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goingfor99th
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I'm just starting, so still working through the CC. How many hours a day would you say you devoted to the LSAT?
On average, probably 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week. My study time for any single day ranges from 1 hour minimum to 8 hours maximum. The 8 hour days were always broken up by meals and workouts, and rarely ever consisted of timed work.
I've been studying on and off for a while. I tried to rush myself into the exam (JY would not approve) and ended up scoring lower than I hoped. I ended up with a 154 despite my PTs being in the 160s.
To date, I've taken 8 PTs, tons of isolated sections and the LSAT itself.
I did almost all the PTs twice. Once per real LSAT take (174, 178). I also did most logic games about 4 times each, including as part of a full PT.
Time taken was about two 3 month periods of ~4 hour days.
The time spent per day might seem relatively less but as you get more competent, you score higher, take less time on doing it and spend less time reviewing since you make less mistakes. You also get motivated from seeing higher scores/progress
I've been more inconsistent with the LSAT than with probably anything in my life, and I'm actually okay with it. I always say Barry O didn't start till he was almost 28!
I officially started last August (153 diagnostic) and went through some of the Powerscore Bibles and then did a bunch of questions from the Cambridge packets (Maybe ~400) I also did a bunch of the games from the Cambridge packets as well, but only the easy ones, lol. Maybe 50-100.
Then I signed up for 7Sage and did many of the problem sets. Not all, but most.
I've also been working my way through fool proofing the games. So far up to test 7 or 8.
Through all of this, I probably have been sadly only consistently "studying" for a couple months between Jobs, break ups, moving, life, taking weeks at a time off for work, etc. It got in the way and I never really put the LSAT first, well, because I'm just frankly not that in a hurry to take it.
Aiming for this December. Maybe next year. Whenever I am scoring those sweet 180s. HYS or bust
Been at it for a year and a half now. Don't really know how much I have done but idk, maybe something similar to you lol
I'm all for perfectionism, but if HYS is your goal you do not need a 180. Although it'll help, it certainly isn't necessary. I would just hate for someone to discourage themselves from applying to those schools because they didn't get a near perfect to perfect score.
Haha! No way, man! My goal is a 180 'cause anything less just never made sense for me. That said, being an AA URM with average softs and some work experience, I'd feel safe applying with anything north of a 168. AA URMS are getting into H with 160s and Y&S wit 165s. So I guess we will see.
All that said, I just really want to be scoring really high before I take the test. Thank you for the encouragement though.
What's your source?! If that's the case, I may stand a chance!
This is actually so important. You only need to score above a school's 75th percentile. After that, there is effectively no marginal return on extra points (indeed, some top schools yield protect and one could argue scoring too highly perversely hurts your chances). So for HYS, that means a 176. I think that's actually huge. I was on this "180 or nothing" mentality, and I think it is really unproductive. It just stresses you out. Now that my mind set is "it's okay to get a couple wrong" I feel like my confidence during PTs is actually higher.
Edit: Two other things. Even the 75th percentile is overkill if your GPA is above the median. Except for Y and S, virtually all schools have incredibly high acceptance rates for applicants above the median on both LSAT and GPA. Even for those two schools the acceptance rate is way higher. Second point is: the LSAT is not an end itself. As fun as the LSAT is (and I say that sincerely) and as much as the pursuit of a top score is intoxicating (and I am thoroughly intoxicated), at some point the end result of this all needs to be acceptance into law school in order to practice the law.
Started beginning of October 2016. Did 4 or 5 9:00am - 4:30pm days in the library each week until end of November. Didn't use any prep materials except for J.Y's LG videos and the Powerscore LG Bible. First full PT (36) was a 165 and didn't make much progress beyond that in 2 months. Scores ranged between 163 and 168. Decided to call it quits for the year, withdrew from the December LSAT, got a job, started volunteering. Picked up the 7sage course this Spring to build on the fundamentals and work with structure (no more mindless rushing through PTs).
Currently doing a full day per week in the library, plus some light 2 hour LG sessions whenever I feel up for it. 5 days a week at 8 hours a day burned me out no end last year, and I'm finding this pace much better. LG are my weakest section by far and I feel like 7sage and the CC has saved my life in that regard. I will nail those first before I worry about PTs or LR/RC. Currently working on Foolproofing 1-35.
About 30 PT 4months. Started 135, last PT 168
This blog is very helpful in breaking down how much applying early, being a URM, or a X-pt increase in your LSAT score can boost your chances of admission at a top-14 school.
http://admissionsbythenumbers.blogspot.ca/p/harvard-law-school-profile.html
http://admissionsbythenumbers.blogspot.ca/p/stanford-university-law-school.html
Being a URM applicant to Harvard and Stanford boosts your chances of admission a HUGE amount.
Harvard, URM applicants basically get a 16 pt LSAT boost.
Stanford, it's equivalent to a 9.5 pt LSAT score boost.
At Yale, it's not nearly so extreme, but it's still significant. And if you're interested, these are the GPA/LSAT medians for the top-14 schools:
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=6FBA16FEEDBC70A5!112&ithint=file,xlsx&app=Excel&authkey=!AOhTXzYHqq5Gl9g
Oh my goodness!! Thank you so, so much for sharing!
! I love this community so much!!
My only reason is to aim for perfection in all I do.
I'm not going to aim for anything less. I believe everyone's goal should be a 180. A 97 was an A+ in undergrad. Still aimed for a perfect 100% and still got an A+ ... Just mattered to me
ETA: People have a lot of anecdata that once you're above a school's 75 it's a marginal difference. That's true, but a 4.0/180 is going to have you stand out for other scholarships and such. Not just for purposes of admissions.
There's data out there. Friends who got in with those scores. (URM AA male 3.7/162) It's no secret AA URMs get a boost. Albeit much less at Yale and probably by about half at S. There's websites that try to quantify it, but there are so many variables it's unreliable. I've seen sources say AA URMs get 15-20 points boost on LSAT. Like, yeah, no.... Maybe ~10. And you better have the softs and GPA for it too.
If you have at 3.7 and a 165 that seems to be the magic number at H for AA URMS.
AA URM getting 16 point boosts on the LSAT? Haha I think we'd see a lot more 150s scores getting in. The way the "boost" works isn't quantifiable number. It's best to think of it was all the URMS compete amongst themselves and because, generally, our LSAT scores are a SD below white takers we get what is called this boost. It's not something that can be quantified. I'm familiar with the stats and how it's calculated, but the issue is it is based on a false premise.
I really respect that, man and hope you do get the score you want! However, I do find it important to make sure people that aren't as familiar with how this all works know that they have a shot at elite schools without perfection. But, keep that positivity up! That'll take you very far.
Not really, a mid-150s score with a 16 point "boost" would still put you in the bottom 25th percentile at the top 5 schools.
Obviously it's not a literally quantifiable scale like that - the guy who runs the bythenumbers blog specifically says that you shouldn't just tack on that "boost" as if it were an exact number. He simply looks at a bunch of different stats for for applicants at top-14 schools (e.g. GPA/LSAT score, URM vs non-URM, ED vs not, male/female, etc.) - and calculates how much a 1-pt increase in your LSAT score, applying a month earlier, and several other factors, could boost your chances at admission compared to another candidate without those factors. This also doesn't take into account softs like work experience and essays.
Anyway, I was just answering melissa's question, and providing some data to back up the anecdotal stats you initially stated. No need to shoot the messenger
All inputs are greatly appreciated! Thanks for the data yall!
Thanks, Brother! Same to you.