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So i've been studying for the lsat on and off for almost a year now.
I've taken the lsat 3 times already, and I'm scheduled to take it again in June. This one will be my absolute last try!
My question is, what study method will work best for my situation?
I am familiar with all the core concepts and i've been through the CC while studying for my previous lsat.
I have the books with all the previous lsats and the powerscore booka as well.
Should i purchase 7sage membership again? Should i learn my core concepts again? Or just do a lot of practice and BR until June?
Comments
What's your section by section breakdown?
I get -8 to -10 on LR sections. About -5/-6 on LG ( i can never get to the last game within 35 mins), and RC is my lowest section. I get about -15 wrong on RC.
When doing BR i get about -5/-6 on LR.
Yeah I think it'll be worth your time to start learning the fundamentals again for a month or two. Manhattenprep LR and RC books may be of interest to you. And having 7sage drilling exercises by question type should help you get your LR to improve a decent bit by June. For LG you are getting pretty close. I think keep fool-proofing and that's more than enough time to get you -0 to -2 range. What PTs have you already taken?
I would absolutely purchase Ultimate + and go through it in it's entirety. If you're missing -10 on LR and -6 on LG then there is a lot of low hanging fruit questions you're missing per section. Really focusing on fundamentals will help you nail those questions. I'm also guessing you aren't able to finish RC with enough time? Thats typically what results in scores above -10. If that's the case maybe try incorporating RC passages into your daily schedule. I'd also recommend checking out the LSAT Trainer for RC. It's useful.
Thankyou so much! I have the powerscore books and the lsat trainer, would any of those be similar to Manhattenprep?
Oh perfect, yeah those are great guides too imo. I loved the LSAT trainer and thought the LR drilling for flaw type questions were amazing and gives a very good basis of everything. Powerscore LR is a lot more formulaic but I found the parallel reasoning chapter very useful. For ex, it will instruct you to look for conclusion matching, then matching logic etc. Personally liked the Manhattan prep LR the best because the assumption family lessons were super thorough and tbh you only need one of them to do well on LR but if you feel like you have the time then read LSAT trainer first then Manhattan prep LR and read just the parallel reasoning chapter on powerscore.
I don't have 7sage course so I can't really speak to it, but everyone I know loved it.
LSAT encyclopedia by Nathan Fox as a question type drilling is pretty helpful too. As always make sure to check if your local library or undergrad can lend you these books to save money.
I agree that you should redo the curriculum entirely again. You can try foolproofing LG while going through the CC to get to -0 on LG. Or just foolproof LG after going thru the cc.
I say get 7Ssage Ultimate, and start from the beginning. I had power schools --so I can speak in terms of comparing the two. 7sage has been a lifesaver.
To start off, I would suggest getting a tutor if you can afford it.
If you can afford it, get 7sage again. At your current score, you still have so much to gain from the CC. If anyone told me that they were familiar with everything in the CC after going through it just once, that person is either a genius, or a liar. I do not believe one can simply master everything in the CC on the first try. I might be particularly slow, but I didn't even know how to properly BR until my second run through the CC. One has not truly become familiar with the CC until one can pre-phrase every explanation video, and has fool-proofed every question in the CC (not just LG, but also LR, and RC). If you need some guidance on how to fool-proof, 7sager, hawaiihi, recently made a post about the excel that helped him or her, and it basically entails recording your errors, explaining your errors, explaining the trap answers vs the correct answers, and when to redo a specific question again (link: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/19326/all-the-tips-that-worked-for-me-my-spreadsheet). Personally, I did not use an excel, but I created a system of bookmarks that linked to questions that I was to redo, and took notes on a notebook. You can do whatever works for you, but just make sure you constantly ask yourself if you're doing it the best way you can.
In terms of other materials, I have used many of them and would say this - Manhattan is the best along with 7sage (maybe 7sage just isn't your thing; go ahead and try other prep sources for a bit). Powerscore and blueprint have some nice tricks and hacks, but don't really teach competence. LSATTrainer is somewhere in between, or maybe a bit of both, for me. I started with LSATTrainer, and I found what it had to offer very abstract and unpractical at first, but after I went through the 7sage CC twice, and went back to the Trainer, I was able to get a lot of value out of some very subtle insights from the book, in particular for the LR section. I felt that I was only able to recognize a lot of these insights because my core competency was very high at the time though, and would not have recognized it beforehand, so I honestly don't recommend LSATTrainer unless you already have your basics down. For example: the LSATTrainer teaches one how to intuitively alternate between three different modes of reading: objective, critical, and pre-phrasing. But this skill cannot help if one hasn't already mastered flaw recognition, or pre-phrasing.
Lastly, I really recommend using study buddies. It easier if you live in a large city. They help keep you on the ball, and keep you honest. They can provide unique insights and new strategies. Two heads are better than one, after all. Everyone I've met on 7sage has been super nice, and as long as you're down to earth, and hungry to improve, I'm sure you'll find great study buddies.
Wish you the best of luck.