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

[Rigo]

Anyone definitely taking September?

[cgra1916]

Hey everyone, I'm currently planning to take the September LSAT, so I'm joining everyone else in this group as well.

Quick question: What are your thoughts on prep courses? I was actually enrolled in a Kaplan prep course but got notified today that there was not enough people enrolled in the course. I'm in a tough spot now to decide whether I should cancel or continue enrollment for the next courses available starting 04/25.

The only other materials I have are all the Powerscore bibles, and I've also seen a couple 7sage videos.

Help me out please!

[Desiigner]

Hey everyone, I'm currently planning to take the September LSAT, so I'm joining everyone else in this group as well.

Quick question: What are your thoughts on prep courses? I was actually enrolled in a Kaplan prep course but got notified today that there was not enough people enrolled in the course. I'm in a tough spot now to decide whether I should cancel or continue enrollment for the next courses available starting 04/25.

The only other materials I have are all the Powerscore bibles, and I've also seen a couple 7sage videos.

Help me out please!

Courses are big waste of money imo.. Just get the Trainer or Manhattan and profit

[Desiigner]

Hey everyone, I'm currently planning to take the September LSAT, so I'm joining everyone else in this group as well.

Quick question: What are your thoughts on prep courses? I was actually enrolled in a Kaplan prep course but got notified today that there was not enough people enrolled in the course. I'm in a tough spot now to decide whether I should cancel or continue enrollment for the next courses available starting 04/25.

The only other materials I have are all the Powerscore bibles, and I've also seen a couple 7sage videos.

Help me out please!

Courses are big waste of money imo.. Just get the Trainer or Manhattan and profit

[ngogirl12]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

[twiix]

Hey everyone, I'm currently planning to take the September LSAT, so I'm joining everyone else in this group as well.

Quick question: What are your thoughts on prep courses? I was actually enrolled in a Kaplan prep course but got notified today that there was not enough people enrolled in the course. I'm in a tough spot now to decide whether I should cancel or continue enrollment for the next courses available starting 04/25.

The only other materials I have are all the Powerscore bibles, and I've also seen a couple 7sage videos.

Help me out please!

Courses are big waste of money imo.. Just get the Trainer or Manhattan and profit

+1. Use the guides posted all over this site for how to study independently of paid courses. Go through the bible/trainer, clean up with Manhattan books if you need additional content on certain sections, and then start drilling questions & taking PT's w/ blind review. 7Sage has a bunch of good videos to help you along the way, and you can find websites that offer free explanations for every PT question. That's all you need.

[cgra1916]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

I am a full-time teacher, so I'm doing the exact same thing as you, reviewing all the material, and plan to PT from June- September.

What books/resources are you using?

[ngogirl12]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

I am a full-time teacher, so I'm doing the exact same thing as you, reviewing all the material, and plan to PT from June- September.

What books/resources are you using?

I'm using 7Sage for LR (have the ultimate package but only using it for LR and LG and I think the LG are free to the general public). I'm complementing 7Sage LR with the Trainer book. I'm using the Cambridge LR by type 1-38 for drilling. This is going a lot slower than I thought it would, I had trouble on MSS and Weaken questions so it took me a long time to drill and review those question types. I also have the Manhattan LR Guide that I use as a last minute referent if I find 7Sage and Trainer aren't helping me when I'm drilling. I rarely use it though bc I find the other two really beneficial, only if I'm really stuck.

For LG I have the Cambridge PDF package of LG 1-38 so I'm doing that by chapter and then drilling the games I have trouble with or am slower at using the Fool Proof Method and explanations on the site. That said, I had previously already gone through the PowerScore LG bible and other LG books (there's a weird one, I don't remember the name) and Nova so I mix different styles when I approach a game, I don't follow a particular test company's methods I do whatever method I think will help me approach the game.

For RC, I'm using the Manhattan RC Guide and when I finish that I'm going to go through the Trainer chapters. I plan on using the RC from the earlier tests to drill with, my problem is I didn't purchase the RC 1-38 PDF from Cambridge in time and I don't have that many passages to practice with.

Sorry this ended up so long, so TLDR:

-Trainer Book
-7Sage: LR and LG
-Cambridge LSAT LR 1-38
-Cambridge LSAT LG 1-38
-Manhattan RC Guide
-(Manhattan LR Guide) --> don't use this one that often, only as a reference book when I'm struggling

[cgra1916]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

I am a full-time teacher, so I'm doing the exact same thing as you, reviewing all the material, and plan to PT from June- September.

What books/resources are you using?

I'm using 7Sage for LR (have the ultimate package but only using it for LR and LG and I think the LG are free to the general public). I'm complementing 7Sage LR with the Trainer book. I'm using the Cambridge LR by type 1-38 for drilling. This is going a lot slower than I thought it would, I had trouble on MSS and Weaken questions so it took me a long time to drill and review those question types. I also have the Manhattan LR Guide that I use as a last minute referent if I find 7Sage and Trainer aren't helping me when I'm drilling. I rarely use it though bc I find the other two really beneficial, only if I'm really stuck.

For LG I have the Cambridge PDF package of LG 1-38 so I'm doing that by chapter and then drilling the games I have trouble with or am slower at using the Fool Proof Method and explanations on the site. That said, I had previously already gone through the PowerScore LG bible and other LG books (there's a weird one, I don't remember the name) and Nova so I mix different styles when I approach a game, I don't follow a particular test company's methods I do whatever method I think will help me approach the game.

For RC, I'm using the Manhattan RC Guide and when I finish that I'm going to go through the Trainer chapters. I plan on using the RC from the earlier tests to drill with, my problem is I didn't purchase the RC 1-38 PDF from Cambridge in time and I don't have that many passages to practice with.

Sorry this ended up so long, so TLDR:

-Trainer Book
-7Sage: LR and LG
-Cambridge LSAT LR 1-38
-Cambridge LSAT LG 1-38
-Manhattan RC Guide
-(Manhattan LR Guide) --> don't use this one that often, only as a reference book when I'm struggling

That's great. Thank you for listing all your study materials. Did you find the Powerscore bibles to be helpful and effective, or do you think your current materials are better? I find the bibles pretty useful since they are easy to understand when it comes to setups, diagrams and all that. I know going through the book can be tedious for others, but it does help you understand everything imo.

Also, 7sage is free isn't it? I just found about about their videos this past Friday and I think their diagrams and set ups for the logic games used in 7sage are awesome since that's how I have learned to diagram through the LG with the Powerscore bibles.

Oh and BTW, I haven't looked into many PT websites or materials myself, but to get ready and order ahead of time I went ahead and asked on another thread for PT sites and other books with problem explanations, and some guy hooked me up with this site, which I thought was pretty cool. Check it out if you'd like, we'll keep in touch!

http://lsathacks.com/explanations/

[Rigo]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

Really cool opportunity came up so I won't be taking in September. Do you want the OP?

[ngogirl12]

Anyone definitely taking September?

I am. The plan is to spend the next two months going through the material and training and then begin PTing from June-September. Hopefully I can stick to it this time! What about you?

Really cool opportunity came up so I won't be taking in September. Do you want the OP?

No, it's ok. I'm not as dedicated to the forums as the rest of you guys. I just use it for moral support. That's great though! When will you be taking the test then?

[ngogirl12]

That's great. Thank you for listing all your study materials. Did you find the Powerscore bibles to be helpful and effective, or do you think your current materials are better? I find the bibles pretty useful since they are easy to understand when it comes to setups, diagrams and all that. I know going through the book can be tedious for others, but it does help you understand everything imo.

Also, 7sage is free isn't it? I just found about about their videos this past Friday and I think their diagrams and set ups for the logic games used in 7sage are awesome since that's how I have learned to diagram through the LG with the Powerscore bibles.

Oh and BTW, I haven't looked into many PT websites or materials myself, but to get ready and order ahead of time I went ahead and asked on another thread for PT sites and other books with problem explanations, and some guy hooked me up with this site, which I thought was pretty cool. Check it out if you'd like, we'll keep in touch!

http://lsathacks.com/explanations/

Yeah, no problem. I did find the Power Score Bibles to be very helpful as foundation materials. That said, I don't think they are sufficient materials to prepare for the test, but they are helpful as starting points. I do use a lot of skills I learned from both bibles in my LR and LG.

I think 7Sage and Trainer are great for LR. Some people only use them to prepare for the LSAT or one over the other and find that to be adequate. I am one of those crazy people that when I do research I go overboard, so I started with other materials first.

7Sage is free when it comes to their Logical Games explanations, but for all their other material (LR, RC, and explanations of preptests) you have to pay, which is why I have the ultimate package. I'm probably going to have to extend because I was initially planning on taking it in June. I don't like their style of RC (I find it a bit much) so I use Manhattan and Trainer for that.

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning. I like to use the Manhattan forums when reviewing questions or tests (for LR). I initially try on my own to figure out what is wrong, if I can't figure it out then I got to Manhattan forums.

There, it is a plethora of prep. But as I said earlier I'm crazy when it comes to research so take what I said with a grain of salt!

[MAPP]

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning. I like to use the Manhattan forums when reviewing questions or tests (for LR). I initially try on my own to figure out what is wrong, if I can't figure it out then I got to Manhattan forums.

Do they have explanations for every LR question, tests 1-70?

[proteinshake]

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning. I like to use the Manhattan forums when reviewing questions or tests (for LR). I initially try on my own to figure out what is wrong, if I can't figure it out then I got to Manhattan forums.

Do they have explanations for every LR question, tests 1-70?

"already put up explanations for LSAT preptests 29-38 and 62-73. I’ll be putting up
more as soon as I can." - from the site, but it's actually 62-77 now!

[appind]

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning.

yeah, i thought it'd often gloss over some questions with legit debatable issues, as if someone looked at the answer key for the credited choice before writing to come up with reasons to justify it.

[jeremydc]

I finished the Bibles. Reviewed it but still scoring like crap. Using 7Sage material now. Enjoying the Vids and the approaches vs PowerScore (ie reading the question stem first)

I'm finishing up the LR section. After that I'll run the Cambridge Bundle using the 7Sage blind review.'

Repeat for LG and RC.

Won't worry about Timed PTS 39-Present until I feel adequately prepared.

[tuesdayninja]

I finished the Bibles. Reviewed it but still scoring like crap. Using 7Sage material now. Enjoying the Vids and the approaches vs PowerScore (ie reading the question stem first)

I'm finishing up the LR section. After that I'll run the Cambridge Bundle using the 7Sage blind review.'

Repeat for LG and RC.

Won't worry about Timed PTS 39-Present until I feel adequately prepared.

Do you think the 2015 editions of the book would still be okay to study from? Thinking of getting the bibles.

[MAPP]

(ie reading the question stem first)

+1

I like this waaaay more too

[MAPP]

June test-taker here - I figured I would drop by and offer encouragement and advice from time to time!

I'm finished with The Trainer & Cambridge Packets (I still use my own packets of just super-tough questions I missed in Blind Review).

Now it's just 2 PTs a week until game day.

I will answer any questions about the trainer, study plans, pacing, etc.

Good Luck everyone!

I haven't made my study schedule yet, but I'm planning on using a combination of powerscore LG w/ 7sage LG, Trainer for LR, and Manhattan for LR and RC. I have all PTs 1-76, and have the Cambridge LG and LR drills 1-38 (as well as some RC packets from the early PTs). Do you have any tips/nuggets of wisdom you wish you had heard before you began reading the books and drilling?

[ngogirl12]

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning. I like to use the Manhattan forums when reviewing questions or tests (for LR). I initially try on my own to figure out what is wrong, if I can't figure it out then I got to Manhattan forums.

Do they have explanations for every LR question, tests 1-70?

I don't think I'm allowed to post a link to their site, but if your referring to the Manhattan forums then I think so. That said, I haven't gone through the 50s/60s/70s because I'm using 1-38 for prep before I start PTing.

[ngogirl12]

I've looked at the LSAT Hacks site for explanations, but I don't like their explanations I find them to be a bit vague in their reasoning.

yeah, i thought it'd often gloss over some questions with legit debatable issues, as if someone looked at the answer key for the credited choice before writing to come up with reasons to justify it.

+1 a lot of self help books do this too, that's why I stick with the usual ones Manhattan/7 Sage/Trainer

I find when I spend a lot of time on a particular question type MSS/Weaken I start to see patterns within the question type. This only comes from reviewing the questions thoroughly though and through periods of frustration. My goal is to be at a very secure place by the time I start PTing lol.

[ngogirl12]

I finished the Bibles. Reviewed it but still scoring like crap. Using 7Sage material now. Enjoying the Vids and the approaches vs PowerScore (ie reading the question stem first)

I'm finishing up the LR section. After that I'll run the Cambridge Bundle using the 7Sage blind review.'

Repeat for LG and RC.

Won't worry about Timed PTS 39-Present until I feel adequately prepared.

+1 to everything you said. Minus the PTing. I thought if I PTed while studying the material I could get ahead, and learned the hard way (high PTs followed by a huge decrease in my scores) that it is better to first fully understand the material, master it, and then hit the PT's.

Oh and love the read the question first before hitting the LR question method.. I still have to train myself on that though bc I find I forget sometimes.

[cgra1916]

I finished the Bibles. Reviewed it but still scoring like crap. Using 7Sage material now. Enjoying the Vids and the approaches vs PowerScore (ie reading the question stem first)

I'm finishing up the LR section. After that I'll run the Cambridge Bundle using the 7Sage blind review.'

Repeat for LG and RC.

Won't worry about Timed PTS 39-Present until I feel adequately prepared.

+1 to everything you said. Minus the PTing. I thought if I PTed while studying the material I could get ahead, and learned the hard way (high PTs followed by a huge decrease in my scores) that it is better to first fully understand the material, master it, and then hit the PT's.

Oh and love the read the question first before hitting the LR question method.. I still have to train myself on that though bc I find I forget sometimes.

So for LR, 7sage teaches you to read the question stem first? Do they teach this for RC as well?

[YupSports]

June test-taker here - I figured I would drop by and offer encouragement and advice from time to time!

I'm finished with The Trainer & Cambridge Packets (I still use my own packets of just super-tough questions I missed in Blind Review).

Now it's just 2 PTs a week until game day.

I will answer any questions about the trainer, study plans, pacing, etc.

Good Luck everyone!

I haven't made my study schedule yet, but I'm planning on using a combination of powerscore LG w/ 7sage LG, Trainer for LR, and Manhattan for LR and RC. I have all PTs 1-76, and have the Cambridge LG and LR drills 1-38 (as well as some RC packets from the early PTs). Do you have any tips/nuggets of wisdom you wish you had heard before you began reading the books and drilling?

Looking at the list of resources you are using I have one recommendation and two pieces of advice.

Recommendation:

Read The Trainer for every section, not just LR. Even if you don't do the drill work for sections other than LR, the text presents a lot of a great higher-level knowledge about sections and the test as a whole that is very beneficial.

Advice:

Pick methods and habits for each section that work for you and stick with them. The danger in using a variety of sources is not getting practice with "your" habits - whatever ones you settle on. The point of drilling is to reinforce these habits, not just "do this many problems/PTs".

Review your work in painstaking detail. Not just questions you got wrong, but questions you weren't 100% about. This is where the real growth comes in - it is a not a quantitative journey, but rather a qualitative one. 7Sage your LG and write out your RC and LR.

Hope this helped!

[ngogirl12]

I finished the Bibles. Reviewed it but still scoring like crap. Using 7Sage material now. Enjoying the Vids and the approaches vs PowerScore (ie reading the question stem first)

I'm finishing up the LR section. After that I'll run the Cambridge Bundle using the 7Sage blind review.'

Repeat for LG and RC.

Won't worry about Timed PTS 39-Present until I feel adequately prepared.

+1 to everything you said. Minus the PTing. I thought if I PTed while studying the material I could get ahead, and learned the hard way (high PTs followed by a huge decrease in my scores) that it is better to first fully understand the material, master it, and then hit the PT's.

Oh and love the read the question first before hitting the LR question method.. I still have to train myself on that though bc I find I forget sometimes.

So for LR, 7sage teaches you to read the question stem first? Do they teach this for RC as well?

re: LR yeah. For RC I don't like 7Sage's strategy so I don't use it. They mark up the passage like there is no tomorrow. For me, what I usually do is read it really slowly and then go into the questions. That said, RC is usually a hit or miss for me. (I haven't done this method since going through the Manhattan RC Guide). So, I'm going through the Manhattan guide and then Trainer for RC. So far, I have seen a lot of improvements with the Manhattan guide, that said I have taken a huge break from RC and am about to get back into it this week, we'll see what happens lol.