The Official September 2014 Study Group Forum

[Colonel_funkadunk]

I've come across a few items removed from scoring on some old PTs, namely 45 and 46. Just curious why?

Bc sum1 challenged them and they were bad questions.

Thx bill I swear u always got da answers

Ive been known 2 b called for.

Hope everyone is studying and not having fun.

Is there a such thing as fun Til September 27... With the exception of logic games.

[mmorrell94]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

[BillPackets]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

How do you usually do on RC? Do you generally have trouble with the science passages?

[Comstock]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

[mmorrell94]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

How do you usually do on RC? Do you generally have trouble with the science passages?

For the last few weeks I've been no worse than -3...and I'm not sure about science passages to be honest. I think they're definitely the hardest, but usually nor insurmountable.

That said, on PT 48 I got all 3 of mine wrong on the last polarity section. Maybe I do struggle with them and have just never really consciously noted it.

[BillPackets]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

If you're having anxiety issues, which it sounds like you are, you should try getting on antidepressant/antianxiety. I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped. And you can get off of them after the test. You could also ask for some insomnia medicine and I'm sure a doc would prescribe you some.

[Yeezus]

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

I suggest trying to have a fixed sleep schedule, and melatonin if you can't fall asleep.

[BillPackets]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

How do you usually do on RC? Do you generally have trouble with the science passages?

For the last few weeks I've been no worse than -3...and I'm not sure about science passages to be honest. I think they're definitely the hardest, but usually nor insurmountable.

That said, on PT 48 I got all 3 of mine wrong on the last polarity section. Maybe I do struggle with them and have just never really consciously noted it.

Following the logic on the science passages can be really tough. But I think, usually, complicated science passage questions tend to focus mainly on the part of the passage where the actual mechanism is being described. Such as in the maize passage the questions kind of hinge on the part about plants that like the C4 process (second paragraph), then explaining how the C4 process works in plants like maize.

So if you can note where the actual mechanism is being described and kind of pick out the most important sentence about that, I think it would help with comprehending the logic of the mechanism.

[BillPackets]

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

I suggest trying to have a fixed sleep schedule, and melatonin if you can't fall asleep.

Melatonin won't put your anxiety to rest, but you could try it if you haven't.

[dasani13]

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

I suggest trying to have a fixed sleep schedule, and melatonin if you can't fall asleep.

Yeah but if you do plan on having melatonin as a back up plan, make sure you try it out a few times before.

I have issues falling asleep as well so in June I got like only 2-3 hours of sleep 2 nights before the test so the actual night before I was exhausted and passed out pretty easily.

[Learn_Live_Hope]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

If you're having anxiety issues, which it sounds like you are, you should try getting on antidepressant/antianxiety. I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped. And you can get off of them after the test. You could also ask for some insomnia medicine and I'm sure a doc would prescribe you some.

This is normal. Why jump to medicine immediately as soon as you experience some anxiety. We will all get nervous-some more than others nonetheless its all normal. He should rather practice getting it under control now, as he will experience the same emotions during his finals, before OCI, during OCI, etc.

[BillPackets]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

If you're having anxiety issues, which it sounds like you are, you should try getting on antidepressant/antianxiety. I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped. And you can get off of them after the test. You could also ask for some insomnia medicine and I'm sure a doc would prescribe you some.

This is normal. Why jump to medicine immediately as soon as you experience some anxiety. We will all get nervous-some more than others nonetheless its all normal. He should rather practice getting it under control now, as he will experience the same emotions during his finals, before OCI, during OCI, etc.

I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped.

It's not "some" anxiety. "Some" anxiety is good and acts as a motivator. Anxiety that causes insomnia/interrupts your ability to function normally, should be dealt with on a commensurate level. I don't know why people are so fucking weird about mental health.

Seriously, if you aren't or haven't tried antidepressants, at least go to a doctor and see what they say.

[Comstock]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

If you're having anxiety issues, which it sounds like you are, you should try getting on antidepressant/antianxiety. I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped. And you can get off of them after the test. You could also ask for some insomnia medicine and I'm sure a doc would prescribe you some.

This is normal. Why jump to medicine immediately as soon as you experience some anxiety. We will all get nervous-some more than others nonetheless its all normal. He should rather practice getting it under control now, as he will experience the same emotions during his finals, before OCI, during OCI, etc.

Yeah, I'm more inclined to stay away from medicine on anxiety and the such simply because I think I'm experiencing normal anxiety and not debilitating, can't function sort of anxiety. I also find it hard to believe a doctor would prescribe me anything if I simply told him the truth of the situation; I'm fairly sure they would say that's normal. I really only ask for the LSAT because it's probably the most intensive time-test I've ever taken and I know I need my full mental wits with me when writing it to do the best I can do (I know, for example, if I zone out for 5 minutes in an essay test/MC question choice in undergrad, I'm hardly screwed, which isn't the same for the LSAT), and I know sleep is important to that. Also I don't really think insomniac would apply to me, as I can sleep well as long as I follow a routine (as others have mentioned I should do). I definitely am the type of person that needs to follow the same routine to get good sleep (i.e., I read 30-40 minutes before dozing off) but when I do that and follow that I can get a solid 7-8 hours in and I function fine.

My concern is more of the extreme nervousness for the LSAT. The trouble of sleeping for me arises when I have a lot of stuff in my head that I can't get out of, keeping me awake, and the day before the LSAT I think it will be very hard for me to turn all those thoughts off and go to sleep (which is what I try to do when I read before bed - get my mind off the day so I have a clear mind when I go to bed). I can function fine still on my big tests (my GPA is quite solid), it's just something about the LSAT that makes me extremely nervous at times thinking about it. I agree with the above that it's probably a bad precedent for me to use anxiety meds as a crutch for a stressful situation that will frankly arise again throughout a law student/lawyer career, I'm more just looking for a tips and strategies others have used for coping and getting the best rest they can for their test day.

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

How do you usually do on RC? Do you generally have trouble with the science passages?

For the last few weeks I've been no worse than -3...and I'm not sure about science passages to be honest. I think they're definitely the hardest, but usually nor insurmountable.

That said, on PT 48 I got all 3 of mine wrong on the last polarity section. Maybe I do struggle with them and have just never really consciously noted it.

Following the logic on the science passages can be really tough. But I think, usually, complicated science passage questions tend to focus mainly on the part of the passage where the actual mechanism is being described. Such as in the maize passage the questions kind of hinge on the part about plants that like the C4 process (second paragraph), then explaining how the C4 process works in plants like maize.

So if you can note where the actual mechanism is being described and kind of pick out the most important sentence about that, I think it would help with comprehending the logic of the mechanism.

Bill also failed to mention he has a BS in biochemical engineering so he does have that on his side.

[Comstock]

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

I suggest trying to have a fixed sleep schedule, and melatonin if you can't fall asleep.

Yeah but if you do plan on having melatonin as a back up plan, make sure you try it out a few times before.

I have issues falling asleep as well so in June I got like only 2-3 hours of sleep 2 nights before the test so the actual night before I was exhausted and passed out pretty easily.

Thanks for this tip, I'll definitely try it a few times before hand

[mmorrell94]

Just did the maize reading passage from PT 49, and all I have to say is what a bunch of BS. I got 4 questions wrong on it for a total of -5 on the section, and I honestly have no idea what I could have done to do better. Even reviewing it untimed I'm struggling. Are people really able to conceptualize what this passage is talking about and answer its questions in 8:45?

How do you usually do on RC? Do you generally have trouble with the science passages?

For the last few weeks I've been no worse than -3...and I'm not sure about science passages to be honest. I think they're definitely the hardest, but usually nor insurmountable.

That said, on PT 48 I got all 3 of mine wrong on the last polarity section. Maybe I do struggle with them and have just never really consciously noted it.

Following the logic on the science passages can be really tough. But I think, usually, complicated science passage questions tend to focus mainly on the part of the passage where the actual mechanism is being described. Such as in the maize passage the questions kind of hinge on the part about plants that like the C4 process (second paragraph), then explaining how the C4 process works in plants like maize.

So if you can note where the actual mechanism is being described and kind of pick out the most important sentence about that, I think it would help with comprehending the logic of the mechanism.

This is a good tip, thanks. Looking through some old PTs to find a science section to test it out on.

Semi related question: Is there any wisdom in drilling RC passages by the passage type, similar to LR and LG? So far I've just been doing passages as they come, but I'm wondering if it might not make more sense to split them up by things like science, humanities, etc.

[BillPackets]

My concern is more of the extreme nervousness for the LSAT. The trouble of sleeping for me arises when I have a lot of stuff in my head that I can't get out of, keeping me awake, and the day before the LSAT I think it will be very hard for me to turn all those thoughts off and go to sleep (which is what I try to do when I read before bed - get my mind off the day so I have a clear mind when I go to bed.

Last thing I'll say about this. Again, I don't know why people are so weird about mental health. "Extreme nervousness"=anxiety. "Extreme nervousness" that keeps you up at night=anxiety that is interrupting your normal functions.

Listen, the exact same thing happened to me earlier this summer. I was so stressed about the LSAT, I couldn't sleep. I had a very normal routine, I worked out everyday, and nothing was helping. I took a shit ton of melatonin. Nothing. I was doing everything and nothing was working.

I went to the doctor and told them the truth: I was incredibly anxious about the LSAT, experiencing a level of anxiety that I never had, and felt like I could not keep it under the control. I told the doctor I couldn't sleep. Told her I had a routine, worked out, etc etc etc.

She prescribed me an antidepressant. I took it for awhile, kept up with my schedule, and it worked. I took it for about two months. I don't take it anymore. It's not a crutch. It was a novel solution that arose from special circumstances.

[jmjm]

My concern is more of the extreme nervousness for the LSAT. The trouble of sleeping for me arises when I have a lot of stuff in my head that I can't get out of, keeping me awake, and the day before the LSAT I think it will be very hard for me to turn all those thoughts off and go to sleep (which is what I try to do when I read before bed - get my mind off the day so I have a clear mind when I go to bed.

Last thing I'll say about this. Again, I don't know why people are so weird about mental health. "Extreme nervousness"=anxiety. "Extreme nervousness" that keeps you up at night=anxiety that is interrupting your normal functions.

Listen, the exact same thing happened to me earlier this summer. I was so stressed about the LSAT, I couldn't sleep. I had a very normal routine, I worked out everyday, and nothing was helping. I took a shit ton of melatonin. Nothing. I was doing everything and nothing was working.

I went to the doctor and told them the truth: I was incredibly anxious about the LSAT, experiencing a level of anxiety that I never had, and felt like I could not keep it under the control. I told the doctor I couldn't sleep. Told her I had a routine, worked out, etc etc etc.

She prescribed me an antidepressant. I took it for awhile, kept up with my schedule, and it worked. I took it for about two months. I don't take it anymore. It's not a crutch. It was a novel solution that arose from special circumstances.

is beginning to skim and picking answers without strong confidence on test day when one doesn't do that during Pts a sign of extreme nervousness? iirc my whole rc and most lr on test day was like that.

[Learn_Live_Hope]

Hey guys, some updates:

PT 54:

RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 1 22/25 (-3)
LG 21/23 (-2)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)

Score 169

Pretty happy with this; made some sloppy mistakes, but still a performance I'm happy with.

PT 55:
LR 1 20/25 (-5)
RC 23/27 (-4)
LR 2 23/25 (-2)
LG 20/24 (-4)

Score: 165

Now obviously a big drop in score, but I kinda did this test as an experiment to see how I would operate under very shitty conditions in the LSAT. The night before I wrote this test, I went out to a pub for a celebration with friends, had drinks, and got in around 3am and had to be up at 7am if I wanted to write the LSAT in time before I had to go to work. I decided to do it just to see how I would operate on 4 hours of sleep and the such. I was obviously hoping that I could still hold my average even under poor conditions, but I guess a few point drop isn't the worst considering the conditions. Just to be sure, I went and did blind review of the test today to make sure I didn't miss any fundamentals of the test and went:

LR 1 24/25 (-1)
RC 25/27 (-2)
LR 2 24/25 (-1)
LG 23/23 (-0)
Score: 177

Clearly that is by no means accurate of my real scoring ability on the test, but I think it shows that I wasn't missing anything fundamental, just that I was kinda shitty the day I wrote it.

With that in mind, I have a question for all of you; how are you preparing for getting good rest the day before the LSAT? I specifically ask for other people who are like me and have some sleeping issues, especially during stressful times (I'm the type that can easily lay awake an hour+ in bed thinking about various stuff). I'm really afraid I'm going to get very little hours of sleep the day before my LSAT (I already have occasional LSAT nightmares haha) and under perform simply due to that. Part of me doing the test with so little hours was to see if I can still hold my average being super tired writing it, which I clearly am not. At this point I'm considering getting some sleep medicine as a 'worst case scenario' to use in case I can't sleep before the test (obviously I'll try the stuff out before hand to make sure I don't wake up too tired/foggy to write the test by doing a full test run of it). Just wondering what others are planning on doing and for any tips/tricks to get good rest the day before.

If you're having anxiety issues, which it sounds like you are, you should try getting on antidepressant/antianxiety. I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped. And you can get off of them after the test. You could also ask for some insomnia medicine and I'm sure a doc would prescribe you some.

This is normal. Why jump to medicine immediately as soon as you experience some anxiety. We will all get nervous-some more than others nonetheless its all normal. He should rather practice getting it under control now, as he will experience the same emotions during his finals, before OCI, during OCI, etc.

I know some people are opposed to antidepressants out of hand, but I recently had some bad anxiety and sleeping issues and got an antidepressant (that has anti anxiety properties) and it really helped.

It's not "some" anxiety. "Some" anxiety is good and acts as a motivator. Anxiety that causes insomnia/interrupts your ability to function normally, should be dealt with on a commensurate level. I don't know why people are so fucking weird about mental health.

Seriously, if you aren't or haven't tried antidepressants, at least go to a doctor and see what they say.

First, you need to stop swearing.


What he is experiencing is normal. He is not disabled as a result of his anxiety. Not being able to fall asleep as a result of an issue is normal as well. It's called stress, and different people deal with it differently. What he needs to do is learn how to get it under control and cope with
it. He will not be able to take a pill every time he is at a trial, has to negotiate, or is in a difficult dispute just because he is stressed about it. To advise someone to take pills for the sole purpose of taking an exam is just irresponsible.

[flash21]

I agree with LLH.

I think the idea of hoping on medicine is a bit crazy. Its a stressful test - and yes normal stress makes you stay up at night. I think it speaks to a larger trend in society toward "a pill for every ill", but I digress.

Mike Kim had a great quote where he said the best way to get rid of anxiety and unsure-ness is to be really prepared (im paraphrasing). This is good advice. Become really good and your confidence will grow. If you're having anxiety issues, go work out, fix up your diet, meditate, there are a ton of options.

If anxiety is ruining your life, this is a different story. I don't think this is the case here though.

[BillPackets]

First, you need to stop swearing.

FUUUUUUCKKKKKKK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU FUUUCKKKKLFUCKLLLLLLLFUCKKKKKKKKFUCKKKKKKKKKKL
CUNT BITCH GOD DAMNIT SHIT ASS COCK

DID I MISS ANY IF I DID IF SUM1 COULD THROW THEM IN I WOULD APPRECIATE IT LLEASD GROW TGW FUCK UP YOURE GONNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH CUSSING

Seriously. Fuck off. I do what I want. Learn live and hope yourself into oblivion you rètard.

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Heard bill once broke a ps3 controller over a botched field goal during a madden game

[BillPackets]

Heard bill once broke a ps3 controller over a botched field goal during a madden game

I also once pulled a Bo Jackson and broke a bat over my thigh after striking out.

Except the bat was metal.

THINK ABOUT IT.

[schmelling]

.

[joeisreallycool]

How/when are you guys reviewing your PTs?

I basically just started and took all three superpreps, and at the end I am mentally drained and sick of the LSAT for the day. Do you guys immediately go back and review, or do you wait a day?

Regardless of when, how? Blind review?