The Official September 2016 Study Group - WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS Forum

[WWhitman]

Hello everyone,

Just finished school and now starting to study for the LSAT in Sep. I have two questions and welcome all inputs:

1. What study plan should I follow? (I have PowerScore 3 month plan now, is it good?) My goal is at least 175+ and I will be studying full time this summer (no job).
2. At the moment I have LRB, LGB, SuperPrep II, and the three latest 10 New/Actual/Next Preps. What other books are good or must haves?

Much appreciated,

WW

Hi Walt, your first step should be taking a full-length timed prep test to see how far you have to go. 175+ is ambitious for anyone, but just how ambitious depends on where you're starting. From there, I'd recommend you consult the threads here on courses and strategies to see which ones best fit your needs:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=200917
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=151670

Welcome aboard!

Will be taking it soon today or tomorrow. But diagnostic won't really matter to me, I'm going for it regardless. That said, I've seen those threads, my worry is "How relevant are they, given they were from people prepped and took the test in 2008 or earlier?" I know that the test has significantly changed over time. Are they just as relevant?

That's a good attitude to have... but... It does matter, as it will show your weaknesses to a certain extent. Make sure to take it timed and score it strictly as if it was a test. I made the mistake of not timing myself, but, based on my actual diagnostic from Testmasters session, it wasn't a gross over exaggeration of my skills/ability.

The test has changed over time. IIRC, the change in 08 was the comparative reading which isn't really a big deal IMO. The main change, IIRC, is that games have become easier than they were a decade or two ago. 2007 June is more than adequate for a cold diagnostic IMO.

I see. I totally messed up 2007 test. I began the test sometime last year in a room with a youtube proctor but then, I realized I was halfway when the time ran out on the first three sections. LOL... and then I had a personal emergency came up and had to stop. So now the 2007 test scantron looks like half complete crap. But when I saw the ones that was able to do in time, I got way more of them rights than the wrong answers. Does this mean I need to retake another year's test? If so which is recommended?

[34iplaw]

Hello everyone,

Just finished school and now starting to study for the LSAT in Sep. I have two questions and welcome all inputs:

1. What study plan should I follow? (I have PowerScore 3 month plan now, is it good?) My goal is at least 175+ and I will be studying full time this summer (no job).
2. At the moment I have LRB, LGB, SuperPrep II, and the three latest 10 New/Actual/Next Preps. What other books are good or must haves?

Much appreciated,

WW

Hi Walt, your first step should be taking a full-length timed prep test to see how far you have to go. 175+ is ambitious for anyone, but just how ambitious depends on where you're starting. From there, I'd recommend you consult the threads here on courses and strategies to see which ones best fit your needs:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=200917
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=151670

Welcome aboard!

Will be taking it soon today or tomorrow. But diagnostic won't really matter to me, I'm going for it regardless. That said, I've seen those threads, my worry is "How relevant are they, given they were from people prepped and took the test in 2008 or earlier?" I know that the test has significantly changed over time. Are they just as relevant?

That's a good attitude to have... but... It does matter, as it will show your weaknesses to a certain extent. Make sure to take it timed and score it strictly as if it was a test. I made the mistake of not timing myself, but, based on my actual diagnostic from Testmasters session, it wasn't a gross over exaggeration of my skills/ability.

The test has changed over time. IIRC, the change in 08 was the comparative reading which isn't really a big deal IMO. The main change, IIRC, is that games have become easier than they were a decade or two ago. 2007 June is more than adequate for a cold diagnostic IMO.

I see. I totally messed up 2007 test. I began the test sometime last year in a room with a youtube proctor but then, I realized I was halfway when the time ran out on the first three sections. LOL... and then I had a personal emergency came up and had to stop. So now the 2007 test scantron looks like half complete crap. But when I saw the ones that was able to do in time, I got way more of them rights than the wrong answers. Does this mean I need to retake another year's test? If so which is recommended?

Time is a major component in the LSAT, so, not to diminish your accomplishment or dishearten you, your answering those questions may not be actually indicative of your LSAT ability. For example, I can/could hit 100% accuracy with any linear game if given time, and I haven't been doing this that long. I am certain I will rapidly reach that place with other game types. I cannot, yet, do it for certain within the recommended time allotment.

Provided you didn't go over the test too much, you can probably just take the June 2007 by printing a fresh copy. It is a good idea to record answers on a scantron which I did not do when I took the June 2007. The first 'real' diagnostic I took was after a few weeks of relatively light prep focused on a brief overview and linear games. If not, do one of the ones in the Super Prep I suppose. Remember, the time limit is 35 minutes per section and not overall. I can't necessarily give you a specific test, but, if there is any chance you will be doing a prep class, I would make sure that it isn't one of their required diagnostics.

[proteinshake]

In LR, there is almost always a long parallel flaw/reasoning question, and its almost always one of questions 22-24. I always do these last and I think it saves a bunch of time and prevents me from ever running out of time.

[proteinshake]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

[20170322]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR studies!

Congrats! That's dope!

[thatlawlkid]

out of curiosity, is anyone using pithypike or noodleyone's guides for their prep? I'm taking my first pt for diagnostic on saturday to mark 3 months out and was just seeing if anyone had made an attempt at sticking to either of the plans and how it worked for them

[proteinshake]

out of curiosity, is anyone using pithypike or noodleyone's guides for their prep? I'm taking my first pt for diagnostic on saturday to mark 3 months out and was just seeing if anyone had made an attempt at sticking to either of the plans and how it worked for them

my plan is VERY similar to NoodleyOne's, if not practically the same thing.

[thatlawlkid]

out of curiosity, is anyone using pithypike or noodleyone's guides for their prep? I'm taking my first pt for diagnostic on saturday to mark 3 months out and was just seeing if anyone had made an attempt at sticking to either of the plans and how it worked for them

my plan is VERY similar to NoodleyOne's, if not practically the same thing.

are you retaking? This is my 4th so I'm really worried about how much material i'll be using that i've seen before, and i never kept much track of it.

[PhiladelphiaCollins]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

[proteinshake]

out of curiosity, is anyone using pithypike or noodleyone's guides for their prep? I'm taking my first pt for diagnostic on saturday to mark 3 months out and was just seeing if anyone had made an attempt at sticking to either of the plans and how it worked for them

my plan is VERY similar to NoodleyOne's, if not practically the same thing.

are you retaking? This is my 4th so I'm really worried about how much material i'll be using that i've seen before, and i never kept much track of it.

yeah I am but there are a lot of older PTs that I haven't used yet. as for the more recent ones, I'm pretty sure I forgot them all since its been a long time since I saw them. plus I never BR'd my PTs which makes it far less likely I remembered the questions lol.

[proteinshake]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

are you not going through any prep books?

[proteinshake]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

are you not going through any prep books?

[PhiladelphiaCollins]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

are you not going through any prep books?

No, I am. This is my 3rd go at it. Last summer I did a Powerscore course so I worked through all the books again throughout May and I finished them a week or two ago.

[proteinshake]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

are you not going through any prep books?

No, I am. This is my 3rd go at it. Last summer I did a Powerscore course so I worked through all the books again throughout May and I finished them a week or two ago.

oh did you already finish them? or are you taking the PTs while going through the prep books? If you're still going through prep material, don't waste PTs!

[Rupert Pupkin]

out of curiosity, is anyone using pithypike or noodleyone's guides for their prep? I'm taking my first pt for diagnostic on saturday to mark 3 months out and was just seeing if anyone had made an attempt at sticking to either of the plans and how it worked for them

Ive been following pithypike's loosely with inspiration from TLS's guide. I haven't checked out Noodleyone's yet. Right now Im more of just powering through my PS books and drilling by type in correlation with the chapters that I cover in the book. Almost done with the PS set so these next 3 months will be more closely related to his guide. Im going to look at Noodley's too and see what its like

[Barack O'Drama]

Hello everyone,

Just finished school and now starting to study for the LSAT in Sep. I have two questions and welcome all inputs:

1. What study plan should I follow? (I have PowerScore 3 month plan now, is it good?) My goal is at least 175+ and I will be studying full time this summer (no job).
2. At the moment I have LRB, LGB, SuperPrep II, and the three latest 10 New/Actual/Next Preps. What other books are good or must haves?

Much appreciated,

WW

All the info others have recommended is great. Wouldn't change a thing!

My prep schedule is basically a mixture of Pithy's/Noodle's with some advice from high scorers on here like SweetTort and ProteinShake. I would recommend going through the LG bible first and drilling until you have made significant advances on your LG score. Then read LR and drill by type after every chapter. Also, if you're open to it, I really recommend spending $40 on the LSAT Trainer. Go through it, and learn all the fundamentals of the test. I did and I think it was the best thing I did for myself vis-a-vis LSAT prep. It gave me a really solid foundation. I would do this first if you choose to get it. You could probably get through it in 2 weeks or so, depending on how much time per day you put in.

If not, I don't think it will necessarily be a problem. I just think it was an efficient way for me to learn the basics and get a good grip on every section. Something to build on if you will.

I just go through chapter-by-chapter of each book and drill by type.

So for my haves: I really think the LSAT Trainer is up there. Also, if you want a 175 I cannot recommend the Manhattan LSAT trilogy enough. Yeah, you'll probably spend another $150, but in the long run, I think anyone would agree it is well worth it. I have the Bible and am going through them with the Manhattan books, but I think MLSAT is more geared toward scoring deep in 95+%-tile. Don't completely jettison the Bibles though if you find them helpful. But I think MLSAT is more conducive to a faster learning curve.

175 is a big goal. But, hey, what can I say when I have the same goal in mind. I know it is doable because others certainly have gone from the 150s to the 170s. I think you just have to be willing to put the time in.

Lastly, I can't tell you how much 7Sage's free LG explanations have been. Definitely sign up for an account and use their videos to check your work and see if there's a simpler way you could have done it. I think Jy from 7Sage has helped me improve my speed more than anything.

[PhiladelphiaCollins]

Went to the public library today to do PT 61 and of course all the goddamn high school kids studying for exams took up all the private rooms and the ones that didn't get the rooms were screeching throughout the building. I know everyone says to get used to distractions but fuck, reading a dense package is difficult with cackling.

Went from a 165 last Thursday to a 158 today so it was a hard reality check for me. Timing was the big thing with this, felt like I never really got in a rhythm. Oh well, there's always B.R.

To anyone that's a re-taker like myself: Right now I'm taking 2 tests a week then spending the next 1-2 days reviewing. Would it seem like a better idea to cut to 1 a week and throw in more drilling?

are you not going through any prep books?

No, I am. This is my 3rd go at it. Last summer I did a Powerscore course so I worked through all the books again throughout May and I finished them a week or two ago.

oh did you already finish them? or are you taking the PTs while going through the prep books? If you're still going through prep material, don't waste PTs!

Haha no I'm all done my prep books! I'm extremely unemployed ATM so I got the curriculum done in a little over a month.

[Alexandros]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

[Alexandros]

LR -3. 2 from misreading question stems. (Missed the "Except" and read MBF as MFT) ermergerd. -_- not sure if this kind of thing is good news or bad news...

[proteinshake]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

I'm just gonna read through the Manhattan LR book and drill after every chapter!

[Barack O'Drama]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

I'm just gonna read through the Manhattan LR book and drill after every chapter!

ProteinShake you're killing it! I think you're going to like MLSAT LR. I got through the first chapter, and liked it a lot.

[proteinshake]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

I'm just gonna read through the Manhattan LR book and drill after every chapter!

ProteinShake you're killing it! I think you're going to like MLSAT LR. I got through the first chapter, and liked it a lot.

I read it when I studied for the December test! but I went through it too quickly and did 0 drilling

[Alexandros]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

I'm just gonna read through the Manhattan LR book and drill after every chapter!

( Sorry, you totally said that in your original post! -1 RC for Alexandros )

Manhattan LR is brilliant! Just finished it and it was super helpful. If you're coming into it with scores like that already you'll be in excellent shape

[Barack O'Drama]

just finished BR'ing PT 40

Score 171
BR 177

LR -0 (5 mins left)
LG -2 (0 mins left)
LR -2 (0 mins left)
RC -5 (0 mins left)

I really need to get my RC to -3 and under to really be confident about a 173+ score. the RC did have a 5/5 difficulty rating on 7Sage so I don't feel too bad about it, definitely doing much better than my diagnostic. I think I'll get much better when I start doing PTs on the reg. LG had three very easy games and one really hard one where I missed the 2 questions. First LR set was easy, second was hard. moving on to Manhattan LR tomorrow! hopefully I'll be down to -0/1 on LR after some intense LR study!

Congrats, that's awesome! What are planning on doing for your LR study? I'm trying to iron LR out too and am never sure about the best method...

I'm just gonna read through the Manhattan LR book and drill after every chapter!

ProteinShake you're killing it! I think you're going to like MLSAT LR. I got through the first chapter, and liked it a lot.

I read it when I studied for the December test! but I went through it too quickly and did 0 drilling

Oh yeah, I think you're one of the people who recommended it to me ProteinShake, haha.

MLSAT is the GOAT

[34iplaw]

Good morning party people!

Starting the day with a randomly selected LG from my CP in simple sequencing, RO, and 3D ordering. Then onto reviewing drills from Testmasters & that homework. I definitely feel more cognizant of what the questions look for on the LSAT, but it does make me wonder how I was testing relatively well [midish 160's] while being explicitly unaware of these issues at the heart of the test.

So, I imagine I'll spend most of my day doing the homework, but I signed up for a free webinar tonight [I'm not sure if it's still open, but check it out if you're interested] hosted by Blueprint on Law School Applications. It's tonight at 6 PM PST / 9 PM EST and hosted by Branden Frankel. They are usually a pretty accommodating company, so, if you're really interested and it's filled up, you can probably try to call them and see if they'll finagle you a spot. Granted, I signed up last night, so I doubt that it is full or can get filled.

Edit: Just did first ten questions on sufficient/necessary conditions in TestMasters homework and three games. Two of the three games were a relatively strong improvement in time [-1-2 min] and the third was neutral [made a local diagramming error...a really dumb...and a really bad one that cost me a minute or two]. Nine out of ten right on the sufficient/necessary questions, and one was a misread [at least I believe that to be the case... will double check on SAT].