The Official September 2016 Study Group - WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS Forum

[Alexandros]

Test day is coming up fast and I'm not PT-ing where I should be at all.

Where are you PTing and what is your goal score range that you would be happy with?

Last (only) real PTs - 173, 167, 167, from earliest to most recent. Need a 175+. Figure I need to go into the exam with each section down perfectly, and then hope nerves and whatnot don't get the best of me.

That's great! I think with the 11 or so weeks we have left, you should be able to be killing it by September!

For sure! Alex, what PTs were these scores for? Were the 167's for more recent PTs than the 173 was?

Thanks - I'm so glad y'all think that. :') Trying to keep a positive attitude.
I should really remember the exact PT numbers but I don't have my notebook with me, but pretty sure it was 173 - PT 52, 167 - PT 65, 167 - PT 55.

Hmm, I wonder why the drop happened. Do you remember if it was a specific section that screwed things up for you, or was it just a more general type of drop from all sections?

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

[20170322]

Thinking more and more that I'm going to postpone my applications by a year and do the full 4 years of undergrad. Would certainly take some pressure off of the September test.

Had you been planning on only doing 3 years of UG?
Knowing you have the option to comfortably retake if things go disastrously is a extremely relieving.

Yeah, it's probably a dumb idea. I'm on a full ride, and my girlfriend is a junior as well, so I think I should just ride it out and spend some more time with her. Also, the scholarship will study study abroad, which could be a fun way to spend the final semester.

Also, it would be dope as hell to go into senior year with a 4.0/180 in hand. Haha

Not a dumb idea at all! But riding it out sounds a solid plan too, especially with those considerations! Agreed - senior year with 4.0 + 180 would be LIT.

I'm a junior too - thought I might've been the only one. tho I'll def be doing all four years given my program aha

Haha, glad there's another young person. These geezers are cramping my style

[Mikey]

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

I feel you on that. I've never broken into the 170's on a PT because of RC, and it annoys me that I can't improve on it as quickly as I did for LR and especially LG

[20170322]

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

I feel you on that. I've never broken into the 170's on a PT because of RC, and it annoys me that I can't improve on it as quickly as I did for LR and especially LG

I've been noticing RC improvements from typing out why correct answers are correct for ones you get wrong. May want to try this if you don't do it already.

[Mikey]

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

I feel you on that. I've never broken into the 170's on a PT because of RC, and it annoys me that I can't improve on it as quickly as I did for LR and especially LG

I've been noticing RC improvements from typing out why correct answers are correct for ones you get wrong. May want to try this if you don't do it already.

I don't actually, and it's probably a good idea for me to do that. My issue with RC is that I've tried out so many different ways of doing the section that I feel like I'm selling myself short of doing well on it. I've tried like 3 different approaches of either 1. marking up the passage (boxing names, circling words, tagging examples, etc.), 2. writing a very short summary next to each passage, and 3. making no markings at all. I feel like I focus better when doing no markings at all for questions concerning the author's purpose of writing the passage, main point questions, and general type questions of the like. But once I get a question that has to do with something very specific in the passage, I tend to get it wrong. When I mark the passage in any way, I feel like I lose focus a lot, and waste a lot of time. All of this changing of methods I'm sure has screwed me in a major way, and idk why I did that but I'm truly hoping that 7sage's lessons will be the last thing that I try for RC that clicks with me.

[20170322]

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

I feel you on that. I've never broken into the 170's on a PT because of RC, and it annoys me that I can't improve on it as quickly as I did for LR and especially LG

I've been noticing RC improvements from typing out why correct answers are correct for ones you get wrong. May want to try this if you don't do it already.

I don't actually, and it's probably a good idea for me to do that. My issue with RC is that I've tried out so many different ways of doing the section that I feel like I'm selling myself short of doing well on it. I've tried like 3 different approaches of either 1. marking up the passage (boxing names, circling words, tagging examples, etc.), 2. writing a very short summary next to each passage, and 3. making no markings at all. I feel like I focus better when doing no markings at all for questions concerning the author's purpose of writing the passage, main point questions, and general type questions of the like. But once I get a question that has to do with something very specific in the passage, I tend to get it wrong. When I mark the passage in any way, I feel like I lose focus a lot, and waste a lot of time. All of this changing of methods I'm sure has screwed me in a major way, and idk why I did that but I'm truly hoping that 7sage's lessons will be the last thing that I try for RC that clicks with me.

I had the same issue. I recommend typing out the explanations. I realized that I was reading for too much detail which didn't give me enough time to look for textual evidence, thanks to this method.

[34iplaw]

I tend to mark somewhat arbitrarily as just having my pencil on the paper helps me focus...except for a few things.

I always mark the first line that the author says something from their own perspective. I find it significant in RC, as, in many passages, the author doesn't even speak until the last paragraph and, in some cases, the last sentence.

Any time there is a major shift maybe it's a new perspective or it's talking about a new example.

I underline anything that is worded *really strongly* as well.

Basically, I avoid any structure for taking notes that is too rigid, as you may try to force a passage into a specific format.

[PaulAllen]

greetings friends


vaped hella weed this weekend & have been getting perfects or near-perfects on LGs and LRs all day today with very little effort, I think i cracked the code

[Mikey]

Yeah - RC both times, for the same reason - running out of time and feeling like crap (almost fainted during break on the second one lol), thus getting significantly below my avg, and LG as well on the first 167. first was 4 pts lower than the second one, but the two tests had significantly different curves. I'm drilling full RC sections in the early morning w/ 7sage to get better at reading quickly and efficiently when my head is foggy.
But I'm losing many more points that I can afford with the other sections too. bombing RC wouldn't be such a big deal if I was consistently 0/-1 on the other 3 sections. That's the goal here on out.

I feel you on that. I've never broken into the 170's on a PT because of RC, and it annoys me that I can't improve on it as quickly as I did for LR and especially LG

I've been noticing RC improvements from typing out why correct answers are correct for ones you get wrong. May want to try this if you don't do it already.

I don't actually, and it's probably a good idea for me to do that. My issue with RC is that I've tried out so many different ways of doing the section that I feel like I'm selling myself short of doing well on it. I've tried like 3 different approaches of either 1. marking up the passage (boxing names, circling words, tagging examples, etc.), 2. writing a very short summary next to each passage, and 3. making no markings at all. I feel like I focus better when doing no markings at all for questions concerning the author's purpose of writing the passage, main point questions, and general type questions of the like. But once I get a question that has to do with something very specific in the passage, I tend to get it wrong. When I mark the passage in any way, I feel like I lose focus a lot, and waste a lot of time. All of this changing of methods I'm sure has screwed me in a major way, and idk why I did that but I'm truly hoping that 7sage's lessons will be the last thing that I try for RC that clicks with me.

I had the same issue. I recommend typing out the explanations. I realized that I was reading for too much detail which didn't give me enough time to look for textual evidence, thanks to this method.

I see, I'll definitely try this out. I think it would be a good idea for me so that I can see the pattern in content that questions actually care about.

[Mikey]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

[proteinshake]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

[Mikey]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

Yeah, or at least calling 1 minute but hey it is what it is. Did you use a watch for your last take(s)?

[proteinshake]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

Yeah, or at least calling 1 minute but hey it is what it is. Did you use a watch for your last take(s)?

yeah I used the lawschooli recommended watch and it was fine. I considered getting a 180 watch this time but idk. I feel like by the end of this I'll be able to finish each section with a few minutes to spare so it's probably not worth it but I'll see.

[proteinshake]

just finished up Manhattan LR. good to know I'm done with prep books (unless I decide to read something on RC). moving on to heavy drilling, full sections, and PTs!

[Mikey]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

Yeah, or at least calling 1 minute but hey it is what it is. Did you use a watch for your last take(s)?

yeah I used the lawschooli recommended watch and it was fine. I considered getting a 180 watch this time but idk. I feel like by the end of this I'll be able to finish each section with a few minutes to spare so it's probably not worth it but I'll see.

Ahh, I was debating on getting a 180 watch but I used a regular wristwatch and just turned the time to 12:00 for each section and this seemed fine to me.

[34iplaw]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

Yeah, or at least calling 1 minute but hey it is what it is. Did you use a watch for your last take(s)?

yeah I used the lawschooli recommended watch and it was fine. I considered getting a 180 watch this time but idk. I feel like by the end of this I'll be able to finish each section with a few minutes to spare so it's probably not worth it but I'll see.

Ahh, I was debating on getting a 180 watch but I used a regular wristwatch and just turned the time to 12:00 for each section and this seemed fine to me.

I was going to modify my timex weekender ($$$ BALLIN $$$) by marking the face. Popped off the back. Apparently, you can't take them apart and put them back together easily. TIL.

[mwells56]

Just went through 7sage's Argument part (role) LR questions lesson. These questions aren't so bad, and I've never really had too much trouble with them but his explanations and how he breaks down arguments is just so understandable. He makes the tougher Role/Argument part questions that are usually seen in the middle/later part of the LR section just seem so easy.

I agree. I'm doing 7sage as well, just finished up through the Main Point Questions sections. JY's thought process (thus far) really vibes with how I've always approached standardized testing. I don't even feel like I've had to change or "learn" anything new exactly, but just that I have to zone in on what's important and break it down.

I've taken to speeding up the videos on some of the question explanations. I feel that the quicker speed forces me to pay attention to the main points he's making. Double-edged sword though, if I catch something I realize I didn't understand I jump back and slow the video back down.

Yeah I speed it up a bit as well, but only to 1.2. Usually before he does every question explanation, I pause the video and do it myself very quickly as if I'm being timed. If I get down to an answer that I know for sure 100% is the answer and I understand the argument, I skip to where he shows the answer and if my 100% certainty that 4 choices are wrong and 1 is correct, I just ignore his explanations for the other answer choices but I ALWAYS go back and compare my thought process and breakdown of the argument to his. Usually I fully watch his explanations if I get down to 2 answer choices that I'm just not certain of which is correct or if I'm completely lost by the argument and then I watch it and as he goes through the argument, if I start understanding it more I just pause the video, and then go through it all on my own again and I try to get the right answer before he reaches them. If you're not doing the questions before watching the video (hard copy or just on the video while paused), I'd highly recommend doing that because it is very helpful to compare your reasoning of the argument to his.

Yeah, I usually try to actually answer the question before the video as well, but I still try to quickly listen to him eliminate the other answer choices. Good to know why the others are eliminated.

[tsf]

I think I'll eventually time myself on PTs by giving myself 34 minutes instead of 35. you for sure won't keep working on test day until the very last second (to prevent yourself from having empty answer choices when time is called), so no point in getting used to it.

True af. For my June take since I always leave parallel questions for last, I guessed on two that were around the 20's and just focused on the 2ish other questions that I knew I could most likely get through quicker. Got 1 of those 2 parallel questions right, lmao. Hoping timing isn't an issue for me in the near future though.

Yeah I wished the proctors would call out 30 seconds instead of just 5 minutes remaining.

Yeah, or at least calling 1 minute but hey it is what it is. Did you use a watch for your last take(s)?

yeah I used the lawschooli recommended watch and it was fine. I considered getting a 180 watch this time but idk. I feel like by the end of this I'll be able to finish each section with a few minutes to spare so it's probably not worth it but I'll see.

Ahh, I was debating on getting a 180 watch but I used a regular wristwatch and just turned the time to 12:00 for each section and this seemed fine to me.

I was going to modify my timex weekender ($$$ BALLIN $$$) by marking the face. Popped off the back. Apparently, you can't take them apart and put them back together easily. TIL.

I made 0/35 marks on my ordinary watch, but they somehow fell off before the last section, which happened to be Reading Comp (just my luck). I lost track of time and ended up having less than 5 minutes for the last passage haha

On a different note, what prepcourse are you guys taking, if any? I studied by myself for June and my average at that time was 174 (I took about 30 timed PTs), but my actual score was well below that. Now I'm kinda unsure about how to study. Do you guys think I should focus on drilling? Should I take a prepcourse, like manhattan prep/powerscore? I have a 7sage account, but that's about it. My biggest weakness is Reading Comp, but no one seem to spend a lot of time giving tips on RC, so I feel totally lost...

[34iplaw]

I'm in a testmasters class, but I don't know that would really be beneficial to you. Maybe some form of advanced class or study group just to keep you on point. Is there any question type you usually miss?

I think you should also let others know what section you underperformed on and by how much roughly.

I.E. usually a 174 with -0LG; -2-3 LR per section; -2-3 RC versus what you actually got on test. Did you check if you messed up bubbling or something?

[tsf]

I'm in a testmasters class, but I don't know that would really be beneficial to you. Maybe some form of advanced class or study group just to keep you on point. Is there any question type you usually miss?

I think you should also let others know what section you underperformed on and by how much roughly.

I.E. usually a 174 with -0LG; -2-3 LR per section; -2-3 RC versus what you actually got on test. Did you check if you messed up bubbling or something?

Yeah,I was looking for advanced classes and I found out that at Princeton Review they seem to offer "Ultimate" courses, but I'm not sure if they would be worth it...
I usually go -0LG, -1-2 LR and then RC is a mess. I can go from -1 to -6, depending on the PT... I took the June test in a different country, so I don't have access to my raw score. My actual score was 166. I'm not sure what went wrong...I didn't have enough time for the last passage in RC, so I probably got a few questions wrong there...Also, I know for a fact that I messed up bubbling in the last section because I filled up 26 bubbles instead of 27. I tried to correct it in time, but I only had time to check the last 5 answers. As I can't see my answer sheet, I guess I'll never know

[34iplaw]

I'm in a testmasters class, but I don't know that would really be beneficial to you. Maybe some form of advanced class or study group just to keep you on point. Is there any question type you usually miss?

I think you should also let others know what section you underperformed on and by how much roughly.

I.E. usually a 174 with -0LG; -2-3 LR per section; -2-3 RC versus what you actually got on test. Did you check if you messed up bubbling or something?

Yeah,I was looking for advanced classes and I found out that at Princeton Review they seem to offer "Ultimate" courses, but I'm not sure if they would be worth it...
I usually go -0LG, -1-2 LR and then RC is a mess. I can go from -1 to -6, depending on the PT... I took the June test in a different country, so I don't have access to my raw score. My actual score was 166. I'm not sure what went wrong...I didn't have enough time for the last passage in RC, so I probably got a few questions wrong there...Also, I know for a fact that I messed up bubbling in the last section because I filled up 26 bubbles instead of 27. I tried to correct it in time, but I only had time to check the last 5 answers. As I can't see my answer sheet, I guess I'll never know

I mean I think you have a pretty clear explanation of what happened right there. Just keep studying and don't let yourself atrophy. See if there is something that focuses specifically on RC, and, if you don't think you have it in you to keep on top of it for three months, maybe sign up for some form of class or something.

[tsf]

I'm in a testmasters class, but I don't know that would really be beneficial to you. Maybe some form of advanced class or study group just to keep you on point. Is there any question type you usually miss?

I think you should also let others know what section you underperformed on and by how much roughly.

I.E. usually a 174 with -0LG; -2-3 LR per section; -2-3 RC versus what you actually got on test. Did you check if you messed up bubbling or something?

Yeah,I was looking for advanced classes and I found out that at Princeton Review they seem to offer "Ultimate" courses, but I'm not sure if they would be worth it...
I usually go -0LG, -1-2 LR and then RC is a mess. I can go from -1 to -6, depending on the PT... I took the June test in a different country, so I don't have access to my raw score. My actual score was 166. I'm not sure what went wrong...I didn't have enough time for the last passage in RC, so I probably got a few questions wrong there...Also, I know for a fact that I messed up bubbling in the last section because I filled up 26 bubbles instead of 27. I tried to correct it in time, but I only had time to check the last 5 answers. As I can't see my answer sheet, I guess I'll never know

I mean I think you have a pretty clear explanation of what happened right there. Just keep studying and don't let yourself atrophy. See if there is something that focuses specifically on RC, and, if you don't think you have it in you to keep on top of it for three months, maybe sign up for some form of class or something.

Yeah....I'll focus on RC for a while and see if I can keep it up for the next few months. Thanks for the tips

[RoryC]

June waiter checking in - got a 168 so right now I'm leaning towards retaking and hopefully getting a few more points!

[mwells56]

I can't seem to find tests 39-44 for a reasonable price anywhere. What's the deal? It seems that LSAC stopped publishing them and that's why they're largely unavailable. 7sage's starter includes video explanations for 36-44 and as much as I've liked it thus far, I feel like that's kind of shitty if I can't be reasonably expected to obtain the tests. I understand that it's on us and they can't post PDFs and they have the silent videos which is the best they could do. But still, I'd rather them have included the videos for earlier or later tests that are more readily available.

I think that I'll just go through their curriculum and then buy PTs and figure it out on my own schedule.

I'm thinking 29-38, and save tests 29-35 to act as 5th sections, doing 36-38 (I mean hey, I do have the videos for those might as well use them), and then buying 62-77 (When is 78 going to be released?). I'm also slightly paranoid about having to retake and don't want to burn through all the most recent ones, what are people doing to combat this?

What do people recommend to buy for drilling purposes? I see Manhattan LSAT offers PTs 41-50 separated buy question type, so that could be good for me as well because I have all the video explanations. Obviously everyone also raves about the Bibles. But if I'm not mistaken, those just drill question types, not regular 35-minute sections. Any suggestions?

I'll be buying all this stuff in ~2 weeks so any feedback would be much appreciated.

As an aside that I'm not really worried about but figured might as well ask, what are people doing to prepare for the essays? I know it doesn't matter for your score or anything but I feel like it's a non-trivial part of your application that gets overlooked on this site (unless I'm wrong and it's totally trivial).

[Alexandros]

Man that was THE MOST unproductive day frick. After work social engagement lasted way longer than anticipated (ie til past midnight) and only managed to get a set of lg and a set of lr done before work.

Aaaarrrgghhhh >_>; welp, tomorrow is a new day. Lsat-ing every spare minute I get.

(On a bright now, sounds like the desks in my testing center are possibly not tiny after all?!?