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Best way to prioritize time

hanwu8611hanwu8611 Alum Member
in General 32 karma

Hello,

I am needing advise from the group. Any input is greatly appreciated, especially those of you who had been in my shoes.

I plan to take the June 2024 LSAT, and apply for law school that fall for 2025 entry. I don’t have a lot of time to study because I am working full time, have a brand new baby, and my wife is super busy with her work (she’s a hospital resident). I can probably devote at most 2 hours a day to study, and many days I don’t’ have that time. That’s really not enough time in my opinion to study especially that I am very new to the test, but I am 30 with more and more obligations at home, I feel like if I want to give law school a shot, it’s gotta be now and not later. (I am not trying to say older people shouldn’t go, I just think for me, it’s time).

We know for sure we will be moving back to the St. Louis area after my wife finishes her residency in June of 2025, so school-wise, I really only have three choices, WUSTL, SLU, and Mizzou (I’d have to live as west of STL as possible and have long commute). I have a less than ideal UGPA (3.16), which means WUSTL is going to be far reach even if I get a 170+. So I am pretty much setting a realistic goal of SLU or Mizzou. I think getting into those two schools should be possible if I can get a LSAT of 155-160. My last three practice tests are 146, 153, and 145.

I have been going through the lessons one by one. But I couldn’t help but feel like, in my situation, perhaps I should instead just stick to doing two practice tests a week, and make sure I diligently complete the blind review, and watch explanation videos on all low/high risk questions. As much as I find the lessons helpful, and it’s a long way till June, with limited time I can devote to studying each day , I feel like the lessons may not be for me.

What do you think? Again, I would really appreciate any feedback at all!

Study method based on my question
  1. What should I do?40 votes
    1. Watch all the lessons, and then use whatever time left to do practice tests.
      87.50%
    2. Skip the lessons, do practice tests till test date.
      12.50%
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Comments

  • korydafirst22korydafirst22 Live Member
    8 karma

    One of the things JY talks about here, podcasts, and articles is the BIGGEST mistake someone can make is use up precious finite LSAT tests available to you. I had a lot of life circumstances come up this year and prevented me from preparing for the test this weekend (first time taker). Of all the materials and advice from people here and places like Reddit, the area of the test that is easiest to improve your score on and most "learnable" is the Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games).

    I would maybe take the first LSAT test to see where you test and what you most need to work on. The analytics and breakdown of the test is awesome and you can click on the questions you got incorrect with explanations. If you don't have time to go through the material and test, I'd likely start there and see if you can get the general overall feel of the test and the logic patterns with limited time. That's my input from going through probably 100 hours of study and looking online for how I should approach the test from independent sources (20-30 hours of looking things up).

    Hope this helps. Maybe someone has a better insight than I do that is more well versed. GOOD LUCK and CONGRATS on the BB!!! Here is one of the articles I'm referencing, with regards to J.Y. Ping on this...if it allows me to post it:

    https://abovethelaw.com/career-files/the-three-worst-lsat-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/

  • AlexLSAT.AlexLSAT. Alum Member
    edited October 2023 802 karma

    It's also worth noting, it seems like you are seperated by a decent amount of time from your undergrad, which means your GPA will not be nearly as relevant as it would for someone just coming out of undergrad, and your work experience will matter a lot more. Obviously shoot for that 170, but don't let that goal intimidate you into not studying or trying to go to law school, many people get into their dream schools with lower stats, especially people in your situation.

  • thania sthania s Core Member
    8 karma

    I’m in a similar situation - it’s exhausting working full time while trying to study and apply, even more so when you have other factors affecting you. I have found that going through the lessons have really helped me understand how to go about questions - specifically with logic and reasoning, which I’d say has been my most difficult hurdle. In my opinion it’s worth it to familiarize yourself with “Lawgic” as a language, and valid argument structures as they help you in Reading Comprehension and especially in the Analytical Reasoning section. You’ve got this and wishing you the best of luck!

  • hanwu8611hanwu8611 Alum Member
    32 karma

    Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate it. I will definitely continue to spend time reviewing the lessons!

  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27900 karma

    I think PT's are overvalued. Don't get me wrong: They're highly valuable and very important. But as tools for learning the test, they're very blunt instruments. The most important part of taking a PT is not the PT itself. It's not even the blind review. The most important thing is that it will tell you what you need to do. If you crash and burn on the LG, for example, you need to review fundamentals and foolproof. If you don't, there's very little reason to expect to do any better on the next PT. If there is no reason to expect one PT to be any better than the last, what was the point of the last PT? Our studies should propel us forward so that for every PT we take, we have specific and articulable reasons to believe we will do better. Anything else is going through the motions.

    The reason it's so important to start with the Core Curriculum is that, until you've done that, we already know what the PT is going to tell you: Learn the fundamentals. If you already know what the PT is going to tell you, there is very little value to taking the PT.

  • GordylsatGordylsat Core Member
    35 karma

    I would spend the most time not doing tests or even watching the videos. In my opinion, spend as much time on the boring fundamentals section. It will feel easy and silly but those lessons are where you actually develop the understanding and framework of the English language, as used in the LSAT, to start flying though the questions.

  • liamjefferson7liamjefferson7 Alum Member
    7 karma

    I would recommend going through the v2 curriculum if you haven't already switched and saving the PTs until after you've completed that curriculum.

    v2 is much more streamlined in its approach to the core concepts needed for the LSAT, and if you can study even 8 hours a week you'd be able to finish the entire curriculum by early next year. That would allow you to have months of practice tests before your planned test date.

  • huntermnorthhuntermnorth Alum Member
    11 karma

    just wanted to say I am in a similar situation as well, but want to do anything I can to get in to law school. we got this!!

  • yaguilar9yaguilar9 Live Member
    52 karma

    Once you get the hang of logic games, try to foolproof sections or foolproof a logic game everyday.

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