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Hello,

I will be applying for admission in the fall of 2014. I am currently an undergraduate student at my local university, where I just completed my first semester after transfering from community college. I have completed 75 hours and my GPA is currently 4.0.

I am targeting an LSAT score of 175 at this time. I scored 152 points on the free June, 2007 PrepTest that I completed this afternoon. This was without any prior study. It should be noted that I ran out of time on the test for both sections II and III (questions 23-25 were unanswered in both cases), and felt quite rushed and frazzled in general.

I am planning to purchase the PowerScore Bible set (LG, LR, and RC) for self-study because of the high praise they are given throughout this forum. However, the three volumes come to a total of about $120 for the latest editions on Amazon. Would it be disadvantageous to purchase the previous editions on closeout from Barnes and Noble for $16 a piece?

How often should I complete an official test? I was thinking of purchasing a set of ten preptests from LSAC so that I could proctor one monthly leading up to taking the official test in September or October.

Thank you.

.

Get the old versions, the concepts haven't changed and the skills tested haven't changed in years

Max324 wrote:Here's a good thread on the difference between the editions: http://lawstudents.ca/forums/topic/2104 ... ore-books/

IMO, you're probably best off buying the newest editions of the LRB and LGB, and picking up the Manhattan LSAT RC Guide for $10 in the Kindle Store.

Hold off on the PTs until you've got the fundamentals down. Work on the strategy guides and drill for now; switch over to three or four PTs a week a few months before test day. We could probably help you plot out a schedule if you post some info about how much time you can commit and what your summer will look like.

Thank you for offering the scheduling help. I am taking 15 hours this semester and plan to take an additional 6-9 hours over the summer.

The amount of daily or weekly work that is required for successful LSAT preparation is something about which I feel unclear. I will adapt my schedule to what is necessary for meeting my LSAT ambitions (175+.) What would be a reasonable daily or weekly time commitment to meet this goal (ideally by June) based on my diagnostic score of 152?

dingbat wrote:Get the old versions, the concepts haven't changed and the skills tested haven't changed in years

Thank you for the reply. It seems that (according to the information within the page to which Max linked) there is a fair amount of new material in the latest editions. Could you elaborate on your statement?

Your goals are similar to mine. Your gpa is similar to mine. And your diagnostic was identical to mine. I am planning on taking the June LSAT, and by that time I hope to be able to crush the LSAT. I think your first two months should just be focused on the fundamentals and easy drilling, which I am also doing right now. And then for the last three months, you and I should focus on the 25 or so most recent preptests. I am following the first two months of pithypike's guide, and then focusing on PTs until June starting in March.

As far as your daily commitment goes, I am spending about 5 hours per day, seven days a week prepping. It is important to not get concepts cluttered in your head. Don't move on to the next concept or even start assessing your time situation until you know what's going on, how to approach it, and can find the right answers. For example, read the LR bible on weaken questions and start with level 1, untimed drills and develop a strategy for approaching this kind of question. Then worry about timing after you can answer all easy questions quickly and correctly. Also make sure you can explain to yourself why certain answer choices are wrong and why others are right. I've found that this helps more than anything, and you can more easily recognize the patterns and traps.

Don't take my advice to heart. I have only been prepping for 10 frustrating days.

Good Luck