Evaluate my study plan (Please) Forum

[jci007]

Hello Everyone,

Just a little background on my situation starting off.

Cold Diagnostic: 158
Goal: 165+
Date: September 2017

My materials:
Powerscore Bibles
Manhattan Prep LR
7Sage premium
LSAT Official Superprep I & II

My Plan
I want to start off by going through the Bibles from Powerscore and possibly swapping out the Powerscore LR for the Manhattan one. I want to get through the Bibles in their entirety in the next 2-3 weeks. After that, I'll start going through some of the PT's at a rate of about 3-4 per week. I was planning on using 7Sage videos to go over the questions I get wrong and use the instructional videos to shore up some of my weaknesses.

Questions for you
1) Should I swap out the Powerscore LR Bible for Manhattan?
2) General impressions on my plan/advice on how to improve it.

[Platopus]

First off, you're goal is a 180, not a 165. Don't limit yourself so early, I feel like so much of this test is mental energy and the confidence that comes from preparing well. Several people have had similar diagnostics and done very, very well.

As far as your plan is concerned, I would slow down a bit on the books. Aim to finish them in about 5-6 weeks. You really should be getting everything out of them before heading into the fray. Work through the LG Powerscore bible first. Do all the games in the books and don't worry about drills. After you've completed the book, start drilling LG and use 7 sage's free youtube videos for reference on every game. Work on just games for about 2-3 weeks until you start to feel comfortable with the material. Then start the LR Powescore bible. Again work through the entire book. After, start doing LR drills from tests 1-40ish, mixing in LG drills. I would suggest going through Powerscore first, and then going through Manhattan's LR. I found that Manhattan complemented Powerscore very well. After than, repeat the process w/ RC.

Don't worry about your next full practice test until you've done about a month of drilling with all section types. Your first goal is accuracy. When drilling don't worry about timing until you can consistently get no more than -2 un-timed. For PT's 3-4 a week is way, way too much. Start w/ 1 a week, and move to 2 a week. Getting better comes from thorough review, not necessarily just getting through the material. If you haven't already, get your hands on all the PT's you can, right now there are 80 of them. Before September, there will be 81.

Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep positive, but don't be afraid of going slow and actually learning the material. The urge to push through and start "practicing" with drills is real, but it's dangerous. A 170+ is definitely doable w/ your diagnostic. Best of luck!

[jci007]

First off, you're goal is a 180, not a 165. Don't limit yourself so early, I feel like so much of this test is mental energy and the confidence that comes from preparing well. Several people have had similar diagnostics and done very, very well.

As far as your plan is concerned, I would slow down a bit on the books. Aim to finish them in about 5-6 weeks. You really should be getting everything out of them before heading into the fray. Work through the LG Powerscore bible first. Do all the games in the books and don't worry about drills. After you've completed the book, start drilling LG and use 7 sage's free youtube videos for reference on every game. Work on just games for about 2-3 weeks until you start to feel comfortable with the material. Then start the LR Powescore bible. Again work through the entire book. After, start doing LR drills from tests 1-40ish, mixing in LG drills. I would suggest going through Powerscore first, and then going through Manhattan's LR. I found that Manhattan complemented Powerscore very well. After than, repeat the process w/ RC.

Don't worry about your next full practice test until you've done about a month of drilling with all section types. Your first goal is accuracy. When drilling don't worry about timing until you can consistently get no more than -2 un-timed. For PT's 3-4 a week is way, way too much. Start w/ 1 a week, and move to 2 a week. Getting better comes from thorough review, not necessarily just getting through the material. If you haven't already, get your hands on all the PT's you can, right now there are 80 of them. Before September, there will be 81.

Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep positive, but don't be afraid of going slow and actually learning the material. The urge to push through and start "practicing" with drills is real, but it's dangerous. A 170+ is definitely doable w/ your diagnostic. Best of luck!

Thank you so much for the advice. I really appreciate the advice and positive reinforcement.