I took the June LSAT and scored 150. Needless to say, I would like to do better next time around. I had a pretty demanding job this past year (as many of you here know, it is very difficult to work/study), but I followed through with the Premium 7sage course + many PT's + the Trainer. However, I am committed to retaking the test with the best possible strategy in mind. I am currently in a time of transition with work and here are my two options, which I am hoping to get your advice on:
1) I could try to stay in the city I live in currently and get a part time/full time (less demanding than my previous) job + take a BluePrint class and see if my issue all along studying was that I am not very good at self-study.
OR
2) I could go back to my hometown (the suburbs) and dedicate all of August and September to not working and only self-study for the LSAT (there are no BluePrint classes...or any good LSAT prep classes) whatsoever in my hometown. This would also mean that I would most likely extend my 7sage package and work through Cambridge Packets, Logical Games Bible, PT's, etc.
I am 22 years old and I definitely want to come back to the current city I live in for law school (which means option 1 would be good for establishing residency in this state). However, I would need a 165ish to get into law schools around here. So overall, what seems like the better study plan to help me get the best score possible for October? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Comments
What was your PT average?
Therefore, if you can swing it, as your elder LSAT sister (I'm 31)), I would highly recommend going home and studying full-time, but only if you can treat studying as a full-time job that may sometimes require "overtime." I recently gave notice at my full-time job, and I'm going back to self-employment so that I can study more intensively for October.
I scored one point less than you on my December 2013 LSAT, and my soul was crushed. I'm an overachiever straight-A type, but in retrospect, I made a poor decision in that I gave myself 45 days to cram (with the GRE yes, but LSAT no), moved houses, and quit my full-time job and started my own business during that period. It was the overachiever (sometimes overconfident gremlin) in me who made me do it.
I've done a bit of PTing (will do more intensively starting next weekend), and I've experienced score improvements since I've mentally checked out a bit more at work (mentally checking out at work means going from 110% to 95-99% for me).
There's hope, and if you can dedicate yourself to studying full-time to reach your goals/dreams, then I'm all for it. Think of it as investing in your future self.
In my opinion, 7Sage and the Trainer should be all you need. And you're going to need to develop some serious self study habits to get through law school since nobody is going to be holding your hand then. I'd say if there is a financial benefit to claiming residency for a target school then stay where you are, work a job as much as you need to in order to stay afloat, and then hit the books hard. If you really want to go to law school then you should not be having issues with motivation to study in order to get yourself there. If you can answer the questions that @alexandergreene93 and I asked then we can definitely help with some more targeted advice.
BR was usually 165-168. I had an outlier of 160 a few weeks before the June LSAT- I think even if I didn't get the 165 next time around, I would be happy with a 160.
December might be a good fall back plan, I just want to apply with enough time for scholarships/early decision, etc. However, whatever it takes to get the best score will need to happen.
Logic Games is definitely my weakness, especially timing. Didn't get to the last game on the June LSAT. I need to focus on keeping up with the Fool Proof Method on here.
-6 to -8 in LR is typical. Flaw/Weaken questions are difficult for me.
-9 to -12 in RC is typical. I felt I was doing better with this up to the June test (especially from reading thetrainer section on this), but I did the worst in this section on test day...
@alexandergreene93 @Pacifico
For LGs, with time you will begin to see patterns. and maybe after a couple of weeks or months you will see a major improvement in this section. I did all of PT 1-36 games once and then I printed out copies of them and would re-do them on my free time or just whenever just to get myself in the hang of it. I also do a set of LGs each day and keep a record of all my scores and such.
For RC, was/is my hardest section still and I'm currently drilling 4 passages per day. I re-do every passage from PT 1-36 as well and keep track of everything. Since I started drilling these 4 passages per day I've been getting -5 or so on all 4 passages together. I've seen improvement. But it's still a work in progress.
If flaws are your weak point, that is a major red flag because it is likely affecting your performance throughout the test, not just on those LR questions. Investing extra time to improve this skill will pay dividends across all areas of the test. As @emli1000 said, I would definitely revisit the Trainer. I would spend some time on his introduction chapter to really get yourself in the right mindset about what the test is looking for, and then spend a good deal of time working with his flaw chapter (and doing a lot of corresponding drills).
I think if you can master flaws you will naturally improve in your ability to read for argument and reasoning structure. This should help your RC immensely without even practicing it directly. Once you've put in the work above I would reevaluate where your RC skills are at and then figure out what weaknesses remain.
If you need help on LG and fool proofing, check out this guide I made that simplifies it somewhat: http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy and if you have any questions feel free to hit me up whenever.
The good news is you have a solid BR, so you just need to sharpen the above skills and continue to raise your BR as you raise your score. Definitely try to get in on some group BR calls to shore up your reasoning skills and blow off some steam.
Don't worry about taking in October for scholarship purposes. Scholarships are based on merit, not on early applications. If you apply in October with a 150 you will get nothing. If you apply in December with a 165+ you might get something. Early decision is another matter. I don't know your GPA, but as early decision is somewhat self-selective, the admits tend to skew higher in LSAT and GPA. Additionally, unless you're EDing to a school like NU that gives a $50,000 per year scholarship, there is almost no point to ED anywhere because it takes away your leverage in negotiations, and it provides only a small boost in your admission chances that is dwarfed by a 5 point LSAT increase.
I'm sure that if you leave your current job on good terms and there's an opening in the future, your company and/or manager would gladly take you back on (or refer you to something/someone similar). I understand the struggle with not wanting to return to a town that you've worked so hard to leave behind, but again, you can just think of it as part of your path (or "detour" or "sacrifice," if you want to get grumpy about it).
Trying to consider all sides before I make any statements.
@nicole.hopkins
Current city: Seattle-would love to go to UW as I am interested in Public Interest Law
Where the free rent is: Suburb of Kansas City (so you are correct on KC mischief)-I would NOT love to go the KU Law
1) Just a thought, but you might consider moving out of the city itself or to a smaller city with lower cost of living. For instance, Bellingham is shockingly cheap. Everett also cheaper than Seattle. Bremerton is ... pretty sad ... But I recommend thinking outside of the Seattle box. Cost of living is so high there compared to surrounding cities connected either by ferry or freeway.
2) Yeah, get a less demanding job, if you can. When I was working in Politics, I could NOT (!!!) have studied for the LSAT. With a cushy/easy job, I've been able to go hard on LSAT. Actually something like telecommuting/IT support could work really well to get the cool no-commute (as you know, Seattle commutes can be deadly). Check out Randstad Technologies if you're interested in that—those jobs are a dime a dozen and will pay a survivable wage (mid $30k's).
3) If you want to go to UW, keep your residency status.
4) Do NOT waste your or anyone's money on a Blueprint class. You already have 7sage and the Trainer. You do NOT need anything beyond these materials. I've seen a 20-25 increase in my PT scores with just these materials (ok, I've dabbled a bit in Powerscore/Manhattan but I do not think either of those were necessary and only mildly helpful, if that). You can too. I promise. I suspect your very demanding job is likely behind any lack of improvement you're seeing.
IMO, TL;DR: Refocus your attention on the LSAT. Stay in WA, and think outside of the Seattle box if you can. If your current job gets in the way of the goal, then the job's gotta go.