Preparing for the June 2014 LSAT

[michaelouisimps]

Greetings PowerScore community!

My name is Mike - I am an aspiring law student. I am currently preparing to take the LSAT in June. I just got the three bibles as Christmas presents, as well as four books of official LSAC practice tests. I am scheduled to begin a full-length course in April to prepare me for test day. However, I don't want any of my individual studies to interfere with the course, i.e. taking a practice test that will be administered to me again during the full length course.

I plan on following the three month self-study plan for the February 2014 LSAT: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/323 ... -2014-LSAT

Do you have any recommendations for me?

Cheers!

Mike

[Jon Denning]

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the question and congrats on the upcoming course (and the Christmas presents)! The course is designed to be all-inclusive--that is, even people with zero LSAT knowledge/experience will get all of the info they need as part of the course itself--so certainly I think you would be fine taking it fairly easy the next few months while you wait for it to get going.

That said, I also know it's tough to sit still and feel like you're not doing any prep-wise. With that in mind, I'd probably encourage you to take a slightly older practice test (pre-2005, say) to determine exactly where you need the most help (or consider a recent practice test taken under timed conditions), and then start working on the Bible relevant to that area. So if you feel like LR is a section that could use some work, grab your LR Bible and begin slowly working through it. And I say "slightly older test" since the ones we proctor in the class are all very recent, although you could easily swap in a different one as needed.

There's no real "danger" in that pre-course strategy, as the books are designed to help you avoid bad habits and burnout and won't interfere with the course at all! The only thing you'll want to keep in mind is that there will be a good bit of conceptual overlap with the course itself (intentionally, of course), so be aware that some of what you'll cover in class will already be at least partially familiar. The beauty of that is (1) repetition of ideas is really the key to mastering them, and (2) experiencing the content with an instructor to guide you through it and answer questions is critical. Take advantage of both.

Others may have additional thoughts and weigh in, but that's my two cents. Hope it helps!

Jon

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey Mike,

Let me join my colleague, Jon, in congratulating you on getting such a nice Christmas present! What can be better than the Logic Games Bible as a stocking stuffer?

Now, I understand you'll be following our 3-month study plan until your course starts in April. This is a great idea, and it will certainly allow you to hit the ground running once the course begins. When it comes to taking practice tests, take it easy in the beginning: you don't want to burn through them too soon, and remember that quality always trumps quantity. Since you'll be taking an actual course in April, I would limit the number of practice tests you take between now and then to no more than 5-6.

To help you avoid any overlap with the 4 tests being proctored as part of your course (and also with the questions you'll encounter in your homework, all of which are taken from actual exams), let me give you a list of 6 tests that you can take before the course begins:

September 1995
December 1995
June 1999
October 1999
June 2001
June 2004

As you make progress through our materials, let us know if you have any questions!

Good luck!