study for 2 months or 6 months? Forum

boaltlaw · Post by **boaltlaw** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:38 am

Hello, I am in a very strange situation. I am currently a junior in undergrad.

I want to take lsat prep with blueprint. The goal was to study for 3 months and take it in Oct 3, so basically studying from June 15th to then would give me around 3 1/2 months. Well, the only time they offer the prep course (for any one close to me) is Jul 26, and I feel that 2 months is not enough to study for the Oct lsat.

The other option would be to take the spring course and self study. The spring course starts on April 4th and ends around June 6th, meaning I would have 2 months of prep course and 4 months of self study. I'm not really sure if that is too much time/too spread out. Conversely, I don't think 8-9 weeks is enough for Oct, and postponing till december would be too long (want to apply early and be competitive for my cycle).

I have over a 4.0 lsac gpa and as strong softs as any k-jd can have, so anything other than top 6 would be a disappointment. The goal is to get into hys, so I really need help in optimizing my lsat score.

what would you recommend I do?

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:23 am

The more time the better

leslieknope · Post by **leslieknope** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:05 am

I mean, in your situation I would start studying in the next couple of months by reading the books and drilling heavily to really nail the concepts, then start PTing in June through the October test. If you do decide to take the course, I'd take it in the spring and then spend the summer PTing. Whatever you do, carefully ration your study materials so you don't find yourself in August and with no fresh PTs.

Smallville · Post by **Smallville** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:04 am

if you decide to take a course remember... you are not restricted to that course... you can do things before/after/outside of it

nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:08 am

Clearly wrote:The more time the better

If you must take Blueprint, I highly recommend taking the spring course and then taking the summer to self-study. Those courses goes by really quick and IMO doesn't give people enough time to solidify the learning process.

BizBro · Post by **BizBro** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:14 am

I self studied July-Oct with no prior experience and got a 170+. 25 hours a week. Manhattan LSAT + power score + cambridge packets + official tests = all you need.

malleus discentium · Post by **malleus discentium** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:35 am

Don't take a course. Self study until you're done.

kfh37 · Post by **kfh37** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:43 am

I'd take a diagnostic test and see where you stand. A course may be a waste of money.

BizBro · Post by **BizBro** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:50 am

kfh37 wrote:I'd take a diagnostic test and see where you stand. A course may be a waste of money.

I think diagnostic tests are useless. Obv you won't do well in something you haven't learned yet. I'd end up with a 150 something if I took one before learning what a logic game was.

JackelJ · Post by **JackelJ** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:55 am

nlee10 wrote: If you must take Blueprint, I highly recommend taking the spring course and then taking the summer to self-study. Those courses goes by really quick and IMO doesn't give people enough time to solidify the learning process.

+1
or look into either the Blueprint online course or 7sage or velocity to start in the spring so you have all summer to self-study

kfh37 · Post by **kfh37** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:08 pm

I think it's worth spending 3-4 hours to see where you are. I got somewhere in the mid-160s on my diagnostic, which let me know I probably didn't need a course to get to where I wanted to be.

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:56 pm

JackelJ wrote: look into either the Blueprint online course or 7sage or velocity to start in the spring so you have all summer to self-study

This. Online courses will offer you more flexibility and are more desirable (and less expensive, no?) IMO.

Dr. Nefario · Post by **Dr. Nefario** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:04 pm

1 year+

xylocarp · Post by **xylocarp** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:10 pm

+1 for a diagnostic test. a lot of people are just naturally good at RC and LR, and for that type of person a course isn't going to help much, and might even hurt. don't go mapping out your prep plan without any idea how far you have to go.

boaltlaw · Post by **boaltlaw** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:20 pm

last year i took a diagnostic test in my room (it was loud outside- roommates listening to music/watching tv). I took it kind of fast and circled C for the last 5 because I had to go. had like 3-4 minutes left on each section. basically didnt take it too seriously but ended up with a 156. Never even saw an lsat question before that. I assume if i took a diagnostic raw i could get about 160 if i buckled down at least. thanks for all the replies everyone.

also, in terms of money, because of my position with a certain on campus org, i get half off BP spring course

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:23 pm

156 is a great diagnostic.

boaltlaw · Post by **boaltlaw** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:34 pm

thanks. i still have a long way to go. anything below 170 would be a disappointment, though I assume with high 160's i could still get lower t14 with my gpa

the whole dilemma is, I'm not sure if 6 months is too long to study. I have school until june 15th, but after that I cleared my summer so I have no work/internships

Not sure what to do exactly

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:36 pm

6 months is not too long.
The prep company propagated 3 months is actually--in most cases--too short.

boaltlaw · Post by **boaltlaw** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:36 pm

is 6 months too short?

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 3:41 pm

boaltlaw wrote:is 6 months too short?

Depends. However, I doubt it will be too short given your diagnostic assuming you put the necessary time in.

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:31 pm

Post removed...

boaltlaw · Post by **boaltlaw** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:41 pm

how long did you study?

NL2424 · Post by **NL2424** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:54 pm

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:00 pm

Post removed...

lnick93 · Post by **lnick93** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:06 pm

I started out with a similar diagnostic, studied for about 9 months, and scored in your desired range. I used the Powerscore bibles + Manhattan online class + LSAT Trainer + Cambridge packets. I think 2 months is not enough time to adequately learn the material unless you naturally excellent at the LSAT.