The Official October 2015 Study Group Forum

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:29 pm

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seashell.economy · Post by **seashell.economy** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:22 pm

Studied for seven hours yesterday, five hours today....brain....numb...

Also, incredibly irritated that I can't break into 170 territory...168...166...169....come on!

Deanerlaw33 · Post by **Deanerlaw33** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:16 pm

Wrote PT 32 today. And did surprisingly well by my own standards, score a 170. As good as this felt, being only the second time I have broken through the 170 mark, I have a hard time accepting this. I found that I felt unsure about more LG questions than usual, and also LR 2 felt tough as well. I barely finished both in time.

I went:
-4 in LR 1
-7 in RC- can't seem to make any real gains here.
-2 in Lg
And -0 in LR2

Seems odd how the LR section I felt I struggled with more, and the LG section which I found to be tough were the two best sections for me. I don't know whether to chalk it up to a complete fluke, or actual progress, as I've felt far more confident about past tests that I have scored in the 165 ish range.

If only I was having this feeling late October when scores come out.

appind · Post by **appind** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:20 pm

After drilling rc for a long time with my previous approach without success, i am planning to try a new approach. most of the people who do well on RC in this forum say that they read the passage at a fast clip, some even finishing reading the passage in 1-2 minutes. then they jump to questions and refer back to the passage as needed. some prep companies like manhattan also seem to suggest this approach for top RC scorers. many of these go -0/-1 even in the newer tougher rc (pt 55+) and finish the section with 5-10 minutes to spare, which is blazing. this is the approach i have tried to work toward in my drilling even though i take 3-3:30 min to read the passage and haven't improved.
but some other test prep companies suggest that one take ~4-5 mins to read the passage and then go through the questions fast. since i struggle to finish the section in time, this approach may worsen my timing issue even though one may be able to go through questions a little faster. for those of you who go -0/-1 in pt-55+ RC, which one these is your approach? should one change to the second approach?

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:28 pm

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Deanerlaw33 · Post by **Deanerlaw33** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:37 pm

appind wrote:After drilling rc for a long time with my previous approach without success, i am planning to try a new approach. most of the people who do well on RC in this forum say that they read the passage at a fast clip, some even finishing reading the passage in 1-2 minutes. then they jump to questions and refer back to the passage as needed. some prep companies like manhattan also seem to suggest this approach for top RC scorers. many of these go -0/-1 even in the newer tougher rc (pt 55+) and finish the section with 5-10 minutes to spare, which is blazing. this is the approach i have tried to work toward in my drilling even though i take 3-3:30 min to read the passage and haven't improved.
but some other test prep companies suggest that one take ~4-5 mins to read the passage and then go through the questions fast. since i struggle to finish the section in time, this approach may worsen my timing issue even though one may be able to go through questions a little faster. for those of you who go -0/-1 in pt-55+ RC, which one these is your approach? should one change to the second approach?

I'm going to give this a shot. I think I'm a similar spot with you in that I take ~3-3.5 mins per passage. I feel like if I try to read too fast, i wont even comprehend it well enough to remember where to refer back to in the text. Then again, at an average of -5 to - 8 per section I dont really see how I can hurt myself. Gonna sit down a few days and just drill RC with some older PTs that I saved for drilling. Hopefully this helps.

Deanerlaw33 · Post by **Deanerlaw33** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:39 pm

seashell.economy wrote:Studied for seven hours yesterday, five hours today....brain....numb...

Also, incredibly irritated that I can't break into 170 territory...168...166...169....come on!

Ever considered taking a break? A few days off certainly helped me break previous plateaus. Mind you these plateaus were lower than you are scoring right now.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:51 pm

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Theresa87 · Post by **Theresa87** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:48 am

How far away from your goal score do you guys think you should be right now?

PoopNpants · Post by **PoopNpants** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:17 am

Theresa87 wrote:How far away from your goal score do you guys think you should be right now?

it's hard to say since PTs tend to vary, even now I'm not sure exactly where I'm at. I can't give a concrete number but you should be within shooting distance of your goal at this point. 6 weeks is still a lot of time (especially if you aren't working/in school) I think gaining 10 points is definitely do-able

alpha kenny body · Post by **alpha kenny body** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:42 am

Theresa87 wrote:How far away from your goal score do you guys think you should be right now?

From my first PT to my goal score, I'm only five points away, which on average is roughly 8 questions, which boils down to how RC/LG go on the real thing.

Theresa87 · Post by **Theresa87** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:51 am

I'm about 8 points away right now, but If I scored my current highest PT score (which is basically a point higher than my average) then I'd be happy. I've had the last 3 months off from school and work and now I'll be starting a 40 hour a week job September 1 so I might have to delay, but hopefully not.

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:06 pm

Took PT 60 this morning.

Score: 170
LR1: -1
LG -5

LR2: -2
RC: -3

I had trouble with the last game. Timing wasn't an issue, it just stumped me for whatever reason. -1 and -2 in LR is really good for me, and I slightly under performed on RC. Going to blind review tonight.

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:20 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:51 pm

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fishpaste1 · Post by **fishpaste1** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 2:42 pm

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Sera Numquam · Post by **Sera Numquam** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:28 pm

Realistic optimism appreciated: Does anyone think a 6 point increase from last PT is possible from now until test day?

Theresa87 · Post by **Theresa87** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 5:39 pm

Sera Numquam wrote:Realistic optimism appreciated: Does anyone think a 6 point increase from last PT is possible from now until test day?

Definitely possible. It also depends on where your last PT was...if it was in the 150s to low 160s then I think it can definitely be done. It could be done at any range though I think. It's just harder the higher and higher you get.

Personally, I improved 4 points from my first LSAT take to my second, and they were two months apart with only about 10 hours of study a week.

It also depends on what section is giving you trouble.

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 6:58 pm

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Billy Madison · Post by **Billy Madison** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:03 pm

Took PT 57 yesterday:

LG:-10
LR1:-7
LR2:-9
RC:-3

158.

I haven't drilled nearly enough and it showed. I only got through the first 2 games and missed 2 within those. Had to guess on 9 LR questions too. I've spent the last month going through LRB and LGB, so hopefully I can make the improvement I need. A little encouraged that my RC was respectable, but definitely not the score for which I was looking. Already feel like I'm looking at a December retake...

PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:23 pm

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The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:17 pm

gamerish wrote:
The Abyss wrote:Did PT 60 this morning.

Score: 170
LR1: -1
LG -5
LR2: -2
RC: -3

I had trouble with the last game. Timing wasn't an issue, it just stumped me for whatever reason. -1 and -2 in LR is really good for me, and I slightly under performed on RC. Going blind review tonight.
I went -5 on the LG section of PT60 too when I took it. I didn't understand the last game until I BR'd it.

I figured it out during blind review, and then watched the 7Sage video. JY makes me feel dumb with how easy he makes it seem.

gamerish · Post by **gamerish** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:46 pm

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ugg · Post by **ugg** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:18 pm

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PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:07 pm

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