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After being laid off from my job I decided to jump headlong into LSAT and spend countless hours every day pouring over LSAT materials until I willed my way to a 180. I spent nearly 10 months doing this and, though I PT'ing in the upper 150's, I choked and got a 153. Looking back on it now I did several things wrong. I initially started working with a private LSAT tutor, but after a few months, I didn't see much improvement. One of the advantages of going with one of the bigger companies is they have a well-spelled out methodolgy in their workbooks and, usually, a curriculum with more structure. I did some research and decided on Blueprint the Movie 2.0. I went through the course and, for the most part, kept up with the lessons. I saw a gradual increase in my scores; I like their format. Then, however, things kind of stagnated. I should mention that I was also intermittently meeting with a my tutor (mixing methodologies) and randomly working on different things for several hours a day (usually 6-8 hours/6 days a week).

I burned myself out. I exhausted most of the materials (except test 63 on). I got kind of confused switching between LSAT tutor and Blueprint workbooks. I put off my worst subject, reading comp, until the end.

Now that I'm facing a cold, icy death on the Law School waitlist it's time to get back to studying and follow my dream. There's been a good 9 months period where I've not done anything LSAT related. Additonally I'm working full-time, but I think this might be a benefit. When is started I was under the misguided notion that more time spent spinning my wheels with LSAT prep material equated to an increase in scores. I think 2-3 hours of guided studying is adequate.


So that's my story. I hate when people ask questions that a) can't be answered b) they already know the answer to...but I'm curious if anyone has been in a situation similar to mine and had better results the second time around? Surely my 153 is not the best I can do--and possibly a product of me not having a solid game plan. I don't know if I'm capable of being a 180 a scorer, but I'm only really trying to get into the upper 160's.

I think I'm going back to Blueprint, and maybe seeking out their tutoring. Has anyone had any experience with them?

Has anyone taken an extended period off after total burn-out and returned and done much better the second time around?

I am also interested in people's input to your second question.

I took the LSAT back in 2010 twice and scored in the upper 150s on both occasions (to be clear, I was PT'ing in that range). I haven't touched the LSAT since then and am thinking about picking it up in the fall and shooting for upper 160s.

"You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't."

“It’s a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think they can be happy without money.”

I'm starting Blueprint this week too. Here's to your future 180 without burnout! Cheers! *rips off an angus young guitar solo*.