100 Hours (of Studying) to a 180 Forum

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:39 am

Here we go again.

There are 50 days until the December LSAT and I will study 2 hours a day in hopes of finally getting that elusive 180 (if only on a practice test). I went from a 151 to a 165 last December by documenting my 10 weeks of studying on another thread; while I didn't quite make it to my goal, I got closer and I hope to hit it this time.

I'll spend two hours each morning, Monday through Friday, practicing and reading through the Velocity books.
I'll take a practice test each Saturday for about 3 hours and I'll review each one the next day for about an hour, each Sunday.

7 weeks is a bit short, but I feel I'm in a much better place and I have a better sense of how I should study; I'm going to spend significantly more time reviewing mistakes and analyzing questions, and far less doing mindless practice.

Well, this should be fun! I'll update the thread, daily, with a description of what I did with my time.

Best of luck to anyone who is also preparing for the December administration.

cahwc12 · Post by **cahwc12** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:58 am

I think it's awesome that you aren't giving up, but your study plan is terrible. You would spend 70% of your time studying prep books and only 30% studying/reviewing actual LSAT problems.

I can't speak for all high scorers, but those numbers are likely close to 10% and 90% for most of them. If you consider prep books to be "theory" and PTs to be "practice," you should learn the theory and then spend the majority of your time ironing out the kinks in your understanding by way of question after question, section after section, PT after PT--referring back to the theory only as needed.

If you have only two hours per day and intend on using Velocity, you might consider doing something like this:

Monday: Drill LG/RC sections from a PT, review them. If you failed at a game or passage, read the corresponding Velocity materials, then re-do any game immediately after, and re-print a passage to repeat it later. As you begin to rely on the books less, add a third section.

Tuesday: Drill LR sections from Monday's PT, then review them. If you failed on a specific question or question type, read the corresponding Velocity materials, then cut it out or input it into a properly-formatted word file and repeat it later (perhaps once a month, end of the week, etc). As you begin to rely on the books less, add a third section.

Wednesday: Quick Review of Monday's LG/RC again to cement why you missed questions X Y Z, Repeat Monday's plan with a new PT.

Thursday: Quick Review of Tuesday's LR again to cement why you missed questions R S T, then repeat Tuesday's plan with a new PT.

Friday: Drilling of your choice or take the day off. Leave this day open so you can take the day off if you so decide or add in any custom drilling.

Saturday: PT by controlling for as many test-day conditions as possible. This means doing a test-day LSAT warmup and adding a 5th experimental section as well, whichever is your weakest section. If it's RC, PT with only double RC that way on game-day you're used to the worst-case scenario. DO NOT grade the test immediately after. Take a long break. After a time, grade the test and begin comprehensive review of each question you missed or didn't completely understand. If you can't articulate why an answer is wrong and a right answer is right, ask online for help.

Sunday: Finish comprehensive review, repeat any apportioned material as needed/desired.

There are a multitude of ways to effectively prep, but if these are the constraints you are imposing on yourself, I urge you to NOT spend too much of your time in prep books and instead use them as the supplements they are intended as.

Good luck on your retake!

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:21 am

How can you say my study plan is terrible when you don't even understand it? I really appreciated your post, but such a cavalier statement about something you are so obviously ignorant about does not reflect well on you - and it wasn't helpful in any way.

Teoeo · Post by **Teoeo** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:29 am

180asBreath wrote:How can you say my study plan is terrible when you don't even understand it? I really appreciated your post, but such a cavalier statement about something you are so obviously ignorant about does not reflect well on you - and it wasn't helpful in any way.

Why do you say he doesn't understand it? Your plan isn't difficult to understand. In any event, don't take it so personally, maybe you should listen and think about what he said. Who knows, he may even have a point...

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:38 am

Teoeo wrote:
180asBreath wrote:How can you say my study plan is terrible when you don't even understand it? I really appreciated your post, but such a cavalier statement about something you are so obviously ignorant about does not reflect well on you - and it wasn't helpful in any way.
Why do you say he doesn't understand it? Your plan isn't difficult to understand. In any event, don't take it so personally, maybe you should listen and think about what he said. Who knows, he may even have a point...

He said that 70% is theory via Velocity (10 hours a week) and only 30% is spent on actual materials (4 hours a week). If I have to explain what is wrong with that to anyone, they have obviously never picked up a Velocity book; in case you haven't, the books are primarily composed of actual questions and sections from the LSAT - Dave just doesn't spout off on theory on every single page. I didn't take it personally; it was just an incendiary remark that was premised on a total lack of understanding of my plan, and I thought it should be called out as such.

He definitely has a point about reviewing mistakes, which is something I intended on doing - I just didn't make that explicit.

cahwc12 · Post by **cahwc12** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:00 am

It's naïve to believe that 7 PTs with supplemental prep-book practice will adequately prepare you for a perfect score on this test. Even Dave, who espouses quality over quantity, has a PT exam book with 14.5 PTs in it. I recommend asking Dave himself if he thinks your plan will get you to 180.

I didn't tout the plan I gave you as the end-all, just a possibly viable option that works within the parameters you've specified. Personally I think if you want any shot at perfection, you should be dedicating closer to 4 hours per day of serious practice and review with no more (but probably not less) than 1 day off per week, and include PTs at least twice, if not thrice, per week.

Your plan is a recipe for under-preparation due to lack of PTs and at the same time burnout from never allowing your brain a day to rest. I'm not here to be elitist or tell you how much better I am than you or put you down. But in my opinion, your prep plan is not conducive to a top percentile score, much less a perfect score.

If you want to become a good basketball player, you don't shoot 3-pointers and free-throws a couple hours per day then play a single game on Saturdays. You fit in as many games as you can, find mistakes in your play, and spend all the off-hours working to improve on those weak areas so you can limit those same mistakes next time. The LSAT is just like any other thing you want to improve at--you have to practice that thing specifically and supplement it with targeted drilling to reduce or eliminate weaknesses.

If you don't want my advice that's fine. Read the "Great Advice on How to score 160+" thread stickied to this forum and you'll find close to zero people of the dozens who achieved top percentile scores who used a plan like yours, and the few who did something similar to your plan were starting in the 170s before ever prepping because they had already largely mastered the skill-set that the LSAT requires. You haven't, and so you need to do more work than them.

Again, I don't hate you and I'm not trying to put you down. But you need to seriously reconsider both your goal to achieve a 180 with 7 weeks of prep, and accomplishing that goal by taking only 7 PTs.

Best of luck.

sinfiery · Post by **sinfiery** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:41 am

151--->165 is about .067350% as hard as going from 165-->180

bitsy · Post by **bitsy** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:52 am

sorry man, but i have to agree with the other posters. i started out PTing in the 170s, and put in ~150 hours of prep before i started scoring 180s.

Theopliske8711 · Post by **Theopliske8711** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 11:55 am

You'd have to have some super focus to consciously get a 180 on the test. I think at that level, where a mere single wrong answer can ruin it, there is a strong level of luck that plays into it.

NoodleyOne · Post by **NoodleyOne** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:15 pm

The jump to 165 is the easiest jump to make. The jump to 170+ is where the real tough stuff starts happening. 100 hours isn't going to do it, especially on that schedule.

msmith19 · Post by **msmith19** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:24 pm

100 hours? I spent almost 250 just to get to PT 172-174..albeit not all effective studying. 20 PTs alone is 65+ hours with 10 min break and warmup.

Magnetic Man · Post by **Magnetic Man** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:39 pm

Would like to follow this thread. I'm looking to start up studying for a retake from October. I just can't find the motivation when I don't even have my effing score yet.

Balthy · Post by **Balthy** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:43 pm

cahwc12 wrote:If you want to become a good basketball player, you don't shoot 3-pointers and free-throws a couple hours per day then play a single game on Saturdays. You fit in as many games as you can, find mistakes in your play, and spend all the off-hours working to improve on those weak areas so you can limit those same mistakes next time. The LSAT is just like any other thing you want to improve at--you have to practice that thing specifically and supplement it with targeted drilling to reduce or eliminate weaknesses.

I'm sure it's been made on TLS before, but this is a really great analogy.

msmith19 · Post by **msmith19** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:29 pm

Open up more time and study more. Nobody is doubting your potential, just whether you will realize it with such limited study.

relevantfactor · Post by **relevantfactor** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:47 pm

Never understood why people set certain amount of hours to study. So if you have some extra time you just think "I'm done for today?" You should be aiming for doing as much as you can. ESPECIALLY if you are dead-set on a 180.

Magnetic Man · Post by **Magnetic Man** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 6:02 pm

NoodleyOne wrote:The jump to 165 is the easiest jump to make. The jump to 170+ is where the real tough stuff starts happening. 100 hours isn't going to do it, especially on that schedule.

Completely agreed. Making the jump from 165 to the low 170s was extremely difficult for me. Timing is key and knowing which answers to eliminate should be a main priority.

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:15 pm

If I had known so many people would jump to these absurd conclusions, I would've linked the original thread. Just because I scored a 165, that doesn't mean I haven't scored in the 170's. I scored over a 170 on 6 of my last 12 PT's, the last time I studied (IIRC). Also, why would one assume I haven't taken a ton of PT's? I've taken almost 30 practice tests and I don't think meta-gaming and retaking those tests would be as helpful as going through focused study.

It's all good, I just find it funny how off base most of the posts are.

hichvichwoh · Post by **hichvichwoh** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:23 pm

180asBreath wrote:If I had known so many people would jump to these absurd conclusions, I would've linked the original thread. Just because I scored a 165, that doesn't mean I haven't scored in the 170's. I scored over a 170 on 6 of my last 12 PT's, the last time I studied (IIRC). Also, why would one assume I haven't taken a ton of PT's? I've taken almost 30 practice tests and I don't think meta-gaming and retaking those tests would be as helpful as going through focused study.

It's all good, I just find it funny how off base most of the posts are.

I can't wait for you to fail. please keep us apprised

NoodleyOne · Post by **NoodleyOne** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:24 pm

hichvichwoh wrote:
180asBreath wrote:If I had known so many people would jump to these absurd conclusions, I would've linked the original thread. Just because I scored a 165, that doesn't mean I haven't scored in the 170's. I scored over a 170 on 6 of my last 12 PT's, the last time I studied (IIRC). Also, why would one assume I haven't taken a ton of PT's? I've taken almost 30 practice tests and I don't think meta-gaming and retaking those tests would be as helpful as going through focused study.

It's all good, I just find it funny how off base most of the posts are.
I can't wait for you to fail. please keep us apprised

This. I was pting 170s before june and still bombed for 169. I definitely didn't say when i started studying for my retake that 100 hours would do it.

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:06 pm

hichvichwoh wrote:
180asBreath wrote:If I had known so many people would jump to these absurd conclusions, I would've linked the original thread. Just because I scored a 165, that doesn't mean I haven't scored in the 170's. I scored over a 170 on 6 of my last 12 PT's, the last time I studied (IIRC). Also, why would one assume I haven't taken a ton of PT's? I've taken almost 30 practice tests and I don't think meta-gaming and retaking those tests would be as helpful as going through focused study.

It's all good, I just find it funny how off base most of the posts are.
I can't wait for you to fail. please keep us apprised

Not trying would be the only thing I'd deem as failure. I will be updating the thread daily, so feel free to stay up to date on my progress.

I appreciate the hate.

180asBreath · Post by **180asBreath** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:09 pm

Magnetic Man wrote:Would like to follow this thread. I'm looking to start up studying for a retake from October. I just can't find the motivation when I don't even have my effing score yet.

Glad to hear it. Let me just say that you don't want to waste the next few weeks, only to get an unrepresentative score, and then have to wait out a cycle for a year; I learned this the hard way.

NoodleyOne · Post by **NoodleyOne** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:12 pm

All scores are representative. PTing in the 170s doesn't mean you deserve a 170+.

SumStalwart · Post by **SumStalwart** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:55 pm

@180asBreath: I'm glad that you are going to start doing in depth analyses of the mistakes that you made. That's a great start. Just make sure that you spend more time on the actual problems than simply doing the text book work. The thing that really helped me was doing untimed problems, and figuring out exactly why one answer was superior-- this really helps you start developing the best method for attacking the problems and a sense of the wording.

What areas are you struggling with? I've noticed that my biggest improvements came outside of doing the review books. Do you think that you could increase the speed at which you finish the velocity book (no pun intended) and then, instead, do drilling?

Puffin · Post by **Puffin** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:17 pm

Wishing you the best of luck with your LSAT prep (and hopeful 180!). However, I agree with everyone else in saying not only is 100 hours not enough to go from 165 to 180 but you should also dedicate the majority of your time to PT's, which at 3 hours each would thoroughly cut into your time.

toothbrush · Post by **toothbrush** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 5:54 pm

Good luck to 180! I followed your first thread a bit and I thought it was interesting. I semi-agree with my peers here saying that 100 hours is a bit limiting, but I fully believe that the LSAT is a test that is different for all, and perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, you can do it in 100.

My one gripe with this whole thing is this: Why are you being such an ass? You post on a public forum full of over-achievers and confident people who are opinionated. You know that. Yet you are being such a damn tool. I don't get it. Like you're dismissing what people say on the face of them disagreeing with you because they don't get it? Maybe either a) present your post without so many hypos and conditions or b) don't post here at all. You obviously wanted people to respond ..

Idk i'm ranting for sure, but this irks me.

tl;dr. Good luck, don't be a jerk.

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