The Official October 2015 Study Group Forum

Secretjuly · Post by **Secretjuly** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 12:38 pm

Could use some opinions *reposted this in the October one after putting it in the december one

I'm thinking about holding off on the LSAT in October and moving it to December due to a lack of studying as well as progress. beginning of June I took a diagnostic after reading about what each section was about and scored a 156. After following the 16 LSAT trainer schedule for a month I felt like I was making progress studying about 3 hours a day. Then, I went on vacation because of my birthday for a 4 days. Once I got home I left for a weekend to go to a music festival. Then I went to NYC for a few days for a concert. After I returned home it was in the last 10 days of July. However, I lost most of my drive to study being kicked out of that routine and took about till the end of July off. I started studying last Friday and did a lot of drilling over the weekend. I just did a practice test and I got a 156 still. This really scares me cause that means that I'm roughly where I started in terms of my process.

After this, I've been debating on moving my test till December and signing up for a 7sage online course because starting a course now might be too late for October. I feel like I'll be more inclined to stick to a schedule in an online course cause I'll have videos and stuff to watch instead of reading from a book and drilling.

Would anyone who is taking 7sage now comment about how your are finding the lessons,if its beneficial, and also about the differences about which course to take. (Ultimate, premium,starter). I have at my disposal the Ultimate Endurance Edition of the Cambridge Bundle. (separated by question and game type from Practice tests 1-38. It also has Pt 39-59 as exams and 60-70 as 5 section exams), The LSAT trainer, the LGB, and the 3 set book by manhattan LSAT.

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:18 pm

Secretjuly wrote:Could use some opinions *reposted this in the October one after putting it in the december one

I'm thinking about holding off on the LSAT in October and moving it to December due to a lack of studying as well as progress. beginning of June I took a diagnostic after reading about what each section was about and scored a 156. After following the 16 LSAT trainer schedule for a month I felt like I was making progress studying about 3 hours a day. Then, I went on vacation because of my birthday for a 4 days. Once I got home I left for a weekend to go to a music festival. Then I went to NYC for a few days for a concert. After I returned home it was in the last 10 days of July. However, I lost most of my drive to study being kicked out of that routine and took about till the end of July off. I started studying last Friday and did a lot of drilling over the weekend. I just did a practice test and I got a 156 still. This really scares me cause that means that I'm roughly where I started in terms of my process.

After this, I've been debating on moving my test till December and signing up for a 7sage online course because starting a course now might be too late for October. I feel like I'll be more inclined to stick to a schedule in an online course cause I'll have videos and stuff to watch instead of reading from a book and drilling.

Would anyone who is taking 7sage now comment about how your are finding the lessons,if its beneficial, and also about the differences about which course to take. (Ultimate, premium,starter). I have at my disposal the Ultimate Endurance Edition of the Cambridge Bundle. (separated by question and game type from Practice tests 1-38. It also has Pt 39-59 as exams and 60-70 as 5 section exams), The LSAT trainer, the LGB, and the 3 set book by manhattan LSAT.

I don't necessarily concede that just because you got a 156 again that you're roughly where you started.

However, it doesn't seem like you've given yourself your best opportunity to score well in October, so if it were me I'd be planning on December instead. This all depends on your goals, though, both in terms of where you plan to apply and when you plan on doing it.

Secretjuly · Post by **Secretjuly** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:24 pm

MrBalloons wrote:
Secretjuly wrote:Could use some opinions *reposted this in the October one after putting it in the december one

I'm thinking about holding off on the LSAT in October and moving it to December due to a lack of studying as well as progress. beginning of June I took a diagnostic after reading about what each section was about and scored a 156. After following the 16 LSAT trainer schedule for a month I felt like I was making progress studying about 3 hours a day. Then, I went on vacation because of my birthday for a 4 days. Once I got home I left for a weekend to go to a music festival. Then I went to NYC for a few days for a concert. After I returned home it was in the last 10 days of July. However, I lost most of my drive to study being kicked out of that routine and took about till the end of July off. I started studying last Friday and did a lot of drilling over the weekend. I just did a practice test and I got a 156 still. This really scares me cause that means that I'm roughly where I started in terms of my process.

After this, I've been debating on moving my test till December and signing up for a 7sage online course because starting a course now might be too late for October. I feel like I'll be more inclined to stick to a schedule in an online course cause I'll have videos and stuff to watch instead of reading from a book and drilling.

Would anyone who is taking 7sage now comment about how your are finding the lessons,if its beneficial, and also about the differences about which course to take. (Ultimate, premium,starter). I have at my disposal the Ultimate Endurance Edition of the Cambridge Bundle. (separated by question and game type from Practice tests 1-38. It also has Pt 39-59 as exams and 60-70 as 5 section exams), The LSAT trainer, the LGB, and the 3 set book by manhattan LSAT.
I don't necessarily concede that just because you got a 156 again that you're roughly where you started.

However, it doesn't seem like you've given yourself your best opportunity to score well in October, so if it were me I'd be planning on December instead. This all depends on your goals, though, both in terms of where you plan to apply and when you plan on doing it.

I agree with you there. I tried to by limiting myself to working on the weekends only and maybe one day during the week if they needed more help. I guess I never about stopping the momentum of studying by going away a lot. 169 is my goal and I wanted to apply by December because I heard the earlier you play the better chances you have. However the best way to improve your chances is by getting that score as high up as you can

pterodactyls · Post by **pterodactyls** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:36 pm

Secretjuly wrote:
MrBalloons wrote:
Secretjuly wrote:Could use some opinions *reposted this in the October one after putting it in the december one

I'm thinking about holding off on the LSAT in October and moving it to December due to a lack of studying as well as progress. beginning of June I took a diagnostic after reading about what each section was about and scored a 156. After following the 16 LSAT trainer schedule for a month I felt like I was making progress studying about 3 hours a day. Then, I went on vacation because of my birthday for a 4 days. Once I got home I left for a weekend to go to a music festival. Then I went to NYC for a few days for a concert. After I returned home it was in the last 10 days of July. However, I lost most of my drive to study being kicked out of that routine and took about till the end of July off. I started studying last Friday and did a lot of drilling over the weekend. I just did a practice test and I got a 156 still. This really scares me cause that means that I'm roughly where I started in terms of my process.

After this, I've been debating on moving my test till December and signing up for a 7sage online course because starting a course now might be too late for October. I feel like I'll be more inclined to stick to a schedule in an online course cause I'll have videos and stuff to watch instead of reading from a book and drilling.

Would anyone who is taking 7sage now comment about how your are finding the lessons,if its beneficial, and also about the differences about which course to take. (Ultimate, premium,starter). I have at my disposal the Ultimate Endurance Edition of the Cambridge Bundle. (separated by question and game type from Practice tests 1-38. It also has Pt 39-59 as exams and 60-70 as 5 section exams), The LSAT trainer, the LGB, and the 3 set book by manhattan LSAT.
I don't necessarily concede that just because you got a 156 again that you're roughly where you started.

However, it doesn't seem like you've given yourself your best opportunity to score well in October, so if it were me I'd be planning on December instead. This all depends on your goals, though, both in terms of where you plan to apply and when you plan on doing it.

I agree with you there. I tried to by limiting myself to working on the weekends only and maybe one day during the week if they needed more help. I guess I never about stopping the momentum of studying by going away a lot. 169 is my goal and I wanted to apply by December because I heard the earlier you play the better chances you have. However the best way to improve your chances is by getting that score as high up as you can

I've also had some thoughts that maybe I should push to December because I'm not sure if I'm making progress fast enough. However, I'm going to try my best to study for October because I want to leave myself a back-up plan to retake if possible. If something goes wrong the first time I take the test, I have a second chance.

Some of the schools that I'm going to apply to have February 1st deadlines. So that means if I take it in December, I have no second chance (at least for 2016 admissions cycle). I think knowing that I only have one shot would stress me out during the test. Taking in October, I can have a little relief from stress knowing that I have the option to retake.

So, I'm going to study as hard as I can the next two months to take in October, even if that means losing a little sleep.

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:37 pm

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pterodactyls · Post by **pterodactyls** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:48 pm

On this topic... I know the HLS website says they take the highest score. Is this the way that most law schools do it now? Is there a major disadvantage to retaking (i.e. having two scores: one OK score and one high score, as opposed to just one high score)?

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:57 pm

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Doesthenamematter · Post by **Doesthenamematter** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:03 pm

Tips on using the 3 powerscore bibles while self studying?

Have all the released tests and random materials for drilling.

Do y'all go through a couple sections of the PSB and drill, and do you only go through one bible at a time or split time amongst the 3 evenly?

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:59 pm

PT'd 59 today.

172, (174 BR)

LG: -3
LR1: -3
LR2: -3
RC: -2

Did anybody else notice a bump in scores on 58 and 59 by chance? I want to make sure it's actually me doing better and not the test being oddly easier.

In any case, I'm glad that I at least identified every question I missed for blind review even if I didn't correct them all. Being able to accurately tell in real time which ones you might be missing has to be a good thing, I'd think.

Doesthenamematter · Post by **Doesthenamematter** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:04 pm

MrBalloons wrote:PT'd 59 today.

172, (174 BR)

LG: -3
LR1: -3
LR2: -3
RC: -2

Did anybody else notice a bump in scores on 58 and 59 by chance? I want to make sure it's actually me doing better and not the test being oddly easier.

In any case, I'm glad that I at least identified every question I missed for blind review even if I didn't correct them all. Being able to accurately tell in real time which ones you might be missing has to be a good thing, I'd think.

is blind review just going through the test before scoring it and re-answering the questions you're unsure about to see if you can get it right without time constraints?

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:22 pm

Doesthenamematter wrote:
MrBalloons wrote:PT'd 59 today.

172, (174 BR)

LG: -3
LR1: -3
LR2: -3
RC: -2

Did anybody else notice a bump in scores on 58 and 59 by chance? I want to make sure it's actually me doing better and not the test being oddly easier.

In any case, I'm glad that I at least identified every question I missed for blind review even if I didn't correct them all. Being able to accurately tell in real time which ones you might be missing has to be a good thing, I'd think.
is blind review just going through the test before scoring it and re-answering the questions you're unsure about to see if you can get it right without time constraints?

Exactly. You mark as you go if you're not 100% that you're right. Once you finish the test, you go back through and carefully look at each one you marked.

I've gotten better at the marking part, but I'm still too often inclined to pick my old answer when a second one's correct.

kbrizz · Post by **kbrizz** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:49 pm

Drilling LR today, PTing tomorrow. Nervous about it!

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 4:36 pm

Hey when you guys have trouble with a game do you find it useful to compare games. I'm not talking about just drilling a particular type, but actually having a game side by side with another and looking for similar rules, setup, ect? That seems to help me at times, but I haven't done it routinely or anything.

GauchoMarx · Post by **GauchoMarx** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 4:50 pm

Took PT 67 today, my first PT since taking the test last fall.

rc: -5
lr1: -4
lg: -2
lr2: -3

167, oy.

I'm retaking a 172, so it's a bit discouraging to see a score ~8 points lower than what i'm hoping to get this time around. I didn't really study RC last time, though it seems like I should probably give it more of a focus, which sucks because RC is easily the most boring section.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:25 pm

GauchoMarx wrote:Took PT 67 today, my first PT since taking the test last fall.

rc: -5
lr1: -4
lg: -2
lr2: -3

167, oy.

I'm retaking a 172, so it's a bit discouraging to see a score ~8 points lower than what i'm hoping to get this time around. I didn't really study RC last time, though it seems like I should probably give it more of a focus, which sucks because RC is easily the most boring section.

You prob. just need to get back into the swing of things that's all.

kbrizz · Post by **kbrizz** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:29 pm

When drilling LR, do you guys find that you do improve after reviewing the questions you got wrong? It just seems like I'm not going to make enough progress that way.

alpha kenny body · Post by **alpha kenny body** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:33 pm

kbrizz wrote:When drilling LR, do you guys find that you do improve after reviewing the questions you got wrong? It just seems like I'm not going to make enough progress that way.

I haven't been reviewing each one, I've just been notating which ones that I've gotten wrong, and then repeating them again, further down the line. The plan is to distill them until I get to the core of what I have missed, after multiples rounds of repetition, and then I'm going to review every single one and write down why I got each one wrong.

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:44 pm

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pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:47 pm

Post removed.

alpha kenny body · Post by **alpha kenny body** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:03 pm

pittsburghpirates wrote:To drill another section tonight or not... That is the question...

Haha, I have been mulling the same thing over too, but it's both LR sections from Preptest 61. I did 60 earlier today.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:04 pm

Lol so are people not voting on this poll because they're holding off for a higher score to report?

alpha kenny body · Post by **alpha kenny body** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:06 pm

RZ5646 wrote:Lol so are people not voting on this poll because they're holding off for a higher score to report?

I haven't taken one, yet.

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:24 pm

Post removed...

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:30 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:Lol so are people not voting on this poll because they're holding off for a higher score to report?
I totally did this

That's okay, I cheated and used the 180 where I took short breaks between sections. I'm taking my first PT since then tomorrow and I'm guessing it will be terrible lol, but at this point just doing the tests is much more important than what scores I get, so whatever.

Dexter97 · Post by **Dexter97** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:34 pm

pittsburghpirates wrote:To drill another section tonight or not... That is the question...

Drill, baby, drill!

Just did 75 Flaw questions, 8 law passages, and four advanced grouping games. Going to try another PT tomorrow.