Self-study
I work full time and I have opted to study part time (7-9 hours/week) using 7sage over the course of 6 months leading up the June LSAT. I finished the course curriculum a few days ago. I noticed that the time estimates for lessons were often underestimates, especially for written lessons with no videos. For example, it would estimate only 3 minutes to read a lesson that was the equivalent of a few pages without including time to take notes.
Additionally, the time estimates for drills did not include any time to watch video explanations for incorrect answers (e.g. 30 min estimate for the time it took to do a drill + BR, not including the additional 15-30 minutes for watching video explanations and reviewing incorrect answers).
I found this additional time spent studying manageable for the course curriculum - the equivalent of 1-2 extra hours on some weeks. However, I just started the Practice component of my study plan. I selected 1-2 hours per day for my first Practice Block. Day 1 included 1x 20 min 2 passage RC drill, 1x 60 min RC section, and 1x 40 min 2 passage RC drill (total estimate 2 hours). Following the instructions for BR and reviewing the incorrect answers, Day 1 took nearly 4 hours. This is not a manageable time commitment on weeknights for someone working full time with other responsibilities. The timed RC drills of course take only 17 minutes, but the 20, and even 40, minute estimates hardly leave time for BR, and definitely do not include time for reviewing incorrect answers after the BR. These included videos ranging from 2 to 15 minutes for 1 RC question.
At this rate, I will not be able to get through half of 1 week study block without doubling my study time which, goes without saying, I simply do not have the time to do. I cannot dedicate more than 1.5-2 hours/day during the work week to studying. While I will of course do longer days for PrepTests on the weekend, this will still not be enough time to complete the study block created by 7sage. I see no options in the settings to decrease the time, as 1-2 hours/day is the shortest offered. If I stick to my max 2 hours study time on week nights, I will quickly fall behind on the Practice Blocks.
I have 2 main questions:
Can 7sage adjust these time estimates so people can plan their study time more realistically? Or, is there a way for me to adjust the settings that I am not seeing?
Does anyone else have experience with this/have recommendations to get study blocks done in the actual 7-9 hours they do have? Should I not do the study blocks at all and instead do drills 5 days per week and 1 prep test?
Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!!
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2 comments
Thanks for the valuable feedback -- this is helpful as we think about improving the study plan and practice block system.
2 potential solutions:
Leave out some study activities. Don't feel like you need to do every single task. Since you shouldn't skip out on review, if certain tasks take longer than estimated because of the extra review time, that's OK. You can simply leave some tasks uncompleted.
Treat the 1-week block flexibly. It's loosely designed to give you a week's worth of activities, but if it ends up taking 1.5 weeks or even 2, that's OK. You don't have to generate a new block every week; you can generate the next one after you've finished the current one, even if it takes more than a week to complete.
I think a mix of 1 and 2 will work well -- it's difficult to accommodate every user's individual pace, so treating the blocks flexibly will help you get the most out of the system.