Just PTed, Aiming for February: What to focus on?

markariangeorge

Hey LSAT Team,

I am aiming to take the February test. I'm almost done with the curriculum, have about 5 full sections left and some problem sets (I have Ultimate + though so there are a LOT of problem per curriculum set). I plan to finish up the curriculum this week (expect for the entire problem sets).

I wanted to confirm to myself I will not be ready for the Dec test, so I just took PT 52 (it's the lowest test I have in my possession at the moment) and got a 162. The break down is:

-11 LR: Almost exclusively in the "harder parts" between Q's 17-25
-4 LG: missed 2 from silly mistakes
-8 RC: I'd say I got lucky here because I guessed correctly on 2 of 4 Q's

BRed a 168 without even trying to BR the games (I don't know why, I don't find it very useful compared to full re-drilling them after a bit of time but I know I should).

With a full time job, what do ya'll think should I do from here to February? Obviously finish the lessons in at the top of my priority but should I actually go back and do ALL the problem sets by question type?

I have about 3 full month left to the test which means I can get anywhere from 15-25 PT's in between I would say. Depending on how I decide to spend this up coming prep time. SO the question boils down to 25 PT's with thoroughly BRed and basically nothing else or 15 PT's with drills in between to work on my weakest areas? Particularly focusing on RC which I feel complete inadequate at, at the expense or LG which slowly appears to be clicking for me.

Any and all advice is highly appreciated.

Note: I know a lot of people will tell me: wait for June! But no thank you. I honestly feel I work better when under more pressure and closer deadlines. The idea that I am 8 months away from the test I don't think will work well for me. And if anything, June can be my second chance.

Hibiscus

Personally, I would focus on reducing the errors in LG until you drop to a -0~-1. This shouldn't take more than 1-2 weeks I would think. Focus on your LR next, until you get down to at least -3 per section. This will bring your score to at least 165+. After that, it's really up to you (I would aim for -1~-2 LR at that point but maybe you would want to focus on RC).

Each point of RC is a larger struggle than the other two, but as you close in on a perfect score for a section each point of improvement becomes harder. Personally I despise RC because I'm just plain horrible at it (and improvements take time), so I focus on the others since improvements come faster.

GSU Hopeful

To go along with what @Hibiscus mentioned, I would get those LG down as low as you possibly can. I would finish the curriculum and attempt to get to the sets you missed. The important thing to remember is that the closer the tests gets, the less drilling you should do and more PT you should take. I wouldn't focus on much drilling when you get finished with whats in the curriculum. If you could finish the curriculum by November 1, you would have around 3 months to PT and BR. This amount of wouldn't be optimal for some people, but could work for you since you are already in the 160s. I would focus on taking 2 PTs a week and thoroughly BR each of them on a clean copy of the test. Best of luck. Let us know your progress.

deleted account

I would suggest the following:

1) Totally agree with @Hibiscus and @"GSU Hopeful" that LG is first priority. Definitely get it as good as you can, but don't be complacent after that. I think that LG is the only section on the test where you are at risk of losing ground. Everything else is hard to learn but hard to forget. LG is easy to learn but easy to forget. So continue to do full sections and continue to watch the videos, even if you are getting perfect sections.

That's coming from someone who got a relatively low score on my second test because I forgot some basic grouping stuff.

2) I think that the problem sets are most useful if you know you have a weakness. If not, I don't think that it is a good idea to work through them until you have at least done 5-10 full tests as a base for understanding your weaknesses. Overall, I think doing tests is more productive that problem sets anyway. Ever test is like every other in many ways, so you're never wasting time doing more tests. You may very well be wasting time doing problem sets due to diminishing returns.

3) I strongly suggest not actively trying to improve your RC. Instead, take comfort in knowing that the LR is very similar to reading comp and getting better at LR will automatically improve your RC. Also, read hard stuff outside of LSAT. I picked up The Origin of Species for free and read it on my phone at the bus stop, and tried to actively analyze it. The Economist is similarly dense.

Pacifico

@markariangeorge said:
I know a lot of people will tell me: wait for June! But no thank you. I honestly feel I work better when under more pressure and closer deadlines. The idea that I am 8 months away from the test I don't think will work well for me. And if anything, June can be my second chance.

I'm going to be one of those people because your justification for taking in February is not a good one to put it lightly. If you need more pressure, just plan on taking 60 PTs before June. Working full time (as well as other time commitments) always needs to be factored into the burnout equation. The less time you have to study, the easier it is to burnout when you use up all your free time studying. Furthermore, if you're looking to hit February and June then you're looking at Fall of 2017 most likely, so there is no rush at all. And if you really want to go to law school and be a lawyer then that should be all the motivation you need to put the work in now for June. You're just going to rush into February and hopefully do 25 PTs tops which might not be enough for you. You're already using June as a fall back when it could be your first score, and a better one at that. June with October as a backup is a much better strategy than February with June as a backup given your timeline and commitments.

Also, there is no need to do all the problem sets. Save them for drilling weaknesses as needed after the analytics bear out what you suck at, but don't just waste them now for no reason. The learning process really comes from BR'ing your timed PTs and getting inside the head of the LSAC writers to see the ways in which they use the same patterns and flaws time and again.

@josephellengar said:
3) I strongly suggest not actively trying to improve your RC. Instead, take comfort in knowing that the LR is very similar to reading comp and getting better at LR will automatically improve your RC.

Cannot agree with this more. Let your RC BR be your guide, but don't go crazy trying to do too much RC. Understand the way in which each LR stimulus is like a terrible RC paragraph and how the skills you develop in the former will translate to the latter.

But seriously, there is absolutely no reason to rush into the February test, especially when you are working full time, likely won't even get to hit 20 PTs because life gets in the way and shit happens and you really want to focus on quality over quantity. If you stretch the timeline out you can hit both for June and be good to go.

markariangeorge

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Honestly it's a relief that I don't have to hammer out RC for the next 3 months because I hate it. And I actually really enjoy doing games even if repeated through fool proof method. Often do 2 in the morning with breakfast so I'll make that more routine and throw some in during the afternoon. I'll let ya'll know how it's going as I progress.

@Pacifico thanks for the thoughtful advice. I understand where you are coming from and I know that is the 7sage philosophy "slow and steady like good BBQ." But honestly I'm not sure I buy into it 100%. My mentor at work, nice guy but not the smartest monkey in the barrel just hard working, studied for 3 months with PS and a test masters course and went from a 154 to a 172. I know his story isn't everyone's and he wasn't working full time while studying but I don't think studying for a year is nessesary or sufficient condition for a good score on the LSAT. Beyond that, the idea of studying for the lsat for an other year, which means waking up an hour early every morning and staying in every Friday night to PT early Saturday morning, sounds pretty awful. I know law school should be enough motivation for me to do it but honestly I'm not passionate about law. It is interesting to me, I like my legal assistant job at a small firm, I enjoy helping people out (it's to employee side labor firm) but it's not what I've always wanted to do. It's just better than other careers I've considered by quite a bit. So honestly I don't know if I can stay motivated until possibly Oct of next year for a single test. Plus all I really need is a 5 point increase to have a good shot at UCLA, USC, or even Bolt or Davis with a full ride because I did pretty well in undergrad.

And if I feel I'm not there my mid January I can always reschedule. Risking those $90 doesn't like a bad bet for possibly being done 4 month earlier. Plus the schools I'm looking at take the highest score and don't average so if I retake it's not the end of the world. I know this mentality doesn't fit in with the predominant 7sage philosophy, I just don't think the 7sage philosophy fits for everybody.

But again I ALWAYS appreciate and consider your advice since I know it thoughtful and sincere. And sorry for the long rant, it's just something I've given a lot of thought to lately and had to get out. You are just the the poor victim who had to hear it. Sorry