LSAT study schedule and prep advice... Forum

[cmn7]

I plan to take the 2016 June LSAT. My original plan was to self study from now until end of April, then take a local Kaplan Course for one month before the LSAT. My concern is, are these courses designed for students who are new to the LSAT, or would it be okay to self study with books (Bibles, Princeton Review) and then proceed into my course. I have been reading forum after forum and everyone's opinion varies.

If you have any suggestions, please advise:

Taking the course now, then self study vs self study, then course

I hear from all my friends that Kaplan is the way to go, but everyone on here seems to swear it sucks, so any other suggestions?
Last thing, are the Bibles, Princeton Review '13, older Kaplan books, and a ton of old tests enough for study?

I am new to all this and not sure where to get started...Thanks

[204Wpg]

My one piece of advice (coming from someone who only self-studied from May until now for the October test) is that if you are actually putting effort into self-study from now until April, I doubt a course would do you considerable good.

My impression (again, having never taken a course) is they're more designed as an introduction to the LSAT and methods to bring you to a reasonably competitive score, but if you've prepped from now til April you'll likely already have a decent grasp on the test and be able to PT fairly close to your max. at that point, so I doubt you'd benefit from a lot of what the course is saying.

[KevCon]

'cmn7', I scored in the Top 2% of the LSAT the first and only time I sat for the official Test - to give my qualifications to give advice.

By far, the best Method is based on common sense, aptitude and intellect. That is, you must consider yourself Ready today, now, in your life and can only really fine-tune matters to achieve the best score possible. Test Prep courses cannot make you smarter, more able or increase your intellect.

I was shocked that I achieved such an amazing score, especially because I had refused to prepare like every other test-taker (all focussed on Prep Courses, as if a magic bullet or the like, when their real ability to achieve a high score is already in them). My method was what felt best for me and was incredibly effective. I obtained several of the most recently administered Tests and did not even look at them until I set up absolutely ALL of the true Conditions under which I would take the official Test.

At a local Library, where I could be uninterrupted and not distracted at all for the Test Period, I set up my desk exactly as it would be, did absolutely everything to be identical to true Test Conditions. Then I took test after test, never deviating a jot from what would be actual conditions. I 'learned what it is like to take the test' as much as I learned about the test itself. I took test after test, day after day and week after week. It only cost me the expense of obtaining past official tests and the discipline to not even glance at them until I sat to take that test.

By repeatedly taking the real tests under exactly the same conditions I would face, it all became quite familiar. This means confidence because all of those many little things that will always, always throw other test-takers off of their game were not even an issue for me. Most importantly, I absolutely 'learned the language' of the Test over and over until it seemed as though I had truly learned a new language - that foreign, convoluted format and thinking, etc., became almost second nature. Therefore, I came to recognize (after literally taking about 7-8 Tests) that most all of the questions are recycled, reworded and always have the exact same basis. That is, they merely reframe the same questions over and over and after taking the test so many times over and over like that, recognizing those specific questions became 2nd nature. I had cracked the code.

On Test Day, it was merely like taking yet another practice test and I had improved my score so much from practice test #1 that I was as prepared as I could be - the rest is up to intellect, intelligence and ability. No Test Prep can make you smarter or is magic; I never took one and told no one that I was even taking the LSAT at all. I told myself 'If I do well, then I will go to Law School - if not, I learned something valuable' - and I TOLD NO ONE.

That discipline is crucial to the authentic experience of taking the Test, not participating in that activity with so many others as if it were something in and of itself. The experience is Nothing; the Test is all. Treat it as you and the Test, period. If you truly take as many practice tests as recommended and under exactly the same conditions, you have done absolutely as much as you can.

[kcho10]

'cmn7', I scored in the Top 2% of the LSAT the first and only time I sat for the official Test - to give my qualifications to give advice.

By far, the best Method is based on common sense, aptitude and intellect. That is, you must consider yourself Ready today, now, in your life and can only really fine-tune matters to achieve the best score possible. Test Prep courses cannot make you smarter, more able or increase your intellect.

I was shocked that I achieved such an amazing score, especially because I had refused to prepare like every other test-taker (all focussed on Prep Courses, as if a magic bullet or the like, when their real ability to achieve a high score is already in them). My method was what felt best for me and was incredibly effective. I obtained several of the most recently administered Tests and did not even look at them until I set up absolutely ALL of the true Conditions under which I would take the official Test.

At a local Library, where I could be uninterrupted and not distracted at all for the Test Period, I set up my desk exactly as it would be, did absolutely everything to be identical to true Test Conditions. Then I took test after test, never deviating a jot from what would be actual conditions. I 'learned what it is like to take the test' as much as I learned about the test itself. I took test after test, day after day and week after week. It only cost me the expense of obtaining past official tests and the discipline to not even glance at them until I sat to take that test.

By repeatedly taking the real tests under exactly the same conditions I would face, it all became quite familiar. This means confidence because all of those many little things that will always, always throw other test-takers off of their game were not even an issue for me. Most importantly, I absolutely 'learned the language' of the Test over and over until it seemed as though I had truly learned a new language - that foreign, convoluted format and thinking, etc., became almost second nature. Therefore, I came to recognize (after literally taking about 7-8 Tests) that most all of the questions are recycled, reworded and always have the exact same basis. That is, they merely reframe the same questions over and over and after taking the test so many times over and over like that, recognizing those specific questions became 2nd nature. I had cracked the code.

On Test Day, it was merely like taking yet another practice test and I had improved my score so much from practice test #1 that I was as prepared as I could be - the rest is up to intellect, intelligence and ability. No Test Prep can make you smarter or is magic; I never took one and told no one that I was even taking the LSAT at all. I told myself 'If I do well, then I will go to Law School - if not, I learned something valuable' - and I TOLD NO ONE.

That discipline is crucial to the authentic experience of taking the Test, not participating in that activity with so many others as if it were something in and of itself. The experience is Nothing; the Test is all. Treat it as you and the Test, period. If you truly take as many practice tests as recommended and under exactly the same conditions, you have done absolutely as much as you can.

Hey KevCon,

This is awesome advice. I'm in the 164-165 range at the moment and I'm really hoping to get to the level you got to, and I heard very similar things from other top scorers as well. I have a quick question...how did you approach reviewing the tests? Was there anything in particular you did in your review that you believe helped you recognize those patterns? Thanks in advance