How long did you take to improve LSAT skills? Forum

[1sataker]

Hi,

Supporse you studied 3-4 hours on weekdays and around 6-8 hours on the weekends, how long did you take to achieve the level or score you are satisfied with or you feel you are "ready" to take LSAT?
(You can do the math If you study full-time everyday in summer or etc )
If it is not on the options, it would be great if you could specify how long you took.
Thanks for the cooperation.

[Brentwood]

For me personally it was more of a gradient with diminishing marginal returns. There was no definitive leap, but gradual improvement. Those last few points you have to fight for are crucial. I studied about 3 months with roughly your schedule, making good progress after 1 month and then tapering. I think roughly halfway through I had hit my minimally acceptable score. The tough part is to keep applying yourself even after you achieve that

[gamerish]

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[Ron Howard]

I've been studying for about 8 months and I still don't feel I am where I want to be. I have definitely improved to a decent extent though.

Describe, in detail, how you have been studying. How much have you improved?

[gamerish]

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[1sataker]

For me personally it was more of a gradient with diminishing marginal returns. There was no definitive leap, but gradual improvement. Those last few points you have to fight for are crucial. I studied about 3 months with roughly your schedule, making good progress after 1 month and then tapering. I think roughly halfway through I had hit my minimally acceptable score. The tough part is to keep applying yourself even after you achieve that

Hi,
If it's gradual improvement, how&when did you notice your improvement? By seeing fewer mistakes on questions?

I've been studying for about 8 months and I still don't feel I am where I want to be. I have definitely improved to a decent extent though.

Describe, in detail, how you have been studying. How much have you improved?

I don't really have time at the moment to summarize the last 8 months in any real detail. I can probably type something more substantial tomorrow. For a very brief rundown I've read the LSAT Trainer, LG Bible and Manhattan LR books while drilling from corresponding sections from the Cambridge Bundle. Heavy use of 7Sage and the Manhattan forums for explanations. I'm reading the Manhattan RC book right now but not really getting a whole lot out of it since RC was always my best section.

My diagnostic under timed, test conditions was a 156 and my highest PT scores have been my previous two takes, both of which I got a 168 on. Aiming for a 170 bare minimum.

I will concede that not all 8 months have been study, study, study. I had a huge upset during my LG drilling and took about a month off and then have taken various one week vacations through the summer. The time I've actually been studying is probably closer to 6 months over the last 8 months.

Did you also see your improvement gradually? How did you improved on your PT? (like you saw improvement per week or per month etc...)

[gamerish]

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[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

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[Instinctive]

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

[1sataker]

I don't really understand what you're asking. Of course improvement is gradual. I doubt the majority of people studying have one singular moment where suddenly great knowledge and understanding of the LSAT just comes to them in an epiphany.

The only time I notice my improvement is when I take a PT and score higher. Unlike my scores on PTs, my drilling performances are consistently inconsistent.

Thanks I don't really see big improvement yet so I was wondering whether my way of studying is wrong...or I will see any improvement later if I continue to use the same method.

My improvements came in small jumps. I would plateau at certain points, (162, 166, 172). The last jump is obviously huge, that happened around the 6 month mark. I made some big changes in how I drilled and read. From drilling I focused more on what made an AC wrong, and I put more focus than I used too in the wording of ACs.

Do you mean you made jump when you start to focus on seeing why wrong AC is wrong instead of focusing on why right AC is right?
I'm currently reviewing the wrong answer choices that I chose and the correct answer choices...because there are so many questions, I thought I may cover all wrong AC types someday. But should I review all wrong AC?

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

Wow, some people do pick up things fast...how many PT did you do? Did you read any prep books?

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

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[Instinctive]

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

Wow, some people do pick up things fast...how many PT did you do? Did you read any prep books?

I want to say 10-12 PTs. I basically studied LR and LG or LR and RC Day 1 and Day 2, then took a PT Day 3. Then I repeated that cycle. Towards the end I took more PTs though.

I used the drills in PowerScore's "bibles"

[1sataker]

^^^ yes, so basically when I drilled, I would read the stim, get an anticipation, go through the ACs and circle the exact word in an answer choice that made it wrong. This helped me eliminate possibilities faster, which helped timing issues. I mean, you're saying something is wrong 4 times, so I think you focus on that.

I see. Maybe I should check the other 3 wrong choices, not only the ones I got wrong...

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

Wow, some people do pick up things fast...how many PT did you do? Did you read any prep books?

I want to say 10-12 PTs. I basically studied LR and LG or LR and RC Day 1 and Day 2, then took a PT Day 3. Then I repeated that cycle. Towards the end I took more PTs though.

I used the drills in PowerScore's "bibles"

Thanks for sharing your experience! wish could learn that fast lol

[Indifference]

I agree wholeheartedly with understanding how to eliminate. Once I had that skill down, the right answer became obvious 85-95 percent of the time. And the rest of the time I would cut it down to 50/50. Best way to do that is drill eliminating the wrong choices till it becomes automatic. Worked for me.

Also it takes time and consistent effort, and the will to break through plateaus. I took the test 3 times. Went 163, 164, then 177. I probably rushed my first two takes tbh.

[1sataker]

I agree wholeheartedly with understanding how to eliminate. Once I had that skill down, the right answer became obvious 85-95 percent of the time. And the rest of the time I would cut it down to 50/50. Best way to do that is drill eliminating the wrong choices till it becomes automatic. Worked for me.

Also it takes time and consistent effort, and the will to break through plateaus. I took the test 3 times. Went 163, 164, then 177. I probably rushed my first two takes tbh.

Thanks Did you study or do anything different from your first two takes? It seems a quiet jump

[Instinctive]

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

Wow, some people do pick up things fast...how many PT did you do? Did you read any prep books?

I want to say 10-12 PTs. I basically studied LR and LG or LR and RC Day 1 and Day 2, then took a PT Day 3. Then I repeated that cycle. Towards the end I took more PTs though.

I used the drills in PowerScore's "bibles"

Thanks for sharing your experience! wish could learn that fast lol

Haha, no problem. Hope it helps. Key insight though: it has nothing to do with some "innate" learning speed, and everything to do with discipline. A large portion is about the quality of your studying, not the quantity. 4-5 hours of drills when you occasionally text someone or grab a snack is not nearly as effective as 3 focused hours with a short break in the middle, structured exactly like the real LSAT testing environment.

Best of luck.

[1sataker]

I spent 3 hours a day, each day, for 40 days (taking Fridays off during that time though). Then I took the test on Day 42.

Wow, some people do pick up things fast...how many PT did you do? Did you read any prep books?

I want to say 10-12 PTs. I basically studied LR and LG or LR and RC Day 1 and Day 2, then took a PT Day 3. Then I repeated that cycle. Towards the end I took more PTs though.

I used the drills in PowerScore's "bibles"

Thanks for sharing your experience! wish could learn that fast lol

Haha, no problem. Hope it helps. Key insight though: it has nothing to do with some "innate" learning speed, and everything to do with discipline. A large portion is about the quality of your studying, not the quantity. 4-5 hours of drills when you occasionally text someone or grab a snack is not nearly as effective as 3 focused hours with a short break in the middle, structured exactly like the real LSAT testing environment.

Best of luck.

Thanks for the advice,
Right, I occasionally check TLS forum too, so maybe I should only do so during the break...lol

[Indifference]

I agree wholeheartedly with understanding how to eliminate. Once I had that skill down, the right answer became obvious 85-95 percent of the time. And the rest of the time I would cut it down to 50/50. Best way to do that is drill eliminating the wrong choices till it becomes automatic. Worked for me.

Also it takes time and consistent effort, and the will to break through plateaus. I took the test 3 times. Went 163, 164, then 177. I probably rushed my first two takes tbh.

Thanks Did you study or do anything different from your first two takes? It seems a quiet jump

I took the time to really focus in on the question types that consistently bothered me the most. I got to the point where reading a stimulus meant I knew exactly what type of answer to look for, and what to eliminate. Once elimination was second-nature, it all kind of came together with practice. Biggest thing is consistent studying (I did probably 2 hours a day everyday, but YMMV), knowing question types, and eliminating. I was hitting about 173 before my final take, so I did get a little lucky to get the 177, but I was comfortably in the 170+ range.

[1sataker]

I agree wholeheartedly with understanding how to eliminate. Once I had that skill down, the right answer became obvious 85-95 percent of the time. And the rest of the time I would cut it down to 50/50. Best way to do that is drill eliminating the wrong choices till it becomes automatic. Worked for me.

Also it takes time and consistent effort, and the will to break through plateaus. I took the test 3 times. Went 163, 164, then 177. I probably rushed my first two takes tbh.

Thanks Did you study or do anything different from your first two takes? It seems a quiet jump

I took the time to really focus in on the question types that consistently bothered me the most. I got to the point where reading a stimulus meant I knew exactly what type of answer to look for, and what to eliminate. Once elimination was second-nature, it all kind of came together with practice. Biggest thing is consistent studying (I did probably 2 hours a day everyday, but YMMV), knowing question types, and eliminating. I was hitting about 173 before my final take, so I did get a little lucky to get the 177, but I was comfortably in the 170+ range.

I see. It would be the same for RC? I kind of have hard time with RC and not sure how to review it...