February 2014 LSAT Study Group Forum

[Nicolena.]

With blind review, do you keep track of what you got wrong during timed sections and during the blind review?

How do we feel about the time between taking a PT and reviewing it? Sometimes I review immediately after; other times I don't have time or don't feel like it and wait a few days, sometimes up to a week. Anyone have any recommendations?

sorry to butt in as im (HOPEFULLY) not retaking feb, but my advice would definitely be to review asap. i mean, the same day. my process:

1. pt
2. blind review (if you havent been doing this, do it now. the single best thing i ever did for my prep was blind review)
3. review carefully, writing out thorough explanations for why you got a question incorrect. i'd suggest also writing out explanations for questions you ALMOST got incorrect. the goal here is to become very conscious of the flawed thinking that got you to pick the wrong AC.

by waiting a long time to review, you will forget the little nuances of thought that went into each q. it isn't nearly as effective as reviewing right after you pt (ime).

will try this, thanks. it could also help address stamina issues if you're used to thinking about LSAT questions a few hours longer than required to on test day.

if you really have issues with stamina, make sure you're always using 5 sections and try taking 2 pt's back to back. another thing to think about is how you'd feel if you have two rc's in a row, three lr's in a row, etc. your nightmare scenario has a funny way of becoming reality on test day (mine did... twice), so its nice to be prepared if you have the time.

[062914123]

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[HorseThief]

PT50 Yesterday - took 40 minute sections - trying to get more accurate before narrowing down to 35 minute sections. -3LG/-7LR/-10RC = 162

Completely bombed an RC passage. I haven't been through the LSAT Trainer's RC sections but will start today, hope to narrow RC down to -2 to -4 on test day! Less worried about LG and LR, which I think I can narrow down with much less effort. Off to study now!

Don't worry about bombing a PT section. There are always rouges that are exponentially more difficult than a regular section. The week before the test I took a PT with the hardest LG section I've ever seen. I was usually getting -1/-2 per LG, but I couldn't even finish half the questions. If you get bad sections like that, be glad because now you have an opportunity to learn from it before the actual test. Were the questions extra hard? The subject material boring? Were there extra questions of an obscure type that you don't see often? Try to answer these before you beat yourself up.

[HorseThief]

How do we feel about the time between taking a PT and reviewing it? Sometimes I review immediately after; other times I don't have time or don't feel like it and wait a few days, sometimes up to a week. Anyone have any recommendations?

sorry to butt in as im (HOPEFULLY) not retaking feb, but my advice would definitely be to review asap. i mean, the same day. my process:

1. pt
2. blind review (if you havent been doing this, do it now. the single best thing i ever did for my prep was blind review)
3. review carefully, writing out thorough explanations for why you got a question incorrect. i'd suggest also writing out explanations for questions you ALMOST got incorrect. the goal here is to become very conscious of the flawed thinking that got you to pick the wrong AC.

by waiting a long time to review, you will forget the little nuances of thought that went into each q. it isn't nearly as effective as reviewing right after you pt (ime).

Personally, I always leave a break if I can. The test is strenuous, so when I review it, I want to have a fresh mind. If I can take a test in the morning, I'll wait until the evening to review it- long enough so that I'm ready to study again (and really study, not just review answers), but soon enough that I can remember my thought process. If I take it in the afternoon/evening, I'll have dinner, or watch a show before jumping into studying.

Note, I also differentiate between studying and building stamina. I take the runner's approach: you don't train for a marathon by running twice the distance. You build up to that distance (5 sections at a time), then work on cutting your time down. Closer to the race, you do more frequent 'full runs' so that your body is used to it so that you can trust your adrenaline to give you an extra push on the day of the race that will give you a strong score.

And lastly, +1 for the blind review

[Logicgames14]

Checking in. Have cambridge for LG 1-38. Have pts 50-72
Score last June was 138. Need a score of 170 or better. Really low GPA. Trying for a tier II school if possible. Gonna buy cambridge for LR. Lets do this!

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

Here's where I'm at with games - 8 full weeks to go.

Finishing each game in between 8-12 minutes, some outliers of course.

-0 to -2 per game (not complete section).

[Mauve.Dino]

I am completely burned out.

I've been prepping since the beginning of October, and all I want is to reach 170 (though I'll obviously be pleased with a higher score). I seem to be stuck in the lower to mid 160's though. My highest PT (untimed) has only been 166. My brain just can't make LG inferences fast enough, and I practice LG every freakin' day. I've definitely noticed improvement, but my timing is going to be a huge issue if I can't break through this mental barrier.

Binary grouping and undetermined assignment games can go to Hell.

[Nicolena.]

I am completely burned out.

I've been prepping since the beginning of October, and all I want is to reach 170 (though I'll obviously be pleased with a higher score). I seem to be stuck in the lower to mid 160's though. My highest PT (untimed) has only been 166. My brain just can't make LG inferences fast enough, and I practice LG every freakin' day. I've definitely noticed improvement, but my timing is going to be a huge issue if I can't break through this mental barrier.

Binary grouping and undetermined assignment games can go to Hell.

How are you approaching the games? Have you tried working on it untimed and then going back to timed? The stress of rushing may be interfering with your inferences. If you get all the rules down and you have a good understanding, but cannot infer anything, just start going to the questions. Try to remember the rules and apply them. If a question asks, IF L is 3, then...... think about any other entities that may be 3rd or what is affected by L or visa versa. That way, even if you didn't see an inference, you are still saving time bc by using this strategy you can eliminate some answer choices right off the bat.

[062914123]

.

[Tlucidum]

I am completely burned out.

I've been prepping since the beginning of October, and all I want is to reach 170 (though I'll obviously be pleased with a higher score). I seem to be stuck in the lower to mid 160's though. My highest PT (untimed) has only been 166. My brain just can't make LG inferences fast enough, and I practice LG every freakin' day. I've definitely noticed improvement, but my timing is going to be a huge issue if I can't break through this mental barrier.

Binary grouping and undetermined assignment games can go to Hell.

What have you used for games/what methods are you using? When you say practicing, what do you mean? Full timed-sections or specific games or?

[cloy26]

I wish LG was my issue. My LR has been stagnant forever.

[astinkytoilet]

Can't decide whether to retake in Feb or June. Still waiting on my Dec score but it seems like the smart play would be to keep studying hard these next few weeks an retake in Feb and have a chance at better money this cycle (ideally). Yet the extra study time and later test start time from June is enticing, although it would mean waiting a cycle. Uggh so indecisive.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

If I knew how to drastically improve RC, I'd retake in a heartbeat.

Anyone here consistently going -0 to -2? How do you approach RC? Tell me everything.

[alpha kenny body]

If I knew how to drastically improve RC, I'd retake in a heartbeat.

Anyone here consistently going -0 to -2? How do you approach RC? Tell me everything.

Agreed. Solely the reason, I am not comfortably in the mid 170s.

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

Is getting better at timing a matter of drilling? I can give myself 12 minutes per game and get none wrong or 8:30 with two incorrect.

[HorseThief]

If I knew how to drastically improve RC, I'd retake in a heartbeat.

Anyone here consistently going -0 to -2? How do you approach RC? Tell me everything.

• Read through the passage, marking which lines will likely have a question. After a while, you should start to get a feel for these things.
• Make sure you're actually reading the passage. I like to make notes on the side of the page telling me what each paragraph was about. Just a word or too, but it helps me find any references very quickly.
• Start going through the questions. When up to speed, I'm able to check every single question as I go. Aka, I put down what I remember to be the answer, then find the line that confirms it. This saves me 1-2 questions per section.
• When you aren't certain of an answer, circle it and go on. You might have to re-read a line later that will jog your memory.
• Understand how the questions work. They are similar to LR, but just different enough in flavor that you should give them their own attention.

LR is the hardest for me because it's the least straight forward of all the sections. Those stupid "Very much, much, neutral, not much, very little" type questions always get me. I think you just need to build an intuition. Do tons of examples, figure out what it takes for something to be at an extreme, and then just guess.

[HorseThief]

Is getting better at timing a matter of drilling? I can give myself 12 minutes per game and get none wrong or 8:30 with two incorrect.

Maybe. Do you know what you're doing differently when you give yourself less time?

[Nicolena.]

Are you suggesting individual timed sections and then moving onto full timed PTs ?

How do we feel about the time between taking a PT and reviewing it? Sometimes I review immediately after; other times I don't have time or don't feel like it and wait a few days, sometimes up to a week. Anyone have any recommendations?

sorry to butt in as im (HOPEFULLY) not retaking feb, but my advice would definitely be to review asap. i mean, the same day. my process:

1. pt
2. blind review (if you havent been doing this, do it now. the single best thing i ever did for my prep was blind review)
3. review carefully, writing out thorough explanations for why you got a question incorrect. i'd suggest also writing out explanations for questions you ALMOST got incorrect. the goal here is to become very conscious of the flawed thinking that got you to pick the wrong AC.

by waiting a long time to review, you will forget the little nuances of thought that went into each q. it isn't nearly as effective as reviewing right after you pt (ime).

Personally, I always leave a break if I can. The test is strenuous, so when I review it, I want to have a fresh mind. If I can take a test in the morning, I'll wait until the evening to review it- long enough so that I'm ready to study again (and really study, not just review answers), but soon enough that I can remember my thought process. If I take it in the afternoon/evening, I'll have dinner, or watch a show before jumping into studying.

Note, I also differentiate between studying and building stamina. I take the runner's approach: you don't train for a marathon by running twice the distance. You build up to that distance (5 sections at a time), then work on cutting your time down. Closer to the race, you do more frequent 'full runs' so that your body is used to it so that you can trust your adrenaline to give you an extra push on the day of the race that will give you a strong score.

And lastly, +1 for the blind review

[HorseThief]

Are you suggesting individual timed sections and then moving onto full timed PTs ?

Only if you still need to work on whittling your time on individual sections down. To build up stamina, I worked through individual sections until I was finishing 3+min early and only missing a few questions. Then I switched to full PTs. I think there's enough time between now and Feb to do that for 2-3 weeks, but only if you're actually studying every day. Otherwise, start working on full PTs.

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

Is getting better at timing a matter of drilling? I can give myself 12 minutes per game and get none wrong or 8:30 with two incorrect.

Maybe. Do you know what you're doing differently when you give yourself less time?

Doing less back end work and going with the first answer that seems OK. (I know there's only one VERY RIGHT answer and four WRONGs but there's more temptation when rushing.)

[RobertGolddust]

T-minus one week till I return to LSAT world. I have a two finals today and one on Saturday, then I shall become inebriated and hopefully engage in coydus, wake up Sunday morning at 5 a.m. for a flight back to phoenix, take a couple of days off from the books, and then the hunger games begin.

I need a 162 and my diagnosis was a 154. Been studying a ridiculous amount of time with no real success. Hoping, February will be different.

[cloy26]

T-minus one week till I return to LSAT world. I have a two finals today and one on Saturday, then I shall become inebriated and hopefully engage in coydus, wake up Sunday morning at 5 a.m. for a flight back to phoenix, take a couple of days off from the books, and then the hunger games begin.

I need a 162 and my diagnosis was a 154. Been studying a ridiculous amount of time with no real success. Hoping, February will be different.

Don't hope. Make it different.

[jkm]

Checking in. Completely messed up on Dec LSATs and hoping to still make the 2014 cycles. I'm solid on LR (-0 to -3), good with RC (-2 to -4) and a complete disaster with LG (-7 to -12). I generally understand all the rules and inferences, and can do well untimed, but in 35 minutes I can only get through 2-3 games. I really need to overcome this by February! Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

Oh, anyone having trouble finding consistency with RC? I've scored anywhere between -3 and -11. Not a section I've put much time into yet.

[HorseThief]

Is getting better at timing a matter of drilling? I can give myself 12 minutes per game and get none wrong or 8:30 with two incorrect.

Maybe. Do you know what you're doing differently when you give yourself less time?

Doing less back end work and going with the first answer that seems OK. (I know there's only one VERY RIGHT answer and four WRONGs but there's more temptation when rushing.)

This is a bad strategy. Most of your time in LG should be spent on the back end stuff. I regularly spent 3-5 minutes doing back end work. This gave me enough info that I could get through each question in 20-30sec. Work very hard to have a solid setup before you look at any of the questions, and then the questions themselves will be a breeze because you already know the answer.

My breakdown of the timing is ~4min prep, 2min to answer the easy ones (about 5), 2min to answer the ones that require a different setup (about 2). This gives me extra time for really hard games, and the easy games I can usually do with 2min prep, 3min questions.

Also, if there are specific problems you want to see worked through, feel free to post them here or pm me.