Starting LSAT Journey – 140 Diagnostic, Feeling Lost, Need Advice!

[avleenchawla]

Hi everyone! I just started my LSAT prep and took a diagnostic test a couple of months ago, scoring a 140. I know it’s a starting point, but I’m feeling overwhelmed. I’ve been using the LSAT prep Bibles, but they are pretty hard to understand, especially since I’m new to the test format.

I’m planning to write the LSAT in April/May 2025, so I have some time, but I don’t know what my first step should be or how to approach my study plan since there are so many different websites (7 sage, LSAT demon etc). I’d really appreciate any advice—whether it’s resources, study schedules, tutoring, or general tips that worked for you when you were starting out.

Thanks so much in advance!

[Jeff Wren]

Hi avleenchawla,

You've come to the right place!

The LSAT Bibles are a great resource, but most students would benefit by supplementing their LSAT studying with either an LSAT course or private LSAT tutoring (or even both, if that's in your budget). The advantage of the LSAT Bibles is that they are one of the most affordable options to study for the LSAT and that you can read them at your own pace and at your convenience. A disadvantage for some students is that they can't easily ask questions and get immediate feedback in the way that they could in a live course or in private tutoring. Also, some students learn better by actually hearing the ideas explained rather than reading them in a book. If you're finding the Bibles hard to understand in places, then you should really consider one of these other options as they will help you better understand the ideas in the Bibles. For example, when I tutor new students, I usually will teach a lesson that covers a chapter in the Bibles and then have the students read the chapter after the lesson as part of their homework rather than before the lesson. Students usually find that works much better.

I generally recommend against using multiple companies to study for two reasons. First, there are some bad companies out there that offer bad advice that can actually do more harm than good. Second, learning multiple possibly conflicting strategies can be confusing and overwhelming. If you take a PowerScore course or get tutoring through PowerScore, the strategies will be the same as those in the Bibles and everything should work together.

If you do decide not to take a course or get tutoring and just use the Bibles, it's important to understand how to use them. You don't want to read through the Bibles like a normal book. You want to read a chapter and then go practice those ideas/question types until you are comfortable with them before moving on. For example, if you read the chapter on Must Be True logical reasoning questions, you then want to go practice and review a lot of those questions before moving on to the next chapter. PowerScore's Testing and Analytics package would be a good thing to get as it provides practice questions broken down by question type. If you do purchase one of our LSAT courses or tutoring packages, then these materials are included.

[askuwheteau@protonmail.com]

Hi avleenchawla,

I know somewhat how you're feeling. My diagnostic test started out as a 141 a year and four months ago. I've done 2,437 problems to date and I'm now averaging 151 as my LSAT practice test score in advance of retaking the LSAT in Feb of 2025.

I purchased the LR and RC Bibles and have used them in tandem with the Testing and Analytics package. The drills and practice tests allow direct practice with the concepts in the Bibles. Also, it is very important that you create a problem tracker template (or use Powerscore's free templates) which will allow you to note which problems you got wrong (when doing drills and practice tests), why you got them wrong, and provides additional space for making notes when redoing those problems two weeks later to see if you indeed grasped the concept this time around.

This exam is a process and concept test rather than a knowledge based one (i.e., like a physics exam in University). You must get the process down by applying the Bible concepts in practice and by reviewing the Bibles frequently. If you're not 100% sure about something, look it up or ask someone. Work extremely diligently at preparing for this test and don't focus upon perfection; rather, focus upon doing your best.

Hope this helps!