The Official June 2016 Study Group Forum

[sluggla]

I like to make smoothies with avocados and vanilla soy milk as the base. It pretty much tastes like a healthier milkshake. That or cold pizza.

[pretzeltime]

PSA
PT 22 sec 3 is one of the most fun logic games sections I've ever done. It's pretty old so it feels really different from new games, but considering new games are getting more unpredictable, they might be more relevant than you'd expect. Not super difficult all told, but it can seem intimidating at first considering how weird most of the games seem. Good test of your LG fundamentals and ability to roll with the punches. Highly recommended.

Just did it. You're right. It definitely stretched a few rusty LG muscles.

I thought the juggler one was pretty tough, or at least I got some of the inferences but not a jackpot one, if it exists.

Paintings is a classic example of a weird format which might make one panic, and then when you look at the questions they are very easy so it turns out alright.

[forum_user]

Why is this thread so dead

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

[Hennessy]

Why is this thread so dead

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

yes 100%
esp. on LR, which is my worst section
i get tired of reading those goddamn long questions

[appind]

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

nice score! i usually try to take PT before any other work to make it representative of the actual test day. it isn't surprising that one would do more mistakes after work due to fatigue. i think there are a few tricky ones in 70 LR. did you take dec test? score?

also,

Why is this thread so dead

[appind]

What do you guys munch on for breakfast? I'm in a routine now where every day I'll have the same thing: two scrambled eggs, a handful of almonds, a bowl of instant oatmeal, a banana, and, of course, water. Seems like a good mix of short-term and long-term energy that sits well in my stomach. Hopefully when I go through my breakfast routine on test day my body is fooled into thinking that nothing unusual is going on.

if i take the test during AM hours, 3 eggs omelette, 2 slices of toast with butter, a cup of OJ

for afternoon test, 1-2 eggs in the morning with toast and OJ, a half sandwich around noon.

june test starts late so you probably would want something more than just early breakfast

[Hennessy]

What do you guys munch on for breakfast? I'm in a routine now where every day I'll have the same thing: two scrambled eggs, a handful of almonds, a bowl of instant oatmeal, a banana, and, of course, water. Seems like a good mix of short-term and long-term energy that sits well in my stomach. Hopefully when I go through my breakfast routine on test day my body is fooled into thinking that nothing unusual is going on.

if i take the test during AM hours, 3 eggs omelette, 2 slices of toast with butter, a cup of OJ

for afternoon test, 1-2 eggs in the morning with toast and OJ, a half sandwich around noon.

june test starts late so you probably would want something more than just early breakfast

that's a good ass breakfast

[forum_user]

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

nice score! i usually try to take PT before any other work to make it representative of the actual test day. it isn't surprising that one would do more mistakes after work due to fatigue. i think there are a few tricky ones in 70 LR. did you take dec test? score?

also,

Why is this thread so dead

Thanks! Yeah about a month ago I started doing 2 PTs per week and decided I'd get more out of doing mid-week/Saturday rather than Saturday/Sunday. On the plus side, it gives me the slightest bit of confidence that, even after a full day of work, I can still pull the 170s.

I got a 171 in December--retaking for a mid- to upper-170s score. Didn't you take in December as well? I feel like I remember you from the study/waiters thread, which was much livelier than this current one...

[MAPP]

September taker with a question for you study pros:

I'm drilling LR using the cambridge packets (so old PTs) and some of the questions just seem so odd (don't seem like more recent LR questions), and they tend to be the ones I get wrong. I'm thinking it may not be worth thoroughly analyzing those questions since they are unlike the ones I will see when I take full PTs and take the actual lsat (I don't mean all early LR Qs, just some).

Basically my question boils down to this: did you notice that some LR in earlier PTs (I'm talking PTs 2-15) were significantly different than more recent PTs? Or am I crazy?

[forum_user]

September taker with a question for you study pros:

I'm drilling LR using the cambridge packets (so old PTs) and some of the questions just seem so odd (don't seem like more recent LR questions), and they tend to be the ones I get wrong. I'm thinking it may not be worth thoroughly analyzing those questions since they are unlike the ones I will see when I take full PTs and take the actual lsat (I don't mean all early LR Qs, just some).

Basically my question boils down to this: did you notice that some LR in earlier PTs (I'm talking PTs 2-15) were significantly different than more recent PTs? Or am I crazy?

Assuming you mean aside from the joint-stimulus questions or the dated references (i.e. "electronic mail" or defining what the internet is lol)

It's been so long since I've worked with the early PTs, could you give an example of something that's tripped you up? It is possible that the style's changed--LSAC's essentially had two decades since the early PTs to refine their questions. Or, it could also be that your fundamentals aren't quite there, so when you come across a question that seems odd you get stuck. I'm intrigued though!

[TAD]

September taker with a question for you study pros:

I'm drilling LR using the cambridge packets (so old PTs) and some of the questions just seem so odd (don't seem like more recent LR questions), and they tend to be the ones I get wrong. I'm thinking it may not be worth thoroughly analyzing those questions since they are unlike the ones I will see when I take full PTs and take the actual lsat (I don't mean all early LR Qs, just some).

Basically my question boils down to this: did you notice that some LR in earlier PTs (I'm talking PTs 2-15) were significantly different than more recent PTs? Or am I crazy?

The Cambridge packets were life saving not gonna lie. I used the power score logic reasoning bible. Read a section on for example strengthening questions, then I just did the whole packet on strengthening questions. Did that with all the question types. Now I'm doing the packet of 400 questions of most difficult logic reasoning questions from pt 1-38. I started out getting 11-13/25 on lr now I'm surprised when I get less that 23/25 or 26 with me typically going only -0 or -1 on them.

Doesn't matter if they seem outdated they helped me a lot

[pretzeltime]

Why is this thread so dead

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

Yeaahh I just took the first LR in 70 and questions 2 and 4 completely confounded me for some reason. Tough section. It was at the end of 5 sections so I was also fatigued butttt tough regardless.

[appind]

What do you guys munch on for breakfast? I'm in a routine now where every day I'll have the same thing: two scrambled eggs, a handful of almonds, a bowl of instant oatmeal, a banana, and, of course, water. Seems like a good mix of short-term and long-term energy that sits well in my stomach. Hopefully when I go through my breakfast routine on test day my body is fooled into thinking that nothing unusual is going on.

if i take the test during AM hours, 3 eggs omelette, 2 slices of toast with butter, a cup of OJ

for afternoon test, 1-2 eggs in the morning with toast and OJ, a half sandwich around noon.

june test starts late so you probably would want something more than just early breakfast

that's a good ass breakfast

I think so though i do the omelette p quick and it could be made better.

do others here make their own breakfast or pre-purchase?

[MAPP]

September taker with a question for you study pros:

I'm drilling LR using the cambridge packets (so old PTs) and some of the questions just seem so odd (don't seem like more recent LR questions), and they tend to be the ones I get wrong. I'm thinking it may not be worth thoroughly analyzing those questions since they are unlike the ones I will see when I take full PTs and take the actual lsat (I don't mean all early LR Qs, just some).

Basically my question boils down to this: did you notice that some LR in earlier PTs (I'm talking PTs 2-15) were significantly different than more recent PTs? Or am I crazy?

Assuming you mean aside from the joint-stimulus questions or the dated references (i.e. "electronic mail" or defining what the internet is lol)

It's been so long since I've worked with the early PTs, could you give an example of something that's tripped you up? It is possible that the style's changed--LSAC's essentially had two decades since the early PTs to refine their questions. Or, it could also be that your fundamentals aren't quite there, so when you come across a question that seems odd you get stuck. I'm intrigued though!

The joint-stimuluses are part of it. But take for example PT 14, S4, Q13.

[forum_user]

September taker with a question for you study pros:

I'm drilling LR using the cambridge packets (so old PTs) and some of the questions just seem so odd (don't seem like more recent LR questions), and they tend to be the ones I get wrong. I'm thinking it may not be worth thoroughly analyzing those questions since they are unlike the ones I will see when I take full PTs and take the actual lsat (I don't mean all early LR Qs, just some).

Basically my question boils down to this: did you notice that some LR in earlier PTs (I'm talking PTs 2-15) were significantly different than more recent PTs? Or am I crazy?

Assuming you mean aside from the joint-stimulus questions or the dated references (i.e. "electronic mail" or defining what the internet is lol)

It's been so long since I've worked with the early PTs, could you give an example of something that's tripped you up? It is possible that the style's changed--LSAC's essentially had two decades since the early PTs to refine their questions. Or, it could also be that your fundamentals aren't quite there, so when you come across a question that seems odd you get stuck. I'm intrigued though!

The joint-stimuluses are part of it. But take for example PT 14, S4, Q13.

I always thought the joint-stimulus questions were really great, especially when one question was strengthen and the other was weaken. Really made you think about the argument from both sides. Though I always thought those questions made the section as a whole easier/less time-consuming, because you're working with fewer total stimuli.

14.4.13 is definitely a weird question--like a hybrid role-assumption question. I think in the old days they were more willing to combine question types like that. Maybe that technique will make a comeback. To answer your question, though, I bet you don't need to worry too much about analyzing those misses if you get them wrong.

For fun though (this is a study group after all )
Argument is that addiction does not require both dependence and abuse; evidence is that morphine users are dependent without abusing, and other abusers aren't dependent on their substances. The assumption of both of these pieces of evidence--which links them to the conclusion that dependence and abuse are not both required for addiction--is that the users/abusers are both addicted. And there's your answer.

[Mikey]

Are any of you guys going to be using an LSAT wristwatch on test day? I'm thinking of getting the Perfect score watch, but I feel like I would look at it every 5 mins and be distracted.

[appind]

Did PT 70 last night, for some reason went -8 on LR combined which is something I haven't done since before the Dec 15 test haha. I typically screw up lots after work though, which I'm guessing is the case here--I was pretty wiped and went autopilot on LR which were the first and last sections. On the upside I missed 1 on RC and 0 on LG so I still ended up with a 172

Does anyone else who works/has lots of activities during the day experience a significant increase in dumb errors/reasoning after having worked all day?

nice score! i usually try to take PT before any other work to make it representative of the actual test day. it isn't surprising that one would do more mistakes after work due to fatigue. i think there are a few tricky ones in 70 LR. did you take dec test? score?

also,

Why is this thread so dead

Thanks! Yeah about a month ago I started doing 2 PTs per week and decided I'd get more out of doing mid-week/Saturday rather than Saturday/Sunday. On the plus side, it gives me the slightest bit of confidence that, even after a full day of work, I can still pull the 170s.

I got a 171 in December--retaking for a mid- to upper-170s score. Didn't you take in December as well? I feel like I remember you from the study/waiters thread, which was much livelier than this current one...

Took the Dec test and the 3rd lg along with rc did me in. how did you get to such rc? section wise scores in dec? I feel like RC better or equal to -4 is crucial for a strong 170s score.

[ponderingmeerkat]

OK, PT 68 in the bag.

Nothing special here. Final score 169. But I did BR to 179 which made me happy.

Section breakdown: -4/-5 LR (curb stomp me American History X style), -1 RC (that's what's up), -3 LG (kicking myself for missing Q1 of the section on a stupid oversight...would've been a 170 without that embarrassing fuck up).

169 seems to be a theme of late.

[pretzeltime]

Are any of you guys going to be using an LSAT wristwatch on test day? I'm thinking of getting the Perfect score watch, but I feel like I would look at it every 5 mins and be distracted.

I got the 180 watch, but only because I don't have an analog watch and don't know anyone who has one. So millennial of me.

It's pretty snazzy, probably overly so, but whatever. It's nice that it resets itself automatically to 35 and counts exactly down to the second.

[forum_user]

Took the Dec test and the 3rd lg along with rc did me in. how did you get to such rc? section wise scores in dec? I feel like RC better or equal to -4 is crucial for a strong 170s score.

I have absolutely no recollection of RC from Dec, but I went -4 on it; -3/-0 on LR and -3 on LG (I think that's right?). Game 3 threw me off, but I actually only missed one on it--I just took so much time doing it that I had to guess on the last two questions of game 4. And yeah, I think the surest way to be solidly above 170 is to be near-perfect on LG and every other section needs to be -3 or better.
I don't have much of an approach to RC, but this most recent time around I didn't do any markup, I just took my time with the passages. Oh, I also saved the passage with fewest questions for last. Even coming out of it I didn't feel great about it, but I answered every question comfortably, without having to rush which I think is the biggest key to RC.

[abcdefg1234567]

Gotta improve on RC so here's my plan--> After my last final I'm literally going to go in my room, stay in there for days and don't come out, drill RC until my eyes bleed, 180 on June 6th.

Sounds like a plan.

I think RC is something you need to have a "feel" for. LR and especially LG are much more mechanical, but RC requires an appreciation of subtlety (and an excellent short-term memory). I bet if you immerse yourself in it you'll start to see what they're doing.

I think it'd be most helpful for you to drill newer RC because it got appreciably harder after the mid-50s. Just my opinion based on my own scores. Plus newer=most relevant.

Yeah, I trust your advice. My only concern is that I'll be using up RC sections from the newer PTs when I should be using them for a full PT, no?. I'm pretty good at comparative reading, but the regular passages is what gets me which is why I was thinking of going back into maybe the 40's and drilling regular passages. But I guess so close to game day, that might not be the best thing to do huh?

What's the most recent PT you've taken? I don't think you'll get more than 7 or maybe 8 in before game day, so if you're only up to, say, the early 60s you can drill some sections from the mid 60s and save the late 60s and 70s for fresh takes. Drilling from the 40s is still a good thing to do and won't hurt, but, while I can't put my finger on how, I do think that RC has gotten a bit more challenging on modern tests. So those will give you maximum returns.

Yeah I'm up to PT 64 I believe. I feel like I'm behind compared to you guys haha. I'll take your advice and drill I guess PT 64,65, and 66 RC? Does this sound good? I think I will also go back to like 60,61,62 and 63 RC sections since I did ehh on them and want to redo them as well. I don't think I'll really remember RC stuff that I've done before, usually I always remember LR stuff if I redo a question but not RC.

This weekend I went back and re-did RCpassages from 62-64 SLOWLY and with purpose. Making sure I understood th eroles of each bit of info within a paragraph before moving on. Today I did PT69 with the same strategy but since I had practiced slowly at first, it felt much easier to do it under timed conditions. That said, I only missed two questions total and from the hardest passage compared to my avaerage -8.

Didn't waste fresh PTs, and certainly seemed to help. I'd recommend giving it a shot.

[proteinshake]

Are any of you guys going to be using an LSAT wristwatch on test day? I'm thinking of getting the Perfect score watch, but I feel like I would look at it every 5 mins and be distracted.

I got the 180 watch, but only because I don't have an analog watch and don't know anyone who has one. So millennial of me.

It's pretty snazzy, probably overly so, but whatever. It's nice that it resets itself automatically to 35 and counts exactly down to the second.

did you buy it off their website? if so, when? I want one but wasn't sure if I could still buy them off their site.

[Mikey]

Gotta improve on RC so here's my plan--> After my last final I'm literally going to go in my room, stay in there for days and don't come out, drill RC until my eyes bleed, 180 on June 6th.

Sounds like a plan.

I think RC is something you need to have a "feel" for. LR and especially LG are much more mechanical, but RC requires an appreciation of subtlety (and an excellent short-term memory). I bet if you immerse yourself in it you'll start to see what they're doing.

I think it'd be most helpful for you to drill newer RC because it got appreciably harder after the mid-50s. Just my opinion based on my own scores. Plus newer=most relevant.

Yeah, I trust your advice. My only concern is that I'll be using up RC sections from the newer PTs when I should be using them for a full PT, no?. I'm pretty good at comparative reading, but the regular passages is what gets me which is why I was thinking of going back into maybe the 40's and drilling regular passages. But I guess so close to game day, that might not be the best thing to do huh?

What's the most recent PT you've taken? I don't think you'll get more than 7 or maybe 8 in before game day, so if you're only up to, say, the early 60s you can drill some sections from the mid 60s and save the late 60s and 70s for fresh takes. Drilling from the 40s is still a good thing to do and won't hurt, but, while I can't put my finger on how, I do think that RC has gotten a bit more challenging on modern tests. So those will give you maximum returns.

Yeah I'm up to PT 64 I believe. I feel like I'm behind compared to you guys haha. I'll take your advice and drill I guess PT 64,65, and 66 RC? Does this sound good? I think I will also go back to like 60,61,62 and 63 RC sections since I did ehh on them and want to redo them as well. I don't think I'll really remember RC stuff that I've done before, usually I always remember LR stuff if I redo a question but not RC.

This weekend I went back and re-did RCpassages from 62-64 SLOWLY and with purpose. Making sure I understood th eroles of each bit of info within a paragraph before moving on. Today I did PT69 with the same strategy but since I had practiced slowly at first, it felt much easier to do it under timed conditions. That said, I only missed two questions total and from the hardest passage compared to my avaerage -8.

Didn't waste fresh PTs, and certainly seemed to help. I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Thanks! I'm planning on redoing PT 60's RC section later on tonight.

[abcdefg1234567]

Are any of you guys going to be using an LSAT wristwatch on test day? I'm thinking of getting the Perfect score watch, but I feel like I would look at it every 5 mins and be distracted.

I got the 180 watch, but only because I don't have an analog watch and don't know anyone who has one. So millennial of me.

It's pretty snazzy, probably overly so, but whatever. It's nice that it resets itself automatically to 35 and counts exactly down to the second.

did you buy it off their website? if so, when? I want one but wasn't sure if I could still buy them off their site.

Just ordered this! Came to 75 bucks with expedited shipping. I'll let ya'll know how when I get it and how I like it.

[StopLawying]

Are any of you guys going to be using an LSAT wristwatch on test day? I'm thinking of getting the Perfect score watch, but I feel like I would look at it every 5 mins and be distracted.

I got the 180 watch, but only because I don't have an analog watch and don't know anyone who has one. So millennial of me.

It's pretty snazzy, probably overly so, but whatever. It's nice that it resets itself automatically to 35 and counts exactly down to the second.

did you buy it off their website? if so, when? I want one but wasn't sure if I could still buy them off their site.

Just ordered this! Came to 75 bucks with expedited shipping. I'll let ya'll know how when I get it and how I like it.

The 180 watch is worth every penny, just no need to pay for expedited shipping as the watch only takes 2-3 days to arrive.