LSAT Prep Schedule - How much time, courses, self-prep, etc. Forum

[wandering pugilist]

I wanted to get some feedback on my current study schedule for the LSAT in June of 2012 and hear some of your own. I'm new to the board so if this topic has been beaten to death, my apologies, but I glanced through the first 5 pages and found nothing related to the topic. If there's a main discussion thread already in progress, just please direct me to it.

So a friend of mine that scored in the 170s told me about "individualizing your approach", and that I needed to learn various approaches from various sources, but ultimately I would need to customize my strategy based on my own individual strengths and weaknesses. I've taken the LSAT once before and scored a 155, so I am familiar with how the test works, but last time I had inadequate prep time and this time I wanna knock it out of the park. So my current plan is this:

Oct - Dec 2011
Go through PowerScore Logical Reasoning and Logic Games bible and re-familiarize myself with the test (I've already gone through both books the first time I took the test). I also heard good things about Atlas/Manhattan Reading Comp study aids ( as Reading Comp is something I underestimated the first time around), but is there a significant difference between the 2009 version and the 2011? One is much cheaper than the other, but I don't want to skimp if there's valuable info in the updated one.

Dec 2011 - Feb 2012
Take a LSAT prep course (specifically Steven Klein Company. I've heard great things about them, though if you're not from WA State, you might have never heard of them.)

Feb 2012 - Mar 2012
Vacation. Friend's wedding in Colombia. (I believe in taking breaks between massive amounts of studying)

Mar 2012 - June 2012
Self-study. My friend left me about 7 huge prep books by Kaplan. He told me most of them were just practice tests and less on their own approach. This way, he said, I'll have a few approaches in my arsenal and I'll be able to customize my own strategy the last couple of month before the test.

What do you all think?

And please, share your own!

[thelawschoolproject]

Are you planning to purchase any of the official LSAT tests? I may have overlooked this in your post, but it seemed to me that you were going to rely on the Kaplan books, which are fine, but IMO you should only take the real practice tests.

[wandering pugilist]

I have one set of practices tests from the official LSAT that I was going to use sparingly throughout the whole process. I have this huge Kaplan book called "LSAT Mastery and Timing Practice" which my friend advised me to use at the very end, since more of it was just drilling and practice test exercises, and less on a Kaplan strategy.