December or February LSAT Forum

[bne90]

I just purchased all three of the Powerscore Bibles and forty official preptests to prepare for the LSAT. I haven't decided if I should take the test in December, the weekend before I have finals , or that following February which would be in the middle of the quarter. For those of you who have taken the LSAT, how long did you study, and now looking back, how long do you think you should have or wish you had studied? In addition, since I will not be taking a prep course, any recommendations for books or practice materials that I have not already purchased? And finally, does anyone know of any decent logic books I can read over the summer? Thanks!

[amc987]

Hi! I have no idea what your school situation is like. However, I think most people on this board will tell you to take the LSAT when you're most prepared (aka when you have the most time to put in to studying). If your school is anything like mine was (there is no possible way I could have taken the LSAT the weekend before finals), you're going to be putting yourself in a difficult situation by trying take the test in December. It would've been too much and my grades or my score (and probably both) would have suffered. If you're not trying to apply for Fall 2012 (and I'm assuming that you aren't because of the time frame you're alluding to in your post), you might consider waiting until February.

As for how long I studied, I think I studied about 3 months for each of my LSATs. I retook the Jun 2011 test, which was my last time taking the LSAT. I should tell you that when I took the test in Oct 10, even though I had spent 3+ months and taken a course, I wasn't totally ready to take the test and my score suffered as a result. I'm sure if you use the search function on this site, you'll find lots of other posters with similar experiences. Wait and take the test when you're ready and not before then.

On TLS, I think that 3 months of time is generally viewed as a prerequisite for a high score. I don't know what your goals are, but I would say that unless you have a lot of natural aptitude for the material, you'll probably need to put in at least 3 months if you're hoping to get a high score (170+). By the time I retook in June, I had probably spent 8 months cumulatively studying LSAT material. Although I don't know what my score was in June, it was definitely the most prepared I felt. Again, if you search the site, you'll see people spend 5 or 6 months preparing for one exam. I don't know that this is necessary for everyone, but taking the time to get super comfortable with the material can't hurt your chances, especially considering the multitude of test day jitters.

I would say that the most important thing will probably be to design a schedule and stick to it. It's very easy to get off track when you don't have anyone to monitor your studying the way you might in a prep course. The consistency of working on the problems over and over and over again is what will build accuracy and confidence. Additionally, I found it helpful to have people who could help me answer the harder questions that I couldn't understand the answers to. This was especially true when I was prepping for the first time and wasn't able to think my way around my own mistakes. If you have a friend or classmate who's really good at LSAT stuff, that might be an invaluable resource to tap into during your prep. Also, asking questions on this forum and utilizing the expertise of other posters could really help you.

I'll leave the other questions about practice materials for other posters. Best of luck studying!

[KevinP]

I just purchased all three of the Powerscore Bibles and forty official preptests to prepare for the LSAT. I haven't decided if I should take the test in December, the weekend before I have finals , or that following February which would be in the middle of the quarter.

If you are applying this cycle, it is essential you take it in December otherwise you'll be doing yourself a huge disservice. If you are applying next cycle, February would be fine but I personally would take it in June/October as that would allow extra time to prepare.
Also, be aware that the February exam is undisclosed so you won't be able to check your answers.

For those of you who have taken the LSAT, how long did you study, and now looking back, how long do you think you should have or wish you had studied?

I studied a couple months but it was on and off so I didn't do as well as I hoped. My studying this time around will definitely be much more focused.

In addition, since I will not be taking a prep course, any recommendations for books or practice materials that I have not already purchased?

This thread might give you some ideas:
http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... =6&t=41657

Since you already have the Powerscore bibles, the only other prep material that I've heard good things about is Manhattan's, especially for the RC section. I ordered Manhattan's materials a few days ago so I haven't read them yet so I can't vouch for the materials personally.

And finally, does anyone know of any decent logic books I can read over the summer? Thanks!

Not sure on this one.