Need advice before I choose one of the 7Sage packages

LeoA1994

Hey LSAT preppers - I've been going through the free trial and I really am intrigued. I have a few questions before I decide to move forward:

1) I am currently thinking of signing up for 7Sage to get ready for the Dec. exam (or Feb if I'm not ready by then) and I am a bit confused with the packages. Which one would you recommend for 2-to possibly 4 months of studying? Because when I used the study schedule tool and chose the ultimate package for example, it seems to cram a TON of lessons per week (average time per week was 70 hours).

2) Regarding homework & PTs, how does it work - are they available to print-out in the course or would I have to buy them separately on amazon?

3) I have taken one official LSAT so far and went in with very little preparation (unfortunately due to arrogance honestly) and did not do so well, Logic Games were horrendous for me, so this second try has to be as good as I possibly can do -- I'm a bit unsure of the perfect technique, do I first go through the lessons and then start taking practice tests (and would I do them timed vs un-timed) and how would one know how many PT's to take per week?

4) Any recommended books to supplement with 7Sage (Manhattan, PS, etc)?

Thanks, I know I have a lot of questions but I really need to get a full understanding on all of my concerns before I go ahead.


Thanks.

1awsch001

Someone can probably answer better than me, but

In terms of package, upto you how much you are willing/able to study per week from now untill test date. Explanations of everything is available but you have to get the actual PTs yourself. And in terms of technique, if you look at study schedule it will lay it out for you, you do lessons first, then start drilling PTs when your done. And I dont think any books are needed to supplement.

markg.aaf

I purchased the starter package at the beginning of September, but didn't follow the study plan. I just watched a few lessons here and there to figure out how I wanted to study. After that I decided to follow the plan 7Sage generated for me and my plan, from October 1 to December 5, averages 25 hours per week. That should help you judge which course to get. I would only consider upgrading if you have more time than that per week or plan on taking the test in February.

Don't worry too much about the logic games as they are the easiest section to improve. My first PT (with absolutely no studying and first time seeing the test) I only got through 5 questions before I ran out of time. Now, after only 1 month and still having unwatched lessons, I can consistently get through the logic games while only missing 5-6 and feeling confident with more practice I can improve more. The video explanations are fantastic and really teach you how to think through the problems quickly and effectively.

Unless I'm mistaken, the starter course includes all the lessons but does not have as many problem sets as the upgraded courses. With only 2 or 4 months I would start with the starter and give it a few weeks, I believe the deadline for the December test is October 31, to see where you are at. From there you can decide to upgrade and test in February or feel confident enough to test in December.

Pacifico

Honestly if your diagnostic sucks you do not have enough time to just get started with 7Sage now and perform well this winter... I would pick up a copy of the LSAT Trainer and save up for Ultimate so you have a year of access and then shoot for June/October 2016.

You will be doing yourself a disservice in a variety of ways by trying to take the December or February LSAT. If you had a diagnostic of 165+ my advice would be different but it sounds like you have a longer journey ahead of you.

LeoA1994

@Pacifico said:
Honestly if your diagnostic sucks you do not have enough time to just get started with 7Sage now and perform well this winte

Would you say 2-4 months is honestly not enough to jump about 12-15 points? I'm looking to hit 162-165.

Pacifico

If your diagnostic is ~150 you'll need a month or two with the curriculum to build a base, then a few months of PTs, at the very minimum. I think December is absolutely out of the question as it's not even much time to prep for people who just took the October exam... It's pretty much an 8 week turnaround.

February to me is only useful as a third test to bolster scholarship offers and is not a reliable way of getting accepted. It puts you past a lot of deadlines and if you don't have a score on file you can't submit until the end of February or early March. If you take December and get a shitty score you'll likely ust get dinged right away so February won't help anyways. This is not a 2-4 month process for people with sub 160 diagnostic scores... It's more like a 6-18 month process with most people probably in the 9-12 month camp depending on their goals. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you're just much more likely to put yourself in a better position across the board if you don't test until next June at the earliest.

Without even knowing your work/free time situation I can tell you there is just not enough time before February (let alone December) to learn the fundamentals well enough, take 20+ PTs, hit your target score, fill out all your apps, get LORs, write your PS/DS/resume/optional essays. And even if you somehow managed to check most of those boxes you would absolutely burn out during prep and likely shit the bed come test day.

Law school will be there when you're ready... It's not going anywhere. But there's absolutely no reason to burn yourself out to go to a mediocre to shitty school at sticker versus waiting a year and perhaps going to a good to great school with perhaps a bit of money. I don't think anyone should attend law school at sticker outside of the T14 and even a lot of those are questionable in that regard. Low 160s likely won't get you in anywhere decent with any money so what's the point? You're just setting yourself up for $150-200k+ in debt with shitty job prospects.

This is a decision that will reverberate throughout the rest of your life so there's no need to rush into it.

LeoA1994

@Pacifico said:
This is a decision that will reverberate throughout the rest of your life so there's no need to rush into it.

Thanks for all the advice, definitely taking it into consideration. Tomorrow I'll most likely purchase the "Ultimate" package and get to work.

Yeah I've taken one diagnostic test and scored a 150, with Logic Games being my absolute worst section - missed about 14 questions on it, so that is a concern area for me.

A problem I kind of have is more in terms of organization - I don't really know which way to structure my studying -- tons of PT's later after I go through the entire curriculum or mix it throughout my studies, how many hours a day I should study and on what particular sections, etc. If I can create some sort of rigid plan to stick to I feel like I'd be able to master various concepts at a quicker rate.

Thanks again for all of your help btw.

In addition, I'm wondering if there are any extra materials I should buy - maybe some type of booklet or something that has every single Logic Games ordered by year or something of that nature.

Pacifico

Just follow the 7Sage scheduler based off of the June test and it will guide you through. Hit up Cambridge or everylsat for PTs 36+ to use as full PTs and 1-35 for drilling.

Pacifico

Don't waste PTs by doing them before you finish the curriculum.

LeoA1994

@Pacifico said:
Hit up Cambridge or everylsat for PTs 36+ to use as full PTs and 1-35 for drilling.

I might have misunderstood, but doesn't 7Sage offer every PT 36+ to print-out?

And when you say 1-35 for drilling, what do you mean by that? Should I approach 1-35 differently than 36+?

Thanks.

legally_chels

@LeoA1994 7Sage used to have the PDFs of every prep test available for users, however, due to licensing issues lsac banned the downloads of preptests. So there's that! Definitely suggest getting them through Cambridge LSAT while you still can.

Drilling: so let's say you are working on must be true questions.. You would use preptests 1-35 for practice on the questions that you are currently reviewing in the curriculum. So kinda work on them like homework. Try to do them timed too so you get the hang of answering them quickly but thoroughly. Then when you're done with the 7Sage course you would start timed preptests beginning with 36 and up. Don't forget to do blind review a day after you take each prep test!

LeoA1994

@"legally_chels" said:
Drilling: so let's say you are working on must be true questions.. You would use preptests 1-35 for practice on the questions that you are currently reviewing in the curriculum.

Alright so I think I got it then - basically drilling is just doing certain sections per day, timed, instead of the whole test at once timed?

Is there some sort of strategy on which sections to do a day and how many per day?

Thank you !

Pacifico

Just drill based on the schedule as you work your way through the curriculum. Then drill your weaknesses after you start PTs and build up some analytics.

legally_chels

@LeoA1994 Well if you are following the 7Sage course then whatever lesson you are on for that day, those are the questions you do that day. So if today I am learning about MSS questions for LR, then I would practice on those questions later on today AFTER fully finishing all the MSS lessons for that day. Also, as you begin to learn about more and more question types for LR, I would begin to then start drilling all the question types. Just pick an LR section in one of the older preptests and drill, drill, drill and eventually you will see improvements. This was my strategy and I am now -0 and sometimes -1 in LR currently i'm on the RC lessons so still have a long way ahead but will eventually get there. If I don't feel ready for the December test by the October deadline I will most likely be rescheduling the LSAT for a later test date.

LeoA1994

@Pacifico @legally_chels Thanks a lot for your help! Would you guys recommend also buying the Logic Games complete set 1-90 from Cambridge? For later on when I need to start drilling games?

Pacifico

If you can get the games in PDF form that would be best... That way you can easily print multiple copies for fool proofing...

inactive

You can also get affordable PTs here:
http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2770/list-of-affordable-pts-paperback-hard-copy