Taking May-Term and Summer Courses while Studying??? Forum

[TLou21]

Hello everyone,

I would appreciate your feedback on some thoughts that have been bombarding my mind and stressing me for quite some time now.

I am a double major, junior undergrad who is planning to take the LSAT sometime in the future. I will certainly be taking it in September this year. My first dilemma is whether I should take another one in June or in December so at least I can get the experience. Currently my school schedule has been consuming all my time (not kidding). I have barely any time to study for the LSAT and I do not feel confident with my knowledge on the test. I read the KAPLAN Premier 2015 when I have the time in order to get to understand the various question types of the test. I took only one diagnostic by myself during the winter and while I didn't time myself harshly, I got a 139. Since that day my mind is a nightmare. I keep stressing about how am I going to do this. I currently have a 3.7 GPA, not including my transfer GPA which is higher (3.83). I think I have the potential to reach a high score but distancing my study sessions so long is inefficient and is not preparing me for June, The more I wait to apply though, the smaller will become my chances for admission...I dream of T14 - Harvard and Cornell in particular - like many of you aspiring law students. I admire those of you who made it to such law schools. I am the oldest of an immigrant family and I want to do the best I can to help my family and become something in this society (of course by pursuing a career that interests me), but I feel that this dream is slowly diminishing with having no time to prep and getting an AWFULLY SAD diagnostic. In order to graduate on time I will have to take a may term course and one or two summer courses. My second dilemma is if from your experience taking summer classes is possible with LSAT studying. I do not know how heavy is the workload (Spanish classes, but non-Spanish native), and I want to make the LSAT my priority. I plan on quitting my job until the fall for this reason. Another possibility is two graduate next summer rather than in the spring.

Do you think I have a chance of hitting 170? At least past 165 in 3-4 months? I have to admit, LG are really hard. I am not used to this mode of thinking. I am bad with figuring out what needs to be deduced. I hope this will come with practice.

Should I postpone taking the LSAT until December?

I also would like to sign-up for a Testmasters course during the summer. Would that be of help?

From your experience, should I quit KAPLAN and just start doing practice exams questions?

I know I have written a lot and I humbly apologize if this post has been made in the past.

P.S could my low LSAT score have been due to being a bad standardized test taker? My ACT was 18 and 21, but my GPA does not reflect that accordingly.

THANK YOU SO MUCH in advance!

[Mikey]

You can definitely study for the LSAT while taking summer courses. It's the same as having a full time job and studying for the LSAT, except you'll be in school. Don't let your diagnostic score get you down, trust me, I scored in the low 140's for my diagnostic 3 months ago and I've come a long way with my studies (taking in June for the first time). Also, don't use Kaplan, they're really not that great for teaching the LSAT. Instead, look up information on here about what books/materials to get, everyone here is very helpful! Some materials you may see are powerscore's LG bible, Manhattan's LR book, 7sage LG videos, etc.

Also, since you think logic games are hard, I have some what good news for you. You might not believe me at this moment but logic games are the easiest LSAT section to learn. I didn't believe it at first and thought that I would never learn how to do them, but now I do fairly well on them! If T14 is your goal, don't let it go and kick the LSAT's ass to get into your favored school!

P.S: Don't take the June LSAT just to get the experience. You will be risking not having that additional retake if you don't do well once you have intensely studied for the test.

[TLou21]

You can definitely study for the LSAT while taking summer courses. It's the same as having a full time job and studying for the LSAT, except you'll be in school. Don't let your diagnostic score get you down, trust me, I scored in the low 140's for my diagnostic 3 months ago and I've come a long way with my studies (taking in June for the first time). Also, don't use Kaplan, they're really not that great for teaching the LSAT. Instead, look up information on here about what books/materials to get, everyone here is very helpful! Some materials you may see are powerscore's LG bible, Manhattan's LR book, 7sage LG videos, etc.

Also, since you think logic games are hard, I have some what good news for you. You might not believe me at this moment but logic games are the easiest LSAT section to learn. I didn't believe it at first and thought that I would never learn how to do them, but now I do fairly well on them! If T14 is your goal, don't let it go and kick the LSAT's ass to get into your favored school!

P.S: Don't take the June LSAT just to get the experience. You will be risking not having that additional retake if you don't do well once you have intensely studied for the test.

TheMikey thank you so much for your comment!! I started to think that no one would respond.

I'm glad that there is some hope out there. I just want to be able yo devote time to studying for the LSAT because it is so important but my class schedule is not making this feasible. I have heard about Kaplan not being a good source to study from as well. So far I have been content with their logic games method. I do not know how it performs on the other subjects though. I have the Powerscore LG Bible but I am afraid that learning a different process will set me back. What is your take on this? Have you had experience with both companies? Do you use the study books or do you only use practice tests? Would you mind telling me how long did it take you to begin performing satisfactorily and what scores have you been achieving? Just so I can get a perspective.

As regards to taking the December LSAT, your advice is appreciated. I had not thought about it that way. I think I may have to do it that way.

Thanks a lot!!