New and a bit frustrated with my progress

[Mrzstubbz0417]

Hello all, I just started the PowerScore online course about 3 weeks ago and am working on Lesson 4 now. I am currently a full time Criminal Justice (minor Pre-Law) undergraduate at CSU Stanislaus. I will finish CSU this coming December and have set a date and paid for the LSAT Flex in April this year. I also own a set of the PowerScore bibles that I purchased before the online course. I didnt' get far into the bibles before I realized I would benefit even further from the course so they are not completed or anywhere near it.
I am generally an all A student and am in my 40's and found that I love school as an old fart and love learning, I thought this would be the same with this course. Although I do enjoy learning the new concepts, Every time I think I understand what the video is instructing and then go to apply that knowledge to the homework my results are terrible. When you work the problems out in the video they make perfect sense to me but the homework results I am getting are saying the complete opposite. I am averaging 2-3 correct no matter what the subject matter is. For instance, I enjoy the linear games but do terrible at applying them apparently.
I would like to have tutoring through PowerScore as well but as a stay at home mom with a family, the course itself is a large drain financially so I don't think it's wise to add to the burden at this time with tutoring costs but will consider it as soon as I am able. Until then what would you recommend I do to better my scores? Should I start the course all over again or how do bring the confidence and understanding for the material I feel during the videos to the homework I work on afterwards?
I have been on Winter break for school until tomorrow when full time classes start back up, I plan to spend 2hrs daily on LSAT study if I am busy and if I have more time I will devote it to this. Does that seem like a productive schedule or should I devote more time?
Thank you ahead of time for any input, I do appreciate it. This is an exciting venture in life but challenging for sure!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Mrzstubbz0417,

You are just getting started, so don't let yourself get too frustrated yet! Studying for the LSAT is different than studying for tests in school. You aren't learning facts and information, you are learning skills. While it's great to get questions right in practice, your goal shouldn't be about a certain number of questions correct, but about understanding the concepts. As you go through the practice questions for class, make sure you are taking the time you need to understand it. You can take 30 minutes on 1 logical reasoning question. That's fine as long as you are understanding the concepts. The goal is still understanding and not speed.

I'd recommend reviewing the concepts a bit. You can redo games, and focus on the set up. If you aren't getting questions right in the games, it likely means that your diagramming and set up could use some work. When you finish the game, look at the difference between how you set up the game, and how the set up looks in the explanations. Look at what you might have done differently.

Your practice is about learning your own brain. What patterns of thinking do you have that make questions harder? Are you missing key terms? Did you make an assumption you shouldn't have made? Keep track of your errors, and see where you need to focus your energy.

I'd also recommend thinking about studying not in terms of using up all your available time, but in terms of using your time effectively. I'd rather see a student study for 30 minutes, but really focused during that time, than 60 minutes of distracted work. I know it's hard with kids---I have three and WOW I get nothing done with them around. So whatever you need to do to get that time to focus, get it. Be realistic about your schedule and time that you have to spend. And focus on progress, not perfection.

Stick with it! You'll get there.

[Mrzstubbz0417]

Hi Rachael, thanks for responding so fast, you're reply was comforting. You mentioned slowing down and making sure I understand the concepts, I feel like I am grasping the concepts fairly well when I watch the videos but I agree that it would probably be beneficial to go back and brush up on everything. It can't hurt, that's for sure. I would much rather feel confident about what I am learning early on versus having it all click at once right before the course ends.
I wasn't taking much time to go back and review what I had gotten correct or missed and why but I can see how that would be really beneficial for understanding concepts and will do that as well.
I felt like I wasn't devoting enough time to this course but I understand what you are saying and feel much better about my time. I understood it sort of in the way that it's not the quantity of time I spend but the quality of the time spent on what I am learning.
Bless you heart, I have 3 kiddos as well, luckily one of them is away at college in another state while I am doing this but I still have a teen and a 10yr old at home. I have more time now than I did when they were babies but they still demand a lot of time. One of my professors told me children are a blessing for LSAT students because they train you to test in nosey high stress situations, I think he has a good point.