Recommended 7Sage course/amount of prep time

i.pollock

I wrote the LSAT today and definitely did not score anywhere close to where I had been scoring on my preptests...so it looks like I will be re-writing sometime in 2016 (probably June). I only self-studied for 1 month for my LSAT today so I was thinking of taking a 7Sage course in preparation of my next test. Any recommendations on which 7Sage course to sign up for and how much time I should give myself to properly prepare for the next time? I was scoring 169 - 171 during my self study but I will be amazed if I cracked 160 today on the real thing.

Elle2015

Why do you think your practice scores are going to be so different from your score on the Dec LSAT? Also, what are your strongest/weakest sections?

i.pollock

I seemed to not be understanding anything I was reading, and ended up guessing on far too many questions. I even forgot to answer a question from the 1st game, which was probably one of the easiest games one could possibly get on the LSAT. Just an all 'round disappointing day.

My best is definitely the LG section and my worst is by far the RC. LR can be a bit of a wild card but I would say it is closer to LG than RC in terms of how difficult I find it.

Elle2015

Well, I hope it turns out better than you think. I would recommend the Starter package. At 169-171, you have the fundamentals. More than curriculum, unless you have a real weakness in a certain area, it might be a good idea to focus on doing PTs.

J.H. Song

If you are able and willing, I think the ultimate package is the way to go. I say that because RC, LR, then LG seems to be the order for your needed area of improvements. the ultimate will give you access to video explanations for the latest tests, which will help you get more comfortable with the LR. I'm exactly like you in that LR is a wild card. It's anywhere between -0 to -8 combined, and that's just not a chance you want to take.
As for RC, do you have Mike's LSAT Trainer? I only bought it a month before the test, and it made a world of difference for my RC. I never even looked at the LG and LR sections in the trainer (I'm sure they're great too, I just had to make a decision due to time). RC is still my weakest section, but it's gotten much better in my recent preps and I get -0 to -2 on blind review. Before the trainer, I used to get -6 to -8 BR, which was devastating for me every time I took the test.

J.H. Song

Also, if you are rewriting, June will give you plenty of time. In choosing between June or October, something that I don't hear often emphasized but I think is actually a big factor may be your usual prep times. If you usually study in the afternoon (and are not a morning person in general) June may work better. I record the start time of all my prep tests, and while my morning average (a majority of the tests) is 168, my afternoon/evening average (granted just 4 tests) is 172. I've heard it work the other way for morning people too, so that may be something you can consider. As far as time is concerned, if you are already PTing at 169-171, June should give you enough time.

Pacifico

Were your 169-171 tests under strict timed conditions? Because if you're really in that range for 10+ PTs you should never see anything in the 150s again barring illness or extreme distractions.

tanes256

If you need the video explanations for LR go with the Ultimate pkg. The starter pkg is sufficient but you'll only get a limited amount of videos. you can always use the forums here or other places to ask any questions for PT without the videos. Do you have the trainer? It's excellent for LR. I've also gained a lot from the RC sections. Maybe get the starter pkg and the trainer?? You can always upgrade if you want more later on but you won't get the full access.

i.pollock

Writing timed preptests with 5 sections was the only thing I did to prepare for the LSAT yesterday. I only had a month to prepare so I just tried to do as many as I could in that time frame (I did about 5 per week starting at the end of October). Timing was strict, I tried to complete sections in under 33 mins, but gave myself 35 if I needed it. I also didn't include the 15 minute break just because it didn't seem necessary to stretch out the test any longer. I was only hitting 169-171 in my last week, but I had seen consistent progress from when I had started with very few blips of regression. Thought I had plateaued at 165 the week before but then broke through in this last week. Still, I figured I was probably going to be somewhere around 165 to account for real test conditions. I still don't really know how things went so poorly, just didn't seem like I could get any small victories on the test when I needed one. I have to be better prepared next time around.

I like the idea of 7Sage because of the review it gets you to do, and how it would track the progress. Also, the skype sessions seem like they would be a really useful way of reviewing. I am definitely going to look into this Trainer, I'm on board for anything that could make my RC sections go more smoothly.

Right now I am leaning towards the ultimate+ because I would rather make sure I have everything I need than risk not having everything just to save some dough. Also, I feel like I may have developed some bad habits from pumping out so many preptests without doing a good thorough review of them after. Kinda feel like I should just start with all the fundamentals and build my way back up and actually get myself to learn. I just don't know how long the ultimate+ would take to complete. I'm afraid of starting it too early and finishing it well before the June LSAT or starting in too late and not getting to where I want to be in time for June. Would starting January 1st leave myself a good time frame to get through it?

iiiSpoon

@i.pollock it never hurts to start early, but it may bite you in the butt if you start late. Considering you're thinking about starting with the fundamentals, I say start asap since you might have to break some habits, which takes longer than learning something fresh.

kennedybj

start with starter course, you can always upgrade if you need to.prepare until youre consistently getting your goal score.

i.pollock

Is upgrading just paying the difference in cost for the difference in resources provided? Or is it a better deal to pay for it all initially?

inactive

@i.pollock said:
Is upgrading just paying the difference in cost for the difference in resources provided? Or is it a better deal to pay for it all initially?

Better deal to pay for it all initially since you get the full time by doing that. Upgrading later will only give you a +1 month extension per level of upgrade.

Example:
-You start with the Starter course and later upgrade to Premium. You'll only have 4 months total after upgrading rather than the 6 months included in Premium.
-You start with the Starter course and later upgrade to Ultimate. You'll only have 5 months total after upgrading rather than the 12 months included in Ultimate.

bbutler

@i.pollock I made the mistake the first time through 7sage to think that just because I was using a better prep tool I could rush through it and still reap the benefits and boy did I pay for it. The worst thing you can do is invest the money into whatever course package and then cheat yourself by saying "oh I already know grammar/MBT, etc. I don't need to work on that just to save time. Basic lessons that I breezed through before because I thought I had "learned the fundamentals" now can take me hours to do because I write down everything and speak it and sometimes I'll watch the videos more than once to make sure I absorb everything in the lesson. With that in mind I don't think that you'll run out of material too early if you get the Ultimate+. 7sage has a great schedule tool where you can lay out the time frame and it will let you know what you need to do each week. Just my personal opinion, if you have the money for it, Ultimate+ is work every penny, especially with the scores that you're getting right now you get the benefits of hammering all of the fundamentals and being able to do 5* problem sets that could singlehandedly make a few points difference. Plus like @"Dillon A. Wright" said you have it for a longer period should you decide to wait until October in the next cycle.

nicole.hopkins

@bbutler said:
Basic lessons that I breezed through before because I thought I had "learned the fundamentals" now can take me hours to do because I write down everything and speak it and sometimes I'll watch the videos more than once to make sure I absorb everything in the lesson.

TRUTH here. Woooooo ... !!!!!