Prepping for June. Am I crazy? Forum

[isuperserial]

I have a summer job that I work about 30 hours a week, but other than that I'm fairly free. I'm going into my junior year of college in the coming year and I figured that I might as well study while I have the chance to get ahead, because I'm likely to be swamped with studying and extracurriculars during the school year. I've been going through the LG Bible at a relatively leisurely pace and I've been enjoying it so far.

That being said, I see most people on here talking about the October LSAT. Am I starting too early? Is this entirely atypical? Any other advice, etc. would be helpful.

[Bgibbs]

You can never start too early, but make sure to avoid the risk of burning yourself out. Also, I'd consider the February test if you were scoring well enough by that time.

[PeanutsNJam]

It's actually a great idea to start now by slowly and steadily going through books like the Powerscore Bibles and other strategy "teaching" books. Get that all understood and down, and then 3-4 months before start hardcore drilling.

[bp shinners]

Also, I'd consider the February test if you were scoring well enough by that time.

If you're going to consider February, recognize that it's unreleased, so you'll never be able to see which questions you got wrong and correct those errors.

If you're already prepping, I'd think about December instead. It's far enough away that you should have plenty of time to prep, and its only downside is that it's late in the application season. If you're not applying this year, however, it has no negatives.

[cc.celina]

If you're already prepping, I'd think about December instead. It's far enough away that you should have plenty of time to prep, and its only downside is that it's late in the application season. If you're not applying this year, however, it has no negatives.

Well, the negative is that December is around finals time, and in UG with a full courseload it's hard to effectively prep for the LSAT without compromising your GPA/mental health. Junior year grades still matter and probably more so than freshman grades if you're trying to demonstrate an upward trend. Just my 2c - I would never attempt to take the LSAT during school.

February might not be a bad idea if you want to prep over winter break, but like BP pointed out, only do it if you don't mind it being undisclosed. (This doesn't seem like a huge deal to me, but maybe it is to some people.)

You're not crazy. Starting prep early is good. You shouldn't be putting in 6 hours a day at this point, but building up some solid familiarity with the test is a good thing, even if you don't take it till June.

[flippacious]

Since you will have a pretty big time constraint while in undergrad, I don't think you're crazy to start early. (anecdote alert) I've been prepping since January for the October exam. I originally planned on taking June, but with my work schedule I didn't get in enough prep beforehand. So, I don't think you're crazy to start prepping 10 months out as long as you follow the advice above-- don't rush through materials, focus on gaining a solid understanding of the different sections, read through the Powerscore bibles and Manhattan strategy guides (this far out, I don't really see a reason not to read both), and gradually start drilling and taking preptests as you get closer to the exam date. I would also recommend staying really organized with your materials, maybe keep a spreadsheet of the dates you do certain preptest sections or something. I didn't at first, and it's not a big deal but it gets annoying sometimes not to know if/when I've done a certain section already.

Finally, don't be afraid to take a few days off here and there. If you really don't feel like doing lsat prep one day, don't do it. Chances are you won't be very productive, and you don't want to end up burning out and hating the exam. That's not to say you shouldn't take your prep seriously and stick to a schedule, but don't make yourself miserable.

[isuperserial]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your wisdom. I think what I'll do is still shoot for the June test. I'm a rising Junior, so I'm obviously not applying until fall 2013, so I don't think there's any reason to rush and take the LSAT in December or anything.

I think I'll do what you guys suggested; read through all the bibles and other strategy books and do as many practice tests as I can comfortably do. Then 3-4 months before, kick it into high gear. My parents also said they would pay for me to take a prep course and TestMasters offers one in the weeks leading up to the June test, so I think I'll take advantage of that as well.

Thanks again, guys!

[NeedADrink]

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[Lock74]

I initially started prepping this summer for June 2013 but realized February would be more realistic. I don't want this test looming over me for too long and anyway I am sure once you start prepping, even if lightly, you will make gains quicker then expected. My goal starting in this past may was to learn LG by the end of the summer. I finally got my first -0 last night after several -2s and -3s in the past weeks. I think and hope starting early for us will pay off. Pm me if you have any questions on my study plan and how I am spacing out material over the next 6 months.

[JohnV]

I'm studying lightly for June 2013 as well. Some things to note:

- Though there is certainly no TLS consensus or seeming logic behind it, June has been regularly the test with the lowest curve. That's just the truth of the matter, for what ever reason, while December has reliably been highest. Many will say don't plan around it, but it certainly gives me a little bit of anticipation considering the last decade or so of test data that seems to indicate this.

- As already mentioned, Feb is undisclosed. I'd love to take Feb but knowing what I did well on and what I didn't do well on is very important to me, especially for a first attempt.

- I don't know your GPA or how much another semester or so will help you, but some find the extra semester/year to gain additional GPA points useful in surpassing percieved GPA floors. If you apply October your Senior your, your Spring semester grades won't really factor in until after the decisions have largely been made. This may not be a problem and you may have insignifcant gains/losses from one more semester, but it's just another factor to keep in mind when trying to make the best application you can, could be there difference between acceptance/waitlist, scholly/no scholly.

- You don't have to start take the test this early. You certainly can, but many don't. Schools like to see work experience and some Deans of Admissions (Berkeley comes to mind) have specifically stated that their ideal candidate has taken a year or so off from UG. Just something to think about incase you feel like you have to cram your UG, EC, WE, and LSAT studying together.

Disclaimer: 5th year senior who plans to take a year off after this final year to gain work experience/savings. Taking test in June 2013, most likely.

[PeanutsNJam]

- Though there is certainly no TLS consensus or seeming logic behind it, June has been regularly the test with the lowest curve. That's just the truth of the matter, for what ever reason, while December has reliably been highest. Many will say don't plan around it, but it certainly gives me a little bit of anticipation considering the last decade or so of test data that seems to indicate this.

My theory on the matter is that a majority of motivated LSAT takers will test in either June or October. This is likely the case because like you said, for people who really care, they want to see their tests, and will shy away from February. Similarly, people who are serious about the LSAT and want to get as much of an advantage as possible when applying will try to apply as early as possible. Therefore, many serious LSAT takers will avoid the December test. (Of course there are outliers; there are 180's in Feb. and Dec., but I'm talking large scale averages.)

June probably has test takers that do better than Oct. because Oct. is somewhat well into the fall semester for many undergraduate students. The flip side is that Oct. test takers have had more time to study, but "more time" is ambiguous because you have no idea when somebody starts.

[cc.celina]

June probably has test takers that do better than Oct. because Oct. is somewhat well into the fall semester for many undergraduate students. The flip side is that Oct. test takers have had more time to study, but "more time" is ambiguous because you have no idea when somebody starts.

This is not how equating works though. (It's not technically a "curve.") What raw scores will correspond with each scaled score is pretty much decided before you even sit down to take the test. June test does seem to have slightly tighter curves than other tests, but this is not AT ALL because June test takers somehow do "better." It is presumably because the overall difficulty level of the questions is slightly decreased in the June test vs other tests. A 170 is a 170, no matter who else is taking the test during that administration, because if it was "curved" against other test takers that would ruin the whole point of the test being standardized.

Don't really want to get into the discussion now but OP shouldn't be discouraged from a June test because the curve might be vaguely "tighter."

[PeanutsNJam]

June probably has test takers that do better than Oct. because Oct. is somewhat well into the fall semester for many undergraduate students. The flip side is that Oct. test takers have had more time to study, but "more time" is ambiguous because you have no idea when somebody starts.

This is not how equating works though. (It's not technically a "curve.") What raw scores will correspond with each scaled score is pretty much decided before you even sit down to take the test. June test does seem to have slightly tighter curves than other tests, but this is not AT ALL because June test takers somehow do "better." It is presumably because the overall difficulty level of the questions is slightly decreased in the June test vs other tests. A 170 is a 170, no matter who else is taking the test during that administration, because if it was "curved" against other test takers that would ruin the whole point of the test being standardized.

Don't really want to get into the discussion now but OP shouldn't be discouraged from a June test because the curve might be vaguely "tighter."

Wouldn't it be okay to take the June test then because the questions are easier, despite a smaller margin of error?

[cc.celina]

I spose, but the difference seems too miniscule to matter. You should consider 1) when you peak, 2) applying on time to give yourself a good shot at your target schools, and 3) what time of year you are least stressed and most likely to do well, all before you even start THINKING about which tests have tighter curves. You should, at least theoretically, be able to score equally well on any administration, so it boils down to your personal schedule.