3 months until June test.... how should I study for it? Forum

[calmike]

Hello,
I need advice on how to approach the LSAT for the next three months. I will not be employed and I have no other commitments. I have all three Powerscore Bibles. I have all the pretests. Should I begin by reading all three Bibles and then just start taking tests and reviewing them? I am reaching for a 180!

Thank you.

[Dr.Zer0]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=200917

[Clyde Frog]

I'd shoot for December

[TLSanders]

You might want to think about taking on a couple of other commitments. There's a definite point of diminishing returns in LSAT prep, and you don't want to make that your full time job.

The first thing you should do is take a recent practice test under timed conditions to establish a benchmark and determine your strengths and weaknesses and where you stand to gain the most points.

Others here may disagree, but I don't recommend reading those massive PowerScore books in their entirety. I have worked with many students who benefited from using certain sections of those books, but the LSAT actually relies on a narrow group of core skills, and you don't really need to understand the hows and whys and the history of the world in order to perform those tasks effectively. Keeping your eye on the specific skills that will increase your score is much more effective.

Once you've taken the practice test, get a good set of explanations and spend a significant amount of time studying them, understanding where you went wrong, which questions could have been solved more efficiently and the patterns among the questions--the LSAT is very repetitive. This will help you determine not only which areas require the most work, but where you have the most points to gain. Often, identifying one repetitive mistake will help you answer 3, 5 or even more questions correctly, so those corrections are the highest-efficiency way to improve your score and should come first.

[The Avatar]

If you think Powerscore is heavy, have you seen the Manhattan books?

[surf]

The Trainer book by Mike. Search it on Amazon. Good price.

Helped really lay out the foundation for me. The bibles are good as well. But I'd start out with the Trainer. I would also consider aiming for the October test. That's what I'm doing. I started studying in Jan. GL

[Aristocat]

I would definitely recommend compartmentalizing your studying. As previously stated, take a PT (or even two) to get a benchmark of your weaknesses in order to hone in on them when you start studying. Also, don't fool yourself into thinking you only got "X amount" wrong if a bunch of the ones you got right were guesses.

I started my studying with logic games, and within logic games focused on one type at a time, doing a crap ton of the same type of game until I got -0 and furthermore could anticipate many of the ways in which the test makers try to trick you.

I just finished going to reading comp and have managed to bring my average from minus 7-9 to 4-6, although it's still a work in progress. Last will be logical reasoning since it's my best section where I stand to gain the least in the time invested. There are a ton of great guides though on this forum, so make sure to read though them. As you get closer to test date and you've reviewed everything, you'll want to drill for mental endurance.

[nedstarksbastard]

Take as many practice tests as you can. LSAT guides are fine, but they only get you so far. What really helps you do well is to take the actual test over and over. I probably took 15+ full practice tests before my LSAT, and I wish I would have had time to take more.

[objctnyrhnr]

read a book or something and then take every single test ever written except for the final five or so, beginning with the oldest. start off by focusing on one area and then go back and fill in the remaining sections of that exam when you focus on another area. after you do the first 20, start doing full exams...and, like i said, do them all besides the last five. then (and yes this might sound weird) take every single exam besides those last five...again. while the questions might seem somewhat familiar, and your score won't be an accurate indication of how good at the test you are, it will still be really good study material. you will notice connections forming in your head that did not naturally form the first time around.

be very careful with the taking of the most recent five, as they will be the only gauges you will have re: how good you actually are. use those to determine when you actually want to take the test.