October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[Hedwig]

Is it normal to get like -9 on my first LR section of the day and then start hitting like -4, -3, -2 etc. as I continue?

Maybe it just means you should warm up before you take the test, if you do better the more questions you do.

I just did an LR section, and sometimes when I'm being incredibly lackadaisical and rebellious, I mark the sections every 7 questions (so I can fold the page back and see the answers easily without seeing the next 7, since they come in little 7 sets). I mark my first set, see I got FOUR WRONG out of the first seven. When going through these questions, I didn't feel very certain, so I was like, whoa, what happened, let's keep going. Then I go to mark my second set and I'm getting them all wrong again. Then I realize... I'm trying to mark Section 2 by Section 1's answers. The first 3 were the same so I just kept going haha. turns out I got ONE wrong out of the first section (not great but better than 4) haha, and none wrong on the next 7.

RC fail.

[3|ink]

Is it normal to get like -9 on my first LR section of the day and then start hitting like -4, -3, -2 etc. as I continue?

Maybe it just means you should warm up before you take the test, if you do better the more questions you do.

I just did an LR section, and sometimes when I'm being incredibly lackadaisical and rebellious, I mark the sections every 7 questions (so I can fold the page back and see the answers easily without seeing the next 7, since they come in little 7 sets). I mark my first set, see I got FOUR WRONG out of the first seven. When going through these questions, I didn't feel very certain, so I was like, whoa, what happened, let's keep going. Then I go to mark my second set and I'm getting them all wrong again. Then I realize... I'm trying to mark Section 2 by Section 1's answers. The first 3 were the same so I just kept going haha. turns out I got ONE wrong out of the first section (not great but better than 4) haha, and none wrong on the next 7.

RC fail.

More Harry Potter references?

[Dripworx]

Is it normal to get like -9 on my first LR section of the day and then start hitting like -4, -3, -2 etc. as I continue?

Maybe it just means you should warm up before you take the test, if you do better the more questions you do.

I just did an LR section, and sometimes when I'm being incredibly lackadaisical and rebellious, I mark the sections every 7 questions (so I can fold the page back and see the answers easily without seeing the next 7, since they come in little 7 sets). I mark my first set, see I got FOUR WRONG out of the first seven. When going through these questions, I didn't feel very certain, so I was like, whoa, what happened, let's keep going. Then I go to mark my second set and I'm getting them all wrong again. Then I realize... I'm trying to mark Section 2 by Section 1's answers. The first 3 were the same so I just kept going haha. turns out I got ONE wrong out of the first section (not great but better than 4) haha, and none wrong on the next 7.

RC fail.

Ill try this, yea i think i need to warm up sort of.

And yes i think its pretty normal to do at least 4+ sections of LR in a day. thats how i went from 140 to 167 in 2 months lol

[Hedwig]

Is it normal to get like -9 on my first LR section of the day and then start hitting like -4, -3, -2 etc. as I continue?

Maybe it just means you should warm up before you take the test, if you do better the more questions you do.

I just did an LR section, and sometimes when I'm being incredibly lackadaisical and rebellious, I mark the sections every 7 questions (so I can fold the page back and see the answers easily without seeing the next 7, since they come in little 7 sets). I mark my first set, see I got FOUR WRONG out of the first seven. When going through these questions, I didn't feel very certain, so I was like, whoa, what happened, let's keep going. Then I go to mark my second set and I'm getting them all wrong again. Then I realize... I'm trying to mark Section 2 by Section 1's answers. The first 3 were the same so I just kept going haha. turns out I got ONE wrong out of the first section (not great but better than 4) haha, and none wrong on the next 7.

RC fail.

More Harry Potter references?

Lol no, completely coincidental. Haven't you ever noticed the answer sets are laid out like
1. ---- 8.
2. ---- 9.
3. ---- 10.
4. ---- 11.
5. ---- 12.
6. ---- 13.
7. ---- 14.

And so on? I mark after 7 questions because, like I said, you can fold the page over to check those 7 answers really easily without having to do any cover up contortions.

I'm also one of those people who really like counting things off (if I have 8 paragraph answer things to write on an exam, I write 8 in the top of the page, cross it off when I'm done, and write 7, lol) - so I have started thinking of the LR sections in little blocks of 7. RC and LG are already divided up by game/passage, but LR just seems like this long endless string of questions. Helps mentally if I can picture my progress.

(Seriously, though, I make no apology for those HP references. If I hadn't had the propensity towards reading books like HP twenty times over, perhaps I wouldn't score as well on RC as I currently am doing.)

[aesis]

Is it normal to get like -9 on my first LR section of the day and then start hitting like -4, -3, -2 etc. as I continue?

Is it normal to do 4 LR sections in one day?

I consider myself productive if I do any more than 2 ...

BTW, anyone who's on Pithypike coming up on Month 3 and already scoring 170+, are you still doing Questions by Type for LR? I got annoyed that I was seeing repeat questions on PTs so I stopped doing that and instead resorted to doing LR sections from older tests as my prep in between PT days.

So Month 2 started out according to Pithypike but I revised it in the middle with 3-day cycle:

1. PT, 3 new LG, 3 repeat LG
2. Review of mistakes/hard questions, LR section, 3 new LG, 3 repeat LG
3. LR or RC sections, or both (if I have time), 3 new LG, 3 repeat

Any thoughts on this?

And what is everyone's prep schedule for September?
I was thinking
1. PT
2. Review, LR/LG/RC sections (2 min, 3 max) 2-day cycle.

[Adjudicator]

Arg, I just did PT #50 this morning and I'm very disappointed. Even though I still got a 175, I missed 6 and I felt that I could have done better. I was correct on most of the questions that I felt were difficult, but missed some that I felt were less difficult, which is troubling.

However, perhaps the silver lining is that I don't think that I could do much worse than this, and I still managed a 175. I'm just not used to missing this many.

Here is the breakdown:

PrepTest #50: 175 (-6)
Section 1 (RC): -2
Section 2 (LR): -1
Section 3 (LG): -2
Section 4 (LR): -1

[lastch2]

did my first morning PT today, PT48..not too thrilled with the results. -4LR -0LG -2RC -2LR...Raw 93/170. While i was pleased to finally get LG down to -0 i was disappointed to be back at the bottom of the 170's...geez especially with all the 175+ going on in this forum! seriously!!! (jk, congrats to everyone)

i'm starting the 50 on the 1st and am excited about that, but i cannot tell you how hard it was to concentrate on that first LR section. has anyone else been doing the 8am thing? I know a while back someone was talking about scoring worse in the morning rather than the afternoon (3link?) and i took it for granted until i tried today. it was rough. i'm definitely going to need to browse some study stuff the day of just to get my mind warmed up!! any thoughts?

[snodell]

hi everyone i just wanted to say that im back and ready for this october test! hows the studying goin?

[3|ink]

Lol no, completely coincidental. Haven't you ever noticed the answer sets are laid out like
1. ---- 8.
2. ---- 9.
3. ---- 10.
4. ---- 11.
5. ---- 12.
6. ---- 13.
7. ---- 14.

And so on? I mark after 7 questions because, like I said, you can fold the page over to check those 7 answers really easily without having to do any cover up contortions.

I'm also one of those people who really like counting things off (if I have 8 paragraph answer things to write on an exam, I write 8 in the top of the page, cross it off when I'm done, and write 7, lol) - so I have started thinking of the LR sections in little blocks of 7. RC and LG are already divided up by game/passage, but LR just seems like this long endless string of questions. Helps mentally if I can picture my progress.

(Seriously, though, I make no apology for those HP references. If I hadn't had the propensity towards reading books like HP twenty times over, perhaps I wouldn't score as well on RC as I currently am doing.)

I was just joking. However, that seems like a good idea. I never did notice that about the questions.

[Adjudicator]

Is it a good sign that I just became very angry upon grading another PT and finding that I scored "only" 177? My standards are becoming so high.... I think I need to chill out.

Anyways, PT43, (-5) 177.... I missed 3 on the LG section, which is what makes me really mad.

[Hedwig]

3Link - Probably because you're not a cheater and mark before finishing a full section.

My favorite part is the marking...

[Feeny]

Is it a good sign that I just became very angry upon grading another PT and finding that I scored "only" 177? My standards are becoming so high.... I think I need to chill out.

Anyways, PT43, (-5) 177.... I missed 3 on the LG section, which is what makes me really mad.

Scoring better than 99+% of test takers every time? I wish I had a quality problem like that.

[Patriot1208]

Bombed my last preptest, don't know what happen. It was my worst preptest to this date besides my diagnostic. I'm a little freaked out about it but i'm hoping I rebound on preptest 41 today.

[Ragged]

Took PT 4 to gage where I stand (4 sections with no break). 174. Should have been 175 but I accidently erased the wrong number when I went back to change my answer in the LG section. Whatever. Still pretty happy.

The breakdown was:

LR: -1 - I still got it, even though I haven't done any LR sections since June.
LG: -3 (-2) - I just hope its no worse during the actual test.
RC: -2 - happy about this, but I do realize that RC got alot more difficult so too early to celebrate.


Anyways, all three sections require more work, espessially LG and RC.

[lparker]

Bombed my last preptest, don't know what happen. It was my worst preptest to this date besides my diagnostic. I'm a little freaked out about it but i'm hoping I rebound on preptest 41 today.

I went down on my last test too. I totally freaked out too, but I really think there's some credit to the whole burnout thing. I just started reviewing my test today, but the first few questions I missed were totally stupid mistakes. You'll probably be relieved when you start reviewing and see that what you were missing was not a lack of understanding. I took the rest of the weekend off. Hello Dexter Season 4! =)

[sgtgrumbles]

PT 44 results: -2 LG (experimental), -3 RC, -2 LR, -0 LG, -1 LR. Raw: 95. Scaled: 176.

-2 on LG experimental freaks me out. I was very confident with my treatment of the last game but I got two of the questions wrong.

Missed an easy LR problem (#1!) on LR1. Should have known better.

Like the poster who "complained" about getting a 177, I feel like a prick whining about this, but I really need to start scoring in the high 170s instead of the high-mid 170s if I want to get 175+ on test day. Time to start seeing some 179s and 180s.

[gdane]

So for the last week and a half I've been haunted by LSAT dreams. In the first one I scored the same score I got on my Sept 2009 LSAT. In the second one I couldnt get to the test center in time. In last nights dream I had forgotten that the LSAT was the next day (the day after whatever day it was in my dream) and I was rushing to get my stuff ready, most notably going to the supermarket to buy oatmeal.

I'm very very very positive and upbeat, sometimes too upbeat, but Ive felt confident and positive regarding the Oct LSAT. I feel as if though im light years ahead of where I was last year. I guess some subconscious fears are there though.

In any case, Im taking my first PT today. Im starting with Superprep A. Lets see how that goes.

Good luck to everyone on their prep today!

[brickman]

Just took PT 48, and while I agree that test is super easy, I'm not happy about the tiny -7 curve. WTF

Don't know how I did, but come on, that has to be the smallest curve out there.

confirmed, it is, though frighteningly tied with some of the more recent tests.

final edit, it's actually a -8 curve, my bad.

[gdane]

Im very happy to finally post a PT score on here. 158 for Superprep A. Not great, but not terrible. Highest Ive ever gotten on a PT. My worst section was the last LR section. I got -9. Did very well on RC. I hope I can keep that up.

I feel better now. I feel as if I can only go up from here. Granted my 158 isnt a 175 or 180, but its a good start for me. This was the first PT of 24 ill take from now until Oct. 7th.

I havent gone over it yet to see where my mistakes were made, but I will say that I had to piss at the beginning of section 4. Maybe that somewhat explains that icky -9.

[3|ink]

Bombed my last preptest, don't know what happen. It was my worst preptest to this date besides my diagnostic. I'm a little freaked out about it but i'm hoping I rebound on preptest 41 today.

Did you feel bad about your performance throughout the test? There's a good chance that your negativity was effecting your concentration.

[millanda]

I just took SuperPrep A, which also happens to be my diagnostic. I scored a 163. I got around -3/-4 in all sections except for Logic Games, which destroyed me. I'm still working on improving my speed and accuracy for the games, so I'm not too concerned. I'm just glad I got -3ish for the reasoning sections with 10 minutes to spare both times.

Is a 163 an OK score to get at this point? I'm taking the October exam, and I've been studying (and have gone through the games and reasoning Powerscore bibles). I would love to break 170, and I'm hoping finally getting the hang of logic games will help me get that much closer. What would you all rate as the difficulty level for SuperPrep A?

[Adjudicator]

The consensus is that logic games is the one section where it is possible for most people to make dramatic improvements.

Most likely, 170+ is reachable for you, although there is not a lot of time left before October. Make LG your #1 priority for now.

[Hannibal]

Logic games is the easiest to improve on, so 170 is definitely possible though -3 -3 -3 -3 isn't necessarily a 170.

[gdane]

I just took SuperPrep A, which also happens to be my diagnostic. I scored a 163. I got around -3/-4 in all sections except for Logic Games, which destroyed me. I'm still working on improving my speed and accuracy for the games, so I'm not too concerned. I'm just glad I got -3ish for the reasoning sections with 10 minutes to spare both times.

Is a 163 an OK score to get at this point? I'm taking the October exam, and I've been studying (and have gone through the games and reasoning Powerscore bibles). I would love to break 170, and I'm hoping finally getting the hang of logic games will help me get that much closer. What would you all rate as the difficulty level for SuperPrep A?

Hahahaha! You must not have seen my comment above. I also took Superprep A today and scored a 158.

I felt that the 3rd game was difficult and the last LR section was also more difficult than the first. The RC section was very straightforward. Interesting passages. This test wasnt that difficult. After going over my results I saw I made a lot of careless mistakes. Only a few (5 max) questions were questions that I had no clue what the hell they were asking for.

I think youre in a great position. A 163 is a great score to begin with, especially if this is your diagnostic. You can only go up from here. Go over what you got wrong, as well as correct, figure out why you got the questions wrong/correct and address those issues. Take PT's to put those fixes into use and you'll be fine.

Good luck!

[Patriot1208]

Bombed my last preptest, don't know what happen. It was my worst preptest to this date besides my diagnostic. I'm a little freaked out about it but i'm hoping I rebound on preptest 41 today.

Did you feel bad about your performance throughout the test? There's a good chance that your negativity was effecting your concentration.

Not really, not any worse than I usually feel, but I often feel i'm doing poorly.