In need of Guidance for LSAT before October

izhan.chaudhary

Greetings everyone. I am very lost on what my best approach would be and would appreciate some advice please. I began studying around May using the LSAT trainer by Mike Kim and finished the book along with one practice test however I ran out of time on every section and scored poorly despite having a good grasp on how to approach most questions. The schools I am planning to apply to would prefer that I write my first LSAT before the November deadline and therefore I plan to write the October LSAT and if needed, a second one in January. I am currently working through the 7sage core curriculum. For the next two months up until October I plan to dedicate all my time to the LSAT. I am able to dedicate 7-8 hours everyday (around 49+ hours a week to the LSAT) however I do not know what the best approach is to make the most of these 2 months. Before I do practice tests I know it is recommended I finish the CC however due to my previous studying I was wondering if it would be smart to begin practicing them soon. I also heard that drilling is good and was told it may be a good idea to practice timed sections and drills daily such as LR or RC before I move on to practice tests. IF I were to drill daily, would it be smarter to use older LSATs to not waste newer ones for actual practice tests? With 2 months remaining and the deadline approaching for booking the October LSAT I am extremely worried and would appreciate any advise and guidance towards actionable steps to take to do my best come October or worst case January.

hoovergary1

I second this! I am on a similar track as you also read the lsat trainer. I just go through the syllabus but am unsure how to mix practice tests in the mix

equallyyoked

Do you believe that you will run out of practice tests if you use the newer ones? Your goal is October or January, so I am wondering if you review each test in a great way, that would probably take an entire day off and on. Then, perhaps the next days, you would be at drilling question types according to your weaker questions. Then drill entire LR sections. First untimed then timed to stretch yourself.

For RC, I had to work on MP questions. When i understand the main point then I can get other questions correct more often. Then I am drilling 1 passage at a time without the timer.

I have heard, read and believe that finishing the test is only great when your accuracy is at 100%. So I practicing now doing the first 15 questions in LR making sure I get them all correct, Then moving on to the rest unrushed. Depending on how many you are missing in LR, that may be the key.

Focus on accuracy over speed. When the timer flashes 5 min left, just fill out all your answers and hope to answer 1 or 2 by reading the whole stimulus if there is time.

I plan to do 1 RC passage a night as a drill to see how the writers think and ask questions then I should be able to absorb what they are asking for. How is your RC strategy?

You sound very dedicated and disciplined. Prayerfully, you will do quite well while revamping your study methods. I don't think that you will burn out of questions. The test is in about 8 weeks.

Are you scoring near your goal score? How many practice tests are you doing a week? I think 1 or 2 is enough with thorough review 1 question at a time. Then seeing where your weak points are and then drilling those question types. Then drill by section. Keep RC in the mix as well.

izhan.chaudhary

Thank you for your advice @equallyyoked . Currently I have just been focusing on the core curriculum and before I just finished summer school exams I had finished the LSAT trainer. I noticed in the LSAT trainer I typically got everything correct untimed both RC and LR and even did pretty well on one RC section timed. The first practice test I did before i started 7sage is what shocked me I got 147 but its because for all four sections I ran out of time and had to guess at least 7-10 questions per section. I plan to do daily drills and 1-2 practice tests a week on top of the core curriculum. How does that sound? I will be dedicating all of my days to this and will be studying for 7-8 hours every day of the week if need be.

equallyyoked

I have read and heard on different podcasts that taking on average 1 test a week is ample because if you are getting the most out of the review of that test afterwards it could take a day. I do think that drilling sections maybe 2 sections a day with thorough review is excellent. Then you'll have to do 1 timed test a week. What do you think about that, @izhan.chaudhary?

Oh and please consider taking 1 full day off. Its good for your brain and there may be support that shows that you can retain more of what you learned with a day off.

Also, can you share any tips of doing really well on RC? I would appreciate that.