Tutor Advice

stephy95182020

I hired a tutor and she advised me to not study more than 4 hours a day because our brains just become too tired to retain any more information after that point. She did say to take a day off but I want to score in the 170s. I've been studying for 6 months now and have only been able to hit 143 :[ Should I study more and ignore this advice? I am also doing a PT once a month, she advised this as well

btownsquee

I agree with the 4 hours a day. Remember these are 4 hours of focused study - not 4 hours total while you study and check in on social media every few minutes kind of study.

If you are 143, You are definitely at the stage where you need to understand the fundamentals of logic and not at the stage where you take practice test after practice test.

I agree with your tutor.

EagerestBeaver

I agree with your tutor. This is not a brute force memorization test. Pardon my bluntness, but at the mid 140 range, you do not have the fundamental basics of the test mastered. Those extra hours you want to spend would not even be put to good use at this point. Your tutor is right.

studyingandrestudying

Yet if you wanted to, you might find it beneficial to listen to LSAT podcasts when the 4ish hours are up and you can still get a lot out of the good ones. Don't give up!

dhaley22

@lsatplaylist Do you have any suggestions of good LSAT podcasts? This sounds like a really good idea and I definitely want to try it out!

georgiannajd2b

@stephy95182020, just wanted to tell you not to get discouraged! I started out the same way, my PT's were always in the lo 140's, but I had already registered, so I took the LSAT and scored a 141. Obviously I wasn't pleased, so I kept studying and PT'ing, 3 months later I scored a 150. I was accepted to a lower tier law school, but I wasn't happy there. I am back to 7 sage & retake the LSAT so I can score higher (159-163) to get into the school I really want to go to. I have started over from the beginning of the 7sage curriculum like I had never done it before and I am learning sooooo much more than I did the first time thru. I study 1.5-2 hrs, take a break for about 30-45 min to let it sink in, and then getting back to it for another 1.5-2 hrs. I find that if I go longer than that, my brain is fried, I zone out, and I am not really making the best use of my time. It's hard to stop studying when you are on a roll or b/c you know you only have a couple months til you take the test and there is so much material, so to appease myself I usually read thru the discussion threads, review my flashcards, or type out my notes for the day. The discussions are actually super helpful and a few concepts have just clicked after reading another perspective. If you have been thru the entire curriculum once, maybe you should go thru it again and if you absolutely must do PT's, pick 1 day for them, until you are at your level of mastery of each subject. I agree with the other comments here that if we want to increase our scores we absolutely MUST make sure we have mastered the basics, and studying more than about 4 hours is probably a waste. Our brain needs time to let all that info sink in. If you overload it then that won't happen.

As a side note, I watched the Netflix Series "THE MIND Explained" (episodes on memory & mindfulness) and the memory episode had some great tips for solidifying concepts!! Good Luck!

studyingandrestudying

Thinking LSAT, Powerscore LSAT, LSAT Unplugged, and Law to Fact are some examples. The founder of LSAT Unplugged has a great story of going from struggle to mastery.

stephy95182020

@btownsquee said:
I agree with the 4 hours a day. Remember these are 4 hours of focused study - not 4 hours total while you study and check in on social media every few minutes kind of study.

If you are 143, You are definitely at the stage where you need to understand the fundamentals of logic and not at the stage where you take practice test after practice test.

I agree with your tutor.

Thank you! I am taking a look back at the basics while I do some drills here and there!

stephy95182020

@georgiannajd2b said:
@stephy95182020, just wanted to tell you not to get discouraged! I started out the same way, my PT's were always in the lo 140's, but I had already registered, so I took the LSAT and scored a 141. Obviously I wasn't pleased, so I kept studying and PT'ing, 3 months later I scored a 150. I was accepted to a lower tier law school, but I wasn't happy there. I am back to 7 sage & retake the LSAT so I can score higher (159-163) to get into the school I really want to go to. I have started over from the beginning of the 7sage curriculum like I had never done it before and I am learning sooooo much more than I did the first time thru. I study 1.5-2 hrs, take a break for about 30-45 min to let it sink in, and then getting back to it for another 1.5-2 hrs. I find that if I go longer than that, my brain is fried, I zone out, and I am not really making the best use of my time. It's hard to stop studying when you are on a roll or b/c you know you only have a couple months til you take the test and there is so much material, so to appease myself I usually read thru the discussion threads, review my flashcards, or type out my notes for the day. The discussions are actually super helpful and a few concepts have just clicked after reading another perspective. If you have been thru the entire curriculum once, maybe you should go thru it again and if you absolutely must do PT's, pick 1 day for them, until you are at your level of mastery of each subject. I agree with the other comments here that if we want to increase our scores we absolutely MUST make sure we have mastered the basics, and studying more than about 4 hours is probably a waste. Our brain needs time to let all that info sink in. If you overload it then that won't happen.

As a side note, I watched the Netflix Series "THE MIND Explained" (episodes on memory & mindfulness) and the memory episode had some great tips for solidifying concepts!! Good Luck!

Thank you for this! I do get discouraged every now and then but I am going to focus on strengthening and mastering the fundamentals before taking PTs. I feel like I'm not alone anymore!