Nontraditional student study prep?

TheCubicleEscapee

I am taking my diagnostic test tonight and I am suspecting it will be a little rough, as I have not taken a test like this in a decade. I am considered nontraditional as I graduated undergrad 10 years ago... and my understanding is that LSAT is weighed even heavier for non traditional students. Has anyone else heard this? Also any advise on studying as a nontraditional student? I have a full time job and I am finding that in the evenings it is really hard to study for long periods of time because I am just drained. Any tips? I am pretty much at stage one and I am prepared to dedicate 1-2 hours a day during the week and a little more on the weekend, but any tips would be great.

DumbHollywoodActor

Non-traditional student here. I watch my 4-year old twins (look what happens to children of LSAT addicts:

https://twitter.com/Actordavelevine/status/729810600478396417

) during the day and tutor SAT/ACT in the evenings and weekends. Somewhere in between there, I LSAT prep.

I am over 10 years out from getting my Master’s (in Theatre!). My diagnostic was 141. I took that in December 2014. With the exception a few interspersed weeks of breaks to stave off burnout, I’ve been steadily studying since then (because I’m trying to get into UCLA (my wife already works there)). If I’m lucky, I’ll take the test for the first time this September, after 21 months of continuous study.

My advice: Studying for the LSAT is like making a Brisket: low heat and slow.

While there’s definitely a lot of information to take in at first (grammar, argumentation, logic, valid arguments, fallacies,etc..), the LSAT really is testing how you think (and how quickly you think).

That takes time. When JY suggests that people spend a year prepping, I think he’s assuming he’s talking to people who are fresh out of college 9or still in college).

If you’ve got cobwebs (and boy, I sure did), it’s going to take a while to clean them all out.

I’d find a way to love LSAT prep. Love being a critical thinker. Love doing logic games. Love reading difficult passages about things you’d probably never read about otherwise.

Luckily, you’re in the right place. 7sage is community teeming with great people. With 7sage, you’re not alone. You can watch some webinars, get a study buddy, join a BR call, chat more than you expect to (but more often because you need to) on the forums. I consider quite a few people on 7sage my friends. That’s something I didn’t expect when I started this.

Go through the curriculum. Look at the scheduler, but don’t let it run your life. Get done what you can get done. Do not set a date. Or if you do (because it’s the only way you can move forward--believe me I get it), prepare yourself for disappointment.

The rest you’ll figure out as you go. Trust me. I’m on plan Z.

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you.

BruiserWoods

Paging @twssmith

Alejandro

lol at the the twitter picture!

Quick Silver

Hi - I'm a nontrad - 10 years out from college

I don't know of any general trend where you need a higher LSAT just because you're non-trad.

BUT GPA and LSAT are the two primary factors in admissions. So if your GPA is not as high for your target schools, it's worth compensating with higher LSAT (It's what I did).

You're in the right place at 7Sage. When doing the curriculum pay careful attention to what JY says about not taking PTs back to back and pacing yourself. A lot of type-As overdo it and then burn out. Also, make sure you get proper and consistent sleep - you need to be well-rested for the higher order thinking.

Finally, the fundamentals are important - there are a lot of helpful people on this board, but also - know yourself and how you function.

Contact me if I can be of help!

Cant Get Right

I think there's been a lot of great answers, so I'll second all previous comments above and keep it short. I'm old too, and made a lot of mistakes when I first started preparing for this test. It's great that you're starting with 7Sage. I studied for the better part of a year before I stumbled in here. So all I really have to add is, since you're just now starting out, pay particularly close attention to the lesson on common LSAT mistakes. I made them all and making them really hurts.

So here are my big ones:

Take your time in the curriculum. It's not about "finishing" the curriculum, it's about learning the logic.

Don't take PTs until you're ready. And don't lie to yourself about being ready. Getting those scores back can get addicting, so it's a real temptation. Just
don't.

Don't take the LSAT until you're ready. At first, it seems perfectly reasonable to set a date and plan to be ready by then. That's not how it works and you'll only pressure yourself into burning a fake before you're ready. You only get three and each one is invaluable.

When you get there, don't cut corners on your Blind Reviews. A lot of magic happens here, and if you don't do it right you are denying yourself so much opportunity.

Good luck on your diagnostic!

TheCubicleEscapee

First: The twitter pic is AWESOME, 2nd thank you EVERYONE for the tips. This has been a goal for the past 10 years but I am just now at a point in my life where I can pursue it. I am glad I stumbled on here, and I really enjoyed the way the free trial was taught & I def think it is a better way for me to learn "on demand", plus his teaching style fits my style. Glad I found this first. I am sure I will be on the forums all the time with questions. My biggest issue is everything I am finding is for traditional students so it isn't really feasible for me. My current job load is 40+ hours a week as a claims adjuster during catastrophe season... so studying 4-8 hours a day would make me suited for as an extra on the Walking Dead not the LSAT

Plus I love how helpful everyone is, I have been watching the forums for a few days & that is def what sold me! thx again guys & gals!

Cant Get Right

Yeah, you definitely don’t want to try and do too much. Make the study time you do have quality time. Set a minimum number of hours that you know you can easily handle in a week. Even if it’s only 4 or 5 hours, that’s fine. And don’t hold yourself accountable for any more than that. If you find yourself with more time and are feeling good, study. If you find yourself with that same time and you’re feeling exhausted, order a pizza and watch Netflix. Pacing is important for everyone, but especially for those with full time jobs. You can’t study if you’re exhausted all the time. Your energy is a resource, and if you don’t manage it well things are going to get rough.

stepharizona

For me (I am 16 years post college/11 Masters) when I was working full time (Director of HR so 70+ hour work weeks) the best thing I could do was relax about an hour upon getting home and then about 2-3 hours of study. I think better at night, one of my study buddies preferred to get up at 4am.

I also would spend my lunch (and I hadn't actually taken a lunch in years) reading or watching videos. I found that extreamly helpful. Plus I had a 45 min commute and listened to LSAT videos or LSAT books instead of the radio.

When it comes to PTs you'll just need to find the time, but I enjoyed it as a break. You slowly have to shift your focus from work to studies. It can be a hard transition, and use your PTO wisely as you get close to your test date.

Try out a few different methods to see what works best for you!

Cher____

Wow. That was really encouraging. I'm also a "non-traditional" andIt's hard to decompress and study after work. I'm going to try a morning study routine - 2hrs a morning. 4 to 5 hours on Saturday to study or prep test.

CJF_2180

I wouldn't call myself non traditional, but I have been out of school for a couple of years and i know how difficult it can be to find time to study with a full time job and obligations to others Good luck on your diagnostic. Don't stress too much about it and work your way through the course. Everyone here is right, it's about learning rather than rushing. It's really hard to control that urge, but we all know it's for the best.

TheCubicleEscapee

Thanks everyone, I took it and I scored better than I though I would, I mean it is not anything to brag about BUT at least I have a starting point. So tomorrow I will start my studying and I will hold off on a PT until I am ready to take one & have a better grasp on how to answer the questions... because I totally had a few what the heck did this just ask me moments. More than a few actually.

I will take everyone's tips to heart. Thanks again.

Nicole Hopkins

@"Cher____" said:
I'm going to try a morning study routine - 2hrs a morning. 4 to 5 hours on Saturday to study or prep test.

That's about what I did!

Nicole Hopkins

@TheCubicleEscapee said:
So tomorrow I will start my studying and I will hold off on a PT until I am ready to take one & have a better grasp on how to answer the questions... because I totally had a few what the heck did this just ask me moments. More than a few actually.

TheCubicleEscapee

I was actually debating watching that movie tonight, I mean Elle TOTALLY started with a 143 and ended up with a 179. ha!

Nicole Hopkins

@TheCubicleEscapee said:
I mean Elle TOTALLY started with a 143 and ended up with a 179.

YES!