Post
by SnapSnapSnap » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:10 pm
You remind me of me. I got off work early today and I don't have shit to do, so here's my LSAT saga:
I, too, was unnerved by the difficulty of the material the first few times I saw it. I've always been a good standardized test taker, so while I had heard the LSAT was difficult, I was pretty horrified when I actually saw sample questions for the first time, right after I finished undergrad (I already knew I wanted to take off a few years before returning to school--I was burned out and knew I'd benefit personally from W.E.). I tried self-studying on and off for a while but wasn't getting anywhere, and it was difficult to stay motivated. I decided to put it on the back burner and focus on my job, which was going well and increasing in responsibility, but it definitely wasn't where I wanted to get too invested in a career.
About a year later I returned to my old prep book (getting really sick of my job), but still couldn't "break through", if you will. Again, I tried studying on my own, but was not improving at all. I asked around and researched some prep companies; pretty much everyone I talked to recommended TestMasters or Blueprint. TestMasters seemed more established, but I went with Blueprint because the schedule meshed much better with my job. On my first official diagnostic, I scored 153. My biggest problem was LG, RC and LR were so-so. I went to every class, did most of the homework, and at some point (though I can't really describe exactly when), I got "it". For me at least, there was an "it" about the LSAT that I couldn't get on my own, and I couldn't teach "it" to myself, but with the help of an instructor, I finally figured "it" out. I'm sorry, I know that saying there's an "it" isn't helpful, but that was my experience, I don't know how else to describe it. Second time I got a 151 (learning some new strategies, but moving a lot slower!), then 159, 163, 166, 164, and SOMEHOW scored a 170 on test day (adrenaline?). I did most of the homework my instructor assigned, studied one or two hours at a time for most of the course, but then 3 weeks prior, I bumped it up to 3-4 hours every 2-3 days. The last week or two, I was studying 8-12 hrs a day, every other day (yes I was taking Adderall for those last 2 weeks, yes it helped--just being honest!).
Since you mentioned you're in still in undergrad, maybe you're a little burnt out and might benefit from giving your brain a rest. Aside from that, it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed by the material, and I would definitely suggest a prep course if you feel like you're just stuck. It's one thing to slog through some practice problems and start to see improvements, but if you're just plain STUCK like I was, you'd probably benefit from a professional course. Prep courses can be expensive, but for me it was 100% worth it. FWIW, my experience with Blueprint was great. They are really good at breaking down every section & every question-type into its simplest components, which makes it easier to understand and a lot less intimidating.
I pretty much started out in your exact same position, and for me the secret ingredient happened to be a prep course. Best of luck finding your own!
Last edited by
SnapSnapSnap on Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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