October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[AverageTutoring]

Eit,

Youre awesome! 100% cool beans. Your scores have consistently been in the mid to high 170's. I envy you! But, I think its awesome. Enlighten me a bit, did you take any courses or did you just find that you were naturally good at LSAT questions?

I think she was hired by the LSAC to make the rest of us look bad in comparison.

Got to hand it to those cannucks

[Hedwig]

It seems like youre one of those people that are naturally good at this stuff. Thats a good thing. Im improving every day, but slowly and steadily. I've already conceded that Im not going to get a 170+, but Im aiming for a 165ish or so.

You'll be fine though.

Also, I used to read a lot as a kid and then I stopped in high school. Now I regret that...

Not everybody needs a 170+. For the universities I'm looking into, I don't really need a 170+ - although a lot of my future choices depend on scholarship opportunities, so for that area, I DO need a 170+ haha.

You're doing well and consistently improving, I bet you'll get your 165.

And damn, I wish I was hired by LSAC. I bet they pay more than my slave wage as a check out girl :O.

And you really shouldn't have stopped reading! You build up a lot of incidental knowledge as well as your vocab. Haha. Besides the fact that it's fun.... okay /end nerdiness now.

[kpuc]

Does nobody feel my pain? Or it is just hard to feel sorry for someone who is in agony over scoring a 172 on a PT?

Haha, I just finished PT #49 and got a 172. I was pretty disappointed, because my last 3 PTs have been 177, 175, and 175. It felt like I regressed. I uncharacteristically got -3 in RC, when I usually got -0. The good news was that I immediately realized what I did wrong when I saw the right answer.

Other than just an off-day, I blame a relatively long lay-off between my last test and this one (over a week) and the fact that this was the first modern LSAT I took. I was working out of "10 More Actual LSATs" before.

I don't think it's worth worrying about though. Having hit a 177 once, I know that that such a score is not out of my abilities. I'd say the main obstacle is concentration, and I expect my concentration to be at 100% come test day. I think, at best, PTs only allow you to concentrate at about an 85% level. Nothing can quite simulate the real deal.

[Hedwig]

Does nobody feel my pain? Or it is just hard to feel sorry for someone who is in agony over scoring a 172 on a PT?

Haha, I just finished PT #49 and got a 172. I was pretty disappointed, because my last 3 PTs have been 177, 175, and 175. It felt like I regressed. I uncharacteristically got -3 in RC, when I usually got -0. The good news was that I immediately realized what I did wrong when I saw the right answer.

Other than just an off-day, I blame a relatively long lay-off between my last test and this one (over a week) and the fact that this was the first modern LSAT I took. I was working out of "10 More Actual LSATs" before.

I don't think it's worth worrying about though. Having hit a 177 once, I know that that such a score is not out of my abilities. I'd say the main obstacle is concentration, and I expect my concentration to be at 100% come test day. I think, at best, PTs only allow you to concentrate at about an 85% level. Nothing can quite simulate the real deal.

WEIRD I did exactly the same thing with PT#49 - regressed slightly to 172, and got an uncharacteristic -FOUR on RC.

But yeah, really, don't worry about it. My next test was better, and the next was better than that. As long as your trend is upwards and onwards, you should be feeling pretty good, even allowing the random outlier or two (I was completely freaked when I scored 169 on PT 43 awhile ago.)

[kpuc]

WEIRD I did exactly the same thing with PT#49 - regressed slightly to 172, and got an uncharacteristic -FOUR on RC.

Haha, that is weird.

The thing was that the RC on that seemed easy. I finished with a full 5 minutes to spare, and was pretty certain that every question I answered was right. I casually went back to re-check but couldn't really decide on a problematic area to focus. I missed a couple of Main Point questions due to sneaky language that I should've been able to spot. As I said earlier, once I saw those little phrases, I knew what I had done wrong. Other than those questions, the other RC questions were pretty easy, even easier than the old LSATs.

I was pretty happy that I was mistake-free in Section 4 though (the 2nd LR), mainly because it proved to me that fatigue is not really a factor; I usually do all 4 sections in one go. I know that I should be throwing in an experimental section, but the idea of a 3-hour practice test just depresses me. I'd rather sprint through all 4 sections, rather than break them up into groups of 3 and 2. But I should start doing 5 under test-like time allotments soon.

[DasBoot]

Took PT50 today. I had heard about "Riddled Basins," but I didn't know this was the PT with it. Halfway through I just thought to myself, "Is this an article about that part in Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum drips water on Laura Dern's hand?" Then I became really distracted trying to remember why the hell I even remembered that part or why I was connecting the two.

Overall I am pleased. My PT average is working its way northward (167 at this moment). LG has been all but mastered, and once I get down a couple of problem styles in LR down pat I think I'll be able to break into the 170s finally. Practice is key.

[3|ink]

Took PT50 today. I had heard about "Riddled Basins," but I didn't know this was the PT with it. Halfway through I just thought to myself, "Is this an article about that part in Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum drips water on Laura Dern's hand?" Then I became really distracted trying to remember why the hell I even remembered that part or why I was connecting the two.

Overall I am pleased. My PT average is working its way northward (167 at this moment). LG has been all but mastered, and once I get down a couple of problem styles in LR down pat I think I'll be able to break into the 170s finally. Practice is key.

Nice. And the movie in your name was/is awesome.

I took PT 50 today too. I thought I bombed the Basins passage. It turns out I bombed the bankruptcy passage (missed 3!!!).

[Hedwig]

I'm so anxious for this test to be taken and have my score so that I can figure out my life plan. Right now there's two completely different tracks I could be going down and it would be nice if I could decide what I wanted to do ahhhh. As in, both law school, just different countries/focuses. Lol.

[Adjudicator]

Yeah, I'm ready for the real thing to get here. I think I'm getting tired of doing practice tests and I'm not sure how much they're helping me at this point.

[Hedwig]

Yeah, I'm ready for the real thing to get here. I think I'm getting tired of doing practice tests and I'm not sure how much they're helping me at this point.

Yeah, at this point, I'm steadily PTing around the same range. I'm not 100% sure I'll learn much more in the intervening period between now and October 9th. 31 days!

[Ari Goldsen]

Where are you guys getting all of your preptests? I'm almost out of the recent one's that came with my powerscore class and am looking to buy some more.

[aesis]

Where are you guys getting all of your preptests? I'm almost out of the recent one's that came with my powerscore class and am looking to buy some more.

Buy '10 LSAT' series from Amazon or get the Kaplan Endurance book. Also from Amazon. There's also a torrent out there ... but they print really weird so I never used them.

In other news -- reporting in:
PT 45, LR -3 (ugh), LG -0, RC -1, LR -2 (ugh). 93 raw, 176 scaled. What a curve there.

Thanks to blink earlier for the input about answer choice selection. I think I absorbed your advice and have applied it to my LR skills. I can feel myself creeping slowly toward 175+. I really really really want to be scoring 178-180 by the end of September. Can't make mistakes. Can't lose time.

Over 9000!

edit: i apparently don't know how to add, 93 raw, not 92

[Classygal87]

PT 46 score:164 Raw:83
RC - 3
LR - 12 (So frustrated)
LG - 1

Annoyed my LR isn't getting much better I'm going back through the bible now and doing the flashcards but idk it just seems like I'm stuck its the one thing I need to get down before test day to fell confident. I really want a 169, and I know I can get it if I just get LR down.

Any help is appreciated.

[lparker]

Annoyed my LR isn't getting much better I'm going back through the bible now and doing the flashcards but idk it just seems like I'm stuck its the one thing I need to get down before test day to fell confident. I really want a 169, and I know I can get it if I just get LR down.

Are you missing a specific type of question? How are you reviewing your PTs?

I think it's a good idea to go back through the bible. I am doing that right now too.

[The Gentleman]

PT 49 just kicked me in the nuts. 166. That was the first time I scored less than a 170 since starting full length PTs three weeks ago. The "maize" RC passage absolutely destroyed me. Also, did anybody else notice that the first page in section IV (LR) mistakenly says there are only 22 questions? I always make note of how many questions are in a section when starting out, and thanks to this misprint, I moved a lot slower than usual.

Any advice for rebounding from a horribly low score?

[3|ink]

PT 49 just kicked me in the nuts. 166. That was the first time I scored less than a 170 since starting full length PTs three weeks ago. The "maize" RC passage absolutely destroyed me. Also, did anybody else notice that the first page in section IV (LR) mistakenly says there are only 22 questions? I always make note of how many questions are in a section when starting out, and thanks to this misprint, I moved a lot slower than usual.

Any advice for rebounding from a horribly low score?

Brush yourself off. Review your mistakes. Take another PT. That's the only way to get over it.

I never even noticed that the first page tells you how many questions there are. I have never seen a 22 question LR section. The lowest I've seen is 24 (PT 31 LR 1).

[Classygal87]

Annoyed my LR isn't getting much better I'm going back through the bible now and doing the flashcards but idk it just seems like I'm stuck its the one thing I need to get down before test day to fell confident. I really want a 169, and I know I can get it if I just get LR down.

Are you missing a specific type of question? How are you reviewing your PTs?

I think it's a good idea to go back through the bible. I am doing that right now too.

No one question type thats killing me which is what stinks. I usually review them by looking
at the ones I missed, about 50% of the time I can tell right off the bat what the correct answer was
supposed to be. Then I write why I got it wrong and why the correct answer is right.

[beachbum]

PT 49 just kicked me in the nuts. 166. That was the first time I scored less than a 170 since starting full length PTs three weeks ago. The "maize" RC passage absolutely destroyed me. Also, did anybody else notice that the first page in section IV (LR) mistakenly says there are only 22 questions? I always make note of how many questions are in a section when starting out, and thanks to this misprint, I moved a lot slower than usual.

Any advice for rebounding from a horribly low score?

The last PT I took (59) before the real thing saw me receive the lowest score (166) I had gotten in months. On the real deal I scored a 170, hitting my PT average right on the nose. Just don't let it get you down; you'll be all right.

[lparker]

No one question type thats killing me which is what stinks. I usually review them by looking
at the ones I missed, about 50% of the time I can tell right off the bat what the correct answer was
supposed to be. Then I write why I got it wrong and why the correct answer is right.

Hm. Well it sounds like you're already doing the tried and tested methods. One other suggestion I've read was to make flashcards with the questions you miss.

[Sandro]

Where are you guys getting all of your preptests? I'm almost out of the recent one's that came with my powerscore class and am looking to buy some more.

Thanks to blink earlier for the input about answer choice selection. I think I absorbed your advice and have applied it to my LR skills.

Can you repost this advice?

[gatorbait]

Hey Gang,

Working through PTs religiously here. I'm struggling immensely with parallel reasoning in LR. Any tips from those more talented LR'ers than I? I'm at the point where it's almost not even worth thinking through all the answers, because I know I'm going to lose track of the reasoning from the the stimulus argument / waste way too much time. Thanks

[aesis]

Sigh.

PT 44
LR -3/-3, RC -1, LG -0. 93/100 Raw, 173 scaled. Can anyone offer any input on how to break this LR wall (my PTs typically involved -3 LR's). Or any advice on consistently hitting 176+? That's my goal.

I review and try to identify patterns but these usually consist of:
- picking a contender answer choice over the correct one from failure to disqualify the contender based on one or two words that are out of scope
- not having enough time
- not picking a an AC that fits but I'm turned off by because it's really general/broad

Help! Or do I just need more practice? I'm taking PTs every other day until test day.

Your overall score record beats mine, so I'm not certain how helpful I can be. Never let general/broad answers turn you off. Honestly, I'm the other way around. I find that inference questions generally have very broad answer choices. I'm generally turned off by specific answer choices.

If specific words in answer choices are getting you, the best way to overcome that is to always be mindful of the exact conditions specified in the stimulus. The other day, I missed # 16 of LR 2, PT 49 because I failed to recognize how the argument emphasized 'most beautiful' instead of 'beautiful'. That probably would have allowed me to eliminate all of the incorrect answer choices. Whenever a stimulus describes a condition, you have to take every descriptive word very seriously. Don't just let one adjective serve as the only conditional description. I think that as you become more and more paranoid of this, it will be harder and harder for these little words to slip by.

Reposted as per request. Basic, but fundamental. In PT 44 there was a parallel question about smaller cars v. large cars in accidents and I didn't understand the relationship because I ignored what the main issue was -- accidents, not maneuverability or protection.

[jaydizzle]

YES!!!!!!!! I got a 161 today on PT 53. My speed is starting to improve which is increasing my score. I am getting better with LG and LR timing. RC still needs work. I got a -9 with most questions wrong on the first passage! I am reading into RC too much so to speak. I keep trying to make leaps that are not there. I had like no time for passage 4. I am going to completely eliminate underlining now. I did a little, and it really helped me to speed up. I would have gotten a -5 on RC if it wasn't for running out of time.

LG: -5
LR1: -7
LR2: -4
RC: -9

If I can speed up LG oh so slightly more, I would have gotten a -1! I am very happy right now. If I can get this score on test day I will be pleased. I have what it takes to get that 165+, if timing improves. Basically, if I get timing down my scores will continue to increase.

[lparker]

YES!!!!!!!! I got a 161 today on PT 53.

Congrats!

[lparker]

Can someone explain PT38 LR section 4 #25? I have it narrowed down to D and E, but I don't understand why D is right?