Hey all,

I'm just taking a break from studying to check in! I have a question for those who are experienced in/ or are really good at games. What method do you use for grouping in/ out selection games?

I was using PS bible method and then LSAt blog for a while. Finally, after a bit of help from a friend, I decided to just write the rules and then attack the questions. Although it takes me a bit longer, I tend to have far more accuracy without doing any complex diagrams or thigns like that.

manhattan lsat method. i wouldn't use any other method.

I'll have to look in to it! Did you use LGB though?

I too am wondering the differences in manhattan and lgb. Is manhattan only better for grouping?

Me too. I have gone through the PS Bibles and I'm currently debating buying the Manhattan books. Are they worth it? Is it confusing to read two methods, or do they complement each other well?

On another note, this is my first post, wahoo! I recently rescheduled my test date from June to October. I started prepping casually in January, then took a Kaplan course that started in February and ends this week. I'm taking it easy this week for a mini-breather, and then really going to pick up the pace for the next few months. Definitely looking for a way to stay motivated until October!

My diagnostic was a 166 and my PT average is currently around a 171 (I have only taken five so far). Ideally, I would like to be averaging around a 178 before test day. I have gone through the PS Bibles and, as I said, taken a Kaplan course, so I plan to shift my focus to preptests soon while working on mastery of the more complex question types. I work full time, but usually manage to get in about 2.5-3 hours of study on weeknights, plus longer sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm looking for a study partner who wants to dedicate a lot of time to achieve a high level of mastery, and who wants to stay excited about destroying the LSAT! Mostly to review tricky questions or concepts, maybe coordinate PTs during a given week so we can discuss where we lost points afterwards, and to have someone who understands why I am dedicating so much time to this (unlike my friends, who keep asking me why the hell I'm still studying and never show up to happy hour...). Let me know if you're interested!

I went through the LGB 2-3 times and most of the Manhattan chapters, and I thought that overall Manhattan was a lot more helpful. Like you said, Manhattan is better for grouping and I should also add better pure sequencing games (I think most people are aware of how inefficient LGB's method is), but besides that I thought it was a good way to get a better understanding of all games.

Take it for what it's worth, but my advise would be to go through LGB first, practice doing each game type, and then use Manhattan for anything you're not perfect on. It is expensive, though, so if you're not having trouble on grouping games then it's probably not worth it (LSAT blog basically recommends the same pure sequencing style, which is super simple and you really don't need a book to learn).

@ flippacious: I don't think that it's confusing to use two methods. Honestly, I don't think anything you learn is going to be so dramatically different that you couldn't blend it in some way. I've found that as long as you're cognizant of the differences between methods and try out both on a few problems, it's pretty easy to figure out which works better for you.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!

What up everybody...I'm joining up after realizing that June was not for me.


Been studying casually since January (read Manhattan LR book)
Going hard for about two weeks (read both LG and RC of the same)
Diagnostic was a 147.
After 6 PTs, I'm averaging 162/3, ranging from 159-166

Since the pressure of bumping up ten points in 2 weeks is off, I'm going back to basics: planning to do focused LG work until I can consistently be between -0 and -2, then attack RC and LR (~avg -5 and -3, respectively).

If anybody wants to align a study schedule with me, or is in NYC and is interesting in meeting up once in a while, works for me.

Edit: Goal is 175, FWIW

Checking in. Just going through the bibles at the moment and I'll be deciding where to go from there when June starts. Planning on doing a bunch of PT's. If anybody here is interested in meeting up every now and then in Austin, TX, please PM me!

I got 153 on timed diagnostic test a month ago. Yesterday, after a month of studying, I did another timed test and got and encouraging 152 timed, 165 untimed. I am so excited about my progress Grrrrr.

Soon to be 6th semester student (took 8 months off to work, mature) with the goal in mind of scoring 170+ on the October LSAT. I'll be self studying using the LG&LR bibles and a ton of preptests. I am located in the NYC area and would love to find people to study and discuss the LSAT with. Prior test-takers, do you recommend taking a diagnostic LSAT test?

Everything is going pretty smooth thus far. I am currently re-reading the LRB while drilling each question type from PT 29-38. Next, I am re-reading LGB and drilling each question type from PT 29-38. Then, I am re-reading Manhattan RC while drilling each reading passage from PT 29-38. Once I am finished with all three, it's onto drilling timed sections of each section of 39-48. Afterwards, it's nothing but fully timed PTs of 49-65 with experimental sections from 1-28.

Regardless of whether or not I take a June test, I believe I will take October test too...so checking in

lol, I'm in the same boat. I've been studying for some time for June, but the general sentiment on TLS is that if you dont feel ready for the test, then you should post pone it.

Does the above study plan sound pretty good? I was aiming for June originally but haven't had the time for full PT's so it's October now.

Yup, I have two weeks for PTs, so if I don't have consistent 165s+, I can still withdraw the day before the June Test LOL

However, I have a bad feeling that if game on October is too difficult, I could bomb the test so easily...so putting all eggs in one basket is not a good idea either

Here's an update so we can keep this thread rolling.

Over the last couple weeks, I've begun drilling the LG's from PT's 7-40 by type. I'm putting most of my work into grouping games -- I'm still averaging about 12 to 13 minutes with anywhere from -0 to -2 and, while that is much better than where I started, it's a problem. I plan to keep drilling until I can do every game from those tests in under 8:45 with -0. I still haven't settled on my strategy regarding my initial setup and inference-making: I alternate between spending 4-5 minutes trying to map out every possibility and spending 1-2 minutes throwing together a basic diagram with the rules and a few obvious inferences. I've seen arguments for both methods on TLS and in books/guides. I'm leaning towards the latter because, when I try to discover everything, I usually waste time staring at the page trying to wring more sense out of what I've done already, hoping that I'll have some game-changing revelation. That rarely happens. Yet, when I'm reviewing, that revelation usually shows up when I'm trying to figure why a question took me so damn long. Can't decide.

I've also noticed that, in my great effort to finish each game under-time, I tend to make stupid, careless mistakes. I'll mis-diagram a rule, forget to apply my not-laws to the hypos I make for local questions, or mis-count something important. It's elementary stuff and I get pretty upset when it wrecks a game for me. I'm not sure how to combat this except by slowing down. But then I'd be near where I started. I'm just hoping that the drilling will help with this sort of nonsense.

Whatever, I'll get to that consistently -0 LG if it's the last thing I do. Same with the 170+.

How is everybody else doing?

Anyone willing to share their step by step approach for attacking LR questions? I find myself able simply read and answer some question types, weaken and method of reasoning to be more specific, but have yet to create an effective approach that would be applicable for all question types.

i.e.
1. Read Question Stem first (some argument regarding the effectiveness of this)
2. The most effective way of attacking stimulus.
3. Amount of diagraming needed, and what must be diagramed.
4. So on and so on.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

130 days until D-Day

I like the approach of reading the question stem, then actively underlining important details in the stimulus, such as, a premise that applies to the question or a conclusion (if applicable). The connection between my hand physically underlining a piece of text and my eye reading the text as its underlined have helped me immensely in LR.

Edit: Grinding towards 180, I'm gonna need it with my 2.7 LSDAS GPA (damn me for not taking UG seriously until now...).

Seems like a solid approach. How do you determine what is critical to diagram into conditional statements (i.e. A--->B)? Or do you prefer not to diagram? The reason I ask, I am noticing this is where I spend the majority of my time, just wondering if this is normal/needed.

Thanks for the advice.

Hey All,

I am looking for a study partner looking to grind their way into 180. I am pretty much studying full time (started in May, and have tried various of different studying strategies), if I am not doing LSAT I am reading something that expand my knowledge (e.g., hard science/philosophy). I am looking for someone who is just as serious as me. I am hoping we could Skype once a week to discuss weekly progress/updates/lessons. If I was to take a timed diag right now it will prob fall around high 150 to low 160. Please PM me if you are interested.

GPA: 4+, decent soft/rec letters, looking to get into HYSCCN

Personally I do not need to diagram because I am accustomed to following complicated fact patterns from my engineering UG. If diagraming helps you to understand the logic of a stimulus I'd recommend diagraming as you read the stimulus. By simultaneously reading and writing the information your brain will be able to more easily comprehend the material.

Good to see this thread exists. I was going to take the June LSAT but I am not quite where I want to be. I want to get a 170 plus. I have hit a 171 as my high, but my scores are somewhat volatile. Hopefully now with all the extra time I have I will be able to get at least into the mid 170s. I am balancing this out with a masters and an internship right now though. Still I am confident.

My best section is the LR sections. I usually get between a -2 and a -3.
RC and LG I am somewhat inconsistent. On both sections I have done extremely well at times only to do poorly on the next PT.

Right now I have pt 62 and 51 I am going to do
I also have a bunch of LSAT practice games I have not used yet.
I have studied from the powerscore bibles for LR and LG, and the Manhattan RC.

Hopefully we could all put some study sessions online together. Good luck!!

Hey guys, I've been doing some studying, haven't gotten very organized though, but also plan on taking in October.

I was just wondering if anybody could explain to me PT 19 RC #9. It says the answer is C, but I put E, and I'm having trouble really differentiating between the two questions. Thank you!

Can you guys just stop posting until after June 11th? It makes me nervous. Kthxbye.

Just to let you guys know, on June 12th I will be coming into this thread just to remind you about how long this journey is and how I have my life back and you guys are only starting to lose yours. Have fun.