making a long-term study plan

[sejinlee]

Hello,

I am an undergraduate student who has just started my fifth year to boost up my GPA. As I have some specific questions.. I will first explain my circumstances.

I already have two lsat cancellations on my record (February 2013 and June 2013), which I regret, since I took them when I was not ready. I do not want to make the same mistake again and thus I would really appreciate it if you could give me some tips on making a study guide.

I will be done with my undergraduate studies in December, but I don't think I will be ready for the December lsat because we have exams for our courses in mid-December. After that, I will be going away to France on an exchange program for the next winter term, where I will be basically taking extra courses and learning French. I think I will slightly have more time there than this semester. So.. I am debating whether to take the february lsat in France, or write the lsat in June when I come back from my exchange. Either way, I really want to start preparing now, so that I will be definitely ready in either February or June. The two cancellations on my record and a not competitive GPA also adds the pressure as I want to at least get a high 160 on the lsat before I apply to law schools next fall.

I had been studying for the lsat during this summer before and after I took the June exam, but I feel like I was not studying the smart way, since I am still not ready for the October exam, and now that I also have school (full time), I was not able to study in the last few weeks.

So my questions are..:

1) How should I make a study plan to stick to when I am not sure if I want to take february or june lsat? Should I aim first for February, and if I am not ready, revise my study plan to take it in June?

I took the powerscore full length course last summer, and also studied for three months during this summer on my own. I have the three bibles and read them over already, and I have lots of prep tests I purchased from the lsac. If I want to start preparing for the lsat fresh and make a new study plan, do you think its best for me to aim for february lsat, or june lsat, considering my circumstances?

2) My weakest section is reading comprehension. I have never been able to fully finish 3 passages under 35 minutes. I usually finish 24 questions for Logical reasoning timed, getting about 4 questions wrong on average, and for logic games, I finish 4 games sometimes, but sometimes don't finish the last 2~3 questions of the last game. My score seems to fluctuate depending on the mood, and I have also taken several breaks from the lsat since last summer.

As I am planning to make a long-term study plan, should I start by focusing on a specific section, for example, logical reasoning, try different question types, basically doing Logical Reasoning questions solely for a few weeks until I can comfortably reach my goal score, and then move onto either reading comprehension or games section? If I follow this plan, when should I take a full practice test , since the only section I will be ready for will be the one I had been focusing on?

Or should I mix the three sections in my studies? I am worried that if I focus solely on one section at a time, I might lose my pace on the sections I practiced before. But if I do all three sections at one, it tends to confuse me...

3) Could you give me some specific tips, or perhaps a general guideline (ex. what to do in September, October, reviewing my progress..etc.) on making this long-term study plan, considering I have school and that I will have to spread out my studying?

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Sejin,

Thanks for the questions! I'm going to address the question about when you should take the LSAT. Given the length of your message, you'll probably see comments from other instructors on some of the remaining points.

I'd recommend that you look at the June 2014 LSAT. There are three reasons for this:

• 1. It gives you plenty of time to prepare, and having extra time always relaxes the process, which is important. That extra time is also important because you will be out of the country for the winter term, and that will occupy your attention to some extent. Taking it later also gives you more opportunity to work in some helpful breaks, the benefits of which I discuss in detail here.
  
  2. Taking the LSAT in another country can add stress to a situation that is already stressful. Because there is no urgency to take it in February, why add this extra, unwanted element? Also, you may find it harder to study while in France than otherwise (I know I would--the natural and desirable tendency is to want to maximize the experience abroad). Throwing the LSAT into the middle of your time away may simply not mix well.
  
  3. Last, with two cancellations on your record this year, you only have one more LSAT you can take before the "three times in two years" rule kicks in, and locks you out from taking another LSAT until 2015. So, you have to get it right with your next exam. That means, based on points 1 and 2 above, that pressing for February could result in some serious issues that are better avoided.

So, if I were in your shoes, I'd go enjoy France and not add taking the LSAT to the trip. Taking it in June gives you more time to prepare, as well as allows you to take it under less pressure.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[BethRibet]

Hi Sejin,

I concur with Dave's helpful comments, and would only add a bit more about a study plan.

Study plans are pretty individual, based on your learning style, the time you have available to spend before the test, and your goals. But here are some general recommendations I give to new students, with the caveat that you should revise anything you need to, in order to best suit you.

1) Take a timed test as an initial practice test to give you a baseline score. Don't worry about the score, it just gives you a baseline to measure your progress.

2) Without concern about timing and speed, immerse yourself in questions, either from tutorial texts (like the PowerScore LSAT Bibles) or old LSAT tests/practice tests. Practice every section and question type; it's fine to keep alternating between materials. You don't need to be getting everything right, but you do need to really study your wrong answers, and try to understand why you miss what you miss, and how you can avoid the same error in future.

3) Once you reach the point where you are comfortable and familiar with any type of question, try taking another test to measure your progress. Use your practice test to identify what question types you seem to be more likely to miss. If there are areas where you're consistently scoring poorly, you can continue drilling in those areas.

4) Once you feel pretty good about having achieved the best accuracy level you think you can, and no later than 6 weeks before the test, start focusing on building speed, by taking periodic timed tests, and doing timed sections in between on other days.

Don't over-prepare, at least to the point that you begin to burn out, or start second guessing yourself. Generally, I think 4 hours in a day should be a healthy maximum (and of course you may not need that much time, depending on how early you start to prepare).

Good luck!
Beth

[david561]

Just to give my two cents, I also planned a "long term study plan" in which I have been currently executing. First off as you already know the three power score bibles are the most important books to start out with. Read them all front to back. Now other then that I would purchase preptests 59-69 individually as well as a few LSAC book of ten prep tests (preferably no later then test 30). This will not only give you a number of extra sections to test out different tactics on but will primarily be utilized as a 5th TESTING section within your self proctored tests. Also download the Kaplan LSAT timer via IPHONE which is free and get to work.
Best of luck,
David

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Sejin,

Let me chime back in with some additional thoughts in the vein of Beth's and David561's excellent comments.

First, since you took the PowerScore full-length course in the past, you can re-up your access for a fee to the Online Student Center (OSC), where all of those recent LSATs can be accessed, in addition to all the course modules and supplements. Something to think about as you consider what options you have. And, between your course material and the OSC, you have access to all of the LSATs going back to PrepTest 1.

Second, there's a high degree of value in doing as many LSAT questions as possible because the test makers tend to repeat concepts. And sometimes they wait a long time to repeat I talk a bit more about this on our blog, and also address some other useful ideas for long-term studying, so I'm going to link several articles here that I think you might find helpful (including the one I linked to above):

• Should You Avoid Older LSATs?
  
  The LSAT, Practice, and Over-Practicing
  
  Retaking the LSAT when you’ve seen all of the practice questions
  
  Why Breaks From The LSAT Can Increase Your Score

Third, I agree with David561 about timing your tests. It's critical to do so. We also offer a free online LSAT time over http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/lsat-prep.cfm, under the "Testing & Tracking " tab.

Last, I also strongly agree with David561 that you should put experimental sections into your practice tests. If fatigue is something you have problems with, consider taking 6-section practice tests in order to overdrive your system and build up your test stamina. The LSAT is no doubt a grueling mental exercise, but I can tell you that 5 sections feels a lot easier once you've taken a 6-section test. Just a thought!

I hope that helps. Thanks!

[sejinlee]

Hello,

Thank you very much everyone for helpful comments!!
I just have some additional questions to each one of you after reading everyone's answers..

1) First, Beth, thank you for your suggested study plan! You said as the third step, that once I am comfortable with any type of questions, take another practice again to measure progress. Should this be under timed?

2) David,thank you so much for your suggestion. I decided to postpone it to June. I am even considering October. As I have described in my initial question, I will be away in France and coming back to Canada in the beginning -mid of May. By then I will be completely done with my undergrad, but now that I think about it, taking the June LSAT will give me only two-three weeks after I get back to Canada to solely focus on the LSAT.

Do you think that if I make a long term plan starting now until next June, I will have to study LSAT alongside with all my school work, it gives me enough time to aim for the June lsat, or would it be better to keep studying until June and then from June when I am done school, devote the whole three-four months only on the LSAT and take the October lsat?

3) I purchased "SuperPrep" from LSAC as I read somewhere that it is a helpful tool to see how the maker of the LSAT think. At which point in my preparation should I try this Superprep?


Thank you very much in advance!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Sejin,

Let me post answers to each of your questions.

• 1. Yes, it should be timed
  
  2. How about this approach: plan on taking the June LSAT, and begin studying now in a low-level fashion. then, if once the June LSAT is close you feel good, take that exam. If you do not feel comfortable prior to June, look to take October. But, all else being equal, taking the June LSAT would be preferable from an admissions timeline standpoint.
  
  3. The SuperPrep is a helpful book. As I've noted elsewhere on this Forum, "The nice thing about the SuperPrep is that you get to see how the test makers think about the questions. For that reason, many people consider the SuperPrep one of the most valuable tools out there. Just reading the language they use to describe the questions and certain patterns of analysis is helpful.
  
  The one problem with the SuperPrep is that the test makers also play "hide the ball" a lot. Instead of describing techniques for solving questions, they simply describe the error. So, their explanations can get a bit obscure at times, and that diminishes the value of the book. It's kind of like they wanted to write good explanations, but at the same time they didn't really want to give people any real secrets to figuring out the exam. It gets annoying--especially in the Logic Game section where they describe elements of the correct setup but don't actually draw it out."
  
  There are three tests in the SuperPrep, and they should be used about 3/4 of the way through your prep. That will give you enough time to digest what the test makers say, and to correct any issues you notice.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!