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My tutor and I made a plan for the next five weeks!

So stoked!

180asBreath wrote:My tutor and I made a plan for the next five weeks!

So stoked!

Doing mine right now. PTing the 3rd, 13th, 19th, 23th, and 28th.

lsat schmelsat

Did pretty well, not as well as I would like. Pulled a 170, which I'm sure most people would be satisfied with especially considering that I picked up Daves material roughly three weeks before the test, but im a tad Disappointed though because the "hard" questions I slayed. For instnce, nothing wrong on the bikes lg game except the substitute rule (seriously, learn how to do these, I'm sure they are going to be a normal part of the test and whenever they show up my strategy is eeinie meenie miney) and the last one I had little time on, rc same, only -2, one of which was one I changed at the end of the section and couldn't reverify.

My LR though is bugging me. Went -9 Three of the questions I had marked challenging I got wrong, so I'm ok with that, and two were the ones I had to rush throuh and couldnt really review, but the other four are baffling to me, especially in the first section, I opened my sheet and chose the right answer instantly. I knew I found the LR challenging, but I'm not sure if I can just be complacent and sit on my 170 knowing that I've got at least a 175+ in me. Still trying to decide on dec, but at least I can now categorically tell you that Daves method works, three weeks before the test I was at a 163-165. Final pt range 169-174, with two tests over iirc, ended with a 170 with significant screw ups on game day. Not too shabby, but not good enough now I'm definitely going to be pushing you for that 180, Need that vicarious success :p

Edit: I'll also review my pt for you and try to pick out any patterns that I missed, commonalities between other tests, etc to give to you. Now that your at this point I truly believe you learn more from your mistakes than from your correct answers.

hyakku wrote:Still trying to decide on dec, but at least I can now categorically tell you that Daves method works, three weeks before the test I was at a 163-165. Final pt range 169-174, with two tests over iirc, ended with a 170 with significant screw ups on game day.

Can you elaborate a bit about Dave´s methods? His podcasts are brilliant, how is the rest of his stuff?

For what it´s worth, I say go for it. If you know you got it in you, you probably do have it in you

I'll be talking more about velocity and how it helped me out later, I'm still compiling some stuff and reviewing, noting some things. Right now suffice to say I mean at the base level that velocity (Dave halls method) simply teaches you the test. Not just a skill, or host of skills, it provides a set of skills with an accompanying template that I find is highly customizable yet still maintains an efficient structure. The only non velocity method I used on the test were my games.

And while I was considering dec., I think I'm going to apply now and retake I'm feb. When I went into this test in oct, i knew that the lowest score I'd get would be around ~170. If imgoing to do the test again, I'm going to ensure that it's at least a 175. While I've gotten there, it's nor assured like this was. I'd prefer around four more weeks of time with Daves stuff, and applying things like his spam system in my daily life, as I find when I'm drilling articles I read like foreign policy thinking in terms of rc it really helps when I get back to the test. With so much on my plate though, I won't devote the few weeks I need to shore up my grade and would just end up neglecting work, so I'm going to use the time to finish up my DS, keep tutoring and take the extra time Try to hop back on the 180 train.


And now 180s, the teacher becomes rival

Hey! We're having a study session tomorrow night to go over Reading Comp and Inference questions if any of you guys want to come by It is at 8pm and MLSAT sets us up with a room where we can break down questions and stuff. I can send you the link for the room if anyone wants to join Keep up the good work!!!

Great video i saw on youtube about getting better at the LSAT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXThJPLTLHc

Thanks for the video!

Didn't feel too good; I couldn't print out PT 53 and do it in the library so I did it in a lounge. People were talking and interrupting me to ask questions, ugh.

I went in confident but had some issues:

LR1: -4 (missed 21, 22, 24 due to timing)
LR2: -6 (no excuses)
LG: -0
RC: -6 (I read too fast, didn't comprehend, and didn't prephrase like I should've)
LRX: -6

-16 for a 166 on PT 53.

I'm going to consider it a blessing, as I may have gotten cocky if I were to have killed a couple tests in a row.

I think I'm going to do 5 LR's (as if I were doing a PT), tomorrow. I am a bit intimidated by LR; I kind of dread having to do so many questions in a row, if that makes sense.

I will do it for no other reason than to get over this anxiety/distaste.

no worries bro. like you said, take it as a blessing.

im really sucking on RC nowadays too. i float through the passages and too often miss out on a few key concepts. what do you mean by prephrasing? maybe it could help me. prephrasing while reading or making predictions after you read the question stem?

PT51 tomorrow for me. LETS GO!!!

With prephrasing, I cover up the answer choices and I have an answer in my mind before I go to the answer choices. When I am able to prephrase each question (on LR and RC), I rarely miss; when I am thrown off and unable to muster a prephrase, anything goes - as those 5 AC's can *seem* tempting.

I think I would have done better, today, if I wouldn't have been so distracted. Still, I should have stayed focused during RC - comprehending and prephrasing to the best of my ability.

hey all- would like to join in here on this if that's okay. got a 169 in oct, looking to get into the low 170s at least for december. been studying and doing some PTs but now am getting CRAZY scores, i think because i've seen some problems/games before throughout all my TM prep. yesterday a 176, today a 178. i'm psyched, for sure, since my pre-Oct tests were 162 (well, likely an outlier, found out i got cheated on the day before so probably not my best PT performance )-175. i went back through LR bible and everything seems much much clearer now, think I got burnt out toward the end of my psychotic prepping for Oct. Just don't know what to do prepwise since some repeat questions in LR are definitely giving me a boost. I'd like to have an accurate-ish gauge and I'm not entirely certain it's just due to everything "clicking" now. ARGH RETAKE FFFFFUUUUUUU

Keep in mind, right after I really started learning a lot of Daves material, I found immediately after that my next two tests were pretty bad, mostly related to timing issues. Once I reacclimatized though, it was straight up from there. On the other hand, I took a test almost every day for the last two weeks instead of interpsering them with my studying / drilling so I'm not sure how that would translate for you.

Im also still working on analyzing oct for you so I can point out some of my mistakes for you to avoid, but I've got a Lot of shit on my plate, writing addendums, resumes, tutoring , etc. ATM, gimme a lil more time.

That's cool man, thanks.

cali, sorry to hear about the cheating. Yeah, jump on here and stick with us all. I'd love to hear about your progress.

cali, dont underestimate how much of an effect familiarity you have with games and passages. i have learned this the hard way. i have been prepping with old RC passages and i was getting insane scores too, but lately ive been doing new passages and realizing that i come away with significantly less comprehension of the passages by reading it the same way. i realized i wasnt even reading sentences that i didnt predict to be important. turns out often i am wrong

but a 178 is a 178 , join the party. we're all gettin 180s in dec aight?!?! LETS GOOOO!

sorry for lack of clarity at casino bar waiting on a poker game.

Yeah, im trying to figure out how much lower i should consider the scores. 178-->170? No clue. The RC passages were new to me, but ive done ALL the LGs before. Never went -0 though!

One of my errors in prepping lasf time was jusf doing 4-section PTs. On the real deal, my adrenaline wore off and by the 5th section I dragged and was exhausted. It showed: -2, -2, -3, -8! (LG, LR, RC, LR)

-15 was a 169?

Oh yeah, you HAVE to do 5 section tests. It gives you the chance to get used to doing three sections before the break, trying to stay focused during the break, and to finish strong after it.

It doesn't matter what your scores are, really. All that matters is how you are doing on each section, and each question type. With LG, just keep drilling until you become automatic. While I do have a pretty good LG method, my biggest gains have come from doing TONS of games.

Man, I really wish I could re-discover the LR mindset that helped me to -0's and -1's.

It's so funny how I was counting on LR and just hoping to do well on RC, and now I'm just hoping to do well on LR.

I feel a -0 on LG is in my future, I feel I am on the road to a <-2 on RC, and I feel I can get to the point where I am <-4 on LR (combined).

I have plenty of time, so I can do it; there's nothing I want more, and I am going to prove it to myself.

180asBreath wrote:-15 was a 169?

Oh yeah, you HAVE to do 5 section tests. It gives you the chance to get used to doing three sections before the break, trying to stay focused during the break, and to finish strong after it.

It doesn't matter what your scores are, really. All that matters is how you are doing on each section, and each question type. With LG, just keep drilling until you become automatic. While I do have a pretty good LG method, my biggest gains have come from doing TONS of games.

oops, just looked again- it was -2, -2, -3, -7. so -14 for a 169. if i had gotten a 170 I wouldn't be retaking. originally i said i would NOT retake if I got a minimum of 167... here i am...

Prephrasing just got me to -2 from -5/-6 on RC. Dave Hall should be made a saint! BUT, I finished in 40mins, because of all the writing. Is this method meant to be for untimed PTs? or do we prephrase on timed ones too? If we do, how can it be done in <35mins

calidancer2 wrote:

180asBreath wrote:-15 was a 169?

Oh yeah, you HAVE to do 5 section tests. It gives you the chance to get used to doing three sections before the break, trying to stay focused during the break, and to finish strong after it.

It doesn't matter what your scores are, really. All that matters is how you are doing on each section, and each question type. With LG, just keep drilling until you become automatic. While I do have a pretty good LG method, my biggest gains have come from doing TONS of games.

oops, just looked again- it was -2, -2, -3, -7. so -14 for a 169. if i had gotten a 170 I wouldn't be retaking. originally i said i would NOT retake if I got a minimum of 167... here i am...

That's a good thing! At one point, I would have laughed at the notion of re-taking a 172; but now, if I get a 172 on December, I will DEFINITELY be re-taking in June... unless a T6 gives me a full-ride, before then

tonton wrote:Prephrasing just got me to -2 from -5/-6 on RC. Dave Hall should be made a saint! BUT, I finished in 40mins, because of all the writing. Is this method meant to be for untimed PTs? or do we prephrase on timed ones too? If we do, how can it be done in <35mins

I made a thread about this on his board. I did all of the diagramming on timed sections and was never able to finish in time; now, I just mentally diagram.

As for prephrasing, you absolutely have to - timed or not. If you don't know the answer before you look at the ACs, you are at the whim of the LSAT test makers.

Now that I think about it, I feel like prephrasing is the determining factor of how well you can do on LR and RC. Looking back on sections that went well, I did the best when I was able to come up with a solid prephrase. However, I don't think this is something I've ever practiced or drilled; the only time I did this work was when I was going through Dave's LR book. I was just in the middle of an LR section and I noticed that I wasn't prephrasing on all questions; I was able to get them all correct, but I took forever on the problems where I didn't have a strong prephrase.

I think it's time to reassess my prep; I think I need to spend equal time just working on prephrasing, untimed, and practicing, timed.

Man, LSAT prep is such a trip; it's sick that it's taken me a year to finally appreciate - and understand - the advice I have been given; but, oh well. At least I finally understand it!

If only I didn't have a (working) life outside of the LSAT, right now

180asBreath wrote:

tonton wrote:Prephrasing just got me to -2 from -5/-6 on RC. Dave Hall should be made a saint! BUT, I finished in 40mins, because of all the writing. Is this method meant to be for untimed PTs? or do we prephrase on timed ones too? If we do, how can it be done in <35mins

I made a thread about this on his board. I did all of the diagramming on timed sections and was never able to finish in time; now, I just mentally diagram.

As for prephrasing, you absolutely have to - timed or not. If you don't know the answer before you look at the ACs, you are at the whim of the LSAT test makers.

Now that I think about it, I feel like prephrasing is the determining factor of how well you can do on LR and RC. Looking back on sections that went well, I did the best when I was able to come up with a solid prephrase. However, I don't think this is something I've ever practiced or drilled; the only time I did this work was when I was going through Dave's LR book. I was just in the middle of an LR section and I noticed that I wasn't prephrasing on all questions; I was able to get them all correct, but I took forever on the problems where I didn't have a strong prephrase. I really still think it's not too late for you to just sve your pts, and take a week for SOLID drilling untimed. I'm talking 50-75 LR questions (the difficult LR qs are perfect for this, hit me up if you wanna know more, I got you), I had games grouped by type, and then any I didn't go -0 on I made into a personalized "hard games" packet, and rc I would time my reading / notation, then drill untamed with the pre phrases. While I took two weeks, you love PTing, so try just one week and see if it doesn't help if you can stomach it. If not, it's fine, you aren't wasting too many, I just found after a pt and review, I rarely did much else that day for LSAT prep.

I think it's time to reassess my prep; I think I need to spend equal time just working on prephrasing, untimed, and practicing, timed.

Man, LSAT prep is such a trip; it's sick that it's taken me a year to finally appreciate - and understand - the advice I have been given; but, oh well. At least I finally understand it!

If only I didn't have a (working) life outside of the LSAT, right now

BOOOOOM. I'm so proud right now :cry

This exactly. Your notation you need to be calibrating over the next few weeks, some can do with none, some like myself do well with just Brief letters being notated, others need a bit more. What you need is to recognize the elements YOU personally need to keep track of (for instance, mine werent so often shift language clues as they were attitudinal markers) and notate this ideas, if you can keeptrack of everything else, or, during the midst of a test you flip back to the passage and DON'T refer back to that info, stop writing it. If you have to refer back to the passage, rewriting it will not help you much (it may help you situate the passage in your mind better, but again, these are three minute passages, you might as well just refer back to them to be correct).

Also want to +1" doing a bit more five section tests. My last section was LR in oct and I definitely did the worst there-5 then anywhere else in the test. While I didn't feel fatigued, I had only taken a few of those tests (two of them were my highest pts though, so i figured what the hell I should be fine, don't get cocky like hyakku) and I'm pretty sure that had a slight effect, not major, but definitely noticeable.

Ton ton, my first paragraph is applicable to you as well. Pre phrasing needs to become a natural trait; as you're reading rc qs, you should already be thinking what is right. On the test I wont stop and think and write out a pre phrase, that would spend too much time, but that's why you need to be drilling now. Untimed first for your accuracy, then timed sections for your speed to recalibrate, then pts at the end to put it all together. That's my preferred order, I'm sure others may work, but I went -2 on octs test with a stupid ass mistake ( don't even know if I can explain it looking at it) and I felt confident as all hell throughout rc, whereas I was in your realm about 13 days before the test (drilled games ---> LR ---> rc with no pts as per Daves method of using his pts in the last two weeks. Worked well, didn't get burn out, probably shouldve done more 5 sections though).


Keep beasting y'all, I'm really sorry I haven't had a chance to throw up my oct test analysis, I'm just trying to get everything straightened up for apps by this Friday.

I think I'm finally on the last leg of this journey. I don't know if it was getting the 170, spending time thinking about what each question is really asking, or if it all just finally clicked - but I think I've finally stepped behind the curtain.

There is really no reason why I should get any question wrong, other than my own lack of intelligence or insight (the effect of which, of course, can be mediated by helpful techniques - e.g. if I can't resolve a paradox in a pre-phrase because I don't understand it, I can still look for an answer choice that resolves both sides and avoid answer choices that speak only to one side, further create a paradox, etc).

I understand what each question is asking, I know how to find the information in the RC passage, I know how to diagram games, I know how to avoid wrong answer choices for each of the sections... I get it.

I am finally at the point where there is nothing that eludes me. However, this is not a moment where I should become complacent; instead, this should be an inspiring moment where I can finally start PRACTICING, refining, and solidifying my abilities.

Like I said, I will do this untimed and timed, sections and full tests, questions by type and mixes, etc. but the key is that I don't have any blind spots. I know I don't have all of the tricks and pattern recognitions at my disposal, but I am capable of getting ANY question right - in a timely manner. To get EVERY question right, in a timely manner, I'm going to have to become as efficient, as quick, as "second-nature" as I can become; I need to become the best LSAT test-taker I can become.

I don't know if any of this makes sense, but I am undergoing a pretty big intra-mind paradigmatic shift; I am going from someone who lives in fear to someone who is unbound.

I am grateful for this change.