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Hi everyone,

I'm a long-time lurker, and a second time poster here.
I was trying to get some advice on LSAT prep since people around me seem to have opinions that differ from TLS forum!

I'm taking October LSAT and I'm half way through LG Bible, just starting on LR Bible, and half way through RC Bible (though the last one, it seems to me that the forum's consensus is that it's not very helpful as the former two bibles).

I've been following Pithypike's plan, and it has been 2.5 weeks. I've done Basic Linear (balanced and unbalanced) drills (bible + older preptests), and I plan on going over them again after I'm done Advanced Linear drills. I'm also throwing in untimed RC sections from earlier preptests throughout the first month, trying to complete 10 (like Pithypike's plan) by the end of my first month of studying.

I study roughly 3-4hrs (M-F) and 6-8hrs (Sat-Sun), while holding a fulltime 9-5 job on weekdays.

I have taken a ice-cold diagnostics early May before my studying and got in the 140s (and I freaked out, then posted onto this board!). I have not taken a timed PT since then, but my friend suggests that I should work on timing. And timing is DEFINITELY a concern (though I assume the time-constraint is a killer for most people) so I'm not sure if working on accuracy while doing untimed practice is really effective.

I initially had the impression that I should work on accuracy, speed, then endurance (in that order throughout my prep), but now I'm confused. Should I be timing myself strictly when I'm practicing?

LG (and RC) is moving along... I get 0~-1/game usually, and when I'm tired I would get -2/game sometimes.. There are ones I would bomb, but those are usually when I'm completely burned out. Trouble is, I take 10-12minutes on games that are new, and when it comes to advanced linear (which I've just started working on), I'm taking forever... I've resorted to doing untimed for now, but is this a bad idea?

I stand at 3.92 at a top 20 university, studying hard sciences... I'm shocked at how terrible I am at LSAT. I'm hoping to score min 170 (ideally 175). Do you think it's possible and what are your suggestions about when to transition into timed practicing?

Thank you all in advance!

Advice? Quit your job and study full-time.

seriously? Again, I'm getting a lot of conflicting advice here.. some say I shouldn't study full-time since I'll risk burning out (and the whole principle of diminishing return) and others seem to go full-on with LSAT studying. Most around me are not studying at all, but I don't think that's a wise choice anyways. I thought ~30hrs/week for 4-5months would be sufficient time for studying?! Was I wrong to think this?

Take another diagnostic and report back. I feel like a lot of people here don't have experience transitioning from a 140 to a 170+, so you may get some more fruitful advice if you're currently at a 155ish level. Games will come with diligent practice. I feel like I was fairly proficient at games, and I started doing relatively simple games in 10 minutes that I now do in 4-5...it's just the nature of the games section. I wouldn't be worried about speed just yet if you're taking in October.

Did you ever take organic chemistry? I think of studying for the LSAT much like studying for OChem. The "accuracy" phase is just like learning the nomenclature, mechanisms, stereochemistry, etc of the various reactions. The "speed" phase is just doing variations on those reactions over and over again until you don't have to think about the mechanism, you can just see two reactants and instantly picture the products. I think of the "endurance" phase as a non-issue. I'd definitely start taking full length tests on a regular basis at least a month before the actual test to see how you react to it, but for me personally, I thought it was a lot of hype.

esther0123 wrote:seriously? Again, I'm getting a lot of conflicting advice here.. some say I shouldn't study full-time since I'll risk burning out (and the whole principle of diminishing return) and others seem to go full-on with LSAT studying. Most around me are not studying at all, but I don't think that's a wise choice anyways. I thought ~30hrs/week for 4-5months would be sufficient time for studying?! Was I wrong to think this?

Nope, you're studying full time already. If you left your job to study, I wouldn't recommend prepping any more than you already are, as you'd most likely burn out. Most people suggest taking time away from work because they can't fit those 3-4/hrs a day in while working; it's hard. If it's working for you, though, keep it up.

As far as timing vs. accuracy goes, you won't get more accurate while working on getting faster. Take the time to get your accuracy where you want it to be, then move on to getting there faster. The one caveat to this is if you are taking the exam DEFINITELY on a certain date; if that's the case, you'll have to start working on timing before you get your accuracy where you want it to be as crunch time approaches. This isn't ideal, however, and if you're not at the accuracy you want, you should postpone taking the exam.

As a final note, you should still take intermittent practice tests, just to get experience taking the exam in close-to-actual setting and to monitor progress.

Don't quit your job. That's honestly ridiculous. You're doing fine so far. You still have four months. Practice. Drill questions and get familiar with the test.