LSAT Help/Advice from fellow URM's Forum

[stjeff00]

I'm a frequent lurker of the page ( pretty much everyday..) and am extremely thankful for all the information everyone posts on here in regards to the application process but I have noticed a lack of information in regards to LSAT study advice as it pertains specifically to URM's. Therefore , I just wanted to ask assistance from fellow URM's in regards to study techniques that you all found useful during your studying process and for those of you who didn't score as high as you would have liked, what would you have done differently? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[brinicolec]

I'm a frequent lurker of the page ( pretty much everyday..) and am extremely thankful for all the information everyone posts on here in regards to the application process but I have noticed a lack of information in regards to LSAT study advice as it pertains specifically to URM's. Therefore , I just wanted to ask assistance from fellow URM's in regards to study techniques that you all found useful during your studying process and for those of you who didn't score as high as you would have liked, what would you have done differently? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Tbh, I think the reason you haven't found any info regarding this is that there's not really a difference in how I think I studied vs. how others who aren't URMs studied.

I'd definitely say an important study technique is blind-reviewing, which I didn't know about until I found something on TLS talking about it and googled for more info.

What would I have done differently? Probably would've taken the December LSAT instead of the September LSAT when retaking. I really think I could've cracked a 170. I was just so worried about applying too late because I don't have a good GPA. I think the advice I see a lot on here that I didn't personally take but, in hindsight, would've is "Don't take the LSAT until you're consistently scoring what you want to score" (and preferably a few points higher because ~ test anxiety! ~) Peeking at my LSAT analytics (I recommend using this as well; it's a free tool provided by 7sage that lets you track your tests) my highest PT score was a 172 but my average was a 166.3. I was actually pretty true to my score and ended up with a 167 my second go around. If you want a 170, don't take the test until you're averaging a 170 (and ideally not seeing much fluctuation in score). The same is true for any target score. I just said 170 because it's what I wanted to be at or above.

Don't be afraid to mix and match books, meaning don't be afraid to use say... the Bibles for LR and LG but something else for RC.

REVIEW YOUR PTs AND PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR WEAKNESSES. DRILL!!!! DRILL YOUR WEAKNESSES MORE!!!!

Idk, in hindsight, even though I did okay on the LSAT, I think I could've spent more time nitpicking things, really making sure I understood why things were right AND WHY THEY WERE WRONG. ESPECIALLY why they're wrong. It's super important! Eliminating answers is really important for the LSAT for a lot of question types so it's really, really beneficial to be able to look at something and automatically know it's not right and WHY it's not right. Just kind of feeling like "Eh.... this doesn't seem right" MIGHT be okay, but it's definitely not as great as saying, "Welp, that's definitely wrong because ___. On to the next AC."

I did this for awhile but just found it really tedious and stopped (and in hindsight wish I hadn't), but I used to print out a chart that allowed me to put the answer, the question type, the flaw (if there was any) AND my thought process on why I did/didn't choose an answer, then I'd check my logic against a site that offers explanations (even if I got it right, because it's important to make sure you got it right for the right reason). As I said, it was tedious (and I'm sure it sounds tedious) but I really think if I had stuck to it, I would've seen serious improvement just from doing so.

I'm sure I have more advice that I didn't mention lol. Feel free to ask for any clarification or anything. I'm on this site WAY too much because I have nothing better to do when I'm not working than fret over my future

[stjeff00]

Thank you for your advice! I honestly really appreciate it. I recently found blind review also and have been using that technique for my practice tests and have found it to be really helpful. In addition, I'm also doing something similar to the chart you mentioned (including the flaws, and which answer is right/wrong and why) but can't really determine if it's helping or not so I definitely understand your perspective lol.

Would you also happen to have any advice for improving on the Logical Reasoning section?

[brinicolec]

Thank you for your advice! I honestly really appreciate it. I recently found blind review also and have been using that technique for my practice tests and have found it to be really helpful. In addition, I'm also doing something similar to the chart you mentioned (including the flaws, and which answer is right/wrong and why) but can't really determine if it's helping or not so I definitely understand your perspective lol.

Would you also happen to have any advice for improving on the Logical Reasoning section?

Have you used the LR Bible yet? That's pretty helpful and includes drills!