December 2013 LSAT Study Group Forum

[raindrop]

Would anyone here want to share their study plan leading up to December? I'm a first time LSAT taker, and am looking forward to begin studying. Since I'm in the process of moving, I won't begin studying till Monday (8/26), and so until then I've been trying to develop a solid, rigorous study plan (FWIW I'll be substitute teaching, and volunteering at various writing centers, thus I'll have plenty of time)...

Looking at all the guides (Pithypike's, tls1776, other tls 180 guides, craven's guide on lawschooli, etc) I'm wondering if any of you previous test takers have used these, or a combination of them. I'm thinking I would like to supplement Pithypike's guide with some Cambridge drills during month 2 (October).

Anyway, if anyone would be willing to share their study plan/schedule and how they arrived there I would appreciate it.

[FalParsi]

Would anyone here want to share their study plan leading up to December? I'm a first time LSAT taker, and am looking forward to begin studying. Since I'm in the process of moving, I won't begin studying till Monday (8/26), and so until then I've been trying to develop a solid, rigorous study plan (FWIW I'll be substitute teaching, and volunteering at various writing centers, thus I'll have plenty of time)...

Looking at all the guides (Pithypike's, tls1776, other tls 180 guides, craven's guide on lawschooli, etc) I'm wondering if any of you previous test takers have used these, or a combination of them. I'm thinking I would like to supplement Pithypike's guide with some Cambridge drills during month 2 (October).

Anyway, if anyone would be willing to share their study plan/schedule and how they arrived there I would appreciate it.

I'm just using the fourth schedule on this page, along with the associated book (plus prep tests, of course):

http://www.thelsattrainer.com/schedules

[062914123]

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[ManoftheHour]

I was going 4 section PT's for awhile because those were the ones I had in all my books but after I do my review of the June LSAT I'm going to switch to the 5 as that extra section can make a huge difference. Drilling also seems like a great idea, I have the Kaplan mastery books so I may go on a tear through those and see what I can accomplish. It's just really frustrating when everything seems to be falling into place and then when you take the real thing it just doesn't connect for some reason.

On another note, received a fee waiver from Duke yesterday with a 160 and 3.7 GPA. What gives? Is this just a tease to boost their reject numbers?

Most likely. I got a fee waiver from Berkeley (3.6, 162) last cycle and they dinged me within 2 weeks.

But hey, that's okay. You're going to 170+ the December LSAT and save yourself $70 in application fee.

[Dr. Dre]

lol, yeah i think they hand out those fee waivers to students who they know dont stand a chance only to increase # of applicants

[Blueberrypie]

Is anyone planning to attempt the December LSAT still in school? The reason I ask, is because I'm trying to gage how people are going to handle finals and the LSAT? I guess there are several ways. I think I'm going to try to push my finals up, so they aren't close to the test.

[062914123]

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[lhn5007]

Is anyone planning to attempt the December LSAT still in school? The reason I ask, is because I'm trying to gage how people are going to handle finals and the LSAT? I guess there are several ways. I think I'm going to try to push my finals up, so they aren't close to the test.

I can imagine how difficult this will be. I think the best solution is to stay ahead of the game and manage your time very well. If I were you I would try to preptest consistently (3-5 test average) at your goal score way before Thanksgiving, at least by the first or second week of November. Then two preptest a week with adequate review days until the actual LSAT. The main issue is being overwhelmed. This is solved by maintaining a steady work ethic and never letting things build up. You have to be extremely proactive by completing things way in advance. Unfortunately you might have to say goodbye to football, television, and a social life but what's 3 months anyway?

[Blueberrypie]

Is anyone planning to attempt the December LSAT still in school? The reason I ask, is because I'm trying to gage how people are going to handle finals and the LSAT? I guess there are several ways. I think I'm going to try to push my finals up, so they aren't close to the test.

I can imagine how difficult this will be. I think the best solution is to stay ahead of the game and manage your time very well. If I were you I would try to preptest consistently (3-5 test average) at your goal score way before Thanksgiving, at least by the first or second week of November. Then two preptest a week with adequate review days until the actual LSAT. The main issue is being overwhelmed. This is solved by maintaining a steady work ethic and never letting things build up. You have to be extremely proactive by completing things way in advance. Unfortunately you might have to say goodbye to football, television, and a social life but what's 3 months anyway?

I'm going to make up a study schedule and see how I can implement things. I am an early riser. I can study from 6am-8am every MWF morning. Then 6am-7am and 4pm-5pm every Tuesday Thursday....This gives me 10hr week Studying and then I can PT on the weekend. I think ill give Saturday my break day and PT on Sunday. Most of my study time is nice and early so its not like im conflicting with school work time during the day. How does that sound? I will also talk to my professors about requesting to move up my exam dates or push them back.

What do you mean by 3-5 test average? Are you talking 3-5 test a week? Ah.... Also I notice a lot of LSAT study schedules ask you to take prep test before finish reviewing all the material? For instance, hypothetically speaking a prep book/class will say after lesson 5 take a prep test. Why is that when there is still 15 more lessons to go? How am I suppose to know how I much I improve if I'm still unfamiliar with most of the lessons...and I'm just taking a prep test after mastering only a few lessons?

As far as workload, I'm fortunate enough IMO to be in a major that requires lots of reading and writing. I just have to stay focused on making sure I finish the papers and reading way ahead of schedule, which is highly possible. i finished most of my huge paper classes. i only have to finish an Honors thesis... which is no walk in the park, but still it's not no where near impossible or hard.

[amb89]

I just switched from Oct to Dec today. I felt i wasn't ready with work and my final semester of school starting. Studying my butt off with prep test

[lhn5007]

Is anyone planning to attempt the December LSAT still in school? The reason I ask, is because I'm trying to gage how people are going to handle finals and the LSAT? I guess there are several ways. I think I'm going to try to push my finals up, so they aren't close to the test.

I can imagine how difficult this will be. I think the best solution is to stay ahead of the game and manage your time very well. If I were you I would try to preptest consistently (3-5 test average) at your goal score way before Thanksgiving, at least by the first or second week of November. Then two preptest a week with adequate review days until the actual LSAT. The main issue is being overwhelmed. This is solved by maintaining a steady work ethic and never letting things build up. You have to be extremely proactive by completing things way in advance. Unfortunately you might have to say goodbye to football, television, and a social life but what's 3 months anyway?

I'm going to make up a study schedule and see how I can implement things. I am an early riser. I can study from 6am-8am every MWF morning. Then 6am-7am and 4pm-5pm every Tuesday Thursday....This gives me 10hr week Studying and then I can PT on the weekend. I think ill give Saturday my break day and PT on Sunday. Most of my study time is nice and early so its not like im conflicting with school work time during the day. How does that sound? I will also talk to my professors about requesting to move up my exam dates or push them back.

What do you mean by 3-5 test average? Are you talking 3-5 test a week? Ah.... Also I notice a lot of LSAT study schedules ask you to take prep test before finish reviewing all the material? For instance, hypothetically speaking a prep book/class will say after lesson 5 take a prep test. Why is that when there is still 15 more lessons to go? How am I suppose to know how I much I improve if I'm still unfamiliar with most of the lessons...and I'm just taking a prep test after mastering only a few lessons?

As far as workload, I'm fortunate enough IMO to be in a major that requires lots of reading and writing. I just have to stay focused on making sure I finish the papers and reading way ahead of schedule, which is highly possible. i finished most of my huge paper classes. i only have to finish an Honors thesis... which is no walk in the park, but still it's not no where near impossible or hard.

I think that's a great start. I was an English/lit major so I understand what you mean. Studying in the morning is probably a good idea since the exam is at 8:30am. When I say 3-5 test average, I mean the average of your last 3-5 test scores as an indicator to where you will score on the December LSAT. Personally, I don't think it is conducive to take a full PT before learning the basics. I think you should drill question categories in LR as well as practice LG and RC to maintain gains. After building your foundation I would start PTing and troubleshooting problem areas. But that's just me. Some people PT continuously throughout to focus on time and to build stamina which I understand is also very important.

[alpha kenny body]

Just got approval from the UG for my retroactive withdrawal. It's dropping 4 classes. My GPA is going to skyrocket, so it's highly recommended if you can make it happen.

[Sloth Hero]

Checking in.

Got a 158 on Oct '12 & a 155 on Dec '12 (in the middle of finals, shouldn't have taken it in the first place. Foolish.) I took maybe 5 pts and skimmed through the LG/LR Bibles. Was too focused on maintaining my high GPA and dealing with sorority politics, and kinda arrogantly assumed I could just rely on being smart to do well.

Just finished a pt today and got a 168 (-1 LG/-7 LR/-4 RC), but I want to consistently be scoring 172+ by November. Using LG/LR bible, Manhattan RC, and ordering the Cambridge books. (I think. I have a list somewhere.) I also have every single prep test in PDF format (save 65-69, I need to buy those in Nov.). I feel like actually studying each section by question type and finding some way to alleviate my test anxiety is going to help a lot. I just got finished with the LG Bible and am now consistently scoring -1/2, Grouping games test to get the best of me on occassion.

Also am now reading through the Qs on LR and recognizing key words like assumption, parallel reasoning, flaw in the reasoning, etc. Amazing what actually reading the Qs does for your score. -___-

We have all have a little over three full months, so I think we'll all be set! There are two guides on here on how to get a 180/179 - one from pithypike (sic) and another user I don't remember. I'd recommend lurking their topics/suggestions and adapting it, or just using it, to see how it'll work for you. I'm going with a personalized version of pike's guide to a 180, and so far it's helping a lot.

159.

[kmc]

checking in.

took feb this year, got a 171. i'm excited about that, but the lure of 173+ is just too great, especially considering i'm a splitter.

here we go again!

[062914123]

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[kmc]

Do you mind me asking what your GPA is? I'm sort of a splitter as well, in that my GPA is below the 25th at my dream schools

I'm actually not sure what my LSDAS GPA is, but it's definitely on the 25th edge or below. right now, while stressing about law school, i regret that. in general, in life? not so much.

[tanes25]

Do you guys find broken up studying effective? I mean like studying 2hrs; work; 1hr; etc?

[paglababa]

Do you guys find broken up studying effective? I mean like studying 2hrs; work; 1hr; etc?

Yes. I like to study on the train, during lunch, for a few hours after work...pretty much anywhere it can be fit in. I say take advantage of this NOW because later in your prep, it does not come in handy as much. Now I need good 3.5 hour solid blocks so I can take full timed PTs, though I'll still use my other free time to review.

[kmc]

i know there are studies out there about eating healthy and boosting scores, but a really gross weekend means i just cracked open a jar of queso and a bag of tostitos for my late night study session.

is anyone studying together? reviewing together? or have folks been focusing primarily on drilling and reading up instead of hardcore PTing?

[BruinRegents]

New to this thread. I'll catch up ASAP. I hope to be able to contribute.

[amb89]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but what is drilling?

[paglababa]

I know this is going to sound stupid, but what is drilling?

Repetitive practice of the same topic. For instance, doing 25 Must be true or parallell reasoning LR questions. Similar to drilling a free shot or a jumper, for instance. Reccomend Cambridge for drill material. PM me if any questions.

[riku33090]

What are the best books for LG LR drills, im hesitant to spend any money on amazon lol

[paglababa]

What are the best books for LG LR drills, im hesitant to spend any money on amazon lol

Get the PDF set for $80 on Cambridge. It is the best investment you can make.

http://www.cambridgelsat.com/bundles/lo ... g-by-type/

[riku33090]

What are the best books for LG LR drills, im hesitant to spend any money on amazon lol

Get the PDF set for $80 on Cambridge. It is the best investment you can make.

http://www.cambridgelsat.com/bundles/lo ... g-by-type/

does that comes with explanations?