June 2011 Study Group Forum

[jim-green]

I took that one today, how'd you attack the last question on Game 4?

Pay close attention to the G before H rule as well as the P and rock band at 10 rules. Should become more apparent if you pay special attention to those.

Was this tough? I thought it was a simple stacked linear game like in the LGB.

[OhOkay]

Just found this guy, I thought he was quite helpful, although I've only watched the first part of his "dirty dozen" videos. Nice summary of LR flaws, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/user/majorgeneraldave#p/u

Edit: ok, I guess this guy's got his own company, didn't realize that. Anyway he has a bunch of free videos on the site organized by section: http://www.velocitylsat.com/online-course

RC stuff is helpful, at least for me.

[xjykybl]

Just found this guy, I thought he was quite helpful, although I've only watched the first part of his "dirty dozen" videos. Nice summary of LR flaws, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/user/majorgeneraldave#p/u

Edit: ok, I guess this guy's got his own company, didn't realize that. Anyway he has a bunch of free videos on the site organized by section: http://www.velocitylsat.com/online-course

RC stuff is helpful, at least for me.

Thanks for the links!
The third video of RC is good.

[pkpop]

I know that a good chunk of this group has converted to October, but I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who followed the study group plan and did PT 59 this past weekend? There were a couple nasty LRs I would like to discuss without ruining the test for everyone else.

PM me or let me know. Thanks.

[99.9luft]

Moderate exercise causes neurogenesis. The new neurons that are created during a moderate workout will survive for 4 weeks, unless you challenge your brain, in which case the neurons are wired to perform whatever challenging task you've taken on (and will live as long as you use 'em just like any other neuron). Another thing that happens is that when you exercise, your brain gets a protective effect over the hippocampus, which is where your short term memory is seated and also where short-term stored memories are transferred into long-term memories. This little "brain boost" in your memory center lasts up to 3 days after the exercise has been performed.

Is this the science passage from PT42? I remember they used canaries as this experiment becuase of their long life spans.
Will walking help? I tried running for the first time in my life last year, and my feet, hips hurt a lot. I had 3-year old sneakers. So I threw them away and bought those Vibram 5-fingers (kinda like barefoot running). Didn't help. This year i have new sneakers, but my feet hurt again, so am thinking of just going for walks.

I hated running all my life. A year ago bought vibram and now I look forward to running. They definitely shaped my posture and the arch (flat feet). Yesterday ran in regular running shoes and it felt uncomfortably weird. The hurting is not normal, you should see a doctor (and also post in the Fitness thread, they have a bunch of runners there who can advise you on what to do perhaps).

[jim-green]

I hated running all my life. A year ago bought vibram and now I look forward to running. They definitely shaped my posture and the arch (flat feet). Yesterday ran in regular running shoes and it felt uncomfortably weird. The hurting is not normal, you should see a doctor (and also post in the Fitness thread, they have a bunch of runners there who can advise you on what to do perhaps).

Thanks. Do you run on sidewalks? Maybe sidewalks are too hard for vibrams. Maybe I should run on only rubberized running tracks or grass.

[jim-green]

All the folks who repeat LGs and find they can do better on the same game: Try this. I borrowed LSAT for Dummies from my library. They have taken orignal LSAC games and changed the variables. The same games were much harder for me! They also changed the settings, e.g., birds in a forest changed to kids at a party, etc., Sudenly much harder. I think when we redo LGs, we subconsciously remember too much and it helps.

[imbored25]

Question:
Are most of you just doing pt's at this moment, and if so at what rate. Or are you reviewing (going over the bibles and stuff)
Thanks

[99.9luft]

I hated running all my life. A year ago bought vibram and now I look forward to running. They definitely shaped my posture and the arch (flat feet). Yesterday ran in regular running shoes and it felt uncomfortably weird. The hurting is not normal, you should see a doctor (and also post in the Fitness thread, they have a bunch of runners there who can advise you on what to do perhaps).

Thanks. Do you run on sidewalks? Maybe sidewalks are too hard for vibrams. Maybe I should run on only rubberized running tracks or grass.

No, haven't run on sidewalks. I imagine it'd be a bit rough. I run on the track (rubberized) and the treadmill in the gym. Grass is also a good idea, you're right. So is the beach.

[crumpetsandtea]

Question:
Are most of you just doing pt's at this moment, and if so at what rate. Or are you reviewing (going over the bibles and stuff)
Thanks

I'm PTing 3 times a week, W, Sat, Sun (took a day off work every week this month just to study/PT). I'm reviewing my PTs, but I am planning on going over the Manhattan RC guide and possibly glance at the LRB again before the test (just to skim and refresh my memory).

Mainly though my biggest effort is going to be in getting used to PTing with a set schedule/time, so I'll be used to it by the day of the test. 20 days guys, we can do it!

[Strange]

I'm basically doing PT's on the weekend, drilling during the week. By drilling, here's my routine right now:

One timed RC section per night
One timed LR section per night

These would be pulled from before PT42, all the RC is fresh but for the LR's I've probably seen a lot of them before. The RC drilling is mostly to get the techniques down that I learned from the ATLAS guide, as well as finding out the weak points I need to improve on for future PT's. I've found this very helpful and have noticed a 2-3 point improvement in the past couple weeks in my RC sections.

The LR Drilling is mostly just to help myself improve in timing and focus. I'll probably revisit both the LRB and Atlas LR guide in the next week or so to make sure I got my fundamentals down.

I also try to do one LG Section a night from the PT30's range, timed, which I've already done a pass through.

And sprinkled throughout the week I review the PT I did the past weekend.

This weekend I plan on doing PT's 49 and 50, and at least four more PT's after those before test date.

If I have time, I'll try to run through the games in earlier tests. I also have to remember to drill some of the oddball ones, like circular linearity and pure sequencing, just in case.

That's my agenda for now.

[coldshoulder]

5 pts a week plus review.

[theaether]

just took PT54 with 55.2 (RC)
RC: -4
RCe: -1
LR: -2
LG: 0
LR: -2
93/101-->172

i didn't think chinese talk story or cakewalk were bad (-1 out of both passages). i thought the mud drilling oil comparative passage was tough because of the level of detail that it delved into. I guess this is standard protocol for comparative passage questions? haven't done many comparative ones but that seems to be the trend.

meh. i think i'm definitely not going to be taking a few days off before the actual exam. The first section needlessly confused me because of not doing any PTing in the previous 2 days. Can't afford a -4 RC when my combined LR can swing up to a -7 or -8.

so moral is: don't mindlessly heed the general advice to take the day before the exam to do random non LSAT shit that supposedly "relaxes" your brain or whatever. Do what works for you.

[Strange]

How would you guys rate the difficulty of the games in 58-62 relative to the rest of the PT's?

[mickeyD]

so moral is: don't mindlessly heed the general advice to take the day before the exam to do random non LSAT shit that supposedly "relaxes" your brain or whatever. Do what works for you.

I agree. I think what's important is to do what will make you feel the most comfortable on test day. For some people, the intense studying in the weeks right before test day is mentally exhausting, and feel more confident on game day by taking some days off or significantly lightening their load. For others, the studying makes one feel like they are staying sharp, and the sense of routine is comforting. I know that I would be very uncomfortable completely cutting off studying at any point, and such a break would just cause stress and place doubt in my mind. The most important part is doing whatever helps you to feel confident in your abilities.

[soj]

PT54

LRe (PT23.4): -0
RC: -5
LR1: -1
LG: -0
LR2: -2
Raw: -8
Scaled: 172

Ugh, RC streak broken. I definitely got rattled.

PT23 composite
RC: -2
LR1: -0
LG: -1
LR2: -0
Raw: -3
Scaled: 179

BTW I've been on a PT-PT-break-PT-PT-break-break rhythm (though I've changed the length of breaks) for a while now, and for the last three cycles, I underperformed on the last (i.e. fourth) PT.
172-177-174-169
173-179-177-173
176-177-180-172

I think it's time to change the cycle.

[Eichörnchen]

Moderate exercise causes neurogenesis. The new neurons that are created during a moderate workout will survive for 4 weeks, unless you challenge your brain, in which case the neurons are wired to perform whatever challenging task you've taken on (and will live as long as you use 'em just like any other neuron). Another thing that happens is that when you exercise, your brain gets a protective effect over the hippocampus, which is where your short term memory is seated and also where short-term stored memories are transferred into long-term memories. This little "brain boost" in your memory center lasts up to 3 days after the exercise has been performed.

Is this the science passage from PT42? I remember they used canaries as this experiment becuase of their long life spans.
Will walking help? I tried running for the first time in my life last year, and my feet, hips hurt a lot. I had 3-year old sneakers. So I threw them away and bought those Vibram 5-fingers (kinda like barefoot running). Didn't help. This year i have new sneakers, but my feet hurt again, so am thinking of just going for walks.

Haha no, I'm reading a book on the brain in my spare time . And the scientist who wrote it says that any moderate exercise will do, so if you don't like running I'd swap to something else. He actually says that the best exercises for reaping the benefits are cycling, swimming, rowing and...hmm...crap I forget the others at the moment. Gotta improve that RC

Edit - I also have a pair of vibrams and I like em. I only use them for trail running, not on pavement, but really primarily as camp shoes for my backpacking trips. It's so nice to feel almost barefoot after a long day of steel-reinforced hiking boots and a 40 lb pack...

[theaether]

BTW I've been on a PT-PT-break-PT-PT-break-break rhythm (though I've changed the length of breaks) for a while now, and for the last three cycles, I underperformed on the last (i.e. fourth) PT.
172-177-174-169
173-179-177-173
176-177-180-172

I think it's time to change the cycle.

The first PT in the cycle isn't as good either. The middle ones are ownage. Time your cycle so that June 6th falls into the middle of your cycle imo. (not after too much PTs but not after too much breaks)

[soj]

The first PT in the cycle isn't as good either. The middle ones are ownage. Time your cycle so that June 6th falls into the middle of your cycle imo. (not after too much PTs but not after too much breaks)

Good call. I think I'm going to take my final PT on June 5 and take a 2- or 3-day break before that.

[jim-green]

This post was very meaningful to me, thanks. I loved cakewalk, but found the oil mud passage tough. 2 wrong in that passage alone. Some of the questions needed a lot of inferring. I agree about not taking the day off before the LSAT to do anything very wierd. PS and someone else both told me to watch a movie before the Feb LSAT. So I did and kept thinking about it, the plot, dialogues. So don't read a novel or movie that you may keep thinking about.

just took PT54 with 55.2 (RC)
93/101-->172

i didn't think chinese talk story or cakewalk were bad (-1 out of both passages). i thought the mud drilling oil comparative passage was tough because of the level of detail that it delved into. I guess this is standard protocol for comparative passage questions? haven't done many comparative ones but that seems to be the trend.

so moral is: don't mindlessly heed the general advice to take the day before the exam to do random non LSAT shit that supposedly "relaxes" your brain or whatever. Do what works for you.

[jim-green]

How would you guys rate the difficulty of the games in 58-62 relative to the rest of the PT's?

Games in 58-62 and Feb 2011 suddenly got tougher. So those who say 50s get easier are forgetting late 50s.

[jim-green]

Haha, i felt the same on P54! Which passage was bad? For me, internet was easy, oil mud was hard, cakewalk was easy to read but tricky to answer, as was groupthink.

PT54
LRe (PT23.4): -0
RC: -5
Scaled: 172
Ugh, RC streak broken. I definitely got rattled.

[soj]

Haha, i felt the same on P54! Which passage was bad? For me, internet was easy, oil mud was hard, cakewalk was easy to read but tricky to answer, as was groupthink.

Internet (-0): easy to read, easy to answer
Oil mud (-1): medium to read, medium to answer
Cakewalk (-1): easy to read, medium to answer
Groupthink (-3): medium to read, hard to answer

[jim-green]

Thanks, that helped. By trail running, do you mean gravel? Isn't that hard because of the little stones? This may be a stupid question, but I don't know much about this stuff. I'll stop trying to run with vibrams on pavement. Or I may start rowing. Gotta go oar shopping next. Will the LSAT purchases never end? Bibles, 10-PT books, MLSAT books, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and now oars. You have spare time?

Haha no, I'm reading a book on the brain in my spare time . And the scientist who wrote it says that any moderate exercise will do, so if you don't like running I'd swap to something else. He actually says that the best exercises for reaping the benefits are cycling, swimming, rowing and...hmm...crap I forget the others at the moment. Gotta improve that RC

Edit - I also have a pair of vibrams and I like em. I only use them for trail running, not on pavement, but really primarily as camp shoes for my backpacking trips. It's so nice to feel almost barefoot after a long day of steel-reinforced hiking boots and a 40 lb pack...

[jim-green]

Internet (-0): easy to read, easy to answer
Oil mud (-1): medium to read, medium to answer
Cakewalk (-1): easy to read, medium to answer
Groupthink (-3): medium to read, hard to answer

Really? Groupthink was hardest? I'd say it was my 2nd easiest. But then, I'm not the one going to Yale with a full scholarship next Fall.
It's interesting, I find my PT scores a lot more consistent than yours. I go between 166-168. When you get 172, I get 164. When you get 180, I get 168. So my swing is just 2 points.