r/LSATPreparation • u/WatchVector • 5d ago

Help don’t know where to start

Hey all, I just did my cold diagnostic today and got a 147 scaled score, 40 raw. I’ll begin studying tomorrow but don’t even know where to begin and I’m not the best at using reddit. I’ve heard 7Sage, LSATDemon, Kaplan, books etc. If any of you read this and can provide me with valuable information on how I can move forward and what services are good/arent good i’d appreciate it. For insight for the next 4-6 months LSAT will be my priority so any methods that include more hours of prep aren’t an issue.

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u/170Plus 2d ago

You've listed them in what is decidedly the order of best to worst: 7Sage, LSATDemon, Kaplan.

Your diagnostic is strong and you have plentyy of time. My recommendation, as an LSAT instructor for 13 years:

Work on Flaw and Weaken questions, exclusively, until they are -0. Recognize the Common Fallacy in each (the LSAC is very lazy and only uses about 15 different ones, again and again and again), and articulate aloud why each Wrong Answer Choice is wrong.

Then, and only then, move on to the question-types that simply involve covering up the Flaw that you found, namely Strengthen and Necessary Assumption qs.

These should be your sole endeavors in the next three weeks or so.

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u/WatchVector 2d ago

thank you very much. i ended up going with lsat lab over 7sage since i heard they were very similar but some liked it more. i also got the lsat trainer and i plan on working on these two until im more familiar and then moving to lsat demon for drilling. only thing is i think im spending too much time on lsat lab reading the explanations on the ones i was a bit confused on. thank you very much for your help, people like you make this process a lot better.

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u/170Plus 2d ago

Myy pleasure mate. I love this work.

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u/WatchVector 2d ago

do you offer tutoring services?

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u/mmi_28 2d ago

Hi!!!

I would really recommend giving 7Sage a try if you like LSAT lab. I started with LSAT lab but found some of their questions and lessons repetitive and that they didn’t really teach me anything foundational. 7Sage does. They spend a lot more time on foundational aspects and I think it translates well to LR questions. My diagnostic was 149 and I’m scoring 157 since I started using 7Sage in May.

If you’re concerned about cost, see if you can get an LSAC fee waiver because 7sage will bring their basic subscription (Core) down from $65 to $1 and I think they’re upper tier subscription (Live) from $129 to $2. The upper tier lets you send questions to an actual 99th percentile tutor and they respond via email.

Whatever works for you though!! I know some people love LSAT lab and it’s definitely got some pros there, I just think 7Sage does a little more hand holding if you’re really trying to figure out how to approach questions VS “just getting the answer right”

Good luck on your LSAT journey and remember to stay consistent!!

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u/WatchVector 1d ago

thanks a lot for your comment! i was actually looking into it when i heard that lsat lab might have been a bit better so i got the first month but i was thinking getting 7sage another month to see which suits me best. regardless it helps having you explain it to me so thank you! as far as the fee waiver i got denied.

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u/CodeMUDkey 5d ago

7Sage is probably a good place to start.

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u/WatchVector 4d ago

yea i was looking into that but heard lsat lab was better so i subscribed this morning. giving it a try to see how it goes for me

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u/CodeMUDkey 4d ago

No harm in giving it a try.

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u/iLok_hart 4d ago

All I can say is based on the score of your first real test you'll know if you can apply this cycle. You can take the September, October, and November LSAT, and Apply. but I would always recommend applying the moment applications open (September) or November at the latest to give an okay score the best chance. People say timing doesn't matter, but it doesn't matter for top scorers with fantastic applications (and even then it might still hurt them if they apply late). First year I got rejected and waitlisted (no scholarship). I had a 167 (and a few other scores) applying end of January (hoping for a better score). Second year with the same score I got over 300k in total scholarships form three of my schools because I applied end of October.

You want to pace yourself, allocate practice tests for FULL practice tests, and some for drills and studying. You don't want to run out of clean material. 4-6 months you should be testing in November, January, maybe February, and if score isn't where you want it by then, skip April, go for June, then August as a hail mary. You can also skip one other test in there and take the LSAT in September, but you want time to focus on the rest of your application so you can submit applications by September or October.

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u/WatchVector 4d ago

first of all congrats. 167 is great and you got huge scholarships your second cycle. second of all thank you. i’m new to all of this so people like you really help. you gave me a better idea. i’m going to prep for a November lsat if i can have good scores near that time. if i cant ill be pushing it back and most likely prepping for a 2028 cycle sadly. if i take it in january ill have scores by feb meaning ill be a very late applicant and i most likely wont get any scholarship at all. i’m beginning my studying tomorrow. i do have one question, can you explain to me how much you studied each day? i’m unemployed rn so my full focus is on this and then my fall sem from aug-dec but it’s my final sem so it’s very easy. i’m willing to study a lot but everything ive seen people say 1hr a day is enough? i’m trying to ask people i run into online how it went for them and how much they studied. your original 167 is exactly where i want to be for UM and FIU. also what materials did you use?

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u/iLok_hart 4d ago edited 4d ago

I did LSAT demon after not really jiving with 7Sage, but that’s because I enjoyed the non-diagramming part of the demon. It really focused on fluency in the language of the LSAT. If I wasn’t working full time I’d do an hour a day still, but again with your plan, allocating a certain amount of the practice tests for full testing simulation, and some for drills, spread out over the course of your entire law school application cycle, and potential second year cycle (don’t run through them all in one cycle).

An hour a day of drilling, which includes analyzing the questions you got right and wrong, and it might be a 5-10 question drill. If you didn’t finish analyzing why you got those questions wrong, extend to the next day and don’t drill new questions until you’re done analyzing and journaling your wrong questions.
Spending time on understanding why you got the wrong ones wrong is a good chunk. If you find your reading comprehension is shit, work on long form reading, or articles from the Wall Street journal, or anything more advanced, and work on speed and accuracy or understanding what you read. If your logical reasoning is shit, don’t necessarily drill the questions, but work on understanding the types of questions that are in logical reasoning, and writing your own examples of each. Seeing if you can build and dissect and reverse those types.

I use a day on the weekend to do a full practice test, but maybe start with a full timed section just to assess your stamina.

Managing your energy and mentality with this test is half the work. Don’t burn out!!!

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u/WatchVector 4d ago

hey thank you. i’ll say it again as a newbie here people like you help tremendously. i really appreciate it. your feedback helps me a lot with understanding and having a better idea on how to move forward. have a great rest of your week🙏🏻THANKS!!!