Any advice on what materials to study from during Sept-Dec? Forum

[lgsb2014]

Hey everyone,
I optimistically thought back in July that I would be able to improve my 141 diagnostic into a 165 by Sept 24. I'm still at 147 so I'm 80% sure i'm not taking the Sept LSAT. I signed up for the test masters course this summer so I will lose access to everything after the September LSAT. I got the course on scholarship so I can't afford to buy another full, live LSAT score. Does anyone have any advise on what materials to study from? I'm really hoping to take the December LSAT and crack the 160s. My worst section is LR. My current stats are 3.4, URM, hoping for a top 20 admission with $$

[floatie]

You'll still have the testmasters books, so I would keep doing the LR problems (if you have any left that you haven't finished) and look up the answers/explanations on other forums. 7sage is probably the cheapest online course; I think their basic course is under $200. You can also get the PowerScore books off amazon for a decent price.

[studyingeveryday]

I was encouraged to get the LSAT Trainer here and it's been so helpful! Look up the trainer schedules online and pick one (at this rate, maybe the 8 week schedule)--just make sure you have at least a couple weeks after you finish the book to drill/PT and focus on your weak areas.

[lnsl123]

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[lgsb2014]

I would not recommend 7Sage at this point as you would be at a time disadvantage for the December test. I'm taking the December LSAT and currently using 7Sage and have one week left of core curriculum. If you studied full-time using 7Sage you would have little time to take the PTs and do blind review. I've heard the LSAT Trainer is a great method and is a better economical choice given it's similar price to the PowerScore Bibles but includes all three sections in one book.

But I think the bigger consideration is your method vs. materials. You don't have a lot of time to learn knew material right now and still have enough time to do PTs with blind review. So I'd ask you whether you're doing blind review and how many PTs you've taken.

Wow. I'm now even considering February LSAT. I'm not doing blind review. I go into LR not completly sure of what I'm looking for. In my initial diagnostic I only got 9 questions wrong on the LR section. Right now I get a little over half wrong on these sections. I'm thinking of studying the LR bible, hoping it helps with my accuracy.

[USayinBoalt]

Don't take it in December. Study until your practice tests are a few points above your target score and then take the test

[LegallyBlackJD]

Manhattan Prep books are great for LR and Logic Games. They really break things down into concepts that aren't so scary

[Barack O'Drama]

Don't take it in December. Study until your practice tests are a few points above your target score and then take the test

OP, this is the best strategy.

Forget dates and start thinking about your goals...

I recommend the 7Sage course, The LSAT Trainer, Manhattan Prep. If you can, I'd recommend going through all of them if you can afford to.

I also am a fan of Powerscore LR Bible, even though I think Manhattan Prep LR book is better overall; I do think the LRB is a bit more user-friendly.

For LR you need to be able to weed through the excess verbiage in the stimulus and identify the argument core with surgical precision, identify the conclusion first then the reasoning and figure out why the premises do not completely substantiate the conclusion (there will always be at least one reason, there has to be). If you're able to pre-phase an answer it'll make it easier for you to identify the correct answer

[lgsb2014]

Don't take it in December. Study until your practice tests are a few points above your target score and then take the test

OP, this is the best strategy.

Forget dates and start thinking about your goals...

I recommend the 7Sage course, The LSAT Trainer, Manhattan Prep. If you can, I'd recommend going through all of them if you can afford to.

I also am a fan of Powerscore LR Bible, even though I think Manhattan Prep LR book is better overall; I do think the LRB is a bit more user-friendly.

For LR you need to be able to weed through the excess verbiage in the stimulus and identify the argument core with surgical precision, identify the conclusion first then the reasoning and figure out why the premises do not completely substantiate the conclusion (there will always be at least one reason, there has to be). If you're able to pre-phase an answer it'll make it easier for you to identify the correct answer

Thanks so much for the advise!

[cm4998]

I'm in the same boat as you (same diagnostic 141, also finishing up a classroom course which wasn't too helpful), however, I'm not taking my test until June 2017. I was told by users here on TLS to try out the LSAT Trainer and the powerscore bibles as well. I'm one week into the bible, only working through the LR sections, and holy s*#t, it has been tremendous.

It has completely changed the way I think about and approach LR questions. I would initially spend so much time trying to understand the stimulus and figuring out the correct anticipation or assumption for the correct choice based on the methods I was taught. Now, my approach is a lot faster and more accurate than before. Totally recommend getting the Trainer and working out of that first, especially if you already have some knowledge of the fundamentals which you learned in your course.

(Thank you Barack O'Drama and all TLS users!)

[lgsb2014]

I'm in the same boat as you (same diagnostic 141, also finishing up a classroom course which wasn't too helpful), however, I'm not taking my test until June 2017. I was told by users here on TLS to try out the LSAT Trainer and the powerscore bibles as well. I'm one week into the bible, only working through the LR sections, and holy s*#t, it has been tremendous.

It has completely changed the way I think about and approach LR questions. I would initially spend so much time trying to understand the stimulus and figuring out the correct anticipation or assumption for the correct choice based on the methods I was taught. Now, my approach is a lot faster and more accurate than before. Totally recommend getting the Trainer and working out of that first, especially if you already have some knowledge of the fundamentals which you learned in your course.

(Thank you Barack O'Drama and all TLS users!)

I will look into the LSAT Trainer. I'm also thinking of purchasing the 7sage course
Thanks for your input. It's been very helpful and encouraging