to start thinking about where I want my Navy career to go, I am looking seriously at this program.

[bernaldiaz]

Well, I think I'm going to take the Feb LSAT, which will be the culmination of years of contemplation. I'll just throw my life story out there. I was a UNC undergrad, class of '06, major in political science. I was all set to go to law school through my junior year and was prepping for the LSAT like mad (high PT score of 174, average in the mid-high 160s). I got married the summer after junior year, and, lo and behold, my wife got pregnant and I was in the position of requiring immediate gainful employment. So instead of applying to law school, I talked to the Navy. They took me in, sent me to OCS, flight school, and now I am a Naval Flight Officer (read: Goose) about halfway through my first tour. The money is pretty good and the job security is stellar. That being said, there is a program the Navy has called the Law Education Program (LEP) that is seriously too good to be true. After your first tour, you go on shore duty...for those accepted to this program, their shore duty IS law school. Your tuition is completely paid, you continue to be paid your active duty salary, and when you graduate you enter the JAG corps. That's a full ride to law school, a near-six-figure salary while enrolled in law school (with no other military duties), and guaranteed employment upon graduation at about 100k a year.

Needless to say, now that I'm about halfway through my tour and need to start thinking about where I want my Navy career to go, I am looking seriously at this program.

Wow. Sounds like things really worked out for you. Goodluck and thank you for your service.

[NoleMatt]

February's test will be my first time taking it. I've been doing self study, and while I have the dedication in regards to time and effort, I think I lack direction. I've been working through the Powerscore LG bible but don't feel like I'm improving very much. I've gone through the basic linear section of the book and still struggle with inferences on basic linear games. If I sit there and work through them I can get -1 or -0, but it's a disaster if I take the section timed.

I'm this close to dropping the $1500 for the Testmasters course in January because I think it would provide the direction and structure I need. Do you guys have any experiences with them or thoughts on me taking the class? Thanks a lot for this thread!

[LSAT Blog]

PT 61 on 11/6= 161
PT 64 on 11/9= 168

Good job man!!!

And @nailsat, Ive heard really good things about that book, I bought the kaplan mastery practice book and it divides the logical reasoning section by question type and difficulty. It also has logic games and reading comp sections tho..

Congrats, willwash - that's a huge leap! What do you think led to the increase?

@nailsat - it's important that you identify what exactly is giving you difficulty in LR. Is it a particular question-type, or is it a wide variety of question-types? Either way, it's crucial to have a strategy for each question-type ingrained before you start drilling a bunch of questions, or else you won't be maximizing the benefit of all that studying.

[it'sjustme]

I plan to take it in February, as well!

I took my first LSAT in February of last year, and I scored a 150 - looking for a moderate (6-10) point increase on this one.

My one (and only) choice is the University at Buffalo LS, so I think a moderate increase coupled with my GPA (3.75) should be enough to get me in!

Anyway, I am planning on following a slightly modified version of pithypike's plan, with 10 weeks of preparation instead of 12.

[LSAT Blog]

Welcome to the group!

You have plenty of time to achieve that kind of increase between now and February.

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com puts you at "strong consider" (63-75% chance of admission) for U of Buffalo if you get a 158, given your GPA. This excludes softs and potential URM status, of course.

How'd you prep for the LSAT (if at all) the first time around?

[outlookingin]

I'm thinking about taking it in February as well. I've been checking out some of the other study groups, especially the one with "180asbreath". Man, that's a pretty intense situation--inspiring and dramatic. There isn't really much else going on in my life right now, and oddly enough studying for the LSAT for the past month or so has been soothing. Kind of. Maybe I just neeeeeed the rush and the rollercoaster. It's weird...

Anyway, I'm PTing right now around 170. I'm taking another PT tomorrow morning, so wish me luck. I"ve already read most of the LRB and all of the LGB. RC is my most intuitive section, LG is my least but I'm actually getting pretty good. LR is kind of a shit show for me sometimes... that's what I have to work on. It's kind of like this: as soon as I hit -2 or -3 total on LR on a any particular practice test, I then stop reviewing thoroughly--basically ensuring that I'll just tread water and probably screw up again sometime soon. I keep on telling myself that it's probably BETTER for me to get really nasty LR scores, because that way I'm shocked and forced into evaluating why I screwed up.

So that's the situation. Glad to be here, it's been great reading everyone's stuff. The TLS community is pretty awesome. Good luck February 2012!

[jslb007]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and I read that joining a support group is a good idea, thus here I am. This will be my second attempt at the LSAT after getting a 161 on the October exam. I was averaging around 165 going into the exam, but now that I'm giving up another 3 months I would really like to score in the mid 170s on February's test. I purchased Steve's 3-month day-by-day study schedule (from lsatblog.blogspot.com) to try and give myself a more coherent focus. I'm typically the type to lack self-discipline when not under severe pressure, so hopefully staying active here and having a daily task list will keep me on track. Best of luck to you all!

[naillsat]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and I read that joining a support group is a good idea, thus here I am. This will be my second attempt at the LSAT after getting a 161 on the October exam. I was averaging around 165 going into the exam, but now that I'm giving up another 3 months I would really like to score in the mid 170s on February's test. I purchased Steve's 3-month day-by-day study schedule (from lsatblog.blogspot.com) to try and give myself a more coherent focus. I'm typically the type to lack self-discipline when not under severe pressure, so hopefully staying active here and having a daily task list will keep me on track. Best of luck to you all!

I wonder what is in the Steve's 3-month guide, does it include LR questions categorized by types?

[bernaldiaz]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and I read that joining a support group is a good idea, thus here I am. This will be my second attempt at the LSAT after getting a 161 on the October exam. I was averaging around 165 going into the exam, but now that I'm giving up another 3 months I would really like to score in the mid 170s on February's test. I purchased Steve's 3-month day-by-day study schedule (from lsatblog.blogspot.com) to try and give myself a more coherent focus. I'm typically the type to lack self-discipline when not under severe pressure, so hopefully staying active here and having a daily task list will keep me on track. Best of luck to you all!

I wonder what is in the Steve's 3-month guide, does it include LR questions categorized by types?

I am also curious.

[jslb007]

yes, LR and LG are categorized by types

[it'sjustme]

Welcome to the group!

You have plenty of time to achieve that kind of increase between now and February.

http://www.lawschoolpredictor.com puts you at "strong consider" (63-75% chance of admission) for U of Buffalo if you get a 158, given your GPA. This excludes softs and potential URM status, of course.

How'd you prep for the LSAT (if at all) the first time around?

Thanks for the welcome!

I am a white male with almost non-existent soft factors, so I am banking on that increase. For 2014, UB's entering class' 75th percentile GPA is 3.7, and the LSAT being 158. So, I am very confident if I score within that range.

For the first time, I took a bunch of prep tests (around 20-25), but hardly any review of the tests. I believe that is what truly hurt me on last year's test. This time, I am equipped with both of the Bibles plus a fresh set of prep tests (30).

By the way, I really enjoy the content on your site!

[outlookingin]

yes, LR and LG are categorized by types

I just started looking at this thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=108425

It's amazing for LR questions. But beyond actually identifying which questions/what types you most often screw up on, do you guys actually drill the separate question types on their own? Like the Kaplan Mastery book, where everything is split up more or less? I mean as opposed to simply paying more attention to those questions types in review and in PTs.

I saw someone earlier (maybe a white male like myself) said they are shooting for a score in the mid 170s. Me too. This will happen.

[outlookingin]

So I just took PT26:

LR1: -6. LR2: -3, RC: -1, LG: -1, RCexp: -1, 90/101, 172

-9 in LR overall is murdering me. Killing my score, slaying my confidence, crushing my sense of accomplishment. But I probably deserve it.

I am not going to touch another prep test until I am regularly scoring -1 or -0 on independent LR sections. I'm going to start re-reading the LRB (taking it seriously this time), re-taking old LR sections, and drilling specific question types.

Can I muster the concentration!? Is there enough time!?! ARE THERE ENOUGH PRACTICE TESTS!?!

Edit: I am going to take a break for a couple days. See you guys on the other side of Sunday.

[Gisney]

Checking in too! Looking to score mid 170s to well 180 would be nice

Been a lurker on ths site longer then I would ever admit...

I have been studying since August and have gone through both the LR and LG bibles as well as Manhattan LG and RC. Als been drilling and doing timed sections.

Now I am going through Manhattan LR (also my worst section) along with cambridges LR by type bundle while doing the Pike method for LG with timed RC sections.

I have a good amount of time to study but its difficult. I am in the Peace Corps andwork Mon-Sat 7am-Noon (which btw if people are interested in joining this is a oddly set agenda for PC usually your schedule is way more lax). I will have even more free time when schoolsget out for summer vaca in Dec. Hard to stay motivated sometimes when its so hot outside with no airconditioning and living in a concrete box. Last week a goat walked into my house while i was in the bathroom and ate the games I was working on.

Anyway my worry is that I have been focusing on learning the basics and now drilling and havent taken a PT since my diagnostic (161). I have it planned to to start with PTS at the ed of the month and do about 27 full unseen tests with exp sec. Do yall believe thats enough? I get worried cause people are already posting PT scores.

Also forgive typos and misspellings. I am out of practice with english and I am writing this on my kindle cause te nearest internet is an hour away. btw thank you amazon gods for allowing kindle to connect to the internet through whispernet with no wireless needed. you have saved this volunteer from many boring hours

[willwash]

PT 61 on 11/6= 161
PT 64 on 11/9= 168

Good job man!!!

And @nailsat, Ive heard really good things about that book, I bought the kaplan mastery practice book and it divides the logical reasoning section by question type and difficulty. It also has logic games and reading comp sections tho..

Congrats, willwash - that's a huge leap! What do you think led to the increase?

@nailsat - it's important that you identify what exactly is giving you difficulty in LR. Is it a particular question-type, or is it a wide variety of question-types? Either way, it's crucial to have a strategy for each question-type ingrained before you start drilling a bunch of questions, or else you won't be maximizing the benefit of all that studying.

To be honest, I think it's just knocking the rust off, plus a little luck. I was preparing diligently for the LSAT and had gotten my PTs up to about the high 160s average during my undergrad, but (see above post) I haven't focused much on law school as a goal for several years, so that 161 was almost like an initial diagnostic (my "real" first ever, initial diagnostic test was a 155 as a freshman in college), which, of course, I reviewed ad nauseum.

My weakest section is LG, as seems to be the case for most of us. If I miss more than 2 or 3 per LR or RC I start getting pretty pissed. I average -4 to -6 on games, however. I actually take this as a good thing. I'd rather be weak on games and strong in the sections where two answers can be objectively correct. I'm a former competitive minesweeper and sudoku player, so I really thrive on solving logical puzzles swiftly, but where that bites you in the ass is that, in both minesweeper and sudoku, once you "crack" how the game works, it's just a matter of repetition. I actually play my best minesweeper when I've got MP3s blaring and my mind is drifting to subjects like sex, the meaning of life, and the role of slavery in formulating Thomas Jefferson's perspective on human liberty. It's literally played in the sub-cortex area of my brain. LSAT LGs are not like that. Every single game has a new way to keep you on your toes. You can never "autopilot" a great LG, or if you can, I have yet to reach that point.

[thenerd]

In for Feb-

Dec 2010-141
Oct 2011- 149

Long ways to go.I am ready for the drill..
Is it possible to still apply for fall 2012 with feb score?

[spek]

I was in the same boat this time last year, so if you have any questions feel free to PM me. I'd be happy to help. Good luck to you all!!

[Gisney]

In for Feb-

Dec 2010-141
Oct 2011- 149

Long ways to go.I am ready for the drill..
Is it possible to still apply for fall 2012 with feb score?

It is my understanding that while it i possible to apply because of rolling admissions that applying late cause your chances of being accepted to go down cause school have already made many of their offers

If it wouldnt change yur plans too much I would wait to apply next cycle especially to give you the maximum push at any reach schools you may have by applying early next cycle

[swordsman1]

Hey all,

I am in too! All in! February is it!!

"No regrets, and no holding back!"