The Official February 2016 Study Group Forum

[AbbeyS]

Who here is taking Feb hoping for more scholarship money?

That's my plan. BUT...with my recent surge in PT scores (I'm talking 10+ points higher than my first take) I thought about potentially sending in apps to even higher ranked schools if I manage to score this high on my actual test.

From what I see most schools' regular deadline falls before we'll get our results back. Anyone know if they'll hold our app to see our new score or if sending past the deadline ever works? (Some say on their sites that they'll accept after, just limited seats)

[Li'l Sebastian]

Who here is taking Feb hoping for more scholarship money?

That's my plan. BUT...with my recent surge in PT scores (I'm talking 10+ points higher than my first take) I thought about potentially sending in apps to even higher ranked schools if I manage to score this high on my actual test.

From what I see most schools' regular deadline falls before we'll get our results back. Anyone know if they'll hold our app to see our new score or if sending past the deadline ever works? (Some say on their sites that they'll accept after, just limited seats)

Call each office just in case because each school will have a slightly different policy and level of enforcement on this.

[AbbeyS]

Who here is taking Feb hoping for more scholarship money?

That's my plan. BUT...with my recent surge in PT scores (I'm talking 10+ points higher than my first take) I thought about potentially sending in apps to even higher ranked schools if I manage to score this high on my actual test.

From what I see most schools' regular deadline falls before we'll get our results back. Anyone know if they'll hold our app to see our new score or if sending past the deadline ever works? (Some say on their sites that they'll accept after, just limited seats)

Call each office just in case because each school will have a slightly different policy and level of enforcement on this.

True. It's usually on their website anyway. I just didn't know if anyone here knew of a friend who took a Feb LSAT, applied late & still got in

[darthrevan92]

Has anyone figured out exactly how LR has gotten harder/changed recently? I took the October test and got -10 in LR, my lowest ever (-5 on each section). My cold diagnostic was -8 and subsequent PT average before the test was -3 to -5.

It really really hasn't changed at all.

I think it has changed in that it has become less formal logic and more subtle. If you are scoring at 180s then you're going to score the same -0/-1 in lr, but for most people I guess there will be a difference.

My average for lr on older sections was -1.8 combined on both lr sections but on the 72 onward I was going around -6 total lr.

Hey appind,

How have you adjusted for the recent drop in LR. I have been noticing a similar drop in LR. Are we supposed to just simply read more carefully and pay closer attention to the stimulus upfront and do a more meticulous job of eliminating answer choices?

[Li'l Sebastian]

Hey appind,

How have you adjusted for the recent drop in LR. I have been noticing a similar drop in LR. Are we supposed to just simply read more carefully and pay closer attention to the stimulus upfront and do a more meticulous job of eliminating answer choices?

You're supposed to do this regardless! So yes do that more!

[appind]

Has anyone figured out exactly how LR has gotten harder/changed recently? I took the October test and got -10 in LR, my lowest ever (-5 on each section). My cold diagnostic was -8 and subsequent PT average before the test was -3 to -5.

It really really hasn't changed at all.

I think it has changed in that it has become less formal logic and more subtle. If you are scoring at 180s then you're going to score the same -0/-1 in lr, but for most people I guess there will be a difference.

My average for lr on older sections was -1.8 combined on both lr sections but on the 72 onward I was going around -6 total lr.

Hey appind,

How have you adjusted for the recent drop in LR. I have been noticing a similar drop in LR. Are we supposed to just simply read more carefully and pay closer attention to the stimulus upfront and do a more meticulous job of eliminating answer choices?

i don't know if i have yet fully adjusted. i was averaging -6 total LR on 70s pts and ended up scoring around that in the dec test.
i'd guess that you probably need to read more carefully. it's likely more difficult to apply cold formal logic rules to stimulus in newer pts due to subtle changes.

i think this is particularly important for the so called easier first 1-10 questions as recent PTs have had some tricky ones early on in the section. so it's become slightly more difficult to rush past the first 15 qs in 15 mins. on most recent PTs, it's taking me about 17-18 mins for the first 15 qs.

[rekoobathetuba]

Who here is taking Feb hoping for more scholarship money?

That's my plan. BUT...with my recent surge in PT scores (I'm talking 10+ points higher than my first take) I thought about potentially sending in apps to even higher ranked schools if I manage to score this high on my actual test.

From what I see most schools' regular deadline falls before we'll get our results back. Anyone know if they'll hold our app to see our new score or if sending past the deadline ever works? (Some say on their sites that they'll accept after, just limited seats)

I am in the same boat, but trying not to distract myself, stay focused and achieve the minimum goal of a full scholly!

[betterLawyerUP]

I am so annoyed with my PT fluctuations. I had only 3 fresh tests left since december. The first one I took about a week ago was a 172. I took another fresh one today and got a 163.

[rekoobathetuba]

I am so annoyed with my PT fluctuations. I had only 3 fresh tests left since december. The first one I took about a week ago was a 172. I took another fresh one today and got a 163.

I'm seeing the same thing, I am not in the range you are, but have bounced around from 156-164. Ironically, the tests I feel like I am doing terribly on have been higher vs. the ones I feel confident are lower. From what I can find, it means I am not completely comfortable with the material, but after 2 months and 16 PTs I would hope that I am cracking the code.

[darthrevan92]

I am so annoyed with my PT fluctuations. I had only 3 fresh tests left since december. The first one I took about a week ago was a 172. I took another fresh one today and got a 163.

I'm seeing the same thing, I am not in the range you are, but have bounced around from 156-164. Ironically, the tests I feel like I am doing terribly on have been higher vs. the ones I feel confident are lower. From what I can find, it means I am not completely comfortable with the material, but after 2 months and 16 PTs I would hope that I am cracking the code.

LOL... I thought the only one. I was PT-ing from high 160s to low 170s and dropped to 159 and 158 on the recent PT 70s.. The LR is killing me...

[Shib26]

LOL... I thought the only one. I was PT-ing from high 160s to low 170s and dropped to 159 and 158 on the recent PT 70s.. The LR is killing me...

Definitely not the only one. Some of these new LR questions seem more like silly gotcha riddles than actually testing how one analyzes an argument.

I took PT 72 today and got a 168, and that was with a semi-meltdown where I got -7 on one of the LR sections. If that's what I get on the real thing I'll be happy though. 9 days...

[Li'l Sebastian]

LOL... I thought the only one. I was PT-ing from high 160s to low 170s and dropped to 159 and 158 on the recent PT 70s.. The LR is killing me...

Definitely not the only one. Some of these new LR questions seem more like silly gotcha riddles than actually testing how one analyzes an argument.

The new questions aren't logically different in any meaningful capacity. I can tell you right now, there's nothing new on these tests that isn't just a variation on something they've already shown you before.

And you can't go into the center on test day with the assumption that you're gonna see stuff that's radically different. That's not how we've been practicing, that's not what y'all have been learning.

[somethingElse]

LOL... I thought the only one. I was PT-ing from high 160s to low 170s and dropped to 159 and 158 on the recent PT 70s.. The LR is killing me...

Definitely not the only one. Some of these new LR questions seem more like silly gotcha riddles than actually testing how one analyzes an argument.

The new questions aren't logically different in any meaningful capacity. I can tell you right now, there's nothing new on these tests that isn't just a variation on something they've already shown you before.

And you can't go into the center on test day with the assumption that you're gonna see stuff that's radically different. That's not how we've been practicing, that's not what y'all have been learning.

I would really like to reiterate this to all of you guys (who are going to destroy the Feb test!). I'm not taking Feb but I took Dec and did nearly every single PT ever released. They are all more or less the same aside from the older PTs having two questions based off the same stimulus, older PTs having more weird games (though even that is becoming more common nowadays) and the newer PTs having comparative RC.

Other than that its still the same test. The same skills and strategies will work across all PTs and will give you consistent results as long as you're consistent with your strategies.

[Li'l Sebastian]

I would really like to reiterate this to all of you guys (who are going to destroy the Feb test!). I'm not taking Feb but I took Dec and did nearly every single PT ever released. They are all more or less the same aside from the older PTs having two questions based off the same stimulus, older PTs having more weird games (though even that is becoming more common nowadays) and the newer PTs having comparative RC.

Other than that its still the same test. The same skills and strategies will work across all PTs and will give you consistent results as long as you're consistent with your strategies.

I think I know what's happening. These guys' strategies might be too consistent. They might have developed a brute force method that's very lockstep, instead of an intuitive understanding. That's particularly a problem I notice people have in game sections.

Having too methodical of a process would make twists to old problems more salient!

[somethingElse]

I would really like to reiterate this to all of you guys (who are going to destroy the Feb test!). I'm not taking Feb but I took Dec and did nearly every single PT ever released. They are all more or less the same aside from the older PTs having two questions based off the same stimulus, older PTs having more weird games (though even that is becoming more common nowadays) and the newer PTs having comparative RC.

Other than that its still the same test. The same skills and strategies will work across all PTs and will give you consistent results as long as you're consistent with your strategies.

I think I know what's happening. These guys' strategies might be too consistent. They might have developed a brute force method that's very lockstep, instead of an intuitive understanding. That's particularly a problem I notice people have in game sections.

Having too methodical of a process would make twists to old problems more salient!

Yeah I know what you mean, it could definitely be that. When I say "consistent with your strategies" I mean strategies based off of an intuitive grasp of the test.

I think it could also be that as the real test gets closer and closer, people are not only becoming more anxious but are taking the newer PTs last as a kind of tune up for the real thing. So you then have a correlation between newer tests and scoring relatively poorly. But as we all well know, correlation =/ causation. I think its equally likely that its just nerves getting in the way.

[Shib26]

Yeah you guys are probably right. I think my original comment was more due to frustration from going -7 on an LR section this close to game day. But when I reviewed it I saw what I did wrong on 6 of the 7 and only had to dig deeper for the explanation on one of them. So while it still seems like some of them just feel different I can see that the underlying logic is still the same.

[shineoncrazydiamond]

Yeah you guys are probably right. I think my original comment was more due to frustration from going -7 on an LR section this close to game day. But when I reviewed it I saw what I did wrong on 6 of the 7 and only had to dig deeper for the explanation on one of them. So while it still seems like some of them just feel different I can see that the underlying logic is still the same.

This has been my experience on the recent LR sections. I initially missed more than on older LRs but I think I let myself get psyched out by the apparent placement of difficult questions earlier in the section (and some easier ones later, vs a more linear progression from easy-->difficult in previous PTs). I do think that the newer LRs test/reward attention to detail over formal logic a little more than previous LRs did but the underlying principles still seem pretty consistent overall.

[darthrevan92]

Yeah you guys are probably right. I think my original comment was more due to frustration from going -7 on an LR section this close to game day. But when I reviewed it I saw what I did wrong on 6 of the 7 and only had to dig deeper for the explanation on one of them. So while it still seems like some of them just feel different I can see that the underlying logic is still the same.

This has been my experience on the recent LR sections. I initially missed more than on older LRs but I think I let myself get psyched out by the apparent placement of difficult questions earlier in the section (and some easier ones later, vs a more linear progression from easy-->difficult in previous PTs). I do think that the newer LRs test/reward attention to detail over formal logic a little more than previous LRs did but the underlying principles still seem pretty consistent overall.

Totally agree on this and the other posters who said the general concepts are the same. Had to make an adjustment to account for a more details and nuances in stimulus. People have been saying the recent RCs more difficult, but I found them to be a bit more casual and opinionated in tone than the past ones

[Li'l Sebastian]

Only one week left people! Put on your game faces!

[Li'l Sebastian]

So I did 9 sections today. 5 Logical Reasoning, 2 Logic Games, and 2 Reading Comprehension sections.
Out of the 5 LRs I missed 1/227.
Out of 2 LGs I missed 0/46.
Out of 2 RCs I missed 6/54.

They were sections I had worked on about 9 months ago.

I'm feeling super confidant about LR and LG now though.

[JazzyMac]

So I did 9 sections today. 5 Logical Reasoning, 2 Logic Games, and 2 Reading Comprehension sections.
Out of the 5 LRs I missed 1/227.
Out of 2 LGs I missed 0/46.
Out of 2 RCs I missed 6/54.

They were sections I had worked on about 9 months ago.

I'm feeling super confidant about LR and LG now though.

That's pretty flipping outstanding!

[Li'l Sebastian]

So I did 9 sections today. 5 Logical Reasoning, 2 Logic Games, and 2 Reading Comprehension sections.
Out of the 5 LRs I missed 1/227.
Out of 2 LGs I missed 0/46.
Out of 2 RCs I missed 6/54.

They were sections I had worked on about 9 months ago.

I'm feeling super confidant about LR and LG now though.

That's pretty flipping outstanding!

Tomorrow I'm going to try to knock out 4 RC sections!

[JazzyMac]

So I did 9 sections today. 5 Logical Reasoning, 2 Logic Games, and 2 Reading Comprehension sections.
Out of the 5 LRs I missed 1/227.
Out of 2 LGs I missed 0/46.
Out of 2 RCs I missed 6/54.

They were sections I had worked on about 9 months ago.

I'm feeling super confidant about LR and LG now though.

That's pretty flipping outstanding!

Tomorrow I'm going to try to knock out 4 RC sections!

Very awesome...best wishes on your Marathon-RC!

[jmark1]

I'm freaking out. I already submitted my apps and my December score was okay enough to make me competitive, but I just don't feel ready for this test. I indicated on my apps that I was going to take this test but I'm seriously considering not sitting for it. If I don't, do I need to email schools telling them? What if I get a worse score on this test?

[AbbeyS]

It's crunch time!!! What's everyone's game plan for this week?

I actually have 2 PTs and my old June test left to use so I'm going to try to fit those in the first half of this week then spend Thursday and Friday doing light drilling...and I'm especially planning on calming my nerves on Friday.

Prob do some drilling in the morning & go to the gym for a while in the afternoon for stress & to make me tired enough to fall asleep...

I'm really trying not to freak out this time cause I'm already accepted to 8 schools lol. I just want more money