One of the benefits of private tutoring is that students get a study plan that’s personalized for them and that also evolves as they progress through the program.  However, lots of people have asked for a basic self-study plan.  Here’s an ideal study plan for 3 months.

Why 3 months?  3 months is about the right time to study if you can devote significant time to the LSAT (10-15 hours a week or so).  I’ve certainly seen students prepare and get the scores they need in less time, but especially for those who are balancing school and work, 3 months is the right timeline.  After about a 4-month timeframe, students start plateauing and reaching points of diminishing returns.  It’s better to prepare semi-intensely for 3 months than to work on LSAT once a week for 6 months (or to cram for 1 month).

This plan is front-loaded with learning and is back-loaded with practice.  It’s critical to lay down a solid foundation in methodology before you start taking timed tests (except for the diagnostic.

For this plan you’ll need the following books:

• Powerscore Logic Games Bible
• Next 10 Preptests
• 10 More Preptests
• Optional but highly recommended: Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible.
• Optional: The last 5 published Preptests (available from Amazon)

Numbers refer Preptests from Next 10 and 10 More.

Read the rest of this entry »