Studying high for the LSAT Forum

[scalawag]

So what are you doing for this test? Telling everyone you quit smoking marijuana to study for the LSAT?

I personally have been smoking pot while studying for the LSAT.

Not to take a 420 blaze 'em down attitude but do you think you can study for this test on weed?

It's great for reviewing Logic Games - when you watch 7 Sage you don't think "Move on to that part I don't know already" you pay attention to exactly what he says. It has a similar effect for curriculum. You'll be intent and thorough, and it's good to be intent and thorough with that stuff.

I've also found that for me it provides a healthy level of anxiety, if I need to have a healthy level of anxiety to get up and work on something.

I hate to say it, though, but I think it slows me down. I went -13 on a Logic Game section. I quit drilling LG but I'm thinking it might just be because I was smoking pot.

Obviously that fucking kid from Suits could do it, what was his name, Mike, fuck that fucking kid.

This is how I chose to break it down. I realize there's timed and non-timed drilling but I chose to lump those two into one category.

[maybeman]

I would stop or at least minimize it. Short term memory is critical for the LSAT. Whether or not you believe studies that show weed affects your memory are accurate, why risk it? Just my opinion though--you know your body better than anybody else.

[scalawag]

Yea I'm gonna only smoke when I do curriculum and review work. If I smoke, I don't have to.

Was mainly interested to see how it affects people across the board.

[Sprout]

If you're going to smoke before the actual exam then smoke before/while you study. State-dependent learning is a real thing. Otherwise I would stop.

[Deardevil]

Obviously that fucking kid from Suits could do it, what was his name, Mike, fuck that fucking kid.

Thanks for the laugh.

I personally don't smoke, but I do know someone who does 420 blaze it, and she's one of the smartest people I've ever met.
Her intelligence probably doesn't have much to do with weed, but her consistency is unfathomable, given that she smokes a TON.
Of course, she could be part of the one percent, but to sum up, substance should not affect TOO much... Unless we're talking shrooms.

[pandaempire212]

.

[Barack O'Drama]

I pretty much second everything already said.

I'd stop just because I don't think it is really going to help you learn anything. Maybe music or something, but very cerebral arguments and making deductions under timed pressure.... Ehh..

Then again, who knows you better than yourself?

From what you mention though, I don't think it is helping and possibly hurting. So I'd stop smoking while/before studying. But if you want to dance with mary jane at night, after studying is completed, I can get behind that. No different from me having a scotch.

[rpupkin]

If smoking pot helps you study, or if it helps you relax after studying, then do it. But if it seems to significantly interfere with your studying, then don't do it. Same goes for alcohol. Or caffeine.

All this lifestyle stuff--sleep, diet, exercise, drugs--varies a lot from individual to individual. There's no general rule; you have to find what works best for you.

[USayinBoalt]

I think Spivey had a blog post about this

[MyNameIsntJames]

So what are you doing for this test? Telling everyone you quit smoking marijuana to study for the LSAT?

I personally have been smoking pot while studying for the LSAT.

Not to take a 420 blaze 'em down attitude but do you think you can study for this test on weed?

It's great for reviewing Logic Games - when you watch 7 Sage you don't think "Move on to that part I don't know already" you pay attention to exactly what he says. It has a similar effect for curriculum. You'll be intent and thorough, and it's good to be intent and thorough with that stuff.

I've also found that for me it provides a healthy level of anxiety, if I need to have a healthy level of anxiety to get up and work on something.

I hate to say it, though, but I think it slows me down. I went -13 on a Logic Game section. I quit drilling LG but I'm thinking it might just be because I was smoking pot.

Obviously that fucking kid from Suits could do it, what was his name, Mike, fuck that fucking kid.

This is how I chose to break it down. I realize there's timed and non-timed drilling but I chose to lump those two into one category.

As someone who smoked pot almost religiously from high school through college, I can confidently say its not a great idea to study high.

Can you still manage to comprehend the questions? Sure. You're just not going to be at your maximum functionality and in that regard, it just wastes your time. I'm sure you smoke enough weed to where you aren't high as shit everytime you smoke, but you're on a pretty good level...but its still just a waste in my opinion.

1.) I personally just am not that motivated to study when I'm high. I don't like doing things that require an intense amount of concentration when I get high.
2.) Whenever I've tried to study high I just end up saying "Damn it I probably would've got this right if I weren't high as shit right now.
3.) It's just a waste.

I disagree with people who say don't smoke weed at all during the weeks leading up to the LSAT. I think if you're a straight up pothead like me and probably most people who graduated from college were, you're going to end up smoking weed regardless. Just do it when you aren't studying, before you go to sleep, hanging with friends. Really pointless to do it right before you want to study for LSAT. You're not going to be that concentrated, your mind is gonna move slower and make it impossible to finish a timed section and thinking through strings of logic is gonna be tedious as fuck stoned. Trust me. Its just annoying more than anything. It feels like going jogging with weights on your ankles and still trying to run as fast as you normally do. Sure you might manage it, but the effort involve might be doubled or tripled.

[MyNameIsntJames]

If I'm gonna do drugs on this shit its gonna be adderall if anything lmao. Not weed.

[scalawag]

So what are you doing for this test? Telling everyone you quit smoking marijuana to study for the LSAT?

I personally have been smoking pot while studying for the LSAT.

Not to take a 420 blaze 'em down attitude but do you think you can study for this test on weed?

It's great for reviewing Logic Games - when you watch 7 Sage you don't think "Move on to that part I don't know already" you pay attention to exactly what he says. It has a similar effect for curriculum. You'll be intent and thorough, and it's good to be intent and thorough with that stuff.

I've also found that for me it provides a healthy level of anxiety, if I need to have a healthy level of anxiety to get up and work on something.

I hate to say it, though, but I think it slows me down. I went -13 on a Logic Game section. I quit drilling LG but I'm thinking it might just be because I was smoking pot.

Obviously that fucking kid from Suits could do it, what was his name, Mike, fuck that fucking kid.

This is how I chose to break it down. I realize there's timed and non-timed drilling but I chose to lump those two into one category.

As someone who smoked pot almost religiously from high school through college, I can confidently say its not a great idea to study high.

Can you still manage to comprehend the questions? Sure. You're just not going to be at your maximum functionality and in that regard, it just wastes your time. I'm sure you smoke enough weed to where you aren't high as shit everytime you smoke, but you're on a pretty good level...but its still just a waste in my opinion.

1.) I personally just am not that motivated to study when I'm high. I don't like doing things that require an intense amount of concentration when I get high.
2.) Whenever I've tried to study high I just end up saying "Damn it I probably would've got this right if I weren't high as shit right now.
3.) It's just a waste.

I disagree with people who say don't smoke weed at all during the weeks leading up to the LSAT. I think if you're a straight up pothead like me and probably most people who graduated from college were, you're going to end up smoking weed regardless. Just do it when you aren't studying, before you go to sleep, hanging with friends. Really pointless to do it right before you want to study for LSAT. You're not going to be that concentrated, your mind is gonna move slower and make it impossible to finish a timed section and thinking through strings of logic is gonna be tedious as fuck stoned. Trust me. Its just annoying more than anything. It feels like going jogging with weights on your ankles and still trying to run as fast as you normally do. Sure you might manage it, but the effort involve might be doubled or tripled.

Yea I'm not going to get high and study anymore.

[TakeItToTrial]

Here is my anecdotal observation:

I used to be a all day, every day smoker. I quit a few weeks before my first LSAT attempt and was surprised to see my PT scores take a significant dive. I believe quitting negatively affected my ability to concentrate. I am currently prepping for the September LSAT and haven't smoked in almost two months. My scores are higher than they ever were while smoking consistently, and I feel that I have a better overall grasp of the material.

Moral of the story: If you are an everyday stoner, I wouldn't quit at this point, unless you're taking the December test and have enough time to flush your system completely before it's showtime. You don't want to be suffering from chemical-imbalance-induced concentration issues in the weeks leading up to the test.

[pandaempire212]

If I'm gonna do drugs on this shit its gonna be adderall if anything lmao. Not weed.

Be careful what you wish for bro. Adderall is the kiss of death on this test. I had to ween off it just to be able to combat RC, let alone do well on that section. Adderall makes you hyper-focused, and gives you really bad tunnel vision. Good luck getting not bogged down in the details in an RC passage, or coming up with inferences in a logic game.. Trust me, stay away. I'd take ganja over adderall anyday in preparation for the beast.. but never study high, just at the end of the day... better for you than drinking anyway

[MyNameIsntJames]

If I'm gonna do drugs on this shit its gonna be adderall if anything lmao. Not weed.

Be careful what you wish for bro. Adderall is the kiss of death on this test. I had to ween off it just to be able to combat RC, let alone do well on that section. Adderall makes you hyper-focused, and gives you really bad tunnel vision. Good luck getting not bogged down in the details in an RC passage, or coming up with inferences in a logic game.. Trust me, stay away. I'd take ganja over adderall anyday in preparation for the beast.. but never study high, just at the end of the day... better for you than drinking anyway

That's probably because your tolerance is very low and you're taking a dosage that's too high for you+not even having ADD at all.

I am all too aware of the over-analysis effect of adderall in higher doses. You lock in on minute details, get overconfident about answers which increases your error rate, and sometimes pick out little details to the extent that it actually slows your progress or decreases your mental flexibility when it comes to problem solving tasks like LG.

So yes, you are completely right that it CAN affect you in that regard. However, if you are prescribed and adjust to it naturally or you are able to consistently get it from a friend (I'm not judging) long enough for your body to build up a tolerance, then many of those negative effects will disappear entirely. This is the same with most medications truly. That's why when you go to your doctor and they prescribe you a new medication they want you to follow-up with them so they can see the severity of your side affects and adjust your medication on a scheduled basis so that your body can acclimate to the new substance being introduced into it without reacting to it so radically.

Its the same reason why people who have been taking the medicine for a month are finally able to regain their appetites again and assume a somewhat normal sleep schedule. I'm sure you know folks who, when they first started taking adderall, they weren't eating or getting a wink of sleep. This usually exacerbates the ill effects even further.

Many new/illegal adderall users don't know any of this information above and they just assume this is how adderall actually works. I can assure you that the effects you listed above are purely the result of 1.) Not having the condition necessary for this medication and/or 2.) Taking too high of a dose.


So, in conclusion: If you aren't prescribed adderall or you haven't been taking it for several weeks already, it would be a terrible idea to begin taking it now for your September exam. However, if you HAVE been prescribed adderall or you have been taking it for a long period of time (not abusing), then it will probably be pretty beneficial for you on this exam.

Take what I said with a grain of salt lmao.

[MyNameIsntJames]

Here is my anecdotal observation:

I used to be a all day, every day smoker. I quit a few weeks before my first LSAT attempt and was surprised to see my PT scores take a significant dive. I believe quitting negatively affected my ability to concentrate. I am currently prepping for the September LSAT and haven't smoked in almost two months. My scores are higher than they ever were while smoking consistently, and I feel that I have a better overall grasp of the material.

Moral of the story: If you are an everyday stoner, I wouldn't quit at this point, unless you're taking the December test and have enough time to flush your system completely before it's showtime. You don't want to be suffering from chemical-imbalance-induced concentration issues in the weeks leading up to the test.

Mmmm.... I'm not sure if I can buy this. While your scores on PTs are higher than they've ever been, you also have had more study time than you've ever had before too. So how do we know this is due to you quitting weed instead of the cumulative effects of all the studying that you've been doing?


Jesus Christ...I just realized what you typed would've made an amazing LSAT problem lmfao. I could see the stem now, "What assumption is the author making?" lmaooo

[A. Nony Mouse]

I would think they can compare their own ability to concentrate while smoking and while not smoking and compare the two and come a conclusion that not smoking helps, though.

[Blueprint Mithun]

So what are you doing for this test? Telling everyone you quit smoking marijuana to study for the LSAT?

I personally have been smoking pot while studying for the LSAT.

Not to take a 420 blaze 'em down attitude but do you think you can study for this test on weed?

It's great for reviewing Logic Games - when you watch 7 Sage you don't think "Move on to that part I don't know already" you pay attention to exactly what he says. It has a similar effect for curriculum. You'll be intent and thorough, and it's good to be intent and thorough with that stuff.

I've also found that for me it provides a healthy level of anxiety, if I need to have a healthy level of anxiety to get up and work on something.

I hate to say it, though, but I think it slows me down. I went -13 on a Logic Game section. I quit drilling LG but I'm thinking it might just be because I was smoking pot.

Obviously that fucking kid from Suits could do it, what was his name, Mike, fuck that fucking kid.

This is how I chose to break it down. I realize there's timed and non-timed drilling but I chose to lump those two into one category.

Thanks for this topic, this made me smile.

Like people have mentioned, it's something to be considered on person by person basis. I have friends who are perfectly functional while high. Personally, I've found that I'm the same in some regards, but when it comes to intellectually-heavy activities like reading or writing, blazing is sort of like entering hard mode. It might be easier to stay focused on videos and such, but I feel like I have to concentrate a lot harder to actually absorb the information. And after an hour or two, I'm burnt out. I didn't have access while I was prepping (I was abroad at the time), and I think that was definitely a positive.

As with any substances, if you choose to use them to help you study, and especially while you take preptests, you're going to see the most similar results if you use them for the actual test too. So keep that in mind - your routine has a big effect on your mental state and preparedness.

[HonestAdvice]

Some people would do better smoking the night before the LSAT, but only those who generally find marijuana relaxing.

[TakeItToTrial]

Here is my anecdotal observation:

I used to be a all day, every day smoker. I quit a few weeks before my first LSAT attempt and was surprised to see my PT scores take a significant dive. I believe quitting negatively affected my ability to concentrate. I am currently prepping for the September LSAT and haven't smoked in almost two months. My scores are higher than they ever were while smoking consistently, and I feel that I have a better overall grasp of the material.

Moral of the story: If you are an everyday stoner, I wouldn't quit at this point, unless you're taking the December test and have enough time to flush your system completely before it's showtime. You don't want to be suffering from chemical-imbalance-induced concentration issues in the weeks leading up to the test.

Mmmm.... I'm not sure if I can buy this. While your scores on PTs are higher than they've ever been, you also have had more study time than you've ever had before too. So how do we know this is due to you quitting weed instead of the cumulative effects of all the studying that you've been doing?


Jesus Christ...I just realized what you typed would've made an amazing LSAT problem lmfao. I could see the stem now, "What assumption is the author making?" lmaooo

I'm not saying quitting smoking is the only relevant factor, but I do believe it has helped me stabilize my concentration and internalize test-taking strategy. Also, even if I am making that assumption, it doesn't mean it isn't warranted.

While smoking daily after studying, I noticed I would PT best in the early morning, while still half-baked from the night before. By the afternoon, my focus would diminish as the calming effect from the night before wore off. Keep in mind this is purely anecdotal.

As I said in my first reply, my main point is, if you're an everyday smoker, it may not be smart to quit 1-2 weeks before the test. Either stay the course, or quit a couple months out and flush your system completely.

[rpupkin]

Were you high when you wrote that poll question?

[TakeItToTrial]

I would think they can compare their own ability to concentrate while smoking and while not smoking and compare the two and come a conclusion that not smoking helps, though.

Yes

[bmathers]

I would be very wary of doing this simply because you should best try to simulate testing conditions and being in an equivalent "state" - disregarding any scientific research on the impact on short-term memory/recall by cannabis. I would recommend not studying in a certain state, and then testing in another.

[scalawag]

Were you high when you wrote that poll question?

Yes, I was on pot when I wrote the poll.

[pandaempire212]

If I'm gonna do drugs on this shit its gonna be adderall if anything lmao. Not weed.

Be careful what you wish for bro. Adderall is the kiss of death on this test. I had to ween off it just to be able to combat RC, let alone do well on that section. Adderall makes you hyper-focused, and gives you really bad tunnel vision. Good luck getting not bogged down in the details in an RC passage, or coming up with inferences in a logic game.. Trust me, stay away. I'd take ganja over adderall anyday in preparation for the beast.. but never study high, just at the end of the day... better for you than drinking anyway

That's probably because your tolerance is very low and you're taking a dosage that's too high for you+not even having ADD at all.

I am all too aware of the over-analysis effect of adderall in higher doses. You lock in on minute details, get overconfident about answers which increases your error rate, and sometimes pick out little details to the extent that it actually slows your progress or decreases your mental flexibility when it comes to problem solving tasks like LG.

So yes, you are completely right that it CAN affect you in that regard. However, if you are prescribed and adjust to it naturally or you are able to consistently get it from a friend (I'm not judging) long enough for your body to build up a tolerance, then many of those negative effects will disappear entirely. This is the same with most medications truly. That's why when you go to your doctor and they prescribe you a new medication they want you to follow-up with them so they can see the severity of your side affects and adjust your medication on a scheduled basis so that your body can acclimate to the new substance being introduced into it without reacting to it so radically.

Its the same reason why people who have been taking the medicine for a month are finally able to regain their appetites again and assume a somewhat normal sleep schedule. I'm sure you know folks who, when they first started taking adderall, they weren't eating or getting a wink of sleep. This usually exacerbates the ill effects even further.

Many new/illegal adderall users don't know any of this information above and they just assume this is how adderall actually works. I can assure you that the effects you listed above are purely the result of 1.) Not having the condition necessary for this medication and/or 2.) Taking too high of a dose.


So, in conclusion: If you aren't prescribed adderall or you haven't been taking it for several weeks already, it would be a terrible idea to begin taking it now for your September exam. However, if you HAVE been prescribed adderall or you have been taking it for a long period of time (not abusing), then it will probably be pretty beneficial for you on this exam.

Take what I said with a grain of salt lmao.

Nah fam, I've been prescribed Adderall since 2007. I'm well versed in the amphetamine world (aren't I a winner?) , and have taken Vyvanse and Dexadrine as well. Im currently prescribed 50 mg; 30xr and 20IR. Adderall is amazing for reading, studying in general, and at times writing. But to score high, (no pun intended), on the beast you need to think outside the box. The tunnel vision is nearly impossible to overcome if you're looking to score 170+. I blame adderall for not being able to cross that threshold. (at 167ish right now)