December 2013 LSAT Study Group Forum

[Hotguy]

Hey guys, does it matter how many times you change the date of your Lsat? Ive changed it 2 times already, and i may need to change it one more time to Feb

Nope. As long as you don't sit in to take it, it doesn't matter. However, if you sit in and cancel, then it does count.

[062914123]

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[Hotguy]

When are you guys planning on starting to pt? Anyone down to do in depth group reviews?

[OVOXO]

When are you guys planning on starting to pt? Anyone down to do in depth group reviews?

2 weeks from now. I’m a retaker.

[Hotguy]

When are you guys planning on starting to pt? Anyone down to do in depth group reviews?

2 weeks from now. I’m a retaker.

Cool, what pt # will you start on? I was thinking of starting the 52-62 in about two weeks, while saving the most recent for the last month.
Hopefully more people will be in on this as well.

[vicpin5190]

When are you guys planning on starting to pt? Anyone down to do in depth group reviews?

2 weeks from now. I’m a retaker.

Cool, what pt # will you start on? I was thinking of starting the 52-62 in about two weeks, while saving the most recent for the last month.
Hopefully more people will be in on this as well.

I've been working on the 30's for a little bit but I think i'm going to start ramping up to the 50s as of this weekend. Need to get adjusted to the RC and LRs.

[Hotguy]

When are you guys planning on starting to pt? Anyone down to do in depth group reviews?

2 weeks from now. I’m a retaker.

Cool, what pt # will you start on? I was thinking of starting the 52-62 in about two weeks, while saving the most recent for the last month.
Hopefully more people will be in on this as well.

I've been working on the 30's for a little bit but I think i'm going to start ramping up to the 50s as of this weekend. Need to get adjusted to the RC and LRs.

Are you drilling by type? Im using 1-44 for drilling.. But it probably isn't a bad idea to do one of the older pts as well.

[vicpin5190]

Are you drilling by type? Im using 1-44 for drilling.. But it probably isn't a bad idea to do one of the older pts as well.

I've been doing drilling for the question types that i have had trouble with in LR, and those have been the cambridge packets. My only PT in the modern LSATs is my first one, PT60. I've mainly been in the 30s for my other PTs, but that has only been a total of 4 after the diagnostic. I need to start getting used to the new style of wording and content in the PTs now but I've been working in the eariler test to get the basics down.

[alecks]

do you guys have a good answer for reading the question stem or the stimulus first?

blueprint says one way (question, then stimulus), testmasters / powerscore say the other way (in order, stimulus then question)...

I've been doing it in order... but wondering if blueprint is right?? I'm pretty skeptical about the class in general, to be honest. I've taken more than a few LSAT prep courses (testmasters, kaplan, read some powerscore etc... but wasted them b/c I'm doing this again)

I took the December 2011 LSAT but had a meltdown (too much adderall, I think) so I'm trying this again now

[LegaleZy]

do you guys have a good answer for reading the question stem or the stimulus first?

blueprint says one way (question, then stimulus), testmasters / powerscore say the other way (in order, stimulus then question)...

I've been doing it in order... but wondering if blueprint is right?? I'm pretty skeptical about the class in general, to be honest. I've taken more than a few LSAT prep courses (testmasters, kaplan, read some powerscore etc... but wasted them b/c I'm doing this again)

I took the December 2011 LSAT but had a meltdown (too much adderall, I think) so I'm trying this again now

I used to always do stem then question, but after staring Velocity I now always do the question first. I go into the stimulus knowing exactly what I'm looking for, it saves time and increases accuracy.

[062914123]

.

[Hotguy]

do you guys have a good answer for reading the question stem or the stimulus first?

blueprint says one way (question, then stimulus), testmasters / powerscore say the other way (in order, stimulus then question)...

I've been doing it in order... but wondering if blueprint is right?? I'm pretty skeptical about the class in general, to be honest. I've taken more than a few LSAT prep courses (testmasters, kaplan, read some powerscore etc... but wasted them b/c I'm doing this again)

I took the December 2011 LSAT but had a meltdown (too much adderall, I think) so I'm trying this again now

the single best thing you can do for yourself in LR is to read the stem first. if you read the stim first, you'll end up having to reread 9 times out of 10 because you won't have a clue what to look for the first time around.

Thunbs up on this answer. Older testing methods, such as testmasters used to say to read the stim first, but really, all newer methods, and also subjectively the more useful ones advocate for question stim first. In my honest opinion, it's without a doubt better since you focus on what you need to focus.

[Erickt26]

Anybody getting negative vibes from family members for not working while studying for the LSAT? I decided to take December LSAT instead of October given my current score. Family is not that happy that I will not be working...

[Hotguy]

Are you drilling by type? Im using 1-44 for drilling.. But it probably isn't a bad idea to do one of the older pts as well.

I've been doing drilling for the question types that i have had trouble with in LR, and those have been the cambridge packets. My only PT in the modern LSATs is my first one, PT60. I've mainly been in the 30s for my other PTs, but that has only been a total of 4 after the diagnostic. I need to start getting used to the new style of wording and content in the PTs now but I've been working in the eariler test to get the basics down.

Totally get what you're saying, I'm honestly doing something very similar, but I also do repeat materials..

[Hotguy]

Anybody getting negative vibes from family members for not working while studying for the LSAT? I decided to take December LSAT instead of October given my current score. Family is not that happy that I will not be working...

100%. I moved to a friend's house in order to dedicate 100% on the lsat, and haven't been talking to some of my family because of that.

[062914123]

.

[Pmoney51]

Checking in. I'm ready to dominate this test. I made a 150 on my diagnostic and my goal is a 165+. I'm drilling and doing timed sections right now. When is a good time to start taking PTs?

[Hotguy]

Anybody getting negative vibes from family members for not working while studying for the LSAT? I decided to take December LSAT instead of October given my current score. Family is not that happy that I will not be working...

100%. I moved to a friend's house in order to dedicate 100% on the lsat, and haven't been talking to some of my family because of that.

i'm working full time/studying, but when i graduated college and decided to take time off to study/get work experience before law school, i got alllllll of this shit from my extended family... but you have to realize that this is your life and your money/debt on the line. do what's best for you and screw everyone else (; when you're at a t-14 on a huge scholly you'll feel a lot better about it, haha.

Lol for sure, that's one of the things I keep telling myself, but it can be tough, and usually your family doesn't quite understand how much of a big deal it is for us, to get the score we want. But other than that, now I'm able to study 8 hours per day with no stress.. Yeah, I could be making money, and working, but this takes priority to me. You have to sacrifice some things.. So if any of you are on this boat, you are not alone!

[Hotguy]

Checking in. I'm ready to dominate this test. I made a 150 on my diagnostic and my goal is a 165+. I'm drilling and doing timed sections right now. When is a good time to start taking PTs?

Step one - accuracy(ability to get majority of answers right untimed)
Step two - timing(ability to apply your accuracy while timing, some slight pts is advised.
Step three - resistance (ability to maintain your accuracy and timing for a long period of time. Mostly pts at this time)
Whenever you pass step one and two. That could take time, but it all depends on you.

[lsatdream]

Checking in. I'm ready to dominate this test. I made a 150 on my diagnostic and my goal is a 165+. I'm drilling and doing timed sections right now. When is a good time to start taking PTs?

Step one - accuracy(ability to get majority of answers right untimed)
Step two - timing(ability to apply your accuracy while timing, some slight pts is advised.
Step three - resistance (ability to maintain your accuracy and timing for a long period of time. Mostly pts at this time)
Whenever you pass step one and two. That could take time, but it all depends on you.

If I could pick your brain for a second: what constitutes a "majority of answers right untimed?" I'm almost done with the Manhattan LR book and the LSAT Trainer along with questions from the Cambridge packets. Does this mean going 20/20 on level 1 questions untimed and then moving to harder 25 questions timed? Will doing this really increase one's abilities in the LSAT? I've always been confused about this so if anyone could answer, I'd really appreciate it.

[vicpin5190]

I worked on PT 60's Logic Games again for the first time since I took the PT as my cold test in early August, and i jumped from -12 to -3, and 2 of the 3 questions i got wrong were really dumb careless errors (stupidly answered for Thursday instead of Wednesday in Game 1 Question 6 and misread G immediately before L instead of L immediately before G in Game 2 Question 11). The mulch/stone question almost got me but then i realized the error i had made last time I did it (as I was about to make it again) and i was home free from that point. Still was hoping to score perfect, and its clear that I've got to get a little sharper on inferences again, as the earlier PTs baby you by not forcing that many upon you. Once again the major theme is that a) got to spend the time on inferences and b) i'm my own worst enemy on these games.

[Hotguy]

Checking in. I'm ready to dominate this test. I made a 150 on my diagnostic and my goal is a 165+. I'm drilling and doing timed sections right now. When is a good time to start taking PTs?

Step one - accuracy(ability to get majority of answers right untimed)
Step two - timing(ability to apply your accuracy while timing, some slight pts is advised.
Step three - resistance (ability to maintain your accuracy and timing for a long period of time. Mostly pts at this time)
Whenever you pass step one and two. That could take time, but it all depends on you.

If I could pick your brain for a second: what constitutes a "majority of answers right untimed?" I'm almost done with the Manhattan LR book and the LSAT Trainer along with questions from the Cambridge packets. Does this mean going 20/20 on level 1 questions untimed and then moving to harder 25 questions timed? Will doing this really increase one's abilities in the LSAT? I've always been confused about this so if anyone could answer, I'd really appreciate it.

When you get to the point where untimed you start to paraphrase answers in your head, and they are the correct answers, this usually means that you have gotten to step two, however, you will notice that timing won't be a huge factor for easier questions, as you will be already much more prepared to answer those questions thanks to your accuracy progress. So even though I said that there is a second step of timing, you will naturally notice that you start spending less and less time on questions, and usually only spend a greater amount of time on harder questions. The whole idea of doing it untimed is so that you habitually understand how to work each question type. Speed will come with accuracy, and when you feel as if you reached a good point, you can slowly introduce pts, where you will see your weakness, or lack of accuracy on some types of questions (sometimes not on types). From that point work with pts and drilling weaknesses.
In short, a number of questions right is not that useful, what is useful is how your skill and habits are when you attack a type of question leading to the right answer.
I wrote this on my phone, hope it makes sense.

[Erickt26]

Anybody getting negative vibes from family members for not working while studying for the LSAT? I decided to take December LSAT instead of October given my current score. Family is not that happy that I will not be working...

100%. I moved to a friend's house in order to dedicate 100% on the lsat, and haven't been talking to some of my family because of that.

i'm working full time/studying, but when i graduated college and decided to take time off to study/get work experience before law school, i got alllllll of this shit from my extended family... but you have to realize that this is your life and your money/debt on the line. do what's best for you and screw everyone else (; when you're at a t-14 on a huge scholly you'll feel a lot better about it, haha.

Lol for sure, that's one of the things I keep telling myself, but it can be tough, and usually your family doesn't quite understand how much of a big deal it is for us, to get the score we want. But other than that, now I'm able to study 8 hours per day with no stress.. Yeah, I could be making money, and working, but this takes priority to me. You have to sacrifice some things.. So if any of you are on this boat, you are not alone!

Thanks for your wise word. I needed that right now. Lets rock this test! I am certain that we can all reach our goals if we work truly hard. And if we don't at least we know that we tried our best!

[OVOXO]

Drilled Basic linear unbalanced games today. Adv linear balanced tomorrow + some NA/SA, lehhgoo

[Hotguy]

I worked on PT 60's Logic Games again for the first time since I took the PT as my cold test in early August, and i jumped from -12 to -3, and 2 of the 3 questions i got wrong were really dumb careless errors (stupidly answered for Thursday instead of Wednesday in Game 1 Question 6 and misread G immediately before L instead of L immediately before G in Game 2 Question 11). The mulch/stone question almost got me but then i realized the error i had made last time I did it (as I was about to make it again) and i was home free from that point. Still was hoping to score perfect, and its clear that I've got to get a little sharper on inferences again, as the earlier PTs baby you by not forcing that many upon you. Once again the major theme is that a) got to spend the time on inferences and b) i'm my own worst enemy on these games.

Definitely good progress. Good to hear!

Thanks for your wise word. I needed that right now. Lets rock this test! I am certain that we can all reach our goals if we work truly hard. And if we don't at least we know that we tried our best!

Hell yeah! Last thing we are doing is quitting! Fight till the end!