retaking the lsat in feb( December first attempt)

phelanj75

hello all ,

i just got off the December exam and I'm looking to create and effective schedule for the february test administration .

i originally went through self study with power score but I'm going to try and run through JY's full curriculum.

should i be taking the time to go through all of the material like a new tester? or should i just target my problem areas for a few weeks and then do some PT's again ?

thanks

draj0623

I normally advocate for the thorough approach of doing the full curriculum and approach studying as a new tester but, if you truly are looking to re-take in February, that might not be the best use of your time. Targeted identification of your weaknesses (and the application of any changes you've made in your PTs) is probably where you should spend most of your time. I still think the 7Sage curriculum is gold and absolutely critical to doing well on the exam so it would be a good investment of your time. I just don't know how much time you'll need to dedicate to both the curriculum and working through your areas of needed improvement and whether February (8 weeks away!) will be enough time to achieve both. Best of luck!

desire2learn

I agree. Depends on how close to your target score you are and how much time per week you have to dedicate.

Cant Get Right

It depends on what your goals are and how far away you are from them. I did exactly what you did: Started with Powerscore and then discovered 7Sage. I benefitted tremendously from forgetting everything I'd learned on PS, lol, and starting over from scratch. If you're in the neighborhood of your score though, that's a very different situation than I was in.

phelanj75

@draj0623 @"Cant Get Right" .. in terms of PT scores my highest is about 153 at this point and I'm looking for a 157-160 . I'm thinking i might skim through the lessons as i go on each week and see if i can glean any new info . i can study this stuff full time starting the 16th of DEC and a good chunk before then as well.

phelanj75

@"Cant Get Right" i think ill take your "forget PS" approach for LG lol .. honestly power scores methods are so counterintuitive ( at least in the books ).. by the time i found JY i was running out of time for December given that i was still in school and had other commitments.

Cant Get Right

@phelanj75 said:
honestly power scores methods are so counterintuitive ( at least in the books ).. by the time i found JY i was running out of time

Yeah, I hear that. You sound exactly like me a year ago! For what it's worth though, 7Sage's LR curriculum is probably even better than its LG. I just wish you had more time:/

draj0623

I would recommend thoroughly reviewing the core curriculum lessons instead of skimming to see if there's anything new you don't know. If you're familiar with the concepts, it'll take you less time to go through the lessons. I do think there is so much value in the thorough review of these concepts because you start to question how well you actually know and can apply your understanding under timed conditions. While I don't think it's impossible to get from a 153 to a 157 in 8 weeks, I think it would be a challenge considering the percentiles you'd be jumping in such a short amount of time (55th percentile to 80th percentile) and the differences in the raw number of questions you need to get correct. Also, if 153 is the record high, maybe you can also look at the averages of the last 3-5 PTs to see what the real jump will need to be. It will be hard work but what isn't?

phelanj75

@draj0623 fair enough ... the " real Jump" is actually a 151-158 if your looking at average scores. i think my scores have been distorted however due to my freakishly bad LG scores over the last couple of tests. i really think that if i go out at it i can squeeze at least 6 questions or more out of LG. the rest who would have to go into some hard work in LR to see if i can get a little out of there. all in all I'm not expecting miracles , i just want to give it my all because that I've already applied to a couple of school .. hoping for the best .

thankfully, living in a civil law jurisdiction in canada i have the option of applying to schools that don't require the lsat. i just needed to keep my options open given that my GPA isn't as competitive as id like it.

phelanj75

@"Cant Get Right" yea i no .. but with the limited time that i have i think i can at least go over the 5 or so questions types that I'm consistently getting wrong and go from there.

draj0623

That's great news! At least LG is among the most learnable sections and there are gains to be made there. I think the core curriculum is pretty great for a better understanding of LR. JY's explanations are really clear, helpful, and humorous. Best of luck to you! We're all in solidarity with those who have already applied and are looking to apply in the near future!

Cant Get Right

Yeah it's actually really great that your weakest section is LG. If there's 6 points to be had you can totally swing that. 7Sage methods are so concise and effective, you may be surprised at the progress you can make between now and Feb. Also, check out @Pacifico 's thread on LG: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy/p1. Seriously, LG is so learnable; you're going to crush it.

Stevie C

To hit your full potential, I would say: take a few weeks off, do 7sage for 5/6 months, and then take the June test.

If you're dead set on February, I'm not sure what the best strategy would be. You could do the LG portion of core curriculum plus about a dozen more PTs -- I think that would be an intense but productive schedule

bbutler

I agree with @"Stevie C" take some time to go through the curriculum and aim for June/September. Take a few months to go through it and then join in the BR groups for June/September when you're taking tests to supplement your studies. Gives you plenty of time to get your application ready so you can be at the early of nextyeanr's cycle.

phelanj75

@"Stevie C" @bbutler .. i feel you guys . i get that in an ideal situation id probably be advised to sit february out ... i just feel as though I'm obligated to go for february now given that I've already applied. but i guess when push comes to shove i could always just postpone until June or september and reapply. for the time being however i think ill just go through the core LG curriculum.

MrSamIam

@"Cant Get Right" said:
I benefitted tremendously from forgetting everything I'd learned on PS

This is so true! Well, they did offer some helpful tips in the LG bible. My main issue with PS is that they overcomplicate EVERYTHING!

Everything that needs to be said, has been said. If you're only a few points away from your target score, and haven't mastered LG, focus primarily on that. Had it not been for the LSAC's sadistic LG section this past LSAT, I probably would have scored close to my target score, lol.