rvadog wrote:Hey guys,
I'm planning on taking the LSAT next September. This is perfect for me as I will have from May to Septembet to study intensively. I really need to do very well on the LSAT in order to make up for poor (will finish 2.5-2.
gpa.
Everyone seems to say do not start studying with intensity before 3-4 months out.
Is it a bad idea to pick up a book on Logic Games now and start doing some here and there to teach myself the process, symbols and diagraming with no times?
Anyone telling you the bolded is giving you bad advice. I think the prevailing wisdom on TLS is that 3-4 months is optimal, but if you're aiming for the best possible score, the law of diminishing returns doesn't apply. Repeat material, drill baby drill, repeat PTs, whatever you need to do to improve your score those extra few points.
While certainly 3-4 months will give you the strongest gain for your time invested, no one will argue that 10 months of preparation will be superior if you do study that much.
I think a reasonable prep plan could be forwarded that encompassed a 7 or 8 month study plan if you really wanted to get deep into prep. Something like this:
Month 1: Take a full, timed PT under test-like conditions. Read LG Bible and/or Manhattan LG. Do games by type from PTs 1-40. Repeat games you make mistakes on or that feel slow. Comprehensively review your mistakes and any difficulties.
Month 2: Read LR Bible and/or Manhattan LR. Do LR by type from PTs 1-40. Mark questions you have difficulty with or miss and put them into a separate folder/file/etc. Repeat those questions later on. Take full LG sections from PTs A, B, C, June 07 and Feb 97. Comprehensively review your mistakes and any difficulties.
Month 3: Read RC Bible or Manhattan RC. Do full RC sections from PTs 1-40. Take full LR/LG sections from PTs 30-40 and A, B, C, June 07 and Feb 97. Mark passages you have difficulty on and redo them in the future. Comprehensively review your mistakes and any difficulties.
Month 4: Take full, timed PTs with experimental sections twice per week. Mix up your PTs (take one from the 60s, followed by one from the 50s, followed by one from the 40s). Comprehensively review your mistakes and any difficulties. Do targeted drilling on your weaknesses.
Months 5-8: Take full, timed PTs with experimental sections twice per week. Mix up your PTs (take one from the 60s, followed by one from the 50s, followed by one from the 40s). Retake newest PTs that you have previously taken (from the 60s and 50s). Comprehensively review your mistakes and any difficulties. Do targeted drilling on your weaknesses.
If you take two five-section PTs per week and repeat every PT from 50-68, that gives you 4-5 months of PTs. If a retake still gives you trouble, take the PT a third time. Throughout everything log your scores, review with friends, review alone, drill when you have free time, take a day or two off here and there. Be consistent and be true to yourself. Don't worry so much about your PT average, but rather the raw score and the mistakes you are making and how to fix them. Every missed question is at least two mistakes, not one. You picked the incorrect answer and you eliminated the correct answer. Understand your reasoning behind both logical errors.
If you are going to school full-time and working full-time, you can stretch Months 1-3 to two months each, starting today (in December). Make every single Saturday "test-day" and go to a library, or some quiet place. Bring a 1-gallon ziploc bag with your snackbar(s) and gatorade, a wristwatch, pencils, scantron, and take a five-section test with a 10-minute break. Do this every Saturday at 830am. Do drilling whenever you have free time. The beauty of question drilling in the first few months is you can do them in 2-10 minute chunks, so there really is no excuse to not having enough time.
Do your best to also make a day during the week (say, Wednesday afternoon) to also take a PT in test-like conditions.
And just for anecdotal advice, I did the above and improved from 141 to 168, 166 (with a PT average mid 170s). Best of luck. Don't let anyone tell you that it's a waste of time when every point means potentially thousands in additional merit scholarship.
