October 2013 (re)take Thread Forum

norkanite · Post by **norkanite** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:09 am

This will be my 3rd time taking the test (fourth if you count the first LSAT I had cancelled). Having gotten 170 and then 169 on the subsequent retake, I'm really hoping that third times a charm. Aiming for 175+ and will be posting here to keep myself honest.

Any quick advice for somebody who is already at the low 170s range and trying to break into the high 170s? I've already exhausted most of my prep tests save 3 or 4 of the very recent ones.

My plan for the next 2.5 months is to perfect fundamentals via the Bibles and drilling for the first month, and then start doing timed sections and move into timed prep tests for the last month.

Last time around, I was PTing in the low 170s (swings from 168 - 174), with my weakness being RC (anywhere from -0 to -8). I am reasonably strong in LR (average -1 to -2 per section) and strong in LG (-0 to -1 on 90% of LGs, with 2-3 minutes left).

In an identical place, except I withdrew from the June test after PTing with variance like that on the newer tests. I'm focusing on one area at a time - grouping games this week, then strengthen/weaken LR next week, etc. I think I PT'd too much - I'm going down to 1 a week or less and drilling everything I have before even thinking about the next step. Also I'm putting an emphasis on sleep this time around.. working full time + prep + lining applications up sucks.

SteelPenguin · Post by **SteelPenguin** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 1:46 pm

Well, so far so good. Took PT 69 again last week without ever reviewing it, went up to a 174. I took PT 52 yesterday (retake, plus did RC and LG last study period) and got a 178, and today I hit a 175 on PT 55 (retake). I realize results are going to be skewed, but as long as I keep -0 LG and tighten up RC, I'll be in much better shape for PT 70.

wealtheow · Post by **wealtheow** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 6:31 pm

i posted in the other Oct thread but think this one may be better suited to me since i'm a re-taker. got a 164 in dec 11, 8-12 points below my PTS. i catastrophized and decided to put off applying for a bit. it worked out because i am much better off financially now... but consequently i have not looked at LSAT stuff in quite some time. i never quite made sense of what exactly went wrong on test day and was having trouble figuring out how to study anew. then i found noodley's plan - it seems great, so i'm going with that. i read Manhattan LR last week and drilled sufficient assumption (cambridge bundle) over the weekend, going to start necessary assumption tonight. i have this bad habit of passing out immediately upon getting home from work, thereby railroading my study schedule (bawwww)... so depending on my PTing in Sept i may push out to Dec... we'll see. anyway, howdy!

mvonh001 · Post by **mvonh001** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:13 pm

Anyone else waiting with eager anticipation for the October Waiters Thread??

littlegiant · Post by **littlegiant** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:59 am

capt_slow · Post by **capt_slow** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:23 pm

I hate that I am posting in this thread

Clarity · Post by **Clarity** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:27 pm

mvonh001 wrote:Anyone else waiting with eager anticipation for the October Waiters Thread??

Only because it means I will be over with studying for the LSAT!

BFlanagan · Post by **BFlanagan** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 1:14 am

caffedriade wrote:
BFlanagan wrote:
caffedriade wrote:I've been a lurker and I think the retake thread can teach me more about the LSAT than the regular Oct 2013 thread just because (1) test anxiety is a huge handicap for me, and the retakers have already faced it, and (2) I've been studying since effing February and I've plateaued in the high 160s (would like the high 170s on the PTs) so obviously I'm a n00b but sadly has studied probably longer than many retakers D';

A popular reason many retakers attribute their lower than expected performance is test anxiety. Retakers, what do you plan on doing now to prepare for it come October?

A proper warm-up process. I did it before every PT with great results. Nerves got the best of me and I spent the 30 minutes before the exam stuffing granola bars down my throat instead of warming up as always. I couldn't even focus on a basic logic game before the test.

I'm going for *two* warm up sections this time so that I am in the zone for Section 1, PT70. But, others have had great success without any warm up due to fear of fatigue.
You do TWO full sections before Section 1?
What's your warm-up routine like?

Caffe,

I'm not keeping up with this thread like I should..but I'm here and in it. I meant to say that I SHOULD do a 2 section warm up before the real thing in October. Normally, my routine is a full LG section (what, like 25 minutes average usually?) before each PT. It worked. I found that when I am warmed up with LG, my other sections are warmed up too. But if I warm up with RC or LR, my LG is not necessarily warmed up as well.

More importantly, every now and then the nerves would bite me before a fresh PT and I'd notice that my warm ups didn't start working until about the half way point. You know the feeling - slight black out, can't focus, scared...then you get into your groove. Other times, I was instantly in the zone and good to go. I assumed the latter would be the situation come June, and I was wrong. I tried for my normal 1 full LG section warm up, and just stared at the sheet frantically. I decided "screw it" after 10 minutes of blank stares, and wolfed down granola bars for energy instead.

To combine a functional warm up + nerves = 2 full PT sections..for even if I shake and can't get through the first warm up section, I'll have a second warm up to ensure that I'm in the zone. It's just a planned way of beating my own nerves I guess. Also, TLS1776 noted that he did 2 full sections before his test and was thankful he did. Just something to ponder.

To those concerned with LR: I'd also recommend the Manhattan LR for any and all LR enthusiasts. It really is more intuitive. The great NoodleyOne posted some great comments on Manhattan LR, and I happen to agree with them. I was going -0/-1 LR before June. Many recommend drilling the Cambridge sections with each Manhattan chapter as an overall LR routine, which is great. I would also advise, however, to incorporate some full LR sections (what Manhattan calls "mixed review") sooner rather than later. The real test comes when you have to apply the techniques and ideas under the gun in a mixed format. I made a similar mistake in my LG review: after a healthy binge of type-by-type LG questions, I noticed that speed and accuracy in question type does not necessarily equal speed and accuracy within a full section.

In short, I'd prioritize full section drilling as much as question type drilling. Just sharing some of my prep experience!

Ambitious1 · Post by **Ambitious1** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:13 pm

PT43:

LG exp: ( PT37) -4. No excuses, I just found the shelves game difficult and incredibly time consuming, got -3 on that game alone. Looking forward to review.
RC: -6
LR1: -3
LR2: -1
LG: -0

91/101, for a 172. Feeling pretty good! Botched a few tricky LR questions and timing was a mess as usual in RC. Need to stop being lazy and using LG as my experimental sections, though.

mvonh001 · Post by **mvonh001** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:32 pm

Ya, i usually always use LR sections, but I am going to start throwing in RC sections soon. Gotta face your fears - or in this case, your worst section.

Ambitious1 wrote:PT43:

LG exp: ( PT37) -4. No excuses, I just found the shelves game difficult and incredibly time consuming, got -3 on that game alone. Looking forward to review.
RC: -6
LR1: -3
LR2: -1
LG: -0

91/101, for a 172. Feeling pretty good! Botched a few tricky LR questions and timing was a mess as usual in RC. Need to stop being lazy and using LG as my experimental sections, though.

SteelPenguin · Post by **SteelPenguin** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:57 pm

Practiced RC a little today, went -1 and -2. So far, so good with this retake session. Looks like less notating is really helping my RC performance.

SteelPenguin · Post by **SteelPenguin** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:22 pm

SteelPenguin wrote:Practiced RC a little today, went -1 and -2. So far, so good with this retake session. Looks like less notating is really helping my RC performance.

Ugh, what a mess. Retook PT 57, ended up with a -10 for a 171. I've seen parts of this test 2 times before, so this is a pretty bad PT all things considered.

LG: -1
LR: -3
LR: -2
RC: -4

I've got a lot of work to do if I hope to make retaking worth it.

EDIT: While reviewing, I realized I mistyped my answers into lsatqa, and I actually ended up with a 173. Feeling a bit better now.

barrelofmonkeys · Post by **barrelofmonkeys** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:47 am

my manhattan bundle arrived yesterday

time to get back on the horse

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:21 pm

Post removed...

SteelPenguin · Post by **SteelPenguin** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 1:27 am

PatriotP74 wrote:Started the Manhattan books today, first 2 chapters in LR and just started chapter 2 in LG, plan is to get through around a chapter a week at minimum and add a chapter here and there as my schoolwork allows. Doing this i should finish the books about a week before if i do 2 chapters a couple weeks. Doing this how often should i take a PT once a week? then maybe 2 a week getting closer to test?

Finishing the books a week before the test doesn't sound like a good idea. Any way you can get through them with a month to go?

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 3:08 pm

Post removed...

objection_your_honor · Post by **objection_your_honor** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:16 pm

I've taken 6 PTs since the test and have gone -1 to -3 on all of them. Mostly RC, though I sometimes miss an LR question (and once, an LG question).

Timing has become more of an issue. I don't see this as too much of a problem right now because I am consciously slowing down and walking through the steps. This sometimes requires me to rush for the last few questions.

Pretty hard to tell where I am at and how I would do come test day, since all of the PTs are recycled.

BFlanagan · Post by **BFlanagan** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:20 pm

objection_your_honor wrote:I've taken 6 PTs since the test and have gone -1 to -3 on all of them. Mostly RC, though I sometimes miss an LR question (and once, an LG question).

Timing has become more of an issue. I don't see this as too much of a problem right now because I am consciously slowing down and walking through the steps. This sometimes requires me to rush for the last few questions.

Pretty hard to tell where I am at and how I would do come test day, since all of the PTs are recycled.

Objection,

Awesome stuff.

May I ask which PTs you're using? I feel like I just ran through the 60s before June...

I'm thinking to run through a few 50s and even 30s that I don't remember too well. I also don't want to get too skewed with older style test questions at this point, so I'm not sure how to schedule things. Thanks!

objection_your_honor · Post by **objection_your_honor** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:57 am

40s for July, 50s for August, 60s for September. I did PT 69 about a week after score release.

Using the 30s for drilling via the Cambridge packets.

LegaleZy · Post by **LegaleZy** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:06 am

Haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd drop in. It's great to see how everyone is progressing. Definetly motivating. Ice been really focused on strategy this time around. Do I understand the correctly methods and do I understand why a question was wrong? I've been reading a chapter from MLSAT and then drilling via Cambridge packets. I'm definetly starting to see improvements. I hope to start PT in a week or two once I'm more confident in my abilities and have more of a grasp on logic games.

CyanIdes Of March · Post by **CyanIdes Of March** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:53 am

amuseboosh · Post by **amuseboosh** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:06 pm

CyanIdes Of March wrote:Wondering if I should retake or not. Got a 173 on the Dec. 2012, applying this Fall with a 3.8. Thoughts?

Really don't want to retake, but the 173 has been bugging me for a while.

Well I don't know what schools you're interested in but if you really want to solidify your chances at HYS I say retake if you're entirely confident you can score higher. Otherwise your numbers are amazing and your cycle will go really well with the majority of the t14, as I'm sure you know.

objection_your_honor · Post by **objection_your_honor** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:08 pm

CyanIdes Of March wrote:Wondering if I should retake or not. Got a 173 on the Dec. 2012, applying this Fall with a 3.8. Thoughts?

Really don't want to retake, but the 173 has been bugging me for a while.

2-4 points does seem to make a small difference (see below), especially with HYS. Up to you if it's worth it. The "What are my chances?" forum has a lot of helpful posters that are pretty knowledgeable about this stuff.

CyanIdes Of March · Post by **CyanIdes Of March** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:52 pm

SteelPenguin · Post by **SteelPenguin** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:11 pm

I've taken 8 lg sections since I began studying, and I went -0 on the first four. Then, I ended up going -2, -1, -0, -2 on the next four. Trying to improve from a 169, I feel like I am getting discouraged pretty easily because I feel like I'll have such little room to make mistakes when in October. Now that all my PTs have been used at least once, many times twice, I feel like anything below perfection on sections of LGs is failure. Does anyone else feel this way?