I need some guidance please

jakejohns777

Hey everyone,
I've been searching forums for quiet some time but I am now asking for help. I just started my LSAT studies this past week. I have purchased 7sage Ultimate along with the Powerscore Bibles the LSAT Trainer and damn near every single PT. I originally started with the LSAT trainer but switched over to 7sage as I am a better learner if its visual (JY videos). I took a diagnostic around Christmas and scored a 138. Bad...I know.....I was pretty discouraged. I am currently wrapping up my undergrad this semester. I have to balance classes with LSAT studying which isn't to bad, but I need to get in a better routine. I'm planning on studying 12-14 hours a week up until I graduate in May then around 30-40 hours a week from graduation till I take it (July) which is around 9ish weeks. My goal is to score at least a 160. If I don't hit it then I will retake in September. I am currently going through the CC on 7sage. Do you recommend supplementing it with another one of my books or just sticking it out with that? I am really just trying to get the fundamentals down at this point as my diagnostic reflects that. I struggled the most with LG and LR. I have a 3.52 GPA and don't consider myself dumb. It typically just takes longer for me to grasp concepts/not the best standardized test taker. Is there any advice out there? I am pretty desperate at this point. I can get some pretty bad anxiety and get down when things don't click. I know it just takes time and its a learnable test. I know I have the motivation but some of the work problems in the syllabus on 7sage don't make a ton of sense. It's been my dream to attend law school.
Thanks everyone!

FixedDice

I took a diagnostic around Christmas and scored a 138. Bad...I know.....I was pretty discouraged.

No need to feel bad.

I just started my LSAT studies this past week. I have purchased 7sage Ultimate along with the Powerscore Bibles the LSAT Trainer and damn near every single PT... Do you recommend supplementing it with another one of my books or just sticking it out with that?

I would advise you to get rid of those books. It sounds like you need to get a firm grasp of fundamentals ASAP. Those Bibles are more than capable of confusing or overwhelming a beginner with their details. The Bibles, the Trainer, and 7Sage all cover the same concepts anyways. Once you get a solid understanding of fundamentals, you might gloss over LR and RC Bibles for quick summaries, handy tips, epiphanies, etc. But in the beginning... not so much. Especially if you have a 7Sage course.

I am currently wrapping up my undergrad this semester... I'm planning on studying 12-14 hours a week up until I graduate in May then around 30-40 hours a week from graduation till I take it (July) which is around 9ish weeks. My goal is to score at least a 160. If I don't hit it then I will retake in September. I am currently going through the CC on 7sage.

Is there any chance you will consider taking a year off? I tried balancing my undergraduate workload with the LSAT -- a huge mistake (at least for me). Even if you study 30-40 hours per week from May to July, you may not have enough time to internalize LSAT skills and take PTs.

Rosenkranz

Sorry if I repeat anything that FixedDice said, but

1) Don't worry about your starting diagnostic. If you took it during the holidays, you might have been stressed out or had other considerations. Also, if the 138 was really where you're starting out, don't worry. You can move up from there.

2) Yes, as FD says, ditch the books. The CC is clearer and more finely apportioned to your (or anyone's) needs.

3) I think that you can get above 160. "Wait. You haven't met me!" Yeah, I know. Taking this test is a skill that most people can learn.

4) If you're finishing up your undergraduate, I would suggest that you slow your LSAT study and finish well at undergrad and then don't go at a breakneck speed on 7sage. I find myself surprised how there are lots of skills that are coming together simultaneously and rushing it, as I initially wanted to do, wasn't as effective an approach. Don't be in such a hurry. 7sage is the best, but the human mind needs time to digest all that it has to offer.

Better every day

Take comfort knowing that LG was your weakest section. Everyone improves significantly there with study and I believe it really is possible for just about anyone to consistently get close to a perfect score on this section with enough time and practice. I started off going around -10 and not being able to finish the 4th game and now I’m usually perfect or -1,-2 every time. I think you really should focus on the CC but the powerscore LG bible is very helpful. JY and powerscore use almost the same diagramming honestly, but JY tends to split more which I think is very effective. His videos are a great resource and the key is simply to do plenty of logic games and then redo every one you struggled with after watching JY’s video. You will master them with time because the same inferences come up again and again. I also found the powerscore LR bible to be moderately helpful and not a bad resource if you have time and it can be used in tandem with 7 sage’s CC. Just focus on mastering conditional logic and memorizing the formulaic methods for certain question types like assumption. I found PowerScore RC bible to be pretty useless wouldn’t even bother opening it up.

simple_jack

Personally, I hate the LR Bible. JY does a much better job teaching logic, causation, and pretty much like EVERYTHING. The main problem I have though is that I do not like how Powerscore classified wrong answer choices and also how “gimmicky” some of their “tricks feel”.

Chardiggity

I second what others say about finishing strong on your undergrad, to make sure you get the best GPA possible. It will come in handy during law school admissions.

I also think that you should consider waiting a cycle to really learn and digest the material before trying to take the LSAT. That was my mistake, and now that I'm delaying a cycle, I think I will score much higher because of it. You can use that year to also shore up your resume. I found the RC Bible useless, personally. As far as the other Bibles go, I read them before doing 7sage, and while they didn't give me mastery, they did provide a foundation I'm building on with 7sage's CC. From the outset, I would plan to go over the fundamentals twice, whether doing 7sage's CC twice, or combining either the Trainer or Bibles (just LR & LG) with the CC. Sometimes it helps to see the same info taught in slightly different ways.

Even though I recommend delaying a cycle, the July LSAT is something to consider, since you can see your score before you cancel it, and then get a free retake. It might be worth it just to go through the official experience, and knowing you'll be taking it for realsies down the road. Good luck!

Bamboosprout

You have a pretty good plan, and that's really anyone can ask for when it comes to the LSAT. No one knows what score they'll ultimately be able to achieve.

For the courses, I believe I have some insight, since I did all of them twice. My conclusion is that the powerscore bibles are essentially useless if you have truly understood everything the 7sage CC has to offer, but for me, the CC took me about 2.5 months of full time studying (50hours/week) to get through once, and I had to do it twice before I felt like I truly understood everything, so for your time frame, the bibles might actually be quite helpful with their tricks and hacks. My conclusion on LSAT Trainer is that the first time I went through it, it had something to offer, and the second time I went through it, it still had something to offer. It's a book that has depth and can actually supplement the 7sage LR and RC lessons wonderfully. Its LG sections are pretty useless compared to 7sage though.

Your time frame is really tight. I've never met a person who was able to do what you're planning to do in such a time frame, but of course, that doesn't mean it's impossible, just unlikely.

Have you understood what BR means? If not, make sure you understand what it means before you go into the lessons, because otherwise, you are basically wasting your time. This is a mistake many new 7sage students make. Go through the CC applying the BR method to every drill after the introductory questions. My belief is that just "doing" the drills and CC can only do so much. I believe a student can get much more out of the lessons by "absorbing" the drills, and what this entails is "doing" and BRing the drills, and analyzing and recording the results (why you got something wrong and how to prevent it in the future). Otherwise, a student might just be reinforcing bad habits.

Cheers, wish you luck. Reach out if you have any questions.