February LSAT- Study tips

_____Wale

It is officially about 3 months away from the February LSAT and I am extremely stoked but still a little nervous. People have suggested three months as the best amount of time one should spend in studying. But I find that despite this effort, one might still fall short of one's intended goal due to a number of different factors. One factor which I believe is crucial for progress is the ability to study efficiently.

When it comes to standardized testing, I suck at studying efficiently. I sometimes find myself spending enormous amount of time studying but never breaking the "plateau". With that being said, I would like to get some insights on how you all study. Outside of the 7sage curriculum, how do you all fine tune the skills needed (e.g. speed etc). For example, as a philosophy major I try to spend time really understanding the subtleties embedded in arguments in the readings that I'm assigned as a helping tool. What else do you all recommend?

Also, I know it can be hard to study for the LSAT while one is still in school but this is a reality for many of us. In school, I work best when I follow a routine that I've set for myself, otherwise I'll procrastinate my whole life away. I've been thinking of ways to fuse these two into my schedule but I would also like to hear other thoughts as well.

Alex

@"_____Wale" said:
People have suggested three months as the best amount of time one should spend in studying.

I'll just stop you right there... Absolutely false and don't listen to anyone who tells you that. Prep companies postulate this so they can increase profits by churning out more students and collecting more money. Students accept this because it is a preferable notion as opposed to the truth, which is that 3 months is rarely enough for anyone to hit their potential. I'm happy you seem to be aware that this isn't a sufficient amount of time.

The best amount of time one should spend studying is however long an individual needs to hit their target score.

@"_____Wale" said:
With that being said, I would like to get some insights on how you all study.

I use 7Sage and that's it. I've found that everything else has largely been a waste of my time. I was also a Philosophy major, so I think that will likely help you. Perhaps consider taking a logic class if you ever need an elective or if it fits within your Philo Major.

To be honest, though, I think you'd progress more quickly if you just focus on going through the 7Sage curriculum, at least for now. Just focus on getting REALLY good at the fundamentals like conditional logic, grammar, and dissecting arguments. One of the keys to doing well on the LSAT is to get really good at those few basic things.

As far as studying while still in school --- I think it is quite doable if you make sure you give yourself enough time. You might only be able to study 12 hours a week, but it is better than 0 hours. First and foremost my advice is to never sacrifice your classes/GPA for the LSAT. You can take the LSAT whenever you are ready. The test is too important to not give it the due respect it deserves.

I would try to set reasonable goals each week to get done. Perhaps try to finish one lesson per week or something doable at first. 7Sage has the customizable study scheduler that is really nifty. This will allow you to set your own pace and change it as you go. Staying flexible is important!

Cant Get Right

@"Alex Divine" said:
People have suggested three months as the best amount of time one should spend in studying.

I'll just stop you right there... Absolutely false and don't listen to anyone who tells you that.

I think this is really important, so just wanted to reinforce. I was way shy of my potential after only 3 months. Definitely wasn't enough for me.

To start with, work through the curriculum. Don't take practice tests or waste any material until you're finished the curriculum. Take it slow and make sure you're really absorbing everything. Once you're done, take a practice test, blind review it, and see how you did. Inevitably, your scores will be well below your target score. See where you messed up and return to the curriculum. Once you're consistently blind reviewing at least a few points above your target score, then start really thinking about test taking strategies: Skipping, pacing, specific annotation strategies, etc are all going to be an important part of how you bridge the gap between your timed score and your BR score. Continue to return to the fundamentals where needed, of course. That should keep you busy for the bulk of your studying process. And I definitely like that you follow a routine. Developing an LSAT routine was really important to my ability to get through this.

TheMikey

as mentioned already, 3 months might not be enough time. i've been studying for about 11 months now and i'm still not at my desired score, but then again i am a moron, so there's that, haha. but seriously, see where you're at with the test, and if you're consistently PTing at a high score without much studying, then maybe 3 months is sufficient enough for you. otherwise, if progress is moving slower for you (which is completely OK if this is the case, btw), then you just need more time.

you can study for the LSAT while in school, i've done it since January. it's possible, you just have to manage your time very well.