starting over?

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• 1 Like

  tringo335 Alum Member ⭐

  April 2017 3679 karma

  Hey there!

  As someone who originally started studying about a year ago and decided to stop after a month and restart later, I would suggest starting over from scratch.
• 2 Likes

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  April 2017 edited April 2017 23929 karma

  If you bombed your first test, I would start fresh with 7Sage and hold off on full practice tests until you've gone through the 7sage curriculum.
• 2 Likes

  allanisrael Alum Member

  April 2017 98 karma

  @tringo335 and @"Alex Divine" - Thats the best advice that can ever be given. @kH573201 there is no need to be in a haste really. I would suggest shifting the LSAT date to December, take time and understand the core content and work your way from there. If you expect that with some stroke of genius you"ll score high on the practice tests let alone on the exam proper, that'd be a joke. Trust me, i learnt the hard way.
  You also need to focus on what is at hand- maybe youre not understanding the practice questions or maybe youre being distracted by other things. You'll get there eventually!
• 1 Like

  Lsatbreakingnews Alum Member

  April 2017 392 karma

  LSAT logic and reasoning was so foreign to me the first time around, I hadn't seen anything like it. So, I started over and the second time around concepts are actually making sense.
• 1 Like

  tringo335 Alum Member ⭐

  May 2017 3679 karma

  @allanisrael said:
  @tringo335 and @"Alex Divine" - Thats the best advice that can ever be given. @kH573201 there is no need to be in a haste really. I would suggest shifting the LSAT date to December, take time and understand the core content and work your way from there. If you expect that with some stroke of genius you"ll score high on the practice tests let alone on the exam proper, that'd be a joke. Trust me, i learnt the hard way.
  You also need to focus on what is at hand- maybe youre not understanding the practice questions or maybe youre being distracted by other things. You'll get there eventually!

  I completely agree with this. If you are serious about getting into law school and really wanting to do well, do not rush the process. I would even push it back to next year if you find that December is too early. Don't be afraid to take your time.
• kH573201 Alum Member

  May 2017 115 karma

  Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback. I want to take it this year for sure though.
• 1 Like

  Colin1485 Member

  May 2017 edited May 2017 108 karma

  The lsat is a learnable test. Utilizing 7sage program, the lsat trainer and LG bible from Powerscore can get you very far! I have gone from the low 140s to 160s in 6 months of full time study (5 to 7 hours a day). I would recommend that you go shadow an attorney though. Just to verify you really want to endure the profession, another 3 years of school - especially professional school with ridiculous cost of schooling.

  Good luck!
• 1 Like

  Achen165 Member

  May 2017 656 karma

  Hey!

  Welcome to 7Sage! Although it sounds like a long and exhausting road, I myself, have recently come to accept the fact that the only way to get ahead with this test would be to start over. I say this because I had to learn the hard way. Don't think of it as taking steps back...it's the only way to reformulate your thinking patterns to be able to adapt to the test format and crush the LSAT. Chances are, over the past month you've lost a good portion of what you think you remember since its not on the forefront of your mind. I studied super full time exhaustively because I thought I could cram and get a decent score. I studied for under two months with the most consolidated test material on the market (to my knowledge), the LSAT Trainer, before taking the official exam (scored horrible...147). Then, I tried to pick back up where I left off in terms of studying (PT-ing) and eventually discovered that score improvement would be impossible without having developed more solid skills and habits to approach the test. I was very dejected and burned out fast following my last bout of studying and I received my scores three months ago with a rather misdirected approach to studying. So, don't despair, you have time to improve. But reassess again nearer to the withdrawal date for September if necessary...December or even February (though a long ways away) are still good options because, as I have learned from my fellow 7Sager's (thank you all!) that it's best to take it when you feel prepared. In my case, I like planning ahead and seeing exactly when the end of the road with studying will come, though the peace of mind that comes with feeling prepared (instead of just knowing that it's a countdown to a time to take the test) is absolutely necessary in order for you to do well.

  The background knowledge you form is an integral part of score improvement. You cannot PT and review without good direction because if you don't have a clear path to understanding what you are doing wrong, you will be stuck in a very depressive, exhausting, and time-wasting cycle of only having fragmented ideas of why an answer choice is wrong, without any cohesion (you need to have solid skills on all questions types in all sections) to be able to apply that insight the next time around.

  Anyhow, my initial approach to the test was very much like yours---it feels like a big jumble. From what I have seen so far in my short time with 7Sage which I will be purchasing Premium soon myself, is that they provide a nice trajectory and direction of working towards something. The Trainer is a fine supplement, but beware--navigate through it at a steady pace. It's a lot of information crammed into one book---I went through the entire thing, with a binder full of color-coded notes to prove--just take it slowly. It is not in itself a finite studying entity.

  But I guarantee you, that if you won't be willing to put forth the effort into really adequately preparing for the exam, will be worth the journey and the end result (a score that you are proud of, and on to the next steps of the admissions process).

  I do admit, that like you, at times, I have felt that memorizing appears to be an inoperative approach. Recalling things from memory while also tackling 23+ questions in 35 minutes seems like a waste of time...but if you don't form an understanding, your scores will not increase. That is what has deterred me from the Powerscore Bibles. Translating from theory to practice is more than memorizing, though, its about getting your brain to think in terms of LSAT logic so that whats in your mind becomes second nature in application, and it is definitely a process (and hence, I think, why 7Sage advocates delaying tests until you personally feel prepared). You have to understand the test. You don't need to memorize everything, but you do need to have a solid understanding of it. That comes with consistently studying, so I would advise starting over from the beginning with 7Sage, even if you do navigate quickly through the material you've already passed. The program (and the Trainer) take a building-block approach, where your understanding at every point is crucial to the next step. So by starting over, you would actually be propelling ahead, and accumulating a solid base before moving into PTs.

  I am starting over for the fourth time with my studying. The past three times, I've crashed and burned each time. My advice? Don't be like me. I sincerely wish you all the best at it this time around! Looking forward to working with you!

  P.S. I notice that you mentioned that you recently received an MA...congrats!
• kH573201 Alum Member

  May 2017 115 karma

  Thank you all so much for your comments. They've been a big help. This community is truly an awesome thing! I've taken all of your advice. I just purchased the Premium course...I'm excited to start!