Recommendation for self study program

[Alex Albright]

Hi,

I recently started studying for the LSAT with the PowerScore LSAT Bible Trilogy and had a question regarding the best study schedule to employ. I'm on summer vacation until very late August, and have all summer to study. I plan to take the LSAT next February, which leaves me approximately 8 months to study. However, I would like to dedicate as much time possible this summer especially and the subsequent months to studying.

I've looked over the self-study plans you offer, particularly the 6 month plan and felt I could be dedicating much more time on a weekly basis than what the plan offered. I also looked at the 2 month plan, which contained a lot more work on a weekly basis, and felt that was more appropriate given my free time. My goal is to read all books before classes commence in the fall and substanitally improve my LSAT score.

Since I have 8 months till I take the real test, would using the 2 month study schedule for the summer be going overboard/not wise? I don't know if this would be working too fast through chapters and concepts if I have 8 months. After summer I would either repeat the 2 month schedule for the next six months or use a 6 month plan since I will have school work to do.The next two months are crucial since I won't have classes to attend and study for. I would greatly appreciate it if you could advise me on what self-study program you think would be best for a student who has a free and full two months to study till school starts but won't take the LSAT till February of 2017.

Thank you,

Alex

[Adam Tyson]

In my opinion, the 2 month plan (being designed to cover everything at an accelerated pace) would be the wrong approach for your summer. Instead, I would use the 6 month plan and beef it up some with additional practice tests and drills during the summer with all your free time. Maybe work through the 6 month plan at a pace that would allow you to get through it in 4 months, then spread the rest out once school begins? Plan on more and more practice tests as you get closer to your test date, but be sure to alternate timed tests with untimed analysis and focused study on key areas where you know you need improvement - a particular question type, a particular game type, etc.

Whatever plan you adopt, be sure to avoid the extremes - too much studying, like you might be inclined to do this summer, could lead to burn out and reinforcement of bad habits. Too little, with long breaks away from the books (a problem you might encounter when your classes resume in the Fall) and the skills you have worked so hard to develop will atrophy, and it will all have been for naught.

Maintain a regular, steady program of study, allowing time for analysis, drills, practice tests, more homework, timed and untimed sections, and plenty of breaks to recharge your batteries and maintain your sanity. Be sure to make time every week during the school year to always be doing something. Even when you don't have much time, you can always go online and read the latest blog post or discussion in the forum (like this one) to keep your head in the game. Eavesdrop on classmates and listen for key indicator words for conditional or causal reasoning, and mentally diagram their conversations. Listen to NPR Talk of the Nation Science Friday, or watch a few TED Talks, to get more comfy with science topics for RC. Do extreme sudoku puzzles to keep the brain in good shape for LG. There's always something you can be doing to feed that part of the brain! Then, occasionally, read a trashy novel or watch a mindless action flick and just let that part of the brain rest.

Good luck! Keep on studying!

[Alex Albright]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I like your suggestion of condensing the 6 month plan into 4 months, that seems very manageable. I figured I can do the 4 month plan starting now, which would end in October, with extra drills as you recommended. After my plans in October, I could repeat the 4 month playing with more practice tests than my first 4 months. I don't think I'll have a scheduling conflict with my schoolwork. I just want to make sure I am using the most result based study schedule for myself. Please let me know if repeating a 4 month self study program twice with an emphasis on practice tests in the second 4 month plan would be the most efficient in your opinion.

Thank you,

Alex

[Clay Cooper]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your follow-up.

Adam may want to weigh in, but I will give my opinion as well. I think that is a solid plan, as long as you are correct that you can devote enough time to your prep that you are able to do justice to the 6-month plan in just four months - and do so twice.

I think you have understood his feedback about increasing the portion of the plan that is devoted to practice tests. I also would encourage you to think of your second trip through the plan as more analytical, and to make adjustments based on your personal strengths and weaknesses in the various sections, question types, concepts, etc. In other words, as you go through the second time, you will be less focused on learning every bit of the methodology offered, and you ought to be correspondingly more focused on determining your particular areas of weakness and working harder at them.

In other words, the first time through, you will spend some time learning about strengthen questions, how to think about them, how to attack them, etc. If, as you begin your second round, you discover that you very rarely miss a strengthen question, then save the time you might spend on them and use it instead on another, more difficult question type.

Your second time through the plan, your work should be more informed and more tightly focused on what needs improvement the most.

Finally, Adam is not joking about taking time off - it is vitally important. Take his advice and do mindless things sometimes, and don't feel bad about it at all. If you don't, your score will suffer - he and I and all of the rest of us at PowerScore have seen it happen.

I hope that helps! Enjoy the next eight months.