Practice Tests per week

[ahmed95]

Hello,

I was wondering what is the frequency per week of the amount of exams an October 2015 test taker should take in order to avoid burn out that the PowerScore instructors usually recommend? Especially after building a strong base and foundation of knowledge about almost all what is coming on the LSAT.

Also, for someone who has taken the Live online full course, are there explanations to the problem sets available or simply just answer keys only? If there aren't any then how and where can a student check his/her work?

Thank you in advance

many practice tests per week should a regular October test taker take

[Clay Cooper]

Hi Ahmed,

I can offer some input on your first question. First of all, thanks for your question. It is a good, practical question, and one that I receive from many of my students.

I usually recommend no more than one full-length practice test per week. Personally, my students have achieved the best results at around this rate. I think to take more than one per week can lead to burnout like you mentioned, and in extreme cases can actually cause scores to go down.

Moreover, I think that, while taking multiple practice tests is certainly advisable and basically irreplaceable as part of your prep strategy, one of the biggest advantages it offers you is a chance to look at detailed feedback on your missed questions and comparatively weak areas - whether these be specific question types , entire sections, or even timing patterns. This feedback allows us to work on our weakest areas and this achieve the best returns on each hour spent studying, and if a student spends all his or her time just taking tests, this focused and data-driven work on weak areas will suffer for it.

[Jon Denning]

Thanks Ahmed for the questions, and Clay thank you for your answer! Let me address the second question about Live Online question explanations:

The first, and easily the most important, thing I always tell students is that the best explanations are personalized explanations. Any time you can phrase your questions so that they're uniquely "yours," and receive a response tailor-made to what you've asked and what you need, you're much, MUCH more likely to find maximum value in the reply. Few things increase understanding and score like dynamic, interactive conversations about LSAT content.

I say all that to make a small, but crucial point: this LSAT Forum is arguably the single best resource anywhere when it comes to getting questions answered. As you've probably noticed just about anything is fair game, from LSAT questions to admissions inquiries to law school advice, and we've got an incredible staff of qualified folks manning the boards almost around the clock. So I can't tell you how glad I am to see you taking advantage of it, and I'm certain you'll find it pays off the more you continue to.

The same can be said, by the way, for searching this Forum! The amount of useful content scattered throughout these threads is virtually limitless, and just about any string of dialogue you encounter is liable to enlighten you, sometimes in ways and places you didn't realize were still dim. So search often for content/topics about which you're interested, or on which you're struggling, and dive in!

Of course, that's important stuff and a great first step, but hardly a complete answer to your question

As for pre-written explanations it really depends on which portion of the course content you're working on. All of the lesson questions, as well as the several hundred homework questions from your course books (and hundreds more online) have full explanations in your Online Student Center. Those can be found in the Homework section there, separated by lesson (just click the relevant lesson number and you'll see them). There are also a lot of additional explanations in your Student Center, particularly for Logic Games (for all 25+ practice tests, for instance).

So really we try to provide a balance: we want to empower our students to get immediate answers for lesson and homework content, as well as for the most (typically) pressing issues from the practice tests, but experience has shown us that restricting people to only pre-created content can be unexpectedly limiting. That's why we have question/problem sets, especially those more removed from your in-class experiences (i.e. a number of the supplemental sets online), where the expectation is that our students will use any uncertainties they encounter there as a jumping off point for interactive assistance via this Forum. If it's a concept you just learned in class and you're reinforcing it with homework in the wake of that lesson, we want you to have explanations handy as a reference point; as you move further from the class sessions and deeper into peripheral content, we strongly encourage you interact with us to guarantee a complete and total understanding of the material.

The existing explanations serve as further reinforcement, and the "live" explanations serve as further clarification...together they function to give you the most powerful, most personalized, assistance possible.

I hope that helps and, if it wasn't already clear from the text above, let us know if you have additional questions!

Thanks!

Jon