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Greetings everyone,

I have been interested in law school for quite some time. Yesterday I decided to take the official June 2007 LSAT preptest from the LSAC website under test day conditions (35 minutes each section). I did have distractions around me, such as my brother watching South Park of all things in the other room.

I have done zero studying for the LSAT. I am eager to begin studying, but I have come here to ask advice as to when and how long I should study. I am currently a junior at UCLA with a GPA of 3.93. I have set a tentative goal to take the June 2017 LSAT, but part of me wants to take a stab at the February 2017 LSAT.

I have read that law school should an aspiration taken up with care. I have considered interning with a law office next summer in order to confirm whether law school is the right path for me.

As of right now, the only studying material I have is the latest edition of the PowerScore Logical Reasoning Bible (which I have not opened). I have done some reading and from what I gather, the Logical Reasoning and Logic Games bibles from PowerScore are highly recommended. In addition, I read that 7Sage is well worth looking at. My intention is to self-study with the aforementioned materials and then buy previous offical LSAT tests to practice with. It is my intention to score a 172+ on the LSAT. I am only interested in law school if I can attend a T14 with substantial money, or a strong regional with a full scholarship (in my case, UCLA/USC).



So, in summary, I have a couple questions:

1) Is an LSAT score of 172+ feasible with my diagnostic score?
2) How much studying should I expect to undertake in order to achieve this goal by February? June? If June, would I be at risk of burning out if I started casually studying now (reading the PowerScore bibles and maybe taking a practice test every week or so)?

Thank you for your time!

Cheolf wrote:So, in summary, I have a couple questions:

1) Is an LSAT score of 172+ feasible with my diagnostic score?
2) How much studying should I expect to undertake in order to achieve this goal by February? June? If June, would I be at risk of burning out if I started casually studying now (reading the PowerScore bibles and maybe taking a practice test every week or so)?

Thank you for your time!

1) Yes. I got a 156 on my first PT and my best PT score was a 172. I've read stories of people who started off with a lower score and got mid to upper 170s as well.
2) That really depends on you and how your mind adapts to the style of the test. It could be a couple months that you see the results you're looking for. It could be much more. LSAT isn't the kind of test where there is hard data that once you learn, you will immediately see results. It's more a test of subtleties that challenge how you think. I don't think the schedule you've outlined would risk burnout, although that depends on your schedule outside of practicing and how much work and school you do. Given that there are only four solid months between now and Februrary, for me, one test a week would not be enough, but again, it could end up that you see results quickly. However, honing in on your flaws is crucial for success more so than number of PTs probably.

I see your point. Yeah, February is likely far too ambitious, particularly if I wish to maintain my GPA. If I did decide to do February, I would be studying far more than my plan for June (2-3 tests a week). But you are right, four months is really not enough time to improve by such a large margin. So, June will be the first time I take the LSAT. I also have the option of the September LSAT if I am unsatisfied with my June performance.

Also, December or January is the time where I would kick my studying into full gear in preparation for the June LSAT.

Congrats on the diagnostic, it's several points higher than what most score on their actual take. I won't say that your score guarantees that you will score in the 170s, because it doesn't, but you definitely have the potential to score in that range. My diagnostic was a couple points higher (159) and after 4 months of studying using 7sage I scored a 177 on the real thing. Good luck and study up.

1. Simple answer: yes. I've PTed as high as 174 and started around where you are currently. BUT, it all depends on how well you study and whether or not you're able to grasp the necessary concepts to improve your score.
2. I would hold off on February. Not really a point to rushing it. The question of burnout is a personal one. It depends on how you study... I think most people experience burnout at one point or another, usually once they've started to really dig in to studying. If anything, that'd just be a sign that you need to take a couple days off from LSAT studying. Not a huge problem as long as you're attentive and give yourself time to relax when you think it's needed. As far as how you should study, I recommend following a study guide. The LSAT Trainer comes with a study guide that follows the book and also incorporates PTs, BUT it does pull a lot from NEWER PTs. I used lawschooli's schedule my first go around which consists of LSAT Trainer, a ton of PTs, and the Bibles. They have a bunch of different ones for different time lengths which is nice. Used the LSAT Trainer guide my second go around but didn't do all of it because I was trying to polish up on specific areas rather than learn everything. It's reading from the Trainer, drills associated with that reading and later in the schedule, PTs. Lawschooli's costed $, Trainer's was free. I think the best way to study is to go through the Bibles and/or the Trainer and drill. Definitely blind review - it helps a lot. And once you feel you have a solid understanding of the concepts on the test, PT, PT, PT PT PTPTPTPTPTPTPT. Lol. DEFINITELY stick to some sort of schedule though. There will come a time where you start to feel less motivated.