When to start taking timed prep tests? :)

Comments

• 6 Likes

  Matt Sorr Alum Member ⭐

  May 2022 edited May 2022 2245 karma

  I'd advise being comfortable with each section before taking prep tests. In my opinion, there's not much value in taking PTs before you've been exposed to all of the elements of each section because if you do you're going in blind and you won't be able to truly gauge where you're weak and strong. At what point you're "comfortable" varies by person, but at the least, I'd urge you not to start taking PTs before you've at least seen all of the LR question types, LG game types, and some RC passages.

  Regarding whether or not 1 to 2 PTs a week is good, I think most 7Sagers would agree that's the ideal amount. Unless you're scoring really high and only missing a few questions each time you take a PT, I don't think most people can fully extract the lessons you learn when reviewing PTs and, in particular, the areas that you're struggling with when taking more than 2 PTs per week. So 1 to 2 a week is perfect.

  Lastly, though I know you didn't directly ask about it, I'd just recommend not rushing into taking PTs before you're ready. I know it can seem tempting, but you're selling yourself short if you start taking practice tests without having learned the fundamental LSAT skills. The way I see it is that there'll always be more dates to take the LSAT and, unless you have circumstances forcing you to take the LSAT by a certain date, pushing your test date back an extra month or two is well worth it if you're not scoring where you'd like to.
• Belle Ross Alum Member

  May 2022 14 karma

  @"Matt Sorr" said:
  I'd advise being comfortable with each section before taking prep tests. In my opinion, there's not much value in taking PTs before you've been exposed to all of the elements of each section because if you do you're going in blind and you won't be able to truly gauge where you're weak and strong. At what point you're "comfortable" varies by person, but at the least, I'd urge you not to start taking PTs before you've at least seen all of the LR question types, LG game types, and some RC passages.

  Regarding whether or not 1 to 2 PTs a week is good, I think most 7Sagers would agree that's the ideal amount. Unless you're scoring really high and only missing a few questions each time you take a PT, I don't think most people can fully extract the lessons you learn when reviewing PTs and, in particular, the areas that you're struggling with when taking more than 2 PTs per week. So 1 to 2 a week is perfect.

  Lastly, though I know you didn't directly ask about it, I'd just recommend not rushing into taking PTs before you're ready. I know it can seem tempting, but you're selling yourself short if you start taking practice tests without having learned the fundamental LSAT skills. The way I see it is that there'll always be more dates to take the LSAT and, unless you have circumstances forcing you to take the LSAT by a certain date, pushing your test date back an extra month or two is well worth it if you're not scoring where you'd like to.

  Thank you so much for this! This is very helpful for me. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and give me good advice. I will continue to get a better understanding of each section and then start on the prep tests when I feel a bit more comfortable. Happy Friday!
• Matt Sorr Alum Member ⭐

  May 2022 2245 karma

  @bellelross Of course! Good luck with your studies.
• ary_in_a_rarri-1 Core Member

  May 2022 33 karma

  I would actually advise you on the contrary, just to add some nuance and provide my own experience. I have found that practice tests do a lot more to increase your understanding of the material than the core curriculum. Hence, while getting your feet with and developing an understanding of the core curriculum is good, I would advise you to start taking the earlier practice tests sooner than later.
• Matt Sorr Alum Member ⭐

  May 2022 2245 karma

  @ary_in_a_rarri said:
  I would actually advise you on the contrary, just to add some nuance and provide my own experience. I have found that practice tests do a lot more to increase your understanding of the material than the core curriculum. Hence, while getting your feet with and developing an understanding of the core curriculum is good, I would advise you to start taking the earlier practice tests sooner than later.

  This advice may very well work better for you, @bellelross. Different things work for different people!
• artyomwright-1 Core Member

  May 2022 2 karma

  I have heard people say take a prep test a week. IMO that is overkill if you are still going over the curriculum. If you are being consistent, I have found once every 3 weeks is good. It allows you to track your progress consistently, but not enough to where you're wasting practice tests for no reason. If you were to take 1 practice test a week, even if only taking recent tests, you'd be good for a year. Once every month or so seems then to be a good middle-ground between measuring your progress (seeing if what you are doing is actually working) and taking tests just for the hell of it.
• bt.genaw Core Member

  May 2022 edited May 2022 27 karma

  If you are curious where you land never harm in taking a PT. However, you don't want to start burning through them until you are confident with your skills and need to practice timing. If you do a PT the Blind Review score is key. The difference b/w a BR score and your PT score is likely due timing and you'll need to start doing timed PTs to close that gap and build stamina.

  I recommend starting no time, then timed individual sections, and once you feel your timed sections are in the score range you want to PT at (ie if you want 170 you go -0 to -3 per section), then start doing full-length PTs. If your blind review score is low, go back to untimed practice and build up your foundation.
• ary_in_a_rarri-1 Core Member

  May 2022 33 karma

  @"Matt Sorr" said:

  @ary_in_a_rarri said:
  I would actually advise you on the contrary, just to add some nuance and provide my own experience. I have found that practice tests do a lot more to increase your understanding of the material than the core curriculum. Hence, while getting your feet with and developing an understanding of the core curriculum is good, I would advise you to start taking the earlier practice tests sooner than later.

  This advice may very well work better for you, @bellelross. Different things work for different people!

  Well yeah, I just wanted to provide nuance. What worked for me might still work for other folks