The Official June 2014 Study Group Forum

[flash21]

guys I am still getting my butt kicked in LG and RC. I wont complain about RC because I have not drilled it much yet. Games though......... I hate these things. Will keep hammering away at them but I find them so irritating.

LR is going well though, getting between 19-21 correct on sections, I am going to go back to individual drilling now though on weaknesses. Current weaknesses ar : MBT, MSS, assumptions (sufficient)

[dardardelight]

Hello, everybody! Pretty big lurker here and thought I should join in on all the fun. I'm planning on taking the test in June, of course. Using TLS suggestions, I picked up the following study materials:
1. LSAT Trainer
2. All Three Manhattan LSAT books
3. Cambridge Packets
4. Thinking about enrolling in 7Sage

I'm pretty set on beginning the studying (Mid-December) with the LSAT Trainer. To those who've used it and are familiar with its LG sub-set labeling methods, and have also used MLSAT/Bluepring LG.. do you think it would be a good idea to skip the LG lessons altogether in the LSAT Trainer and focus just on LR and RC?? I just don't want to mix my head up with less effective methods if I'm going to be going through MLSAT and Blueprint anyways.

Also, has anybody used 7Sage? Any feedback? My plan is to first finish the LSAT trainer, and then the MLSAT books with the Blueprint LG as well ; after that, drill drill drill with Cambridge. This will probably take me to March. From then on, I was planning on doing 7sage to reinforce everything I've learned and take 2 PT a week. What do you guys think? Should I re-order my study plan?? Anyways, I hope I can contribute a lot on this thread during the collective struggle that we will all undergo. Good Luck to Everyone!

[WaltGrace83]

Hey guys, just wanted to check in. I was studying lightly from June - October and was picking up the pace and the intricacies of questions. Then school happened.

Luckily, I will be graduating in less than a month with 6 months (from December to June) to do NOTHING but LSAT, and a few hours of work on the weekends. I'm a little distraught that I couldn't continue studying but I definitely don't want to lose my GPA that is above every school's 75% so late in the game when I have all the time in the world to take the LSAT.

I purchased the Trainer yesterday and I cannot WAIT for the fun to begin in less than a month. I cannot wait to get back on this horse.

[famousblueraincoat]

Does anyone use the Powerscore Bibles anymore? All I hear about now is Manhattan LSAT. Are the bibles inferior?

This is what I get for starting to collect study materials my first semester of college

[Straw_Mandible]

Hello, everybody! Pretty big lurker here and thought I should join in on all the fun. I'm planning on taking the test in June, of course. Using TLS suggestions, I picked up the following study materials:
1. LSAT Trainer
2. All Three Manhattan LSAT books
3. Cambridge Packets
4. Thinking about enrolling in 7Sage

I'm pretty set on beginning the studying (Mid-December) with the LSAT Trainer. To those who've used it and are familiar with its LG sub-set labeling methods, and have also used MLSAT/Bluepring LG.. do you think it would be a good idea to skip the LG lessons altogether in the LSAT Trainer and focus just on LR and RC?? I just don't want to mix my head up with less effective methods if I'm going to be going through MLSAT and Blueprint anyways.

Also, has anybody used 7Sage? Any feedback? My plan is to first finish the LSAT trainer, and then the MLSAT books with the Blueprint LG as well ; after that, drill drill drill with Cambridge. This will probably take me to March. From then on, I was planning on doing 7sage to reinforce everything I've learned and take 2 PT a week. What do you guys think? Should I re-order my study plan?? Anyways, I hope I can contribute a lot on this thread during the collective struggle that we will all undergo. Good Luck to Everyone!

Welcome to the party! Your study plan looks great. Mine is very similar, minus the 7Sage and plus a few months on the outset--though, I have been moving pretty slowly due to my work schedule and fear of early burnout. What is your schedule like? Are you in school or working FT?

Re LG: I just finished the LSAT Trainer on a 12 week study schedule, and the games have not completely clicked with me yet. I haven't drilled extensively, but whenever I do try a game, I feel a little bit lost in attempting to apply the Trainer's methods. Nonetheless, I do not think you should skip the LG chapters in the Trainer. The drills and lessons are very valuable in that they teach a style of thinking about games which will prepare you to apply the strategies that you learn later (i.e. through BP and MLSAT) to seemingly unfamiliar challenges you may face on test day. In other words, the strict classifications underlying the BP and MLSAT methods teach you to think inside their strategic box, while the Trainer provides you with the skills to think outside those boxes when necessary. These skills are 100% transferable.

I am in the process of reading through the BPLG book right now, and I have found that it provides the strategic structure that the LSAT Trainer lacked. I expect the approaches I am learning now will be more effective because they are coupled with the general skills I developed through my drill work in the Trainer.

Best of luck, and feel free to PM me with any questions!

[dardardelight]

Straw_Mandible:
Thanks so much for the info! I wish I could say I will have five months all to myself to focus solely on the LSAT, but I'm a grad student right now (and next semester of course) so I am definitely going to have my hands full. I really hope I could finish the Trainer in the three weeks I have for my winter break. It's a pretty thick book and you said you're doing a 12-week schedule?

Do you think I should take my time with it and internalize the methods, or could I put those same number of hours in a short window of time like two weeks. The important part is for the information to stick and to kickstart me into MLSAT/BP books/strategy/drilling.

Again, thanks for the feedback and I'll be sure to PM you if I have any questions!

[Straw_Mandible]

Straw_Mandible:
Thanks so much for the info! I wish I could say I will have five months all to myself to focus solely on the LSAT, but I'm a grad student right now (and next semester of course) so I am definitely going to have my hands full. I really hope I could finish the Trainer in the three weeks I have for my winter break. It's a pretty thick book and you said you're doing a 12-week schedule?

Do you think I should take my time with it and internalize the methods, or could I put those same number of hours in a short window of time like two weeks. The important part is for the information to stick and to kickstart me into MLSAT/BP books/strategy/drilling.

Again, thanks for the feedback and I'll be sure to PM you if I have any questions!

Not a problem! I think three weeks with The Trainer is totally doable, provided that it's the only thing you're spending your time on. I was on the 12 week schedule because I work full time, and I was doing a fair amount Cambridge drilling (especially in LR) on the side. If you plan to do most of your drilling later with MLSAT and BP, then you should have enough time to get through the Trainer over your break. As long as you are completing all of the lessons and doing the drills in the book, you shouldn't need to worry too much about "internalizing" the methods. The book is designed to ensure that you are developing and applying the skills it teaches during the lessons.

[rebexness]

Does anyone use the Powerscore Bibles anymore? All I hear about now is Manhattan LSAT. Are the bibles inferior?

This is what I get for starting to collect study materials my first semester of college

The bibles are fine, there are just other, superior methods. Really depends on your comfort level to start with.

Also get the Trainer, its magical.

[Straw_Mandible]

Also get the Trainer, its magical.

This.

[10052014]

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[flash21]

i loved the trainer but did anyone else find the games a little weird?

I dont know if its because I went with LGB frist or manhattan logic games though so I was hesitant to switch methods

[Straw_Mandible]

i loved the trainer but did anyone else find the games a little weird?

I dont know if its because I went with LGB frist or manhattan logic games though so I was hesitant to switch methods

::Raises hand:: Yep. Definitely weird. But in retrospect, I think Mike's unconventional approach (i.e. avoiding classifications, focusing on common issues) does have its merits. At the very least, it gets us in the proper mindset for thinking about games. I definitely needed a bit more structure, though, since games are not my strong suit.

You said you went with the LGB "or" Manhattan first. Did you mean both? I read some of the LGB before I went through the Trainer, and it felt too mechanical for my tastes. Right now I'm using BP, which I think strikes a happy medium between the mindlessly prescriptive LGB and the chaotic genius (which apparently soared way over my head) of The Trainer. I also have Manhattan LG. Where do you think it falls on that spectrum?

[10052014]

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[flash21]

I used LGB first, got manhattan, then eventually got BP. got the trainer for Lr and RC mainly, but I dablled in the games a bit but never seriously attempted to use the methods there. I think the trainer has good strategy for how to approach each type of game question though which I think are in the later chapters. Ultimately I stuck with BP but I'm still learning games

[10052014]

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[famousblueraincoat]

LSAT Trainer arrived yesterday. I've started to read it at work during down-time. It is so great! And accessible! Thank you all for recommending it. I also answered the sample LSAT questions in the first chapter correctly, which is surely foreshadowing a 180

Edit: Actually had a question about one of the games in the trainer.

For the one about the bus visiting 5 cities (G, H, I, J, K), I found two ways to meet all the requirements. Both produced the right answer, which is that J cannot be visited second.

The book provides the following solution: I-H-G-K-J, which I figured out on my own. Then I kept going to see if there was another way and got: H-I-J-G-K. The book seems to imply that G must be visited third, but the conditions in the question specifically state that if G is visited third, then it must visit H before G. So visiting G third is optional, right?

[Straw_Mandible]

doing games over and over will solve your problem.

do 1-40 at least two times over.

I had the same view of games, until I forced myself to drilll

This is just my Opinion

Ahh, to have the luxury of time! Haha, no I'm definitely set on drilling 1-40 with BPLG at least by New Year's. I will be drilling RC sections and select LR types along the way as well. My goal is to start PTing on January 1st, at least once per week. Have you done any full PTs aside from your diagnostic yet? If not, when do you intend to start?

[10052014]

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[Straw_Mandible]

doing games over and over will solve your problem.

do 1-40 at least two times over.

I had the same view of games, until I forced myself to drilll

This is just my Opinion

Ahh, to have the luxury of time! Haha, no I'm definitely set on drilling 1-40 with BPLG at least by New Year's. I will be drilling RC sections and select LR types along the way as well. My goal is to start PTing on January 1st, at least once per week. Have you done any full PTs aside from your diagnostic yet? If not, when do you intend to start?

I intend to do nothing but PTs (3 times a week) starting mid- february

This seems credited. My work schedule might make 3 PTs per week plus drilling a challenge, so I figured I would start slower earlier, with an entire week between each PT for serious drilling and review. Once I see a solid increase in my scores (hopefully by Feb), I'll start with 2 PTs/week in March, then maybe hit 3/week through April/May.

[10052014]

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[10052014]

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[Hemenway]

Any updates? share the progress guys

Took my first full PT in ~3 months this week and scored a 174 (PT 42).

I think I just got lucky with how the sections were distributed, so I'm planning on taking another PT next week after a week of drilling.

[10052014]

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[MereCo15]

Hey everyone, I'm new TLS and honestly new to the idea that I want to go to law school. I've always been interested, but I bombed my first semester freshman year so I thought it was out of reach. Transferred, overall cumulative GPA is pretty good, degree GPA is great.

Anyway, I just started studying. I took a practice test with no idea what I was getting myself into (I didn't fully understand what the LSAT measured you on) and scored a 152. I'm hoping for at least a 160, I have no interest in T14 except possibly Duke (reach!!!) because I want to stay in NC.

Any opinions on which online course is best? Considering BP, is it worth it? Struggling most with RC because I have trouble focusing.

[raoulduke89]

Hey MereCo15,

I think having trouble focusing will be one of the fundamental problems that you need to address if you're planning to take the LSAT. I'm only a few weeks into my prep and I've already noticed that its not just a test of skill, but also of mental fortitude and stamina. Good news is I'm assuming you're taking the test in June which gives you a decent amount of time to address this issue. Also if you're giving yourself this much time to prepare for the LSAT I think it wouldn't hurt to set a pretty ambitious goal.

I've only posted once on this board because I've been making a deliberate effort to avoid the internet and other things that might negatively affect my attention span. A lot of 170+ scorers recommend reading dense material (anything that requires active thinking pretty much) in order to prepare for the RC section. The Economist seems to be a very popular suggestion. I'll give you a few of my recommendations:
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
The Republic by Plato (if you can sit down and read/concentrate intensely on this book for 1 hour, you can concentrate on anything LSAT throws at you)
On Guard or Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig
Atheism: A Philosophical Justification by Michael Martin

There have been some studies that suggest reading dense materials everyday literally rewires your brain, making it better at performing certain types of tasks. I've also started to warm up by reading a book for 30 min. to an hour prior to studying and I've noticed a big difference.

As far as online courses, I've noticed a lot of people recommend 7sage, and frequently cite it as one of the best bang/buck LSAT investments you can make. I think most of the people in this thread seem to pretty intent on self-study so you may get better answers if you just made a new thread asking for online course advice.