Where Do I start?

Comments

• 1 Like

  jeff.wongkachi Member

  July 2020 410 karma

  Hey, I started off with the Trainer too. I feel like 7sage and the Trainer are quite complimentary.

  Have you done a diagnostic yet? I think that's step 1 to see where your strengths and weaknesses are. That way you can work out a study schedule based on that. And depending on where you start off, you can get a more realistic idea of how long it'll take for you to get where you want to be.

  Depending on how far away your test is, I think it's a good investment to go through the core curriculum. The CC has problem sets for you at the end of the sections so you'll get to work specific question types. There's no need to overload yourself with everything at once -- having a basic idea of some of the strategies, techniques, wording, etc. removes an initial layer of difficulty so that you can get to the actual meat of the problems without being caught up in superfluous elements.
• 1 Like

  LawHokage Yearly Member

  July 2020 edited July 2020 129 karma

  Yeah, I actually took my diagnostic at the beginning of my studying and scored around 140~. However, I've already set a plan to study for the exam for at least 12 months, in order to truly master all the information that is on the exam. My score I am trying to reach is 170+, so that I can attend a T14 school. I'm just currently taking it step - by - step and taking incremental progress in order to achieve that result. My plan is to take the LSAT next june - october and apply for the next cycle in order to give myself the best chance of success!

  However, I'm not sure how I should approach studying the different sections. Should I start with LR, LG, RC, i'm unsure of where to continue from here... but I do want to start drilling and reinforcing my fundamentals and start the CC soon.
• jeff.wongkachi Member

  July 2020 410 karma

  In that case, you should definitely go through the Core Curriculum! It will reinforce certain aspects of the Trainer's lessons or add to them. That way you're better equipped when you actually start doing mixed problem sets/sections/PTs. Take special note for the parts of the syllabus about Blind Review and Foolproofing and really take it to heart. Good luck with your studies. Remember to ask lots of questions!
• 1 Like

  This_is_Hard Alum Member

  July 2020 815 karma

  I had a similar diagnostic, actually lower at about 138. Started with The LSAT Trainer too, but I don't think it was as good as the CC. The Trainer takes a more general perspective, which can be useful if you have the tools to understand the test in this way. For instance, knowing formal logic in depth and parsing basic grammer.

  For me, these skills were absent until I did the CC. JY touches on all the skills you need to have and tells you exactly how you should sharpen these skills. If I could go back, I wouldn't touch the Trainer until after doing the CC. Then you could have the tools and skills necessary to tackle what Kim is getting at.

  Another thing, at that diagnostic. Your reading likely needs to be improved drastically. I did not see a dramatic increase in my score until I started doing RC passages daily. So, regardless of how you split up your time, I'd highly suggest doing an RC passage a day ASAP. Not only will this help you on RC, but it will help you with LR as well. Speed and comprehension are so important for this test and you will get to whats required with continuous practice.

  Any further questions, I'd be glad to help out as I started close to where you currently are. PM me.
• 1 Like

  anthonypark Live Member

  July 2020 49 karma

  @"jeff.wongkachi" If I could ask, how do you think the Trainer and 7sage are complementary, and in what ways? I am planning on getting the Trainer, but I am unsure if it will help substantially.
• LawHokage Yearly Member

  July 2020 edited July 2020 129 karma

  @anthonypark I believe the LSAT Trainer is a good resource to supplement your understanding of the test as it gives a very general overview of how the test is presented. If you are a beginner like me it didn't really help me in understanding the fundamentals of what is covered on the LSAT. I do now have a general understanding of the exam, but I believe if you're looking for a more concise, and methodological approach, than sticking with this course is truly beneficial. I have just began the CC of 7sage and it has really started to fill in a lot of the holes of my understanding of the course material that was taught in the LSAT Trainer. If you already completed the CC, then I don't see any harm in completing the trainer, but the trade - off is you could be spending that time drilling sections, taking PTs, or reinforcing questions types that you are weak on.
• jeff.wongkachi Member

  July 2020 410 karma

  @anthonypark said:
  @"jeff.wongkachi" If I could ask, how do you think the Trainer and 7sage are complementary, and in what ways? I am planning on getting the Trainer, but I am unsure if it will help substantially.

  Hi Anthony, I have a bit of a complicated history with the LSAT. I did the test a couple times back in 2015/2016 and went through the CC then. I decided to take again at the end of last year after not touching LSAT at all.

  Trainer was helpful because it gave a broad overview of everything to refresh my memory before diving back into LSAT, and I thought the lessons on RC were pretty valuable. I liked the simplicity of the way he handled the flaws in LR as well, and the notation system in LG sometimes has merit when integrated with the LG methods recommended by 7sage.

  7sage definitely gets much more specific than Trainer. I'm not sure if going from the CC to The Trainer would be the best use of your time. How much time do you have before your test? If it's still months off and you notice a specific problem you're having with a section maybe you can get some other material, but like someone else said that means you're not doing PTs or sections and learning from those.