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I'd love some advice on preparing for the LSAT in September (4 months to go)

I have familiarized myself with the format and done a little work on logical reasoning, but otherwise, I have not started studying. I will have plenty of time (at least an hour or two on weekdays + virtually all day Sat/Sun) to prepare this summer--starting this week. I will be taking an accelerated 2 day prep course in 2 weeks (through Powerscore), and I have purchased the Powerscore LSAT Logic Games Bible, as well as a bunch of practice tests.

For more background, I am an English major at a top 20 university with a 3.95 GPA. Unsurprisingly, my top concern is the logic games portion of the exam. That said, I could certainly use some help in the other two. With limited time, which books would you recommend, and how would you recommend formulating a study plan? I see some posters commenting that 7Sage is great for logic games--would this still apply for someone with such limited time?

Thanks in advance

You have plenty of time to prepare for the September LSAT. We could offer better advice if you took a diagnostic (the June 2007 test is available for free online) and provided us with a breakdown of your scores. Do not worry about LG yet. Four months is plenty of time to nail down approach, accuracy, and timing on LG.

Fellow English major here

Highly recommend manhattan for lr, but I'm a fan of powerscore's approach for games.

Games can be mastered more easily than the other sections. I would plan on doing every single published game, and then redo any/watch 7sage explanations of games where you miss even just one question. It's amazing how often you'll see the same games pop up.

LR will take longer, but there is also a lot of repetition involved here.

CottonHarvest wrote:You have plenty of time to prepare for the September LSAT. We could offer better advice if you took a diagnostic (the June 2007 test is available for free online) and provided us with a breakdown of your scores. Do not worry about LG yet. Four months is plenty of time to nail down approach, accuracy, and timing on LG.

Thanks, CottonHarvest. My score on June 2007 was 162. I got 15/23 on LGames (oof), 22/25 on the first LReasoning, 20/25 on the second, and 25/27 on RComp…so reading comprehension is pretty strong, logical reasoning is meh, and logic games are rough

cityb101 wrote:

CottonHarvest wrote:You have plenty of time to prepare for the September LSAT. We could offer better advice if you took a diagnostic (the June 2007 test is available for free online) and provided us with a breakdown of your scores. Do not worry about LG yet. Four months is plenty of time to nail down approach, accuracy, and timing on LG.

Thanks, CottonHarvest. My score on June 2007 was 162. I got 15/23 on LGames (oof), 22/25 on the first LReasoning, 20/25 on the second, and 25/27 on RComp…so reading comprehension is pretty strong, logical reasoning is meh, and logic games are rough

I took the test 3 times over a long period of time (long hours at a stressful job) before I got the high score I needed, so I had time to use a lot of different materials. I started with Powerscore LG and LR and Manhattan RC. Later I bought Manhattan LR and used the free 7 sage LG videos and the free online Manhattan LR explanations to review. If I could do it all again, I would have started by just buying the 7 sage package, at the very least for LG. Powerscore was good a getting the basics, but I found their system to be insufficiently flexible for getting close to perfect on LG. I felt I had skills that I could apply, but narrowly. The 7 sage videos gave tools that were broader and a way of thinking that was more adaptable. I have no idea how 7 sage is for the other two sections, but I would say that Powerscore/Manhattan LR books were pretty much just as good as one another and the Manhattan RC was a waste of money.

cityb101 wrote:

CottonHarvest wrote:You have plenty of time to prepare for the September LSAT. We could offer better advice if you took a diagnostic (the June 2007 test is available for free online) and provided us with a breakdown of your scores. Do not worry about LG yet. Four months is plenty of time to nail down approach, accuracy, and timing on LG.

Thanks, CottonHarvest. My score on June 2007 was 162. I got 15/23 on LGames (oof), 22/25 on the first LReasoning, 20/25 on the second, and 25/27 on RComp…so reading comprehension is pretty strong, logical reasoning is meh, and logic games are rough

This is a great starting point if this was a cold diagnostic. You should be able get games down to -1 or -0 and then you're already in the 170+ range. With your GPA that puts you in a great position for applying to law schools in the t14.

It was "cold" in that I hadn't ever attempted logic games or LSAT reading comprehension before--I've tried a few LR but haven't actually studied any techniques. Thanks for the vote of support! Really shooting for 172+.

My current plan is to really dive into logic games and logical reasoning techniques throughout the rest of May and beginning of June, and then I'll start taking practice tests (at least 3 a week) from June-August. Of course, during that time, I'll continue working on logic games and the other sections. Does this sound like a solid plan? I'm somewhat concerned about mixing LG techniques, but perhaps the different companies don't really have very different systems? Right now, looks like my study materials (not including practice tests) will be:

-the Blueprint for LSAT Logic Games (working through this now)
-PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible
-PowerScore LG Bible--wondering if this'll conflict with the Blueprint method
-Official LSAT SuperPrep
-7Sage videos as I work through PT
-whatever accelerated book thing PowerScore gives me with their weekend course

Anything I definitely need to add?

cityb101 wrote:It was "cold" in that I hadn't ever attempted logic games or LSAT reading comprehension before--I've tried a few LR but haven't actually studied any techniques. Thanks for the vote of support! Really shooting for 172+.

My current plan is to really dive into logic games and logical reasoning techniques throughout the rest of May and beginning of June, and then I'll start taking practice tests (at least 3 a week) from June-August. Of course, during that time, I'll continue working on logic games and the other sections. Does this sound like a solid plan? I'm somewhat concerned about mixing LG techniques, but perhaps the different companies don't really have very different systems? Right now, looks like my study materials (not including practice tests) will be:

-the Blueprint for LSAT Logic Games (working through this now)
-PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible
-PowerScore LG Bible--wondering if this'll conflict with the Blueprint method
-Official LSAT SuperPrep
-7Sage videos as I work through PT
-whatever accelerated book thing PowerScore gives me with their weekend course

Anything I definitely need to add?

Gonna caution you against starting PT's so early, or at least starting with 3 a week. Start off at 1 a week in the middle of June. But remember, taking a PT does you no good if you don't review and drill in between. 3 A week, plus review and drilling doesn't really seem feasible or sustainable. I would focus more heavily on drilling until July and then start at 1-2 PT's a week, and then maybe consider bumping that up.

Platopus wrote:

cityb101 wrote:It was "cold" in that I hadn't ever attempted logic games or LSAT reading comprehension before--I've tried a few LR but haven't actually studied any techniques. Thanks for the vote of support! Really shooting for 172+.

My current plan is to really dive into logic games and logical reasoning techniques throughout the rest of May and beginning of June, and then I'll start taking practice tests (at least 3 a week) from June-August. Of course, during that time, I'll continue working on logic games and the other sections. Does this sound like a solid plan? I'm somewhat concerned about mixing LG techniques, but perhaps the different companies don't really have very different systems? Right now, looks like my study materials (not including practice tests) will be:

-the Blueprint for LSAT Logic Games (working through this now)
-PowerScore LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible
-PowerScore LG Bible--wondering if this'll conflict with the Blueprint method
-Official LSAT SuperPrep
-7Sage videos as I work through PT
-whatever accelerated book thing PowerScore gives me with their weekend course

Anything I definitely need to add?

Gonna caution you against starting PT's so early, or at least starting with 3 a week. Start off at 1 a week in the middle of June. But remember, taking a PT does you no good if you don't review and drill in between. 3 A week, plus review and drilling doesn't really seem feasible or sustainable. I would focus more heavily on drilling until July and then start at 1-2 PT's a week, and then maybe consider bumping that up.

That makes total sense, Platypus! Thanks. I'll really commit to strengthening my abilities in LG and LR before starting to take multiple practice tests

Take 1 practice test, timed.

Get LRB and other test prep books. Self-study (if really disciplined) or sign up for a class (if you need some social pressure to study). Take practice tests every week and REVIEW YOUR WRONG ANSWERS. Be sure you understand what you did wrong. Discuss with friends (or if you have no friends IRL studying for hte LSAT find a forum for this sort of thing -- https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewt ... 519#p35519. Don't freak out. Repeat.