LSAT noob

mattjm1121

Hey all,

so i am new here at 7sage (Ultimate) and just finished PTJ07 scoring a 157. my original intention was to prepare for the better part of a year and take the real deal in Feb '16. at this point i would just like some feedback on what significance that sort of score (if any) should have on my preliminary timeframe. i hope to get to 170 (at least 165+) and the sooner i take the real LSAT the better, but i'm not at all willing to compromise my preparedness in order to save time. is it reasonable to think that i can bump up that score 10+ points? before PTJ07 i essentially did no LSAT prep outside of reading about the test.

i'd appreciate any and all feedback!

blah170blah

Hey Matt! First of all, you're at a really great place -- do not be disparaged by your diagnostic score. Depending on what your weaknesses are, you could take the test as early as June (I have friends who had worse diagnostic scores and scored in the 170s). The answer to this question depends on a couple of variables:
1) What was your diagnostic breakdown? Logic games are much easier and faster to improve on than RC/LR.
2) How much time can/are willing to put into studying per week?

jdawg113

It is most def possible with proper work to get up there, especially in a year. That is a lot of time and a 157 is a great starting point. As blah asked a breakdown would be helpful in giving some more advice along with your actual prep plan. Do you plan on doing tiny bit by bit for the next few months then pick it up? start off strong? etc.

blah170blah

Lol I love reading the abbreviation of my username as I read people's comments... It always takes me a second to realize people are mentioning me and not just brain farting "and x, y, z **BLAH** so and so"

But to the point, yes, a breakdown of your score and timeline would be most helpful

mattjm1121

thanks thats great to hear! i did much better on the logic games and reading comprehension than on the logical reasoning. at this point i am looking to study maybe 12-15/week give or take but for some reason i am finding the prep so far a bit fun (yes my life is that boring lol) so i may push it a bit further. today alone i've spent about 10 hours reviewing the test and watching the video explanations. i guess thats what this NYC winter will do to you lol

Nilesh S

Totally possible to bump up your score... its normal to hear of people having 15 odd point jumps... and a 157 is a great place to start off... and a year is good enough time to prep... as for your time frame... well that is up to you to decide... I gave my first test after 5 odd months of prep in December 2013 and my second in Dec 2014 ( I would have given it in September after starting serious study for round 2 from the end of June but my grandfather passed away 2 days before the September administration and I was not in the mental frame to give the test so I had to postpone till December and only really got in 2 more months of study with obligations... A year may work fine for you... I personally would go for a 3 - 6 month period... and evaluate before the administration if you are ready to give the test...

Allison M

My advice: work your way through the course materials over the next month or so, take a PT, and see where you're at. IMO, you really can't infer anything from your diagnostic about how quickly you'll make gains.

jdawg113

yeah well you are in a decent spot... RC is a pain so if you got a decent hold on it that is a total +, LG is one of the easier sections to get down so you want to shoot for -0/1 consistently and LR is obvi very important as there are 2 LR sections... thats a decent amount of time to start off this far out so I feel like you'll get where you're aiming for much sooner than your timeline. with review it sounds like you have an idea of how you need to prep so I would just keep it up. Go through the lessons, learn the approaches and drill it up

mattjm1121

thanks for all of the input guys. hopefully after another PT or 2 i'll have a better picture of what my timeline should look like.

jdawg113

I would hold off from PTs for a little bit, they're a valuable resource that you don't wanna burn through b4 you have the types and that down a bit

blah170blah

I would strongly follow Allison's advice and work your way through the curriculum slowly and then take a PT after you've gone through the material. Moving slowly, like focusing on one question type a day, but drilling those concepts using Cambridge materials should get you to near where you want to be in a month or 2

mattjm1121

yea i didn't mean that i'd take the PTs right away, but in due time when i am deeper into the prep, they should help paint a better picture for me. btw, what are Cambridge materials? am i a moron for asking that? lol

Nilesh S

@mattjm1121 Don't worry, you are NOT a moron for asking that... this is a place where everyone asks anything LSAT related that they want... everyone here is there to help each other and we all learn from one another... Everyone on this forum without exception did not know what Cambridge materials were at a point of time Cambridge materials are nothing but LSAT questions arranged in a particular order by type and marketed by Cambridge LSAT prep... personally I never used them as I found that the ultimate sets had more than enough material arranged by topic for me to drill if I wanted to... but you may need a little extra practice in an area... and for that, those materials are great!!! Plenty of people have benefited from them.

blah170blah

Ooo to Nilesh's point.. I didn't have the Ultimate package so I definitely wanted additional practice. The Cambridge materials are also ordered by difficulty, which was the most important selling point for me.

emli1000

I would suggest going through the curriculum and then taking PTs. Also, drill along on thee section that you are in the curriculum. And maybe save some for later because you may notice that you are still having difficulty with some question types when you are taking PTs. Also, what has helped my score increase has been getting -3 or less on LG.