October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[Patriot1208]

ONE MONTH

THIRTY DAYS

7200 HOURS

432000 MINUTES

25920000 SECONDS

UNTIL THE END.

--ImageRemoved--

TBF, I won't hang myself until three weeks after when I realize I got a 167.

[lastch2]

ONE MONTH

THIRTY DAYS

7200 HOURS

432000 MINUTES

25920000 SECONDS

UNTIL THE END.

--ImageRemoved--

^^ that is me.

OH. MY. GOSH! i haven't studied since last wednesday when i took the friggin 50 on the 1st, i cut my hours at work, and i STILL have zero time for this. I feel like i may explode, this is quite possible the hardest thing i've ever done, this is the first time i've actually had time to even get online for TLS or anything not related to school or work. i caught up on the last, oh i dunno, 12 pages or so of this and saw that some others were having this problem but seriously i'm freaked out about it. Taking my first PT tonight since the 1st and we'll see how it goes.


...this comes off as really whiney but have sympathy even though everyone else seems to be keeping up with lsat and managing to balance their time...ugh on me

[jfb]

Just got -10 on a RC section that I actually felt very confident on as I went through it. Feeling pretty discouraged right about now.

Did it happen to be from a test in the 30's? I have been adding a RC section to 4 section tests and have found the 30's to be really rough compared to 20s,40,50s

[leemalk]

Just got -10 on a RC section that I actually felt very confident on as I went through it. Feeling pretty discouraged right about now.

Did it happen to be from a test in the 30's? I have been adding a RC section to 4 section tests and have found the 30's to be really rough compared to 20s,40,50s

Actually it happened to be PT 44. Upon reviewing it I made a lot of careless mistakes and misread about 4-5 of the questions stems of the ones I got wrong.
None of the passages really seemed too difficult, I just don't think I read closely enough. Or I just really suck at RC. Probably the latter.

[fosterp]

Anyone have some suggestions for RC questions of the type that ask "what is the purpose of example x on line y in the authors discussion about z." Or similar stuff that basically asks you to identify the role of a few sentences in the overall passage. Usually the choices can be narrowed down to 2-3 but then I can't nail it to one. I feel like time constraints don't give me ample opportunity to read the entire paragraph the sentence is within. When I go back to figure out why I got it wrong and refer back to the passage the answer usually becomes clear once I reread a significant portion. Generally the passages that get me are the ones that have overly complicated writing style and I feel that I capture the general ideas but the specific points I miss, and then the questions that refer to specific points I can't really answer easily. Time is definitely the issue, as I have to read and reread slowly to understand just what is being said, and then have to blaze through the questions, or try to read faster and hope I have time to refer back to passge.

[firemed]

Thought I would ask you all a question, because I need some advice on what to do.

What does it mean when your scores are consistently getting lower?

My scores: 160 (benchmark), 168, 169, 167(LG bible completed), 166, 166, 167, 166, 165, 166, 166, 165 (just a minute ago... want to die).

I am about to stop taking practice tests since, apparently, the less I study the better I do. LG is consistently in in the -6 to -8 range and the main problem there is timing, which I understand gets better with practice. LR, however, has gotten worse, from a -2 average to a -4 average. RC is still a -2. I almost feel like reading the LR bible is making my LR skills worse somehow.

Anybody help me out on this?

[gdane]

What PT's are you doing? There seems to be a consensus that the 40's and 50's are much different than the earlier ones.

[firemed]

Anyone have some suggestions for RC questions of the type that ask "what is the purpose of example x on line y in the authors discussion about z." Or similar stuff that basically asks you to identify the role of a few sentences in the overall passage. Usually the choices can be narrowed down to 2-3 but then I can't nail it to one. I feel like time constraints don't give me ample opportunity to read the entire paragraph the sentence is within. When I go back to figure out why I got it wrong and refer back to the passage the answer usually becomes clear once I reread a significant portion. Generally the passages that get me are the ones that have overly complicated writing style and I feel that I capture the general ideas but the specific points I miss, and then the questions that refer to specific points I can't really answer easily. Time is definitely the issue, as I have to read and reread slowly to understand just what is being said, and then have to blaze through the questions, or try to read faster and hope I have time to refer back to passge.

I don't think this is the usual advice, but I generally skim the passage... and then refer back with each question. I try to take less than two minutes for the passage when I skim... which leaves me a little over a minute per question, and with the skim and their directions I can usually find the relevant section and look closely at it for 15 or 20 seconds.

edit: am scoring -2 consistently in RC. Once got a -0, and twice -1.

[firemed]

What PT's are you doing? There seems to be a consensus that the 40's and 50's are much different than the earlier ones.

I was doing 19-28... today was 32 because I wanted to try something different to break it up a little.

Maybe I should just buy some 50s and take those this month....

[gdane]

What PT's are you doing? There seems to be a consensus that the 40's and 50's are much different than the earlier ones.

I was doing 19-28... today was 32 because I wanted to try something different to break it up a little.

Maybe I should just buy some 50s and take those this month....

Definitely. Focus on the latest tests. They arent radically different, but there is a significant enough difference between these and the tests of the 90's.

Also, youre doing pretty well. It sucks that your score has gone down, but youre still consistent in staying it the mid 160's. Keep working at it. You'll do well!

[firemed]

Definitely. Focus on the latest tests. They arent radically different, but there is a significant enough difference between these and the tests of the 90's.

Also, youre doing pretty well. It sucks that your score has gone down, but youre still consistent in staying it the mid 160's. Keep working at it. You'll do well!

'Kay... will buy some 50s, as well as 60... but I also think I am going to take the weekend off. Maybe I am thinking too much about everything and that is why I am getting diminishing returns. Maybe even not take any PTs next week, just do a couple LG sections and read the rest of my LR bible. Then come back fresh and hit it hard for two weeks.

[gdane]

Definitely. Focus on the latest tests. They arent radically different, but there is a significant enough difference between these and the tests of the 90's.

Also, youre doing pretty well. It sucks that your score has gone down, but youre still consistent in staying it the mid 160's. Keep working at it. You'll do well!

'Kay... will buy some 50s, as well as 60... but I also think I am going to take the weekend off. Maybe I am thinking too much about everything and that is why I am getting diminishing returns. Maybe even not take any PTs next week, just do a couple LG sections and read the rest of my LR bible. Then come back fresh and hit it hard for two weeks.

That sounds good. At this point in time theres not much left for you to "learn". Youre scoring in a pretty good range.

[hokie]

Definitely. Focus on the latest tests. They arent radically different, but there is a significant enough difference between these and the tests of the 90's.

Also, youre doing pretty well. It sucks that your score has gone down, but youre still consistent in staying it the mid 160's. Keep working at it. You'll do well!

'Kay... will buy some 50s, as well as 60... but I also think I am going to take the weekend off. Maybe I am thinking too much about everything and that is why I am getting diminishing returns. Maybe even not take any PTs next week, just do a couple LG sections and read the rest of my LR bible. Then come back fresh and hit it hard for two weeks.

That sounds good. At this point in time theres not much left for you to "learn". Youre scoring in a pretty good range.

Really hope that's not the case (about time left to "learn") or else my pipe dream of 155 to 170 is toast.....

[firemed]

Really hope that's not the case (about time left to "learn") or else my pipe dream of 155 to 170 is toast.....

Nah... GDane is saying that at some point you can't "learn" anymore. If you still have stuff to "learn" then you have a month.

[gdane]

If youre scoring in the mid 150's then you definitely still have stuff to "learn". In my opinion it seems obvious that people that are scoring in the high 160's and low 170's dont have an issue with the material. Their issue is timing and being able to put everything together.

[whymeohgodno]

Just scored 170 (88) on PT 60...

Really bombed the LG section and I thought I completely bombed RC, but didn't do as badly there as I thought.

-1 each on LR sections, -5 on LG, -5 on RC.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the LR sections. I'm disappointed by the LG. I'm just on the verge of giving up on improving RC.

[firemed]

Just scored 170 (88) on PT 60...

Really bombed the LG section and I thought I completely bombed RC, but didn't do as badly there as I thought.

-1 each on LR sections, -5 on LG, -5 on RC.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the LR sections. I'm disappointed by the LG. I'm just on the verge of giving up on improving RC.

Good job!

[northwood]

just completed prep test 43

Section 1( EXP LG) -3
Section 2 LR-8
Section 3 RC - 10
Section 4 LG-4
Section 5 LR -9

Raw score 68.

Took test at starbucks coffee shop after getting out of work 2 hours early.( Was all set for prep test mode, and didnt want to go home and become lazy). In the middle of the third section, a lady goes to me and starts asking me questions about the "survey im taking". Told her that it wasnt a survey, but rather a really interesting article on Aboriginal Canadian Indian Law. ( thanks lady for wasting 4 minutes of my life--- yes i kept the timer running, lol)I guess thats how my score would get if I had to leave during an rc section to go pee. ( gotta budget time to wash the hands).

Happy wiht the games, but I need to stop making stupid mistakes on LR. I got 6 answers wrong that I should have gotten right because of not looking at the wording carefully enough, or rushing to get as many questions done when I should have just focused on getting one more right.

[Miranda 18]

I took June 2001 today, (Prep 34?). Did anyone else have trouble with the logic games? I may just have been having an off today but it seemed more difficult or I guess I should say more time-consuming than usual. I will admit LG are my weakness and game sets sometimes are a hit or miss for me....

[Hedwig]

Finally got all my syllabuses today. Besides from two tests on October 4th, leading up to the LSAT is not that assignment heavy. Of course after that there are times where I have four tests in one week and two 3000 word essays due on the same day.... but oh well. We're ignoring that now.

Oh, and I seriously hope our LSAT results come out early, because I have two tests on November 1st, and I can't be spending that entire weekend refreshing my LSAC account!

[Eugenie Danglars]

Finally got all my syllabuses today. Besides from two tests on October 4th, leading up to the LSAT is not that assignment heavy. Of course after that there are times where I have four tests in one week and two 3000 word essays due on the same day.... but oh well. We're ignoring that now.

Oh, and I seriously hope our LSAT results come out early, because I have two tests on November 1st, and I can't be spending that entire weekend refreshing my LSAC account!

When I took the October test in 2008, we got scores 21 days after the exam. (10/4/08 to 10/25/08).

It's a long three weeks...but the perfect time to perfect you PS!

[TUP]

Definitely. Focus on the latest tests. They arent radically different, but there is a significant enough difference between these and the tests of the 90's.

Also, youre doing pretty well. It sucks that your score has gone down, but youre still consistent in staying it the mid 160's. Keep working at it. You'll do well!

'Kay... will buy some 50s, as well as 60... but I also think I am going to take the weekend off. Maybe I am thinking too much about everything and that is why I am getting diminishing returns. Maybe even not take any PTs next week, just do a couple LG sections and read the rest of my LR bible. Then come back fresh and hit it hard for two weeks.

Sounds like LG is your main problem, which is a good thing as repetition works so well for improvement after you've read the LGB. In addition to doing PTs 50-60 over the next month, also do ~10 games per day. If you already have the 19-28 book just make copies of those, and then add the LGs from the 30s. Work in repeats of the LG sections from 50-60 as you finish those PTs. It's all about repetition ...

[Hedwig]

I heard people discussing the LSAT at my university yesterday. They were all, "no, you need at least a 165 for [school]." "No, man, like 170!"
I whisper-pointed to my friends, "They're talking about the LSAT!" Haha.

[Patriot1208]

I was in the middle of taking a PT in the library. Some girl comes up to me and starts talking to me about the LSAT. She tried to have a 20 minute conversation with me about the LSAT while it was clear I was taking a PT. I wanted to punch her in the face. Needless to say, I bombed the RC section I was in the middle of and got a 167. Fuck that.

[3|ink]

I was in the middle of taking a PT in the library. Some girl comes up to me and starts talking to me about the LSAT. She tried to have a 20 minute conversation with me about the LSAT while it was clear I was taking a PT. I wanted to punch her in the face. Needless to say, I bombed the RC section I was in the middle of and got a 167. Fuck that.

That's why I would never take a PT in a public place.