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Here was my study schedule for my 20 point increase :)
I've gotten a few questions, so I figured I'd make a second post because I know I really benefitted from reading other people's study method. I went from a diagnostic of 153 to a score of 173 in Dec (-3 RC, -2 LR, -2 LR, -2LG). I do want to point out that I got very, very lucky on test day. I had never scored above a 171 in practice, but was BRing at 179-180 consistently for the month before the exam. Sometimes you luck out with a test that plays to your strengths, and mine just happened to actually count!
I went through the core curriculum for about two months and then Fool Proofed LG. If you don't know what that is, check out this post: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy/p1
Once I had fool proofed (took over a month), I started drilling and PTing. My schedule was:
Monday: 1 LR and LG section
Tuesday: 1 LR and RC section
Wednesday: 1 full PT/blind review
Thursday: 1 LR and RC section
Friday: 1 LR and LG section
Saturday: 1 full PT/blind review
I used all of PTs 40-52 for these section drills. I started out doing each section untimed, underlining the keywords in LR with a highlighter and writing a line # for where I had pinpointed the answer for RC. I would take 15+ minutes on each RC passage at first, and 45+ on LR. I figured it was better to get the basics and concepts down to a science before I moved on to timed. Eventually, I started timing my sections. Probably around October. Honestly, I wasn't learning anything from LG at this point, just keeping my mind sharp.
In November, I realized I needed to really focus on Flaw/NA questions. So instead of doing full LR sections (plus I was running out), I started using the 7sage question bank to drill. I'd do some timed, some untimed depending on how "hard" the question set was. Also in Nov, I started writing "explanations" for the questions I got wrong in my drills. I'd save these in a word doc but didn't really look at them again. But I learn by teaching, so I'd write out an explanation as to why a choice was correct and why all four others were wrong and then post it on the video explanation here on 7sage. I think this is when I consistently started scoring 169-170.
I found that I was able to go from -7ish a section on RC down to -2ish. I mostly did this through allowing myself to find the answer in the text. It's there. I would read the passage and make sure I understood it (started out by writing a summary for each paragraph, but found that to be too time consuming on timed sections). And then just go through the questions and make sure I could draw each answer to the text. For the untimed, I would write the paragraph line.
For PTs, I was worried I would need to retake so I was nervous about tearing through them all. So I started with PT 55 and did every three. So 55... 58... 61... 64, etc. Until I got to the 70s and started over. I jumped around a little bit to make sure I did 79 (the dreaded virus game) and 81 right before the Dec. test. All in all I did ~15 PTs.
**Edit: I also totally forgot that I worked through the Bibles in October lmao. I'd do a chapter of LR, LG, or RC a day. LR was helpful because at this point, I had gone through the CC in June so it was a good refresher. LG was a waste; I had already FP'd so I had already seen most of the games they used. RC was mostly useless too. However, I found it was good to focus just on RC but I didn't highlight/underline like they suggest. Overall, I used the Bibles for refreshers and test-taking strategies. Did LG or RC help? Eh. But the LR was good because it explained question types in a bit of a different way, so between the Bible and 7sage, I had a deep understanding of them.
I did all of this as a full time student taking 16 credit hours and working 10hrs at my part time job. Luckily, I had planned my course load and work schedule around the LSAT so I didn't start classes until 2pm on Monday/Wednesday and 11am on Tuesday/Thursday. This meant I was on campus at 8am every day, either to drill or take a PT. No tutors or any of that, but I relied on the 7sage forum and r/lsat to keep my mind in the "lsat" mode even when not feeling motivated.
I do believe that most people can raise their score with a good schedule that they stick to. How much, I can't say. But my schedule was very much let's-see-what-works and I just kinda went with it. I think you have to find what works for you; I drew from a lot of other people's tips and tricks. I hope this helps someone out there. Again, I got incredibly lucky on the exam (which is why I'm not retaking lmao) but maybe hopefully you wont have to rely on luck on your take!
Comments
This is awesome. And incredibly impressive considering you were also in school and working.
Looks like diligence is your secret ingredient.
Great job! Thanks for sharing
You'll have to keep in touch and let us know what dream school you went to! Any tips for day-of testing?
This is amazing! I'll definitely be trying a couple of these things out
Thanks everyone--hopefully it helps someone else out!
@tringo335 honestly, my day-of was a mess lmao. It's in my other thread, but basically I was last to the room and couldn't breathe because cause I had ran to the test. But as soon as I sat down, I started visualizing me opening my email with LSAC saying "173." I made myself calm down, breathe, and dive right into RC. Honestly, I think running and getting my adrenaline going might have benefitted me because I was able to be laser-focused haha. So maybe me being (almost) late was a good thing?
One thing I did find helpful was taking 1-2 seconds and starting my clock as soon as the proctor said "now," not turning the page first. This meant my clock was perfectly in sync with hers so I had 0 surprises on timing. I think the 2 seconds lost at the beginning of a section was much better than losing it at the end.
Also, I'm a junior so I'll be hanging around these forums for a while, specifically for next year's cycle
Wow! Excellent tips and that is a very, very good score considering your busy schedule!! Could you expand a bit more on your RC strategy? Did you notate much on the passage? And did you go back for almost every question or only specific like referenced questions? And for reviewing the passage you just looked for line references? I’m assuming that by test day, you did not write much on the passage to save time? And instead, just read it through? I’ve been struggling to improve RC.
Also, did you BR the drilled LR and RC sections or just the full tests you took? That seems like a lot of time dedicated to the lsat everyday, that’s amazing!
Thanks so much again and best of luck to you on applications!!
Hi there! After doing quite a few RC, I got a "feel" for what I thought the testmakers wanted. So if I saw a word that stood out ("the style was eclectic" or "the author misunderstood") I'd underline it. If I thought there was a phrase that explained the paragraph well, I'd bracket it. But other than that, I didn't notate all that much. I didn't go back to the passage for every question, but I knew I could if I needed to. I think that's the secret. Understanding the passage so well that you don't need to go back in order to know an AC is in the passage. That obviously takes a lot of time.
So in a way, I was "prephrasing" the whole question set. This was my way of engaging with the passage, which I think is the most important thing. In the beginning, I would paraphrase each paragraph into a sentence and after doing that on untimed tests, I was able to just do that in my head. Helped immensely for Main Point questions.
I was enrolled in two lit courses this semester, one where we read dense 18th century works. I honestly think that helped, and because it was a class I couldn't not read. Reading for pleasure really will help, even if it's just getting your mind in the mode of "okay, what's going on here."
I didn't BR the LR/RC drills (though I totally should have). Instead, I did "cookie cutter" reviews for each of the questions I got wrong. Basically where I'd just explain why I chose the wrong answer choice and what I did wrong. I'd do probably 1.5-2hrs of LSAT work each day I was drilling, and then of course a full PT/BR day was much more. By the end, I could feel myself burning out so I took the entire time from Thanksgiving to the test off, just doing light drills.
That's awesome, @kimmy_m66 congrats to you! When you say you did 1 LR and 1LG section on Monday/Tuesday, etc, you did these sections timed, correct?
Also, for BR would you review your correct answers as well or only the incorrect answers/circled questions? I've never been able to BR a test in one day with a similar schedule to yours
so kudos to you!
Thanks for another post about your journey! But you should give credit where credit is due - I don't think it's entirely fair to say you got a 173 out of luck. It's clear you had a set schedule and put most of your energy on the LSAT. If you were scoring in the mid 150s to low 160s then yeah I would agree you lucked out big time....but you were BR'ing in the high 170s so it's no surprise you got such a wonderful score
Congrats yet again and yes please do stick around! 
@kimmy_m66 Thank you for posting your schedule. This was very helpful seeing this plan and how you structured each session.
How long did it take you to do each both drill sections (you mentioned that you did them untimed) each session?
You are such a kind person. You will be successful in whatever you do.
Did you study at home or away from home or both? Great work on your score!
Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for all the congrats--I hope I can help someone! To avoid too much family time, I'm answering questions lmao
Thanks! I started out doing my LR/RC sections untimed, even just doing 1-2 passages a day. I always did LG timed because I had already FP'd. After ~2-3 weeks, I began doing them timed. I wanted to really have the foundations down before I threw in time. So. I probably did BR wrong. I would only look at the questions I got wrong, because most of the time they were the "curve breaker" questions. I'd go through and erase any markings on the questions I got wrong; I'd then go through and wrote out the cookie-cutter review and would see if I'd get it right on a second go through. Honestly, with school and work I didn't think I had the time to BR the whole exam.
I took probably 1.5-2hours each day to drill. I'd get onto campus ~8 and would be done drilling by 9:30. This included doing the section and correcting my answers. It took longer when I first started, because I wasn't timing at all so it may take 50 minutes for one LR section. At that point I'd take ~3 hours because I was also missing more. But by November, it wasn't unusual to get -1 or -0 on a timed LR section, so of course that review would be only around 5 minutes.
Kinda both. I did most of my drilling on campus before class and then on Wednesdays I'd go to our campus library and check out a private study room. On Saturdays the library wasn't open so I'd sit at my desk at home, still starting at 8:30. I didn't like studying in my room, so I'd go to a coffee shop to review my wrong answers (and work on other homework) for a few hours.
@kimmy_m66
did you drill all the LR types from 1-29 or just enough for some to get a grasp before doing untimed LR, then onto timed LR.
Or kind of save some to address issues you found from your timed sections.
I did probably 1/4 of each drill in the CC when I first went through, and then I saved it. I honestly didn't use even half of all the drills. I did untimed LR --> timed LR --> NA/Flaw drills. I didn't drill anything else
Thank you for posting this! Congrats on the awesome score!
Thanks for posting this and congrats on that great score!
How many months were you studying for the Lsat from start to finish?
Thanks for sharing this, @kimmy_m66! Wish you the best in your applications!
Congrats and thanks for sharing! I've decided to postpone a cycle but this will be super helpful to reference when I start studying again. Good luck with this cycle!
@kimmy_m66 Thanks so much for posting this and congratulations!!! Do you mind sharing how long do you usually spend reading each RC passage and how do you manage the section timing? Also, although you said you don't go back to the passage for every single question but do you refer to the passage for the vast majority of questions?
Thanks again everyone!
I started the CC in early May and finished it in late June and then started FPing Logic Games in June. Ended up taking July off, then continued FPing in August. Took much of September off and then began drilling/PTing in late September.
With timing, I mostly focused on 8.5 minutes/passage, spending around 2-4 minutes reading. I'd say I didn't need to go back for 1/3 of the questions, for another 1/3 I knew the answer but chose to be sure by going back, and the last 3rd I needed to go check the passage.
Maybe a future webinar interview/conference if you have time? Thanks for the additional details. It's very helpful when one's sort of in the middle of the ocean on the voyage of the study process.
Thanks for posting this!
Could you explain a bit on how you were able to blind review twice in one week. I imagine you took a full pt and blind reviewed in one day ? And then reviewed your answers throughout the week? After you completed your regimen for the other days ?
I touched on this a little above
I probably did BR wrong. I would only look at the questions I got wrong, because most of the time they were the "curve breaker" questions. I'd go through and erase any markings on the questions I got wrong; I'd then go through and wrote out the cookie-cutter review and would see if I'd get it right on a second go through. Honestly, with school and work I didn't think I had the time to BR the whole exam.
So I BR'd on the same day
For foolproofing your LG after the 2 months of cc, which tests did you use?
The logic games bundle, so all of 1-35, that comes with ultimate+
Awesome! Congrats! What is CC by the way?
The Core Curriculum.
Thanks so much, this is really great!!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for posting this!!
I have a quick question about full-proofing, did you full-proof the same way as the post that you linked? I've read several different variations on full-proofing, and I'm testing them out right now.
@nvakhshoury Hi there! Yup, I did it almost to the t, with two new games a day (and then repeating the games from the day before and the week before). I only did two games, some people do a whole section or two sections, which makes it go quicker.
Honestly, I advocate finding what works best for you. The ideal results of foolproofing is the same, no matter what: -1/-0 per section. So if, after 35-40 games, you aren't seeing results, then maybe something needs to be changed. But for now I'd find one that works for your schedule, and go from there!
Hi @kimmy_m66, thank you so much for doing this, congrats on the killer score! Two questions,1. did you ONLY foolproof for a month before moving on to drills and PTs? And 2. When you did the two sections a day of PTs 40-52, did you just print the exams and assign different sections to different days? Did you BR those sections?
Yup, I spent a whole month on just full proofing. I was doing 6 hours a day plus working eight hours a day, so I didn't have much time for anything else haha. I just went through the tests while doing sections. So like, LG and LR1 from 43 on Monday, RC and LR2 from 43 on Tuesday. I personally printed them out as I went along, but I totally could have printed them all out at the same time, no biggie
Hello @kimmy_m66
Re: full proofing, was there any sort of template you used for the recommended 10 printed copies of each game? Or, did you literally just print 10 copies of each game you did? (trying to see if there's any way around saving that much paper, probably not though).
@Nabintou I print one copy, then slide them into document protectors when i do the game and use an ultra fine tip expo marker, works perfectly! Didnt mean to hijack the question, just offering my suggestion
Thank you for taking the time to write this out. It's always interesting to see others' study methods. Congratulations on the fabulous score!
Awesome job on the high score! It's great inspiration when fellow test takers who have found success share their stories. Thank you for taking the time and sharing.
Also @Eric25 thanks for the suggestion for laminating LG. I find myself with mounds of paper and a big mess. Smarter way to go about it!
Hi just wondering because I am Blind reviewing now, how were you able to do a full blind review of a PT in one day?