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Musing about time schedule

texvd1988texvd1988 Member
in General 605 karma
I am taking the December test. Or, at least that is my goal. I began studying towards the end of June at a 10 to 12 hour per week state. My initial scoring was 150-ish. I am finally pt-ing near the 160's now, but that is not good enough. My ultimate goal is to score in the 170's ( 3.2 gpa in undergrad, want/need to get into UT Austin). Anyway, I just signed up here a couple of days ago and am on a three month plan. It definitely is a LOT to cover, but I do have a background in some of the things I am currently listening to. With that said, am I okay pushing a three month study plan in order to succeed? Should I play that solely by feel to see if I am PT'ing in the range that I want?

My main worry is applying in February. I am not sure how significantly my chances are diminished even if I score in the 170's if I apply in February.

What do you guys think?

Comments

  • Micaela_OVOMicaela_OVO Alum Member
    1018 karma
    It's definitely possible, but that would be tough if you're not already scoring mid-high 160s. Those last few points to break 170 are no joke. On the bright side, the 7Sage curriculum should definitely give you a boost in your score if you take the time to master the fundamentals. What's your weakest section? You can get the most bang for your study buck by whittling LG down to -0/-1. Ideally, you want to see your goal score on at least 5 PTs before sitting for the real thing.

    I know UT Austin accepts February scores. If you absolutely need to apply this cycle, you could shoot for December with February as a backup. It's not uncommon to get accepted off the wait-list after receiving a higher February score.

    P.S.- hook 'em!! \m/

  • AlexAlex Alum Member
    23929 karma

    Welcome @vduran1988

    I think doing everything in 3 months is possible, but not the best way. Especially once you include time for fool-proofing, drills, and PTs.....

    The break into the mid-160s isn't easy and it gets insanely difficult to break into the 170s. As far finishing the core curriculum in 3 months, I think that is doable depending on the amount of hours per day you can put in. Just make sure not to rush through lessons. I had some prior LSAT knowledge from other books before I began 7Sage and I found out that some of ways 7Sage explained it was so much more clear to me.

    So, yeah, I would play it by feel and see how you are before hand.

    If you're already in the 160s that means you are advancing and doing something right! So keep on keepin' on :)
  • desire2learndesire2learn Member
    1171 karma
    How many hours a week can you spend between now and December? If you can do LSAT full time I think you have a shot. If you are busy and still only have 10-12 hours per week I would strongly consider waiting and applying for fall 2018. That would be my experience BUT I had no background in anything when I started. Don't underestimate the power of lengthy repetition and review. Microwaving your score seems like a tough thing to do.
  • texvd1988texvd1988 Member
    605 karma
    Thank you for all of your advice, guys. I appreciate it. Currently, study about 4 to 5 hours per day (6 days a week) and watch curriculum videos at 1.7x to 2.0 so I can knock out a 50 hour routine. I have front loaded my schedule with the curriculum so I can finish it in 5 weeks. 50 hours per week until I get to the exams. 7sage had me doing 40 or so PT's, but that was unrealistic so I cut it down to 30.

    What I am trying to do now so I could slow things down is possibly cut my exams another week to make my PT number at 25 (with the bulk coming at the front end or pt 60- 78). That would give me an extra week to study the curriculum and saturate as much as I can. What I do worry about it that 25 PT's isn't enough.

    Is that normal from your experience or is that a bit too low? Cramming 50 hours weekly of the curriculum is tough. Still, I do take my time on the practice questions at the end, and complete BR's as intended. My biggest regret is that I didn't pick this up immediately. I would have had time to review the curriculum to pick up on details that aren't working for me.

    Soldier on, i assume. I will definitely take and wait for my score UNLESS I am extremely uncomfortable. If I am, then I am definitely pushing this back to February and possibly to June. It's UT or bust :).

    Thanks again y'all.
  • texvd1988texvd1988 Member
    605 karma
    50 hour per week routine*
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    I'm not worried about the number of PTs so much as I am:
    @vduran1988 said:
    Cramming 50 hours weekly of the curriculum
    Don't mistake finishing the curriculum for learning it. Finishing the curriculum is meaningless. I'm skeptical as to if it can be learned at a 170+ level at that pace.
  • texvd1988texvd1988 Member
    605 karma
    @"Cant Get Right" said:
    Don't mistake finishing the curriculum for learning it. Finishing the curriculum is meaningless. I'm skeptical as to if it can be learned at a 170+ level at that pace.
    I actually agree. I found myself exhausted yesterday after getting through the causation portion for the first time (I just started going through the curriculum)I was doing practice Q's and was doing well in the four star section. Then my brain just shut down and I went 1/5 on the third to last question set. I automatically turned the computer off and am coming back to it saturday.

    I think I will push the curriculum forward a week and cut back the PT's. This will put me at 40 hours per week which is fine by me. THat's around 4 hour daily with a 1.7X speed (pauses included) and 8 hour sessions Saturday/Sunday.

    I will do around 27 PT's. Does that sound more reasonable with a 170 expectation or am I still pushing it?

    The beauty of the BR is that I can go back into some of the lessons if I ever feel like certain topics have me tripped up. I plan on taking full advantage of that period of time.
  • texvd1988texvd1988 Member
    605 karma
    Cant Get Right- I actually am making these PT's into an over-emphasis rather than the curriculum itself. I think I will push the curriculum to a 7 week course and finish up with 22 PT's. This way I give myself as much room as I can have for saturation of material. It seems like y'all agree that it is as, if not more, important as Pt'ing.
  • Cant Get RightCant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage 🍌 7Sage Tutor
    27902 karma
    Yeah, I think it would be better to take fewer PTs given your goals and timeline. The PTs you do take, just make sure you're benefitting 100% from them. Listen to what they tell you and let that guide your studies between PTs. I would rather you take 10 PTs and really do them right than take 20 and cut corners. Brute force quantity might can get some people into the 160's, but I've never heard of a single 170+ scorer say they got there just by covering a lot of material. For where you want to be, you really have to prioritize quality over quantity.
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