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A few thoughts:

I would definitely LSAT on days when you have school. You have to be comfortable doing LOLSAT under several conditions - exhausting being one of them. Obviously, this should be taken on a case by case basis. Since you're starting out and you feel like you're not absorbing the material, take a break.

Secondly, I think your plan of reading the Trainer first (to become aquainted) is a good move. You should definitely plan to give it a few reads from now until June. Especially to pair it with drilling. Do you have the Cambridge packets? (I haven't been following the Febbers thread that much but I think I recall you posting you had them.)

Thirdly, while you were able to guage some of your strengths and weaknesses by way of your diagnostic, take that with a grain of salt. What I mean by this is: Just because you see that you did well on RC does not mean that you should skimp on giving RC attention. There have been some times where I've gotten anywhere from -0 to -10 on RC. RC is incredibly underestimated, imo.

This might be obvious but - the first time I took the LOLSAT in September, I was definitely giving myself shortcuts. I would skip RC days to just drill LGs because I hated RC and loved LG. Do not do this. Stick to your schedule. While all prep is "good" prep (assuming you're actually doing the work and reviewing throughly), you shouldn't spend a week on just one topic.

Since you have a lot of time from now until June, I suggest going through the Trainer first (as you are doing). Spend some time doing the Manhattan books. Revisit the Trainer using the schedules on Mike's website. They are dope af and will help you manage your time and the materials adequately. You can add more to the drills since I'm assuming you have the Cambridge bundles and Mike goes by question type. I have not used the Manhattan LSAT books, but imagine there will be overlap in terms of how material is presented since Mike was a MLSAT bunny.

The Trainer is great because he jumps from one topic to another (not the bad jumping). Earlier in my prep, I wouldn't move on to another section until I finished reading the entirety of one of the Bibles. This was a rookie move.

Hope this advice helps.

Sincerely,
A TLS Beta

I'd PT earlier. Make it a regular thing even while you're drilling and see as many tests as possible. That's what I'm going to do.

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gamerish wrote: I really didn't find the Trainer helpful for games at all; I've gotten more out of watching a handful of 7Sage videos than from the whole book so I don't think I'll re-read the LG stuff but I can see why so many people like it for LR which I will almost certainly look back into (if not before the June test, then the October test).

I would not spend time reading LG sections for any printed material (i.e., Bibles or MLSAT). J.Y. is the way to go, for sure. However, I do think there is some salience in getting the fundamentals down, which the books do provide. What I mean by this is - what are game pieces, how do set up different board types. However, if you have JY's course - where he explains all of this in the lessons - that would be more useful and intuitive. I didn't know about JY until later in my prep, so I was already done with the LG Bible and had a good foundation for LG, so I just used his free videos to tweak my methods. JY's methods were helpful with conditional logic ("chains")and when nec. and suff. conditions trigger, etc. Also JY is just brilliant. I cannot stop gushing over him. If you want to be economical with your time, just stick with JY for the LG.

gamerish wrote: And, going by your last line, you don't think I should go through Powerscore LG, then Manhattan LR, then Manhattan RC? I think I'd prefer to work on one section at a time and then just drill concepts for the sections I've finished while I read the book for the next section to keep myself fresh. If that doesn't seem like I good idea though, I'll reconsider.

Tbh, I think you have plenty of time to go over the books more than once. You can do it your way, and then amend it as you see fit. Everyone's preferences are different. I got the most out of my prep by going through topics and then drilling. I liked to do some LG/LR/RC each day to keep myself sharp (versus sticking to one topic for a week until I've exhausted it).

RZ5646 wrote:I'd PT earlier. Make it a regular thing even while you're drilling and see as many tests as possible. That's what I'm going to do.

I agree with this - start doing full 5 section PT's (I would make my 5th section a problem section. It was RC for me lol.) sometime in April. That way, you won't be rushed and PTing a few times a week. This was my mistake back in September. I was so focused on getting the fundamentals down that I was burned out by PTing constantly the few weeks leading up to the exam (I think I was doing 4 PTs a week). Like I said, Mike's schedules are pretty solid in that they also include PTs. What you want to do when you're PTing is PT in the morning (if you're taking in Feb, you want to make sure you get used to having your brain awake earlier in the morning), eat lunch, then go into BR. Keep a spreadsheet of ones you got wrong before and after BR. Then the next few days, drill those problem areas and take breaks by drilling question types you're comfortable with. Then take another PT to see dem gainz. I think 2 PTs a week was more than enough for me, given the extensive BR (this was what I changed in Dec).

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gamerish wrote:Awesome, that all sounds good.

I think I'll read the Powerscore/Manhattan LG stuff before signing up for the 7Sage course because I already bought the books but if I can't get to -1 or -0 on LG with them, I'll definitely sign up for the course. I may do so anyways even if my LG score does drastically improve because everyone I've heard from who's taken it speaks highly of the 7Sage course and if I don't do as desired on the June test it may be a fresh take on studying for the October test.

Which course did you go for? Since I'm buying the Cambridge bundle I wouldn't think I need the top choice.

I didn't sign up for any course. I just mooched off of the free explanations. Even those are intuitive enough where you can pick up on the techniques. BLESS YOU, JY PING.

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gamerish wrote:If it's free, it's for me.

Moochers unite.

+1

7sage is great, though I feel like if LG is what you are mainly having issues with I would see how ur prep goes a bit without going with it... I love the LR tips and habits I have picked up from it but for LG I feel like if you have the basics down you can get a lot out of the free videos and may not need the course itself (theres a free sample with a few videos from different lessons if you make the free account I would check out)

Wow I just read through all of this and Shak, you are awesome. I wish I had this when I first started out and was naive about how much of a bitch this test is.

Glad all this useless knowledge can be helpful to you guys. There are so many resources out there, and it's hard to not get bogged down by thinking you have to go through all of them. Happy studying, friends! Happy to help any way I can.

hey Shak, how do you suggest adjusting this for a retaker? I have Manhattan 2nd edition, Trainer, 30 most recent PT's, and like 8 Cambridge packets (I was an idiot and didn't buy all of them at once). I don't know whether I will take June or Oct, but I really want to not fuck up my study schedule (will be my last retake). I am really thinking about buying the least expensive 7sage package to get better at LR.

gamerish wrote: I really didn't find the Trainer helpful for games at all; I've gotten more out of watching a handful of 7Sage videos than from the whole book so I don't think I'll re-read the LG stuff but I can see why so many people like it for LR which I will almost certainly look back into (if not before the June test, then the October test).

Just wanted to jump in here to make two points:

First: The Trainer is ducking amazing for LR, and if you haven't achieved total mastery of that section, you should go back ASAP and read the LR chapters again, while drilling your face off--either on your own using 1-38 or following one of Mike's schedules. Don't just start drilling without internalizing his process, since you might end up reinforcing bad habits. So if you plan on rereading it, do that sooner rather than later.

Second: Don't plan for a retake. Seriously. Just say no to that mentality. It will ruin you. Do all of the prep that you possibly can to gain total mastery of the material before your first take. If you do need to retake, you can drill everything over again. There is no such thing as running out of materials.

Best of luck, and happy studying.

GreenTee wrote:

gamerish wrote: I really didn't find the Trainer helpful for games at all; I've gotten more out of watching a handful of 7Sage videos than from the whole book so I don't think I'll re-read the LG stuff but I can see why so many people like it for LR which I will almost certainly look back into (if not before the June test, then the October test).

Just wanted to jump in here to make two points:

First: The Trainer is ducking amazing for LR, and if you haven't achieved total mastery of that section, you should go back ASAP and read the LR chapters again, while drilling your face off--either on your own using 1-38 or following one of Mike's schedules. Don't just start drilling without internalizing his process, since you might end up reinforcing bad habits. So if you plan on rereading it, do that sooner rather than later.

Good to hear about the Trainer. Haven't read that since the summer.

pjanderson5 wrote:hey Shak, how do you suggest adjusting this for a retaker? I have Manhattan 2nd edition, Trainer, 30 most recent PT's, and like 8 Cambridge packets (I was an idiot and didn't buy all of them at once). I don't know whether I will take June or Oct, but I really want to not fuck up my study schedule (will be my last retake). I am really thinking about buying the least expensive 7sage package to get better at LR.

trying to use the same strategy. anyone have any experience with it?