JTMercury wrote:Hello guys. After wishing I paid more attention in my math classes, I decided to take the LSAT instead of the GMAT and pursue a career in law. I've been studying on and off for the LSAT for several months now, to the point where the last five practice tests I got between a 161-165 (Took 11 practice tests released by the LSAC; lowest score was the diagnostic at 151 due to poor time-management, so marked improvement). I noticed that my biggest weakness is still in the games section, which is no doubt is keeping my score from potentially being higher.
My question is this, is there decent logic game class where I don't have to pay thousands of dollars for a full LSAT workload? This seems to be my Achilles' heel at the moment and I know I can do better.
Any help would be great. Thanks.
JTMercury,
If business school is something you truly desire, I think you could get a top score on the GMAT with far less time and effort than it would take to get a comparably top LSAT score, even in spite of the "months of on and off prep." I may be biased for having studied mathematics as an undergraduate, but generally the reading comp and critical reasoning sections on the GMAT are a bit easier than the analogous sections on the LSAT. And with some diligence, you could easily learn the primitive algebra that the GMAT requires. Unless it has changed substantially since I studied for it, the GMAT doesn't require knowledge of any calculus, linear algebra or differential equations. Instead, it covers basic algebra, reading charts and graphs and the like. I think one could probably learn and master that section of the GMAT in a week's time of serious study. By contrast, the LSAT games are likely going to require about a month of drilling to master, and then you'll require another few months of drilling RC and LR to work on perfecting those.
I think the best method to improve on the games is just doing a bunch of them by type. Do the games timed (time the quickest you can work through the game and field answers to each question, then after marking that time, check everything and mark a time where you feel confident you have all the questions correct. Eventually these two times will merge.)
You can find these grouped by type on CambridgeLSAT's website for $42. After doing some of these games,
you can find explanations and discussions for every game on ManhattanLSAT's website provided for free.
Ultimately, though, in line with what Br3v said above, you might reconsider your reasons for attending law school beyond "I didn't pay attention in math class and don't want to learn it now." Further, "studying on and off" to me implies a lack of commitment to the LSAT (and consequently, law school).
If you are in undergrad now, I highly recommend taking some time off and being certain that law school is truly for you. If you have some work experience and are out of undergrad, be sure that an MBA is going to actually propel you in the direction you want to take. Otherwise, the best path to go may not involve either law or business school (or may even involve both).
The point is that without a top LSAT score and corresponding GPA, you will be paying something close to $200,000 (with interest) to attend a law school in the top 50, and many would argue that unless you attend a school in the top 15 or 16, the job prospects simply don't outweigh these heavy costs.
Best of luck in whatever you decide!