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4 months of studying and I would like around a 170, thoughts?
I started the CC a month ago and have 3 more months left before I take the LSAT. Currently I'm more than half way through with the CC but that's without doing much of the CC problem sets. My strategy is to finish the CC very soon and have the rest of the 3 months to just drill problem sets and practice problems from all 3 sections including the CC problem sets I skipped. I'm currently putting in 4-6 hours of lsat studying in each day.
My diagnostic was a 131, goal is to reach around a 170. Any thoughts on this time frame I have and strategy I have chosen?
Comments
Anything is possible so long as you put in the work. What is your score now? I also take the test in October, my initial score was a 143, I just hit 166 today. I am aiming for a 166.
The best piece of advice I have received is to let your timeline be dictated by the test. I think it's fine to set goals, but definitely be open to flexibility.
There are two ways to approach the test:
1) Have a timeline in mind, but not necessarily a goal score. Take the test and whatever score comes with it, and apply to schools in your GPA/LSAT range.
2) Have a goal score but no timeline. Don't take the test until you're meeting that score consistently, regardless of how long it takes.
(I'm sure there are gray areas as well in between these two strategies, with a lot of factors contributing to that decision.)
If you go the "goal score" route, the only factor to consider when to take is where you're scoring consistently. If I were you, I would take my time with the CC to fully understand the concepts and build fundamentals. After that, take a PT, assess, and go from there.
I agree with what the last guy said. I had a plan much like yours. I put it off more than I should have unlike you, and i got a 150 on test day. So judge it based on the test and your interaction with the test. If you're not understanding the logical framework of the LSAT or you're not naturally gifted with this exam and scoring high, then there is a chance you might have to study longer. For me, I thought I was gifted to not have to study that long and I was wrong, and then I truly dedicated myself and it has been about 8 months and i'm scoring in the 160s now.
I hate to be the (realistic) pessimist in the comment section, but here's my take: a 39 point increase in 3 months is not unfeasible––of course anything is possible!––but you may not have sufficient time to reach your current goal. You may hit a ceiling, need a tutor, require a month away from the test; you may encounter some unforeseen problem with life (family, social, professional, etc.); you may get sick or injured; and so on––hence, I would recommend (again, my opinion is unqualified) a longer timeline. Also, such a jump is remarkably difficult even with a full 12 months of LSAT test prep, then again in a quarter of that time.
Keep your nose to the grindstone and, well, grind; but don't be discouraged if 3 months turns out to be an insufficient timeline for meeting your goal. Best of luck!
Hey reminds me of my situation! I scored 134 on my diagnostic. in 4 months i was able to bring that to 160. I scored that on the august 2020 lsat. I knew i could do better, so I decided to study the next summer term (this year) for this test. My recent PTs have been 167, 168 and 175. Honestly, treat this exam like a sport., takes a lot of hard practice and a lots of relax...
TLDR: you need more than 4 months.
It's very individual. It's like asking if you will be able to run a 7 minute mile in the next three months. It really depends on how many hours a day you work, where you are starting at, what other obligations you have, how easily you can incorporate new information and improve....
I would second what another poster said and put your score before your timeline. There's nothing wrong with aiming for three months, because it is possible, but consider that it might not work out and you might need to keep studying longer.
I haven't taken any pt's recently because I am still learning the CC. How long have you been studying for? and how many hours a day do you typically study?
What were your study habits like for those 4 months? how did you improve your score to a 160?
I have been studying studying, really hard, since like late April. I started kind of reviewing things since January but nothing serious, frankly was has helped me is not so much the CC but doing PT's or sets and watching the videos on the questions after. Since last month, I have gone up 11 points just doing that. I don't recommend it, I am just stating what has worked for me. As for logic games, I have mastered that section, what I do is do the same five games daily until I master them , over and over and over again then I start with another five once I am finished with the first set. Reading comp was my worst section and have seen a huge jump this month just by watching the explanation videos on the questions, I am not sure why this works for me but it does, I think part of my problem is that I wasn't understanding what to look for in the passage. My biggest hurdle is timing, I always go over 35 minutes so I bought a school timer, and I set it for the alloted time and once that's up, I go to the questions and once it rings again I start the next passage. I find that this is helping me alot. I also changed the way I was seeing the section, and convince myself as I am reading that the ttopic is interesting and I focus. Like I said I have seen progress doing that just in the last couple weeks.
This is my daily study schedule:
5 games, repeated daily until mastery
2 Problem sets of 10 questions in LR with explanation videos after
2 passages with explanation videos after
I study between 5-7 hours daily, I wake up at 6 and study til 8, then I start again at 7/8 until 12 or so. I do this daily since April and it has worked. This test requires gazelle intensity, it's not something that you will learn without that type of focus. I don't go out to dinner, I don't go to the movies, I haven't visited a museum or anything else in months. I eat , sleep, and dream this test.
If you do this, oh and I am a single mom with three kids and a job, I tell you that so that you understand that it IS possible you just have to want it. For me failure is not an option, I am getting a 169 if it takes me not sleeping for months, yea yea I know that I can urn out, I have been burned out, if you want something, you go for it full force and things will align themselves for you.
Tip #1: Games daily, same games daily until mastery.
Tip# 2: Problem Sets, videos after
Tip#3: RC passages daily, I do 2, videos after
Tip #4: Treat this like another full time job, do what you can without burn out ofcourse but push yourself.
I am taking the October LSAT so I am in go mode, because of earlier C's after high school, my gpa looks like it will be low so I have to nail this test. We can do this, you can do it!
Wow, this was extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the time to write all this out. I will definitely keep this in mind and start trying to drill in similar ways. Best of luck to you