February 2014 LSAT Study Group Forum

[zhenders]

hey guys. ive been lurking this thread for a while. seeing that yall share my struggles has helped me. I have been studying like the rest of you, as in like a maniac. I have taken every PT between 48-64 in the past 18 days. My average is a 167.4. Its ok. My best is a 174, and a 170. My plan is to do 65-70 in between now and test day, and perhaps some more drilling.

BUT anyway what do you guys think about bubbling??? do you after each question, or do you bubble after each page/game/passage? Also...man my brain is FRIED. i feel fucking tired as shit. i cant sleep at night because im so anxious and if im not in an LSAT prep book, drilling, or PTing in THINKING about a question i missed etc. How do yall deal with this? and what do yall think about a diurnal rythym? Should i be waking up and PTing at say 830 - 9 AM everyday to simulate test day, and get my body used to it?

lastly, thanks a lot guys. youve all helped me a ton just by speaking up on this stuff. we will all get 180s. fuck an lsat. shit aint got nothin on us. its predictable and we have seen everything. there will be no surprises. a test is a test is a test. thats all it is. our minds are agile, prepared, and well-equipped to tackle this fucking thing. our brains > test maker brains. all in for the 180.

Two things mate:

1. The most-efficient way to bubble (regardless of personal preference) is definitely to bubble everything at the end. Bubbling after each question is definitely a bad idea -- too much time lost. The happy medium for many people is to bubble each back-to-back pair of pages together. Personally, I bubble all at the end; I'm less error-prone that way, and I want every extra second I can get.

2. Dude, sounds like you need a day or TWO away from this test. That's super great that you've done so much! But rest is CRUCIAL. And not just because tired=bad -- just like exercise, your brain needs time to file everything away. To use a computer metaphor, all study and no rest is like loading 50 new programs on your computer without ever defragmenting your hard drive. Rest is defragmentation for your brain; it enables you to access the information that you've put into it more efficiently. So... Yeah. rest. Smoke something, or drink, or just watch some television/play a video game -- do whatever you do to relax -- just make sure you get some rest!


---

Just finished PT66. Super happy.

RC: -0 (is this my first -0 RC ever? I think it is)
LR1: -1
LG: -1 (the one question I circled and never game back to; that damned sequencing game)
LR2: -0

-2/179

Tough curve; very happy with that. I felt like the second LR was hard as friggin' hell; on that note, this was one of the first times that I was actually able to go back and change answers -- not just check them. I changed one from wrong to right -- so that felt like an accomplishment in itself

[Nicolena.]

hey guys. ive been lurking this thread for a while. seeing that yall share my struggles has helped me. I have been studying like the rest of you, as in like a maniac. I have taken every PT between 48-64 in the past 18 days. My average is a 167.4. Its ok. My best is a 174, and a 170. My plan is to do 65-70 in between now and test day, and perhaps some more drilling.

BUT anyway what do you guys think about bubbling??? do you after each question, or do you bubble after each page/game/passage? Also...man my brain is FRIED. i feel fucking tired as shit. i cant sleep at night because im so anxious and if im not in an LSAT prep book, drilling, or PTing in THINKING about a question i missed etc. How do yall deal with this? and what do yall think about a diurnal rythym? Should i be waking up and PTing at say 830 - 9 AM everyday to simulate test day, and get my body used to it?

lastly, thanks a lot guys. youve all helped me a ton just by speaking up on this stuff. we will all get 180s. fuck an lsat. shit aint got nothin on us. its predictable and we have seen everything. there will be no surprises. a test is a test is a test. thats all it is. our minds are agile, prepared, and well-equipped to tackle this fucking thing. our brains > test maker brains. all in for the 180.

I bubble at the end of each game or RC passage and with LR after every page. It sounds silly but when I'm done with a page I'll put a dot in each letter and then bubble all 3-6 answers in. I do it this way so I'm not wasting time looking back and forth. Taking those extra few seconds to bubble and pause to look is a time waster.

[thevuch]

hey guys. ive been lurking this thread for a while. seeing that yall share my struggles has helped me. I have been studying like the rest of you, as in like a maniac. I have taken every PT between 48-64 in the past 18 days. My average is a 167.4. Its ok. My best is a 174, and a 170. My plan is to do 65-70 in between now and test day, and perhaps some more drilling.

BUT anyway what do you guys think about bubbling??? do you after each question, or do you bubble after each page/game/passage? Also...man my brain is FRIED. i feel fucking tired as shit. i cant sleep at night because im so anxious and if im not in an LSAT prep book, drilling, or PTing in THINKING about a question i missed etc. How do yall deal with this? and what do yall think about a diurnal rythym? Should i be waking up and PTing at say 830 - 9 AM everyday to simulate test day, and get my body used to it?

lastly, thanks a lot guys. youve all helped me a ton just by speaking up on this stuff. we will all get 180s. fuck an lsat. shit aint got nothin on us. its predictable and we have seen everything. there will be no surprises. a test is a test is a test. thats all it is. our minds are agile, prepared, and well-equipped to tackle this fucking thing. our brains > test maker brains. all in for the 180.

Two things mate:

1. The most-efficient way to bubble (regardless of personal preference) is definitely to bubble everything at the end. Bubbling after each question is definitely a bad idea -- too much time lost. The happy medium for many people is to bubble each back-to-back pair of pages together. Personally, I bubble all at the end; I'm less error-prone that way, and I want every extra second I can get.

2. Dude, sounds like you need a day or TWO away from this test. That's super great that you've done so much! But rest is CRUCIAL. And not just because tired=bad -- just like exercise, your brain needs time to file everything away. To use a computer metaphor, all study and no rest is like loading 50 new programs on your computer without ever defragmenting your hard drive. Rest is defragmentation for your brain; it enables you to access the information that you've put into it more efficiently. So... Yeah. rest. Smoke something, or drink, or just watch some television/play a video game -- do whatever you do to relax -- just make sure you get some rest!


---

Just finished PT66. Super happy.

RC: -0 (is this my first -0 RC ever? I think it is)
LR1: -1
LG: -1 (the one question I circled and never game back to; that damned sequencing game)
LR2: -0

-2/179

Tough curve; very happy with that. I felt like the second LR was hard as friggin' hell; on that note, this was one of the first times that I was actually able to go back and change answers -- not just check them. I changed one from wrong to right -- so that felt like an accomplishment in itself

thanks for the advice man. youre probably right. i just really want that 170. thats amazing where you are. my LG is oftentimes -0, and my last 2 RC have been -1, (they were about -5/-6 a week ago), but my LR is suffering now, those TOUGH similar reasoning questions or similar flaw questions, the formal logic (im good with just symbols, but when it translate into everyday language it becomes difficult for me), and the difficult principle questions seem to get me most of the time and i seem to FALL APART on questions 20-25, i dont know if its mental or what, but i never seem to miss one 1-20, but will miss 3 or 4 in the last 5 or 6

but again. props dude.

[zhenders]

When you're drilling, what do you think about flipping your work once and hitting 20-25 first? I might try it to see what happens -- sometimes that kind of thing ends up just being a huge invisible mental block that we don't realize we have especially because ironically 15-20 are traditionally much more difficult than 21-25/26.

I will say this: I had that same problem for some time (with 20-25/26, especially the last 3) because I allowed the stress of running out of time to influence me; I was so stressed out that it made the last handful much more difficult than they should have been.

Don't be afraid to experiment with order =)

[xylocarp]

Congrats zhenders!! A -2 would be a 180 on a whole lot of tests

[withoutapaddle]

Powering through 5 RC sections tonight can't wait

[thevuch]

Powering through 5 RC sections tonight can't wait

beast mode

[thevuch]

When you're drilling, what do you think about flipping your work once and hitting 20-25 first? I might try it to see what happens -- sometimes that kind of thing ends up just being a huge invisible mental block that we don't realize we have especially because ironically 15-20 are traditionally much more difficult than 21-25/26.

I will say this: I had that same problem for some time (with 20-25/26, especially the last 3) because I allowed the stress of running out of time to influence me; I was so stressed out that it made the last handful much more difficult than they should have been.

Don't be afraid to experiment with order =)

this is interesting. i may have to try it. i used to do 1-15, 20-25, then 16-19, because of hte typical 15-20 being the hardest. but it was just kind of counterintuitive i guess. it threw me off, and i was like, man i need to just become such a monster at this that i smoke an LR question no matter waht order what number or what. you know what im saying, but i will give this a shot

[Miracle]

Powering through 5 RC sections tonight can't wait

Im doing 10

Working on my 7th right now

[withoutapaddle]

10 is a lot haaha good job

I don't know if I have it in me to do 10

[Miracle]

10 is a lot haaha good job

I don't know if I have it in me to do 10

I don't mind RC…if i like the passages.

Why doesn't your avatar work?

[pech71]

Sigh...work has become too busy to even study this week. Needy clients are bad when the LSAT is fast approaching!!

[90convoy]

Just did a LG section and 3 LR sections back to back with no break for some endurance work.

and nice job zhenders! you're a beast with this.

[withoutapaddle]

It's showing up on my computer? my avatar isn't showing up?

[zhenders]

It's showing up on my computer? my avatar isn't showing up?

No, fact: not showing up.

I'd just go to your profile and reload it -- that should fix it.

[withoutapaddle]

See it now? I reloaded it

[zhenders]

We have a visual on Vanderbilt, yessir.

Damned gorgeous campus.

[withoutapaddle]

Thinking about dressing up as the joker and going on Vanderbilt's campus and saying:

I want you to do it I want you do it ACCEPT me ACCEPT me (In my best joker voice)

Instant 5 point boost on the LSAT

[xylocarp]

Thinking about dressing up as the joker and going on Vanderbilt's campus and saying:

I want you to do it I want you do it ACCEPT me ACCEPT me (In my best joker voice)

Instant 5 point boost on the LSAT

That sounds like it would instantly win you admission and definitely not creep everybody out/auto-ding you at all

[90convoy]

180 watch came in today! So niceeeeee

[xylocarp]

180 watch came in today! So niceeeeee

Start PTing with it immediately so you'll be used to it on test day!

[90convoy]

How many people in here are K-JD?

[mirroroferised7]

Okay, I'm PT'ing every day, and cramming Manhattan LR and Powerscore LR and RC. I've PT'd through 19-39 and 52-69.

I've gotten LG and RC down to -0's consistently, but I can't get LR down past -3 consistently. I am using LSATQA to analyze tests and figure out where I need improvement. I'm weakest in Flaw, Role/Function, and Parallel reasoning questions. The sad part is, my LR score has gotten worse since I started studying.

I see quite a few of you on this thread have your LR's down to -0 and -1. How do you suggest I get mine down? Should I just drill the hell out of some LR sections on a regular basis? Manhattan seems to be working fairly well, but Powerscore is just too damn dense.

I'm open to any suggestions.

[Miracle]

PT 54 for me tonight!

[xylocarp]

Okay, I'm PT'ing every day, and cramming Manhattan LR and Powerscore LR and RC. I've PT'd through 19-39 and 52-69.

I've gotten LG and RC down to -0's consistently, but I can't get LR down past -3 consistently. I am using LSATQA to analyze tests and figure out where I need improvement. I'm weakest in Flaw, Role/Function, and Parallel reasoning questions. The sad part is, my LR score has gotten worse since I started studying.

I see quite a few of you on this thread have your LR's down to -0 and -1. How do you suggest I get mine down? Should I just drill the hell out of some LR sections on a regular basis? Manhattan seems to be working fairly well, but Powerscore is just too damn dense.

I'm open to any suggestions.

What's your general method for the section (as opposed to for each individual question)? Do you usually have extra time, and how much? I'm not always -0/-1 LR but I often am.

Regardless, congratulations on how well you're doing!