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Hey everyone, I'm about to buy all of the study material I need to help me study for the LSAT. My goal is at least a 172, but I'm going to shoot for a 180 because I don't see any reason not to. My question is regarding which study materials you guys would recommend to me. I've seen an immense number of posts about the subject, but everyone says different things, so I'm starting this thread to try and find a general consensus on what I should get. Also, I'm not going to take a class becasue 1) It's expensive and 2) I feel like I would learn better on my own. I would really like to hear what you guys have to say, so if you could please post the material that you used to help you study for each section and maybe a little info on why you think it worked for you

I don't think that there is consensus. Different people end up liking different things. For example, lots of people seem to love The Trainer, but I thought it was awful.

It's also dependent on where you're starting from. You'll probably need more study time and materials to go from 145 to 175 than from 170 to 175.

I used old versions of the LR and LG bibles. My diagnostic was 172.

fra wrote:I don't think that there is consensus. Different people end up liking different things. For example, lots of people seem to love The Trainer, but I thought it was awful.

It's also dependent on where you're starting from. You'll probably need more study time and materials to go from 145 to 175 than from 170 to 175.

I used old versions of the LR and LG bibles. My diagnostic was 172.

I've only heard good things about the LR and LG bibles tbh. And I'm basically starting from scratch, although I've done some LR and RC questions here and there. Basically, I'm taking the test in a year and want to know some good materials that many people find helpful and why they find them helpful. My weakest section is LG and my strongest section is RC.

Did you only use the LR and LG bibles to help with those two sections or did you use other materials as well?

I'd say the LG bible is worth picking up if you haven't done those kinds of problems before. Otherwise I would just do a load of timed practice exams. You do enough and you'll really start seeing patterns to how questions are designed.

GMasters5 wrote:

I've only heard good things about the LR and LG bibles tbh. And I'm basically starting from scratch, although I've done some LR and RC questions here and there. Basically, I'm taking the test in a year and want to know some good materials that many people find helpful and why they find them helpful. My weakest section is LG and my strongest section is RC.

Did you only use the LR and LG bibles to help with those two sections or did you use other materials as well?

I used the bibles and attempted to use the trainer, but gave up on it.
The only other resource that I use is Manhattan forums for LR explanations.

Starting a year ahead of time gives you a lot of leeway. And starting with weak LG and strong RC gives you a lot of growth potential since LG is generally considered to be the easiest to improve while RC is the most difficult.
I would get the LG bible (don't worry about getting the most recent version, mine is from 2009), and use it and free LG explanations on the internet to develop a diagramming method that makes sense to you and is flexible. It's much better to use a method that comes naturally to you than to follow someone else's method. Your goal with LG is to be able to deal with common games quickly and not to freeze up with uncommon games, using your own method will help to keep you from freezing up (no, 'i can't remember how the bible told me to do this!').

Don't neglect your strong sections though. You have lots of time to read dense LSAT like material like The Economist and scientific articles.

MLSAT LR & LG helped me immensely when I was first starting out.

Once you've got the basics down, I'd invest in the Cambridge LR & LG bundles by difficulty/type, and I'd practice RC just by completing PTs & reviewing.

I used LSAT Trainer, Manhattan LSAT LR and LG. For LG I used 7sage online explanations. I sent you a message with details.

fra wrote:

GMasters5 wrote:

I've only heard good things about the LR and LG bibles tbh. And I'm basically starting from scratch, although I've done some LR and RC questions here and there. Basically, I'm taking the test in a year and want to know some good materials that many people find helpful and why they find them helpful. My weakest section is LG and my strongest section is RC.

Did you only use the LR and LG bibles to help with those two sections or did you use other materials as well?

I used the bibles and attempted to use the trainer, but gave up on it.
The only other resource that I use is Manhattan forums for LR explanations.

Starting a year ahead of time gives you a lot of leeway. And starting with weak LG and strong RC gives you a lot of growth potential since LG is generally considered to be the easiest to improve while RC is the most difficult.
I would get the LG bible (don't worry about getting the most recent version, mine is from 2009), and use it and free LG explanations on the internet to develop a diagramming method that makes sense to you and is flexible. It's much better to use a method that comes naturally to you than to follow someone else's method. Your goal with LG is to be able to deal with common games quickly and not to freeze up with uncommon games, using your own method will help to keep you from freezing up (no, 'i can't remember how the bible told me to do this!').

Don't neglect your strong sections though. You have lots of time to read dense LSAT like material like The Economist and scientific articles.

Thanks, I will definitely be getting some study materials in the next week or so and start easing my way into studying. Also, I've been getting The Economist in the mail for about 6 months now and read some articles in about every issue.

Atmosphere wrote:MLSAT LR & LG helped me immensely when I was first starting out.

Once you've got the basics down, I'd invest in the Cambridge LR & LG bundles by difficulty/type, and I'd practice RC just by completing PTs & reviewing.

Thanks, I'll check them out!

GMasters5 wrote:

Atmosphere wrote:MLSAT LR & LG helped me immensely when I was first starting out.

Once you've got the basics down, I'd invest in the Cambridge LR & LG bundles by difficulty/type, and I'd practice RC just by completing PTs & reviewing.

Thanks, I'll check them out!

No worries! Good luck!

I'm studying for a Sept retake and the LG section is difficult for me, too. For my June test, I read the LG and LR Bibles and took a lot of PTs. This time around, I invested in the Cambridge LG and LR packets and can tell I am improving in both sections. If you're having trouble with LG, I highly recommend purchasing the Cambridge LG packets and drilling till you get a good handle on the games.

I used Powerscore LG, Manhattan LG/LR/RC and now the LSAT Trainer which I think is very good once you have a solid foundation in PS or Manhattan imo. As I read the Trainer I found that it would not be suitable for someone who has never done an LSAT section before - it seems to me to be a more mature hybridized approach that assumes a basic background in either the Manhattan or Powerscore (or at least a background in doing multiple PTs)

The Powerscore LG Bible is great a breaking things down and showing you the basics. It's helped me understand LG and I think I have a solid foundation of the fundamentals, the next step will be the Manhattan bundles. The Powerscore LR Bible is thorough but I prefer the LSAT Trainer since it shows you how to approach each problem and it helps you build the mentality you need to find the flaw and answer every question type. For RC, the Powerscore Bible was not really necessary unless you're meticulous like I am, but I find the Cambridge volumes absolutely necessary in order to build accuracy and speed. Only problem is that you don't want to exhaust all the questions in the Cambridge volumes since you want to save some for the PTs.

Sweet, thanks for all of the replies!

The LSAT Trainer has worked well for me. My cold was 159. After 6 weeks with the LSAT trainer I'm averaging around 168. It has really helped with LG. I was clueless and was going -11 or -12. I am now around -2 or -3 with one perfect section.