Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed? Forum

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LTBU

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Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by LTBU » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:05 pm

Hey all, this is my first post here. I'm currently a Junior and plan on taking the June LSAT.

I'm pretty familiar with the LSAT in general, and believe I naturally excel at these types of logic/reasoning questions. I have zero training in these fields, nor have I ever really practiced them. I have however taken a few LR/LG sections here and there (when im bored at home), and though these obviously arent representative of the actual test, I score generally well for someone who's just getting into it (probably 20/25 on average). My studying begins once 2015 hits; I'm going to go through the Power Score bibles for logical reasoning and logic games, and then drill/practice all the way home.

That being said, do I need to take a Prep Course? I've been told that prep courses are for people who tend to have average scores, and want to reach above average level. If, hypothetically, I'm already above average and can score in the mid-high 160s, would I benefit from a course, or is self-study the best route?

Also, I have access to a fair amount of PrepTests from previous years, ranging from 1993 to I believe 2009? At around April/May, I plan on taking one of these as a practice test every weekend, while also going over the respective explanation for it.

My question is..which of these do I take? There are too many to tackle, especially with me being full time at Cal. Are 1993 tests worth going over? Should I stick to newer tests? Combination of both?

Thanks in advance guys, I appreciate the time.

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NL2424

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by NL2424 » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:21 pm

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Last edited by NL2424 on Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

rebexness

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by rebexness » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:22 pm

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LTBU

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by LTBU » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:24 pm

zacboro wrote:With regard to the prep course, do you self-study for school? Or are you dependent on tutors? I'm a firm self-studier at school so I approached the LSAT the same way and it's working for me. I don't mind teaching myself. However, if you are one of those people that can't teach yourself something then I'd say go for the prep course.
Self-study? Pretty much. I've had bad teachers/professors throughout my educational career, and have pretty much been self-sufficient in that aspect. Have never had any tutors either (though they would have been helpful for math, lol).

LTBU

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by LTBU » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:25 pm

rebexness wrote:General consensus is to do PTs 38-70+ as full length practice tests. Or at least 50+, because of the change in RC.

Use the older material for drilling.

Prep courses imo are most useful for people who need a lot of structure.
Noted, thank you.

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MattM

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by MattM » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:53 am

Not to be "that guy" ...but instead of hypothetically speaking, take a full length practice LSAT as Timed exam.....all of your prep won't need to be timed by any means.

Taking a diagnostic is the best thing to get a starting point ( plus you will see how far you came on your bad bads where you won't want to prep)


20/25 is a great rate for a beginner ....but take a full length strictly timed diag to see exactly where you are at ( big difference between timed and untimed work on this exam)....I would do that just so I am not cocky about a mid to high 160's score that may not be accurate

MattM

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by MattM » Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:07 am

LTBU wrote:Hey all, this is my first post here. I'm currently a Junior and plan on taking the June LSAT.

I'm pretty familiar with the LSAT in general, and believe I naturally excel at these types of logic/reasoning questions. I have zero training in these fields, nor have I ever really practiced them. I have however taken a few LR/LG sections here and there (when im bored at home), and though these obviously arent representative of the actual test, I score generally well for someone who's just getting into it (probably 20/25 on average). My studying begins once 2015 hits; I'm going to go through the Power Score bibles for logical reasoning and logic games, and then drill/practice all the way home.

That being said, do I need to take a Prep Course? I've been told that prep courses are for people who tend to have average scores, and want to reach above average level. If, hypothetically, I'm already above average and can score in the mid-high 160s, would I benefit from a course, or is self-study the best route?

Also, I have access to a fair amount of PrepTests from previous years, ranging from 1993 to I believe 2009? At around April/May, I plan on taking one of these as a practice test every weekend, while also going over the respective explanation for it.

My question is..which of these do I take? There are too many to tackle, especially with me being full time at Cal. Are 1993 tests worth going over? Should I stick to newer tests? Combination of both?

Thanks in advance guys, I appreciate the time.
If concerned about of length of time to study for the LSAT while being a full time student at Cal...my advice is this 1. LSAT is generally 70% of admit/deny decision alone so why not take the test until you are fully ready to take it,....due to its importance, if I knew nothing else about an applicant and they had a 170 LSAT I could. give a reasonable estimate on what schools they would get into 2. if a full time student at Cal...maybe a good idea is to take LSAT after graduation as you don't compromise your GPA for LSAT studies since your GPA locks at graduation but you can always retake the LSAT.


tldr : if you do end up taking the June exam spend a minimum of 15 hours a week studying for the exam or else you won't hit your full potential...and don't be afraid to push back until the October LSAT if you have a relatively free summer that you have the time to study for

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NL2424

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by NL2424 » Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:12 am

..
Last edited by NL2424 on Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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RZ5646

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by RZ5646 » Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:19 am

MattM wrote: if you do end up taking the June exam spend a minimum of 15 hours a week studying for the exam or else you won't hit your full potential
You really think 15 hours per week is necessary even if you're studying for a full 5 months?

Just asking because I'm also studying for June.

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MattM

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by MattM » Tue Dec 30, 2014 3:20 am

^what's PT average , method of review, goals etc

I would say typically yes to get quality prep ....blind review and going over the questions is a lengthy process

LTBU

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by LTBU » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:31 pm

MattM wrote:Not to be "that guy" ...but instead of hypothetically speaking, take a full length practice LSAT as Timed exam.....all of your prep won't need to be timed by any means.

Taking a diagnostic is the best thing to get a starting point ( plus you will see how far you came on your bad bads where you won't want to prep)


20/25 is a great rate for a beginner ....but take a full length strictly timed diag to see exactly where you are at ( big difference between timed and untimed work on this exam)....I would do that just so I am not cocky about a mid to high 160's score that may not be accurate
Agreed. Will definitely get into timed practice and take a diagnostic. Thanks!

LTBU

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Re: Which previous years' LSATs to study? + Prep course needed?

Post by LTBU » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:38 pm

MattM wrote:
LTBU wrote:Hey all, this is my first post here. I'm currently a Junior and plan on taking the June LSAT.

I'm pretty familiar with the LSAT in general, and believe I naturally excel at these types of logic/reasoning questions. I have zero training in these fields, nor have I ever really practiced them. I have however taken a few LR/LG sections here and there (when im bored at home), and though these obviously arent representative of the actual test, I score generally well for someone who's just getting into it (probably 20/25 on average). My studying begins once 2015 hits; I'm going to go through the Power Score bibles for logical reasoning and logic games, and then drill/practice all the way home.

That being said, do I need to take a Prep Course? I've been told that prep courses are for people who tend to have average scores, and want to reach above average level. If, hypothetically, I'm already above average and can score in the mid-high 160s, would I benefit from a course, or is self-study the best route?

Also, I have access to a fair amount of PrepTests from previous years, ranging from 1993 to I believe 2009? At around April/May, I plan on taking one of these as a practice test every weekend, while also going over the respective explanation for it.

My question is..which of these do I take? There are too many to tackle, especially with me being full time at Cal. Are 1993 tests worth going over? Should I stick to newer tests? Combination of both?

Thanks in advance guys, I appreciate the time.
If concerned about of length of time to study for the LSAT while being a full time student at Cal...my advice is this 1. LSAT is generally 70% of admit/deny decision alone so why not take the test until you are fully ready to take it,....due to its importance, if I knew nothing else about an applicant and they had a 170 LSAT I could. give a reasonable estimate on what schools they would get into 2. if a full time student at Cal...maybe a good idea is to take LSAT after graduation as you don't compromise your GPA for LSAT studies since your GPA locks at graduation but you can always retake the LSAT.


tldr : if you do end up taking the June exam spend a minimum of 15 hours a week studying for the exam or else you won't hit your full potential...and don't be afraid to push back until the October LSAT if you have a relatively free summer that you have the time to study for
To be honest, I'm not TOO concerned with length of time because I think i'll be able to put aside about 1-1.5 hours M-F and 4-6 hours Sat-Sun. I'm throwing away my social life for a good half-year (already turned down an invite to Lake Tahoe in Feb), but I think that's a small price to pay for my future.

Sadly, it looks as though my summer will also consist of classes, so pushing back until Oct might not help too much. Since I'm still pretty much oblivious to the process as a whole, how long does it take for scores to be released, and what time of year are apps typically due? I figured I'd just ask here instead of searching around.

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