September retake - help with study schedule

ksuper1991ksuper1991 Member
in General 80 karma

Hi everyone! I need some advice on what my study should focus on before the September 2019 test. I’ve taken the LSAT twice before, with an 10 point increase on my last try - to a 164. My goal is anywhere between 167-170.

I have actually taken a long hiatus between my last test and now (it’s been 1.5 years). I didn’t think I would retake, but am applying to law school this year and want to aim for T14 so would like to increase my score (even just by a few points), if possible. [strong softs, strong undergrad]

I’ve taken EVERY prep test before PT 81 (albeit more than 1.5 years ago) and am worried that practicing with old PTs that I’ve taken won’t be good enough practice because I’ve seen all of the questions before. I’m leaving all of the new PTs that I haven’t taken yet for mid August - September.

I’m going through the core curriculum now and am halfway done. I need to do this to refresh my memory on strategy, etc. What are your guys’ suggestions in terms of a study schedule after I’m done with the CC? Does it make sense to continue practicing with old PTs? Do you think taking a PT that I’ve seen before is still a good indicator of score?

Also, should I be drilling sections AND doing the CC right now given that the test is only 2.5 months away? Or just finish the CC before moving onto PTs?

I really appreciate your help!

Comments

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    I would spend the next month finishing the CC and foolproofing the early games at the same time. Then, I would take one of the PTs that you have never seen to get an idea of where you're at. Since you've already scored a 164, a 167 isn't that huge of a difference, and foolproofing plus the CC might be enough to give you that boost. After the "diagnostic" PT, you can reevaluate.

    PTs that you have seen before are still worthwhile for drilling and foolproofing, but they are not good indicators of your current score level. I have found that reusing old PTs gives me a boost of several points.

  • MIT_2017MIT_2017 Alum Member
    470 karma

    Your score may be inflated, but probably not by much. I was in a similar position and only had 3 fresh PTs (I took about a year off). I retook 10 or so PTs I had done before and was surprised by how little I remembered. Sure, I recalled the topics of many of the RC passages and recognized a bunch of the games. But other than the occasional game or passage that I had spent a particularly large amount of time reviewing after the fact, I didn't find myself being familiar with the details of the passage/game/question. And when I had moved on to the fresh PTs, I was scoring more or less the same as the PTs that I had taken one year earlier.

    I'd suggest you skim the CC and move on to PTs. When you take the PTs you'll notice you are still somewhat comfortable with certain question types, and listening to JY's explanation videos may be enough to get you back on track. Conversely, you'll notice some question types are quite difficult, and you can then go back to the CC and focus on that question type specifically. Unless you feel like you have forgotten nearly everything you studied (which is hard to even gauge without taking a PT), then going through the entire CC again seems pretty inefficient to me.

  • ksuper1991ksuper1991 Member
    80 karma

    This is super helpful! It's great to have this confirmation and guidance.

    I definitely have found that some of the CC is ultra-familiar and it wouldn't be the best use of my time to go through all of it extensively. I also agree with taking a "diagnostic" PT (one of the few that I haven't seen) to get a better idea of what my score would look like. Also good to have confirmation that going through old PTs is still good practice.

    Thank you so much for your help!

Sign In or Register to comment.