The Official October 2015 Study Group

[RZ5646]

@ OP, can you change the poll to something regarding how LSAT takers relax on the days when they are not prepping? I am curious to see what other people do.

I would but I'm not sure if that's a good fit for the poll format; it's more of an open-ended question.

Personally, I'll probably do the same stuff every day now that I'm done with work and research: get up, waste time on TLS and other sites, make or buy lunch, do a PT and/or drilling until the temperature goes down, run or do strength training, LSAT or more Internet depending on how productive I'm feeling, Kindle time, sleep. I don't plan on studying so intensely that I'll need (prescheduled) rest days.

Do you prep every day? No days off?

Anyone else want to share their routine for relaxation on off days from prepping LSAT?

I'm doing what I can. For much of the summer I was spending 1-3 hours on prep every day, but then I stopped for 3 weeks to focus on other obligations. Now I'm just getting back into the swing of things and planning to do 2-5 hours every day. I'm not actually planning any rest days, but if I think I'm burning out or am just too busy, I won't feel bad about taking a day off.

ETA: Grouping games are so much harder than linear ones

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

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[RZ5646]

I didn't start improving with grouping games until I started focusing on hate relationships (a and b cannot be together). They really narrow down possible options, especially when you're doing hypothetical questions.


Took PT49, 172 BR 179.
Went -0 in RC for the first time ever so I'm very happy. Hopefully I can keep that up. Went -7 in LR . Really struggled in my first LR section, missed 2 and didn't answer 3. Could have had a 173 but didn't bubble one of the questions I skipped. I actually thought I did terrible on this test.

I think it's because linear games are visual. People are naturally good with visuospatial things, even when they're actually dealing with abstract concepts that have just been translated into visual terms (e.g., the method of loci).

[ltowns1]

In/out rules can be very helpful as well.

[Dexter97]

Took the weekend off from LSAT prep because I was feeling burnt out. Tackled the Flaw packet on my second go around and some pesky science passages today.

[SirArthurDayne]

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[pterodactyls]

I'm not sure I'm quite understanding what you two are saying (RZ and Mint), but if you're worried that you'll underperform on the test day due to nervousness or something to that effect and its something that is truly getting to you, I would highly advise starting up a meditation regiment, with one of your intentions by doing so to let go of those worries and not letting them get to you, nor let yourself start to believe them and worse be consumed by them.

Meditation is such a helpful habit to get into for a number of reasons in my opinion, but it can honestly have tangible results towards something like a standardized test. It'll help you think about what you're thinking about at all times, and from there you'll be able to stop thinking about what you chose not to think about anymore. I don't want to get esoteric here or anything like that, but let me just say that meditation will help with the nerves and anxiety surrounding the test, in addition to helping you focus. I know Mint, you mentioned you miss a couple of problems per PT due to zoning out and such. If you put an honest effort into meditating, I would be confident in saying that you will notice improvements in that area.

Furthermore, have you guys ever thought about the other side of the coin? I know for me, when I took it in June, through the second half of the first section right through the end of the test, if anything I was more focused that I usually was during a PT and certainly just as confident. Now, I didn't outperform my PT average and in fact I basically hit it right on the head (and since, that average gone up considerably hence the retake, but I digress). My point is, is that when the real test comes, how about thinking that you'll rise to the occasion and perform your very best, be more confident and more pumped up than ever, rather than thinking that you will crack under the pressure and such?

A lot of the guides out there (like Noodley's for example) goes into how the real test is just another PT. Of course its more than that in that its the real deal, but at the end of the day its the same five sections and the same kinds of questions. There aren't any surprises. Sure, you won't have seen the questions beforehand, but neither have you on any of your PTs the first time you ran through them. Noodley also suggests PTing in relatively louder areas, should something like that arise on test day - just another thing you can do to ease those nerves a bit.

Bottom line, as someone who's taken it before, in all likelihood you guys will perform right around what you've been PTing at. Be confident in all the time you've put in! There's no need to feel worried about underperforming. Its those who worry about it so much that it happens to, I would venture to say.

Do you have any resources for beginners? This sounds like something I could really benefit from. Thanks in advance!

Download the app HeadSpace. It gives you 10 days free. Good little intro of guided meditation. The sessions are 10 mins each, so I would start with that each morning for 10 days.

[Judgeasaurus_Rex]

Hey folks, I had an interesting LSAT-related experience last night that I thought I would share.

Ever since graduating college back in June and taking the June LSAT, I moved back home to work on apps & study for Oct (I'm a retaker...). I took the opportunity to use the family computer to do some PC gaming that I missed out on during undergrad. A few weeks ago my mother and father noticed that the internet started to have some hiccups on the family computer and they complained that it was because I started using it for computer games 2 months ago. Then last night, both my parents started a heated argument with me claiming that it was my fault and I should stop with the games at once and that that would fix the internet somehow. I immediately went into LSAT mode on the two of them....

I started by paraphrasing their argument back at them: "Judgeasaurus started using using the family computer to play PC games in June. Two months later the internet started to act up. Therefore, we conclude that using the family computer for gaming caused the internet problems." By that logic I could conclude the following:

"My younger sister was born in January 2003. Two months later, the USA declared war on Iraq. Therefore, I conclude that my sisters birth caused the war in Iraq."

I went on to quote several more ridiculous examples to my parents until they got the picture that correlation =/= cause.

In any case, I can say that the LSAT has taken over my way of thinking, I live and breath it every day. I see premise-conclusion relationships everywhere and logical flaws in everything.

The LSAT runs my very existence...

[npt2901]

Full time working people-- how many PTs a week are you taking until test day?

Slash what does your schedule look like?

This is my third and final take so I was thinking a PT every Sat and then thorough review on Sunday and 1-2 sections (timed or untimed) per day with review. I am taking a few days off too so I can study.

[RZ5646]

Hey folks, I had an interesting LSAT-related experience last night that I thought I would share.

Ever since graduating college back in June and taking the June LSAT, I moved back home to work on apps & study for Oct (I'm a retaker...). I took the opportunity to use the family computer to do some PC gaming that I missed out on during undergrad. A few weeks ago my mother and father noticed that the internet started to have some hiccups on the family computer and they complained that it was because I started using it for computer games 2 months ago. Then last night, both my parents started a heated argument with me claiming that it was my fault and I should stop with the games at once and that that would fix the internet somehow. I immediately went into LSAT mode on the two of them....

I started by paraphrasing their argument back at them: "Judgeasaurus started using using the family computer to play PC games in June. Two months later the internet started to act up. Therefore, we conclude that using the family computer for gaming caused the internet problems." By that logic I could conclude the following:

"My younger sister was born in January 2003. Two months later, the USA declared war on Iraq. Therefore, I conclude that my sisters birth caused the war in Iraq."

I went on to quote several more ridiculous examples to my parents until they got the picture that correlation =/= cause.

In any case, I can say that the LSAT has taken over my way of thinking, I live and breath it every day. I see premise-conclusion relationships everywhere and logical flaws in everything.

The LSAT runs my very existence...

This fallacy is actually called post hoc ergo procter hoc and is one of the classic logical errors.

[Judgeasaurus_Rex]

Hey folks, I had an interesting LSAT-related experience last night that I thought I would share.

Ever since graduating college back in June and taking the June LSAT, I moved back home to work on apps & study for Oct (I'm a retaker...). I took the opportunity to use the family computer to do some PC gaming that I missed out on during undergrad. A few weeks ago my mother and father noticed that the internet started to have some hiccups on the family computer and they complained that it was because I started using it for computer games 2 months ago. Then last night, both my parents started a heated argument with me claiming that it was my fault and I should stop with the games at once and that that would fix the internet somehow. I immediately went into LSAT mode on the two of them....

I started by paraphrasing their argument back at them: "Judgeasaurus started using using the family computer to play PC games in June. Two months later the internet started to act up. Therefore, we conclude that using the family computer for gaming caused the internet problems." By that logic I could conclude the following:

"My younger sister was born in January 2003. Two months later, the USA declared war on Iraq. Therefore, I conclude that my sisters birth caused the war in Iraq."

I went on to quote several more ridiculous examples to my parents until they got the picture that correlation =/= cause.

In any case, I can say that the LSAT has taken over my way of thinking, I live and breath it every day. I see premise-conclusion relationships everywhere and logical flaws in everything.

The LSAT runs my very existence...

This fallacy is actually called post hoc ergo procter hoc and is one of the classic logical errors.

Yes, you are correct. My bad.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

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[RZ5646]

Hey folks, I had an interesting LSAT-related experience last night that I thought I would share.

Ever since graduating college back in June and taking the June LSAT, I moved back home to work on apps & study for Oct (I'm a retaker...). I took the opportunity to use the family computer to do some PC gaming that I missed out on during undergrad. A few weeks ago my mother and father noticed that the internet started to have some hiccups on the family computer and they complained that it was because I started using it for computer games 2 months ago. Then last night, both my parents started a heated argument with me claiming that it was my fault and I should stop with the games at once and that that would fix the internet somehow. I immediately went into LSAT mode on the two of them....

I started by paraphrasing their argument back at them: "Judgeasaurus started using using the family computer to play PC games in June. Two months later the internet started to act up. Therefore, we conclude that using the family computer for gaming caused the internet problems." By that logic I could conclude the following:

"My younger sister was born in January 2003. Two months later, the USA declared war on Iraq. Therefore, I conclude that my sisters birth caused the war in Iraq."

I went on to quote several more ridiculous examples to my parents until they got the picture that correlation =/= cause.

In any case, I can say that the LSAT has taken over my way of thinking, I live and breath it every day. I see premise-conclusion relationships everywhere and logical flaws in everything.

The LSAT runs my very existence...

This fallacy is actually called post hoc ergo procter hoc and is one of the classic logical errors.

Yes, you are correct. My bad.

Well you weren't wrong, I was just adding that as a fun fact lol

[somethingElse]

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[chueca910]

Full time working people-- how many PTs a week are you taking until test day?

Slash what does your schedule look like?

This is my third and final take so I was thinking a PT every Sat and then thorough review on Sunday and 1-2 sections (timed or untimed) per day with review. I am taking a few days off too so I can study.

October will be my first time sitting for the LSAT but I'm PT-ing once a week, mostly Saturday or Sunday mornings. I'm a bit behind so I'm reinforcing the fundamentals and drilling at least 2-3 hours a day during the week. Studying at least 5 and a half days a week...I used to plan which day I was taking off in advance but that never really worked out. So whatever day I accidentally binge watch Netflix after work is my day off lol

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

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[Judgeasaurus_Rex]

So I'm thinking of buying superprep 1 to get some tests that I haven't seen before. Wondering if I should save it till the very end of my prep, or use them to periodically "test" myself. See what an actual benchmark is without taking something I've seen before.

I'm also really surprised at how little I remember from my earlier tests. I only really loosely remember the occasional passage topic/game. I hardly remember any LR questions.

I would use them as experimental sections, since they are older PTs - all pre 2000 I believe. Also, the logic games are of above average difficulty, so they are good practice for any curve balls that the council might throw at us in oct.

[Doesthenamematter]

.

[kbrizz]

When you guys drill LR, what do you do when you get a question wrong? How do you make sure you don't make the same mistake again? It's not like I can just watch some 7Sage, like with LG. :/

[Judgeasaurus_Rex]

When you guys drill LR, what do you do when you get a question wrong? How do you make sure you don't make the same mistake again? It's not like I can just watch some 7Sage, like with LG. :/

I believe that 7 sage offers, for those who purchase their courses, videos of ALL LR questions and ALL RC passages just as they do for LG.

[PrezRand]

Pretty aggravated with myself atm. I bought the Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible, but then realized this one only gives you information and a breakdown of the types of questions. It does not give you drills.

[MrBalloons]

Pretty aggravated with myself atm. I bought the Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible, but then realized this one only gives you information and a breakdown of the types of questions. It does not give you drills.

Really? Like no drills at all?

Mine had a few throughout the chapter and a chunk at the end of each chapter. I didn't realize they had multiple versions.

[MrBalloons]

When you guys drill LR, what do you do when you get a question wrong? How do you make sure you don't make the same mistake again? It's not like I can just watch some 7Sage, like with LG. :/

There's the Velocity videos to check out. But typically when I drill, I blind review and then do a non-blind review (knowing that what I selected is wrong, but not which of the other four is right) on the remaining misses. I'd only bother consulting the Velocity videos if I still can't figure out why the right answer's right.

[somethingElse]

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[gamerish]

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