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Advice for second time around?
I took the February LSAT and scored a few points above my average! But 7 points from my best score ever... I am planning to write again in September with the hope of being a little less nervous and having a much more solid grasp on the principles, rather than a sometimes-vague understanding that got me by but left some of the harder questions as a total guess. My goal is to increase my score by 5-7 points.
My study plan is this:
- start from the beginning of the core curriculum, taking notes and reviewing learned principles (whizzed through the videos last time and assumed I understood because I got the sample questions mostly right - not the case)
- be diligent in my blind review (got really lazy with it last time around) and try out the technique of writing an explanation for every answer (this sounds painfully slow for me but I guess it's necessary)
- 2.5 months to get through the core curriculum while working full time. then a month off for a busy time at work (necessary but can maybe do some timed sections a couple times a week to stay warm). then 2 months for prep tests and (painfully thorough) blind reviews while working a little less than full time.
Any advice of what else to consider to gain a rock solid understanding? I struggle with the harder RC (especially the science topics) and the hardest level of LR. I mastered LGs so just need to maintain there and practice hard miscellaneous questions to avoid panicking in the face of the unknown.
Gosh, even if there isn't any advice, this was so helpful to write out!!
Comments
Sounds like a good plan!
A couple of things, to break into the 170's I'd make sure you understand causality really well. Be able to recognize it when it might be present, be able to recognize when it might actually not be present, be able to discern its possible relationship among elements in a stimulus, and be able to formulate answers that strengthen or weaken its relationship among elements in a stimulus. Do that and you should be able to get more of the difficult LR questions.
Learn to read for structure and let that inform your thoughts to seek out the precision (or lack thereof) in LSAT arguments and reading passages.
Hi!
So unless you don’t know what is going on, I wouldn’t go back to the CC. you are going to drive yourself crazy haha especially if there are things you already know. If you can identify the conclusion 10/10 times, you probably don’t need to review those lessons. I would take a test and figure out what your greatest weaknesses are. Some lessons, weaken, flaw, and grammar for example, make a world of difference because they are applicable to other things, so you may not need to go back to the CC.
Focus hard on BR and drill your weaknesses. This is another opportunity to figure out what you can improve on and how you can get better. If you are consistently doing poorly on one question type drill it over and over again. I think BR is going to be the key to your success, especially if you were lazy before. You will start to see how similar other questions are to each other.
Don’t rush the process. Don’t score chase. Don’t worry about anything but improving your fundamentals. This does not necessarily mean go through the whole CC again, but if you feel the need to, go for it. I just find that my biggest gains have been made through drills and BR.
Hope this helps!
Sound advice, in my humble opinion.
BRing properly (not rushed or minimized) is quite possibly the most important element of this whole process. I learned this one the hard way.
@ajcrowel @JustDoIt @"Bevs ScooterMinion"
Thank you so much for your input!! This was all even more helpful than I thought it would be. This second time around is going to be a real test of my discipline and intellectual strength, but based on my first time around, the skills I need to practice for the LSAT apply to everything in life so I know it will be worth it. Thanks for the guidance!
@JustDoIt @"Bevs ScooterMinion"
A quick question for either of you if you can spare some thoughts. I only have a handful of untouched PTs to use that I would like to save for the weeks leading up to September. So I am assuming that after I do some review lessons on my known weaknesses, I should jump in and start with BR on PTs I'd already done before February? Trying to wrap my head around the best way to do this..
You're quite welcome. I'm merely sharing what I've learned from the fine Mentors and Sages.
Here's what I would do if I were in your position:
I would start PT-ing at a number that will let me do one PT per week until 1 week to a few days prior to September's test date (Sept 16th), that way I can spend ample time to BR thoroughly---that means going to back to CC and drilling weaknesses shown from the PT (as JustDoIt states above).
For example, if you have in your possession, all 80 PTs, (1-35 are used for drilling in CC), you would have PT #s 36 - 80, which leaves you 44 PTs. I estimated there are 22 Saturdays between today Sept. 16th, including tomorrow to the Saturday before test date--which is Sept 9th. Instead of doing 2 PTs per week, unless you're a glutton for punishment, I'd only do 1 PT per week because, as JustDoIt says above: BR is where your focus should be---that, plus drilling weaknesses that show up in each test. I'd start at PT #59 or 60. That way you'd be focusing on the more recent tests closer to test date, and reach PT 80 at the week before test date week.
Since you have a few fresh PTs left, I'd make sure I had extra time to BR when I took those fresh tests, because they may show different weaknesses that need drilling, than the retaken tests.
Also, compare your retaken PT weaknesses to the weaknesses identified when you took that PT before. See if you've strengthened those weaknesses, or if they're still showing as weaknesses.
However, this is all under the assumption that you're reaching just above your target score when you start PT-ing, and are able to keep up your target range scoring. Again, I think the take-away here is that your focus should be on BR with identifying and drilling weaknesses, not burning through PTs to reach #80 the week before test week.
I hope that makes sense and helps.
Best to you in your studies!!
@"Bevs ScooterMinion" Thank you so much for your thorough answer!!! I am so grateful and I am going to do this for sure. One clarification: when I am spending a week BRing PTs that I've already taken as a timed test, should I jump straight into BR or should I first take them timed again and then do BR for the rest of the week?
You're welcome.
Just to clarify though, you spend one week BR-ing each PT. (your statement reads a bit like you're BR-ing all PTs in one week---that is not the case. BR for one test is meant to take a long time because BR-ing properly means you're also drilling found weaknesses. I could be wrong, but that's what BR-ing properly means to me.)
If you've BR-ed that PT properly, then those weaknesses should be corrected in the next PT.
I would retake the PTs I already did under timed conditions to simulate test day, then spend a week BR-ing and re-drilling any shown weaknesses. Retaking a PT under timed conditions will allow you to compare your recent take to a previous take. The differences in the multiple takes of the same PT will show other weaknesses, or strengths, or even the same weaknesses (which means you really need to drill those weaknesses because it means you haven't improved on those weaknesses).
Always simulate test day conditions as much as possible any time you take a PT.
I hope this helps!
@"Bevs ScooterMinion" Thanks for clarifying! Definitely know that a BR for all tests couldn't possibly be done in one week but I see now the benefit of spending the time to retake the tests before BRing. Thanks again!
@"Bevs ScooterMinion" @ajcrowel @JustDoIt Hey everyone! I just broke 170! And I wanted to say thanks for your help 6 months ago!! 7 weeks to go...
@"shd.hart" that is so exciting congrats! Glad to be a part of your journey
don't be afraid to reach out if there is anything else we can do!