My rough study plan.. advice, tips, critique? Forum

[King of the North]

So I've been studying for about a week now. I took the June 2007 test and got a 153. I decided I'd begin with logical reasoning since that's what half the test consists of. I am currently working my way through the LSAT Trainer book. My plan is to work on logical reasoning first, then when I'm starting to feel comfortable with that, I am going to throw in logic games in as well, and after that reading comprehension. I work full-time 8-5 on M-F, but am free after work. My plan is to study three hours each weekday, and then study around six hours on Saturday and six on Sunday. I think it's doable and I think I can study for even longer on the weekend days as I approach closer to test time, if need be.

In a perfect world, I would study for the next five months, take the test in December, and go to school next year. My ugpa was a 3.5. If I can get into Vandy with some scholarship money, I'd be happy.

So.. tips, tricks, advice? How am I looking here? I plan on using the LSAT Trainer for LR and RC, LGB for LG, and then I was hoping for advice on additional material that would be good for LG and RC, and LR if need be.

Thanks everyone.

[MercW07]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

[King of the North]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

Glad to meet someone who is in the same boat as I am. I think I'm going to continue reading through the LSAT Trainer. He includes practice sections for you to work on from real exams, so fortunately I'll get some practice in and won't simply be reading. So as far as the LR and LG bibles, and the 7sage, which ones do you find most helpful for each section? Did you purchase a 7sage package? I thought I read somewhere that 7sage provides free video explanations for questions, so I may just use the 7sage for that and for any other free material they offer.

When are you planning on taking the test?

[gsy987]

Yeah this is pretty similar to my schedule (I also had a full time job while studying for the LSAT.)

2 things though:
1. Don't be afraid to take days off every so often. You'll hit diminishing returns pretty quickly after studying for 5+ hours on a weekend...and there's no harm with taking a day or weekend off to do fun things.
2. I'd highly recommend some kind of tutoring service (online or live) if you can afford it. There's two excellent reasons for this: 1. logic games are REALLY hard to figure out w/o one (I think the commenter above mentioned that) and 2. It'll help give you a schedule to stick to...which is half the battle when you're studying for this test.

[King of the North]

Yeah this is pretty similar to my schedule (I also had a full time job while studying for the LSAT.)

2 things though:
1. Don't be afraid to take days off every so often. You'll hit diminishing returns pretty quickly after studying for 5+ hours on a weekend...and there's no harm with taking a day or weekend off to do fun things.
2. I'd highly recommend some kind of tutoring service (online or live) if you can afford it. There's two excellent reasons for this: 1. logic games are REALLY hard to figure out w/o one (I think the commenter above mentioned that) and 2. It'll help give you a schedule to stick to...which is half the battle when you're studying for this test.

Do you mind me asking how you did? And do you recommend any online tutoring service?

[gsy987]

Yeah this is pretty similar to my schedule (I also had a full time job while studying for the LSAT.)

2 things though:
1. Don't be afraid to take days off every so often. You'll hit diminishing returns pretty quickly after studying for 5+ hours on a weekend...and there's no harm with taking a day or weekend off to do fun things.
2. I'd highly recommend some kind of tutoring service (online or live) if you can afford it. There's two excellent reasons for this: 1. logic games are REALLY hard to figure out w/o one (I think the commenter above mentioned that) and 2. It'll help give you a schedule to stick to...which is half the battle when you're studying for this test.

Do you mind me asking how you did? And do you recommend any online tutoring service?

Scores are on my bio, and I went with Blueprint, which worked quite well for me!

[gargleblaster]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=120471


If you do everything this dude did - I guarantee you will do well.

You may not get a 180 like he did, but you will crush the LSAT.

I incorporated a lot of what he recommended into my preparation and I got a 173. If I did as much as he did I'm sure I would have done better.

If you wanna be a champion you gotta train like a champion

[King of the North]

Yeah this is pretty similar to my schedule (I also had a full time job while studying for the LSAT.)

2 things though:
1. Don't be afraid to take days off every so often. You'll hit diminishing returns pretty quickly after studying for 5+ hours on a weekend...and there's no harm with taking a day or weekend off to do fun things.
2. I'd highly recommend some kind of tutoring service (online or live) if you can afford it. There's two excellent reasons for this: 1. logic games are REALLY hard to figure out w/o one (I think the commenter above mentioned that) and 2. It'll help give you a schedule to stick to...which is half the battle when you're studying for this test.

Do you mind me asking how you did? And do you recommend any online tutoring service?

Scores are on my bio, and I went with Blueprint, which worked quite well for me!

You're at the University of Michigan? I hope this doesn't sound rude, but did your gpa not matter as much to them? Was your lsat score not around their median?

[King of the North]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=120471


If you do everything this dude did - I guarantee you will do well.

You may not get a 180 like he did, but you will crush the LSAT.

I incorporated a lot of what he recommended into my preparation and I got a 173. If I did as much as he did I'm sure I would have done better.

If you wanna be a champion you gotta train like a champion

That you do. Thanks for the link. I've read through his advice before, but I'm going to keep returning back to it throughout my studies to keep myself in check. I feel like it's still early on (this is only my second week studying) and I don't want to try to do too much at once to where it becomes counterproductive.

[MercW07]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

Glad to meet someone who is in the same boat as I am. I think I'm going to continue reading through the LSAT Trainer. He includes practice sections for you to work on from real exams, so fortunately I'll get some practice in and won't simply be reading. So as far as the LR and LG bibles, and the 7sage, which ones do you find most helpful for each section? Did you purchase a 7sage package? I thought I read somewhere that 7sage provides free video explanations for questions, so I may just use the 7sage for that and for any other free material they offer.

When are you planning on taking the test?

7Sage does provide free explanations for LG sections on youtube, but if you want the explanations for RC and LR you'll need to purchase one of their packages. Im currently working through the Ultimate+ program that 7Sage offers, and while it may seem expensive upfront the price has been worth it so far. But it really just depends on how you learn. There are plenty of people on here that read through the Bibles and the Trainer and ended up doing very well, that strategy was not working for me. but with that being said Ill be taking the December test so Ive still got some time to nail things down.

[King of the North]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

Glad to meet someone who is in the same boat as I am. I think I'm going to continue reading through the LSAT Trainer. He includes practice sections for you to work on from real exams, so fortunately I'll get some practice in and won't simply be reading. So as far as the LR and LG bibles, and the 7sage, which ones do you find most helpful for each section? Did you purchase a 7sage package? I thought I read somewhere that 7sage provides free video explanations for questions, so I may just use the 7sage for that and for any other free material they offer.

When are you planning on taking the test?

7Sage does provide free explanations for LG sections on youtube, but if you want the explanations for RC and LR you'll need to purchase one of their packages. Im currently working through the Ultimate+ program that 7Sage offers, and while it may seem expensive upfront the price has been worth it so far. But it really just depends on how you learn. There are plenty of people on here that read through the Bibles and the Trainer and ended up doing very well, that strategy was not working for me. but with that being said Ill be taking the December test so Ive still got some time to nail things down.

Gotcha. Yeah, my plan is to use the Trainer for LR and RC, and then ignore the Trainer's LG sections and do the LGB. But the order I do it in will probably be LR, LG, then RC, as far as when I begin studying for them goes. I don't plan on taking time off from studying any of the sections once I begin them, if that makes sense.

I know it's early, but I feel so overwhelmed lol. I don't want to force anything but I would really like to get this right the first time and then not have to worry about it or worry about delaying going to school for another year.

[MercW07]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

Glad to meet someone who is in the same boat as I am. I think I'm going to continue reading through the LSAT Trainer. He includes practice sections for you to work on from real exams, so fortunately I'll get some practice in and won't simply be reading. So as far as the LR and LG bibles, and the 7sage, which ones do you find most helpful for each section? Did you purchase a 7sage package? I thought I read somewhere that 7sage provides free video explanations for questions, so I may just use the 7sage for that and for any other free material they offer.

When are you planning on taking the test?

7Sage does provide free explanations for LG sections on youtube, but if you want the explanations for RC and LR you'll need to purchase one of their packages. Im currently working through the Ultimate+ program that 7Sage offers, and while it may seem expensive upfront the price has been worth it so far. But it really just depends on how you learn. There are plenty of people on here that read through the Bibles and the Trainer and ended up doing very well, that strategy was not working for me. but with that being said Ill be taking the December test so Ive still got some time to nail things down.

Gotcha. Yeah, my plan is to use the Trainer for LR and RC, and then ignore the Trainer's LG sections and do the LGB. But the order I do it in will probably be LR, LG, then RC, as far as when I begin studying for them goes. I don't plan on taking time off from studying any of the sections once I begin them, if that makes sense.

I know it's early, but I feel so overwhelmed lol. I don't want to force anything but I would really like to get this right the first time and then not have to worry about it or worry about delaying going to school for another year.

I would actually recommend mixing it up a bit. The first time I studied, I just read through the bibles one at a time and when I got to the end of the 3rd one (RC) I quickly realized I hardly remembered anything from the first bible (LR). By mixing things up you keep all three sections of the test relatively fresh in your mind.

Also, don't worry about taking time off. I was in the same mindset as you the first time I took the LSAT and it forced me to rush through the material and take the test before I was actually ready. I applied to schools anyway and actually go into quite a few, but no schools that were near the quality my goal schools. I then took some time to reflect and realized taking a year off would be a huge benefit to me in the long run, and so for I am not regretting that decision one bit.

Take your time with this stuff, set a goal, and do not take the actual test until your PT range is within that goal. I know you just read that last sentence and thought to yourself "yeah right, definitely not doing that" but it really is the way you should attack this test.

[King of the North]

Sounds like a strong plan of attack to me! I have nearly the same work schedule, UGPA, diag, and goal school as you, and your plan is very similar to mine. I study 2-3 hours a day on weekdays, and usually around 10 total on the weekends. I also started with LR, but after reading the LR bible discovered that sitting down and reading through pages of material every night was not helping me learn well enough so I switched to 7Sage, and I highly recommend it. Even if you check out 7Sage and decide its not for you, JYs free LG videos are almost a necessity for the games section. With that being said, Id just recommend being flexible. Not everyone studies and learns this stuff the same way, so you may have to try different tactics in order to find out what works best for you. The best part about the LSAT, and something that Ive really noticed since switching to 7Sage, is that it is learnable. Just stick with your plan, work hard, and you should see results.

Glad to meet someone who is in the same boat as I am. I think I'm going to continue reading through the LSAT Trainer. He includes practice sections for you to work on from real exams, so fortunately I'll get some practice in and won't simply be reading. So as far as the LR and LG bibles, and the 7sage, which ones do you find most helpful for each section? Did you purchase a 7sage package? I thought I read somewhere that 7sage provides free video explanations for questions, so I may just use the 7sage for that and for any other free material they offer.

When are you planning on taking the test?

7Sage does provide free explanations for LG sections on youtube, but if you want the explanations for RC and LR you'll need to purchase one of their packages. Im currently working through the Ultimate+ program that 7Sage offers, and while it may seem expensive upfront the price has been worth it so far. But it really just depends on how you learn. There are plenty of people on here that read through the Bibles and the Trainer and ended up doing very well, that strategy was not working for me. but with that being said Ill be taking the December test so Ive still got some time to nail things down.

Gotcha. Yeah, my plan is to use the Trainer for LR and RC, and then ignore the Trainer's LG sections and do the LGB. But the order I do it in will probably be LR, LG, then RC, as far as when I begin studying for them goes. I don't plan on taking time off from studying any of the sections once I begin them, if that makes sense.

I know it's early, but I feel so overwhelmed lol. I don't want to force anything but I would really like to get this right the first time and then not have to worry about it or worry about delaying going to school for another year.

I would actually recommend mixing it up a bit. The first time I studied, I just read through the bibles one at a time and when I got to the end of the 3rd one (RC) I quickly realized I hardly remembered anything from the first bible (LR). By mixing things up you keep all three sections of the test relatively fresh in your mind.

Also, don't worry about taking time off. I was in the same mindset as you the first time I took the LSAT and it forced me to rush through the material and take the test before I was actually ready. I applied to schools anyway and actually go into quite a few, but no schools that were near the quality my goal schools. I then took some time to reflect and realized taking a year off would be a huge benefit to me in the long run, and so for I am not regretting that decision one bit.

Take your time with this stuff, set a goal, and do not take the actual test until your PT range is within that goal. I know you just read that last sentence and thought to yourself "yeah right, definitely not doing that" but it really is the way you should attack this test.

Not at all. That's great advice, and I'm certainly not taking the actual test if my PT range isn't within my goal.