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gamerish wrote: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.

Brentwood wrote: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 wrote:

Ron Howard wrote:

gamerish wrote: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.

gamerish wrote: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.

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote: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.

Instinctive wrote: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 wrote:

Instinctive wrote: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 wrote:^^^ 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.

Instinctive wrote:

1sataker wrote:

Instinctive wrote: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"

mujiali wrote: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 wrote:

Instinctive wrote:

1sataker wrote:

Instinctive wrote: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

Instinctive wrote:

1sataker wrote:

Instinctive wrote:

1sataker wrote:

Instinctive wrote: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 wrote:

mujiali wrote: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

mujiali wrote:

1sataker wrote:

mujiali wrote: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.