Self-study
Hi all! If anyone feels like sharing their study schedules/tips, it would be greatly appreciated- for myself, as well as others, I am sure. I am currently working through my 7Sage study plan daily and then drilling/doing timed sections and reviewing. I have been putting off consistently PTing because I feel like I should make it fully through foundations first. What are your thoughts on this? Open to any opinions and feedback!!
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8 comments
To start, I PTed less and focused on learning concepts more. But by about month 2 (when I felt I had a better grasp on question types) I started PTing once a week (typically on Saturdays, as that is when I will take my actual LSAT). Because I felt confident in my general understanding of most question types, I prioritized completing drills in testing conditions to get better at speed and get used to the timing.
I think it wouldn't hurt to occasionally take a PT while doing foundations, but I'd probably save most for post that (other than, of course, your pre studying diagnostic.). I think that you doing sections helps with this-you're getting practice while learning the basics. Once you transition to mostly doing drills rather than curriculum, I'd probably do more PTs
LOL sorry, this came up on my feed on the LSAT discussions page and I didn't see how long ago it was posted. My bad!
When I started, and was going through the core curriculum, I initially just finished the CC and then started doing drills. For me-- big mistake. Once I started doing drills, after watching so many videos from the CC, I was still struggling to even get the theory right on questions. Definitely complement your journey with the CC with drills: easy, hard, whatever. As long as your doing questions, it will pay dividends because at the end of the day the theory can only help so much when you are having a hard time with questions, whether that is because you cannot break down a stimulus or struggling to find the gap to then answer the question. One of the best ways to do good on something is by doing it, and starting early with drills is a great start.
I read that a lot of people have found success doing timed sections, which in your case might help because you are not only doing questions, but also doing them in a time-restricted manner. I would compliment your timed section with an untimed to help build a foundation of strengths and weaknesses under no time restraints. I get pretty insecure when it comes to PTing because they can be scary, but definitely start when youre most comfortable. I went in and out of doing PTs but am now consistently doing 1 a week-- but there was also a long time where i was doing mainly drills and really benefitted from that.
@joegav1 this was helpful thank you
i think getting a better understanding of the foundation is more important than doing more PTs. So I wouldn't worry about not having a lot of PTs in your completed drill set. However, be wary of spending too much time just doing untimed drills and telling yourself that you're just working on foundations. Every now and then, do timed sections/timed drills.
I struggle with RC time, and learning to read a passage in 2-3 mins is what I struggle with. So i've been practicing that now along with revisiting foundations for some question types.
So you just have to balance the work load. And give a PT once you feel like you've improved a little. When you do give the PT, make note of how long you spend on the question, whether you approached it the way you had practiced, etc.
@steamboatwillie I second this! I will add that once I was ready, weekly PTs was a good schedule for me as it gave me adequate time to review. But try it out and see what works best for you. I’m convinced that the ‘best’ method is individualized because not all great scorers used the same approach.
Based on my roller coaster ride experience of trying to prepare for the LSAT... I'm not drilling or PTing until I at least get through foundations first! Then maybe just maybe I might start drilling once I get pass the "Must Be True" section in LR. I'm overly committed to first establishing a solid foundation before entering the PT realm and this is based on my previous unsuccessful LSAT preparation attempts of trying PT myself into my target score... That approach simply didn't work for me. Good luck!
@Jamal32 thank you! that is the route i am taking as well. best of luck!!!