June 2012 LSAT Advice Forum

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AAyala

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June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by AAyala » Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:17 am

Hello Everyone!

I am in need of some advice. I registered for the June 2012 LSAT about a month ago and I just began my online course with Blueprint Prep; however, after reading through some blog posts, I don't know if I have enough time to truly master the LSAT. I know it may be just anxiety kicking in, but I have read of people studying for several months for the LSAT. Either way I see that I have two options; option one, take the June LSAT and if I don't get a good score, take it again in October. However, I am stuck with two scores; option two, I study from now until the October LSAT, which allows me a greater amount of time.

Thank you to everyone in advance. Have a lovely evening (or day depending on when you read this :] )

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thestalkmore

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by thestalkmore » Tue Apr 03, 2012 2:22 am

AAyala wrote:Hello Everyone!

I am in need of some advice. I registered for the June 2012 LSAT about a month ago and I just began my online course with Blueprint Prep; however, after reading through some blog posts, I don't know if I have enough time to truly master the LSAT. I know it may be just anxiety kicking in, but I have read of people studying for several months for the LSAT. Either way I see that I have two options; option one, take the June LSAT and if I don't get a good score, take it again in October. However, I am stuck with two scores; option two, I study from now until the October LSAT, which allows me a greater amount of time.

Thank you to everyone in advance. Have a lovely evening (or day depending on when you read this :] )
3 months is the magic number. 4 isn't unconscionable. Anything over that and I think you're going to see diminishing returns that might end up hurting you.

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qbt1990

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by qbt1990 » Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:35 am

I don't agree with the above advice, I think it completely depends on the person. Some people definitely can master it in 3 months and that's ideal for them. At 3 months I wasn't anywhere near where I needed to be. I have now been studying for almost a year (on and off) for the June LSAT and I am finally practice testing where I need to be.

Start the course, see where you're PTing at by the deadline to change your test date. Worse comes to worse, postpone until October. I wish I had postponed my first test when I wasn't 100% sure I was ready.

kweehunt

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by kweehunt » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:44 am

I pretty much agree with qbt1990. Everyone learns the LSAT at a different pace. If you are still in undergrad or you are working, you simply won't have as much time to dedicate to the test. Even if you aren't, the types of questions on the LSAT are unfamiliar to most people and some find it easier to adapt to. It also depends on how many points your goal score is away from what you are doing now. If you're trying for a 170, but you can't get out of the 150s, postpone until you improve.

I made the mistake of taking the LSAT before I was ready in February. I went to a full-length PowerScore prep course from October to December, but their methods really didn't click for me. Honestly, I was going into the LSAT somewhat relying on luck for the games. The best advice I can give is: Don't take the test until you are absolutely ready. Also, (and this may go without saying) don't necessarily count your online course as prep-time. If you spend 4 hours twice a week on your prep course, it's no supplement for doing practice tests. They will show you what to do, but mastery of the material comes from practice.

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Br3v

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by Br3v » Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:22 am

Listen to above two posters advice with grain of salt. 3 months truly is the magic number, though of course people are different. Less than 3 months, which it seems you are at, is too little time. Take oct. for the record though, 1 yr is far too long to study for the average person

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dkb17xzx

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by dkb17xzx » Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:06 am

I don't know much about LSAC cancellation policies but what you do is register for June and see how you are scoring by the time the withdrawal deadline comes around. If it's b/w 2-3 points of your range, take the June. If not, withdraw and sign up for Oct.

How much time needed depends on who you ask. Some score 180 with 2 months of prep while others can't break 170 with 4-5 months of prep. More important than time is quality of prep.

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elterrible78

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by elterrible78 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:32 am

OP, have you taken a diagnostic PT? If so, how did you do? What are you shooting for? Have you been able to identify any weak points that you can target heavily? How about sections / types of questions you find easy and won't have to prepare much for?

While there may be some rule-of-thumb answers to how long you should take to prepare, I have to imagine that a good answer is very specific to the individual. I started in mid-March, took a diagnostic PT to see what my baseline was, and have tried to be pretty specific about what I spend my time on. In just a few weeks of well-targeted studying, my average score over my last five PTs is a full 11 points higher than my initial diagnostic, and I feel like I'll be more than ready for the June LSAT. YMMV, but it's definitely within reason for you to be pretty confident going into June if you buckle down and study smart!

AAyala

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by AAyala » Thu Apr 05, 2012 8:52 pm

Thanks to everyone who have replied so far! All wonderful points.

With that said, I have taken a PT and my score was 150 (exactly), which, i've heard is pretty average considering I took it cold. My weak points are games and reading comp. The games because I need to learn diagraming and reading comp because of timing, however, I do need to develop a better strategy for taking on reading comp in general. I am aiming for at least 165. I am looking at Southwestern (safety), Seattle (safety), Loyola, and Lewis & Clark in terms of law schools.

I am on track to complete the BP Online course a week prior to the June LSAT; therefore, I will have an entire week to go over stuff that I still feel "iffy" about.

DKB17xzx- Just what I was thinking. I would just study, study, study and see how I feel. I think the deadline for a date change is 5/20.

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elterrible78

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by elterrible78 » Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:09 am

AAyala wrote:Thanks to everyone who have replied so far! All wonderful points.

With that said, I have taken a PT and my score was 150 (exactly), which, i've heard is pretty average considering I took it cold. My weak points are games and reading comp. The games because I need to learn diagraming and reading comp because of timing, however, I do need to develop a better strategy for taking on reading comp in general. I am aiming for at least 165. I am looking at Southwestern (safety), Seattle (safety), Loyola, and Lewis & Clark in terms of law schools.

I am on track to complete the BP Online course a week prior to the June LSAT; therefore, I will have an entire week to go over stuff that I still feel "iffy" about.

DKB17xzx- Just what I was thinking. I would just study, study, study and see how I feel. I think the deadline for a date change is 5/20.
Games was kicking my butt at first, too. On my first PT I got 14/24 on the games, and that included some VERY fortuitous random guessing on five questions in the final seconds. If you have not picked up PowerScore's Logic Games Bible, you need to do it ASAP. The accolades everyone heaps on this book are more than well-deserved. After just a few weeks, I can usually finish the games sections at -0 or -1 with minutes to spare, and I owe it almost all to the LG Bible. Games was the only one section that really made me nervous (and still does, to a degree). Get the book, you will not regret the money spent!

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LexLeon

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by LexLeon » Sun Apr 08, 2012 10:33 pm

Here's a sample question.

16. [Insert commonsense.]
Thus, the contention that a certain amount of time of preparation for a test is optimal for all people is _________.

The credited response:
(D). Unfounded and counterintuitive, given the huge range of preference, intelligence and experience that determines the amount of time it takes for people to maximize their performance in any known activity.

It's best to study the test such that one can consistently score at or above his or her goal range on a variety of tests under a variety of conditions in the time prior to the actual administration. There's little reason to believe that it will take exactly three months to achieve this, although this may have been the case for several people. It's even more absurd to suppose that studying for more than three months will diminish your returns. (Just consider what will likely happen to ability to take the test after you've seen LSAT questions over the course of six months, as opposed to three.)

Only you can know if you'll be ready for June. I would not suggest taking it unless you are reasonably certain that you are ready.

AAyala

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by AAyala » Sat May 05, 2012 4:56 pm

Resurrecting this thread :)

So, I am now leaning more towards the October LSAT simply because, until now, my senior thesis has taken most of my study time away from me. Considering I have done a bulk of it and my proposal has been turned in, I will be free to study from now on.

However, would taking the Oct LSAT or even the Dec LSAT make me "late" in regards to applying for admissions? I really want to go to Loyola (Los Angeles).

Thanks everyone!

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Br3v

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by Br3v » Sat May 05, 2012 5:36 pm

AAyala wrote:Resurrecting this thread :)

So, I am now leaning more towards the October LSAT simply because, until now, my senior thesis has taken most of my study time away from me. Considering I have done a bulk of it and my proposal has been turned in, I will be free to study from now on.

However, would taking the Oct LSAT or even the Dec LSAT make me "late" in regards to applying for admissions? I really want to go to Loyola (Los Angeles).

Thanks everyone!
Dec, kind of yeah. That's pushing it.
Oct, while I prefer June because I may end up EDing, Oct is ok for regular decisions at most schools. I think it takes like a month to get score so you could apply in Nov, which could still allow you to ED later in the ED cycles for some schools which I gather generally ends around the 2nd week of Dec

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fashiongirl

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by fashiongirl » Sun May 06, 2012 2:24 pm

I took the December LSAT to apply for this cycle and was pretty late, so I wouldn't recommend December. However, October is still early in the admissions process and that's not really that late. Take the October test and apply right when you get your score in November. Have all of your LORs and transcripts in and your personal statements done. I was going to take October last year but postponed until December, and those last 2 months REALLY helped me.

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Nova

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Re: June 2012 LSAT Advice

Post by Nova » Sun May 06, 2012 2:40 pm

I took the Dec LSAT last year and I think it hurt me across the board with admits and $$. I still got good offers though. October is right on time. Just have your app together, like fasiongirl said.

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