<p>There were a few questions about the LSAT, prep course, etc. that I was hoping you guys could help me out with:</p>
<li> If I study out of the bibles and old practice tests for 1-2 months (say, 2-3 hours/day, 7 days/week) before I take a PS or TM course, will I be way ahead of the class, making the class of little benefit? Would private tutoring be a better use of money?</li>
<li> If the material in the Bibles and the classwork/homework in PS and TM classes come straight out of past practice tests, whats the use of doing practice tests (because youve already gone through them and analyzed the questions)?</li>
<li> Is it a bad idea to take a course then study for a couple months and then take the real test? For example, if I took the a course that prepped for the June test and then take the Sept. LSAT. Im just worried that the 2 month duration of the course is simply not enough. What do you guys think (By the way, I need to increase my score by about 15 pts.)? Would it be better to take the course that is designed for the test date that I have in mind?</li>
<li> How is it possible for all those people who study for 5+ months to not run out of practice problems? Are the fake ones created by Kaplan, PR, REA, etc. any us at all if youve finished all the real questions?</li>
<li> For all you people who have studied for 5+ months, how did you do it? Did you take a course? Self-study? Self-study and then take a course, or vice versa? Basically, how did you guys schedule your time for all those months?</li>
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<p>Im so sorry for asking so many questions, I just kinda confused and need some advice. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
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<li><p>I haven't taken a class but I'm sure you would be ahead of the average person that goes into the course. Would it make it of little benefit? It depends. If you need someone to help spot your trouble problems and just learn better from someone else, it would still be beneficial for you. If it doesn't make a difference how you learn the material, it would be better if you didn't take it and self-studied all the way. Private tutoring would be a good plan if you've studied on your own and are at an advanced level.</p></li>
<li><p>Practice problems are usually taken from a few tests so there are still PLENTY of preptests to take. Just do yourself a favor and buy as many as possible and set aside a few for practice problems and others for full practices tests.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know.</p></li>
<li><p>I ran out of practice problems and I hope I don't have to retake in September. Either way, I don't remember the problems I did 5 months ago.</p></li>
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<li><p>Also, I've heard mixed reviews about made up problems. I've heard it can be useful just for practice, and I've heard that it's not worth it at all.</p></li>
<li><p>I had a set plan that I bought from someone. Find my older posts if you're interested. I self-studied. During the last two weeks, I realized that this is not a test to skimp out on so I hired a private tutor for 10 hours and it costs as much as a course. Helped a lot. I basically studied my entire semester but found very little time. I really kicked my studying into gear in May when I got out of school. I feel like the first 4-5 months were just familiarizing myself and am a bit mad now that I wasted all that time. You can really just do everything in 2 months if you work hard.</p></li>
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<p>I don't know my score yet but it's coming in two weeks. I hope I don't have to retake, but if I do I'm taking a course with Powerscore. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for your adivce...You're always so helpful!</p>
<p>Anyways, i know that you havent taken a PS or TM course, but here is my plan:</p>
<p>Start studying 1 month (out of the Bibles) before i take a PS course that is intended for the June exam. For the 3-4 months in between the end of the class and the Sept/Oct. test date, i will devote 6-8 hrs/day (i will not have a job over summer) of prep.</p>
<p>I have a few last questions. Do you think i will run out of materials if i do what i outlined above? I know you havent taken a PS/TM course, but do you know materials i could use to study from after the class ends (I will probably redo much of the material/books that are gone though during the class, but what else besides that could i study from.....any idea?). </p>
<p>Best of luck with your score...You seem really smart and dedicated and im sure youve done great.</p>
<p>Wow. I was actually thinking about this exact thing earlier today (wondering how I would word the question). I hope people have some input because I need it as much as the OP.</p>
<p>I think your concern about running out of materials is valid. IMO the most recent tests (last 10 or so) are the most valuable prep tool. I would save 3 or so of those for the last week or so before the test. Confidence is what you need as much as anything else. Working what I believed to be nearest to the real deal, after I had prepared, right before the test was the best confidence builder I could come up with.</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly what preptests are dissected in courses, but one thing you can do is to call the test prep company and ask them exactly which preptests you will be taking and what materials they will be using for the course book. That way, you can buy (on your own) every single preptest on the market from LSAC. I bought all three LSAC released books with ten preptests in them, and all of the individual. Towards the weekend before the June LSAT, I had used ALL of them! However, that is a lot of information to process, and if I were to retake, I would just start the cycle over. Although you do retain some information, I still think that redoing a test a couple months from the first time you took it can be beneficial. It always serves as timed practice! Even if you come across questions you've answered, do yourself the favor of working through the problem and don't anticipate the correct answer. I know I ended up retaking a couple tests and I still missed some of my trouble area questions.</p>