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

[mwells56]

That moment when you realize you're going to have to miss a day of tailgating and football in Ann Arbor because of the LSAT

Life is hard - luckily the KSU (Manhattan, KS) game that day already announced to be a 6pm one so hopefully I can make it back in town by 3pm and have a decent amount of quality football time. I'm taking the test at KU, so hopefully I don't get too much ridicule - they don't have a game that day so everyone won't be all school spirit-y at least. Like they get excited for football anyway.

Yeah I'm hoping that they announce it as a night game but it probably won't be. We're playing Penn State that week and they're not exactly in the national spotlight right now. Only hope is that it's our opening conference game so maybe they can forge some fake hype? I'd be ok with missing but I also do club sports and I might have to miss three more football games as well. My ticket points are screwed after two years of perfect attendance

Oh damn; maybe you'll get lucky and it'll be put on the Big 10 network or something so you won't be pushed up - We're playing like Missouri State or some nobody school so we get the benefit of putting the game at whatever time we want.

Yeah, maybe I'll get lucky. Last year the only game that even went until it was dark out was the Michigan State game, and.... well I don't want to talk about that.

The potential benefit to this is on the off chance the game is at night I'll get to celebrate finishing the LSAT by getting piss drunk at a tailgate. On a related note, anybody who's considering going to Michigan for law school... Ann Arbor on a game day is un-fucking-believable.

[34iplaw]

Just starting Testmasters HW on Type 7 - MP / MC questions. I should probably go to sleep though, but 20/20 and answering these pretty quickly. These all seem pretty standard and repetitive in the patterns they follow. Expecting to do 50/50 on these, and I think these are pretty importantly to consistently get right and quick, as it's the building block for other question types.

I'm really liking this, as it's the first time I'm really being forced to pay attention to what they are actually asking on the LSAT...which is important. It makes me kind of surprised that I scored relatively well on LR with no awareness of what they were really asking for.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are MP/MC questions? I'm racking my brain to think what those could stand for and it's just not coming.
Paying attention / having awareness is definitely important, and something I really need to work on as well.

Legit impressed with your intense LR drilling - this is for your class, right? I do ten by type questions and I want to kill myself. Definitely need to change that attitude if I'm going to see the progress I need on LR.

Main Point / Main Conclusion. They call them type 7.

The author's main conclusion/point is... type stuff

and, it threw me off when I first saw it,

Which of the following best completes the author's argument... type stuff... usually a blank at end and these usually seem to be like similes/metaphors.

I'm not sure if this is totally drilling, as it's making sure I'm going for 100% accuracy but I do typically solve these while reading quite quickly. Occasionally, I get a little tripped up when they do some kind of conditional thing as it makes me think the question should be hard or something. I'm not sure how to best explain that...it's like I feel like they are trying to set you up for a trick... whereas the answers to these still seem pretty straightforward and similar strategies work.

There's quite a bit of homework for me, and I have quite a bit of a drive tomorrow... class would, in theory, be on Saturday but I can't go this weekend. I still want to try and keep with the schedule best I can. The homeworks are definitely quite full at times.

[Deardevil]

also the Trainer is 600 very dense pages. the RC chapters probably make up about 100 of those pages (its the least talked about section in the book (for obvious reasons)).

I guess that's fine. I'll probably get BP just to balance things out.

[pretzeltime]

Depends on what you're looking for. First off.......I recommend getting the Trainer regardless. But with respect to RC,

His approach is more intuitive and less about categorizing every little thing to death. So in RC, he says he doesn't personally annotate and therefore he's not going to advocate for that.

The test prep companies generally (not sure about BP) tend to create these elaborate notation systems for RC. Some people may find that helpful, others not. I don't know how helpful I found the Trainer's RC stuff, but then again RC was my best 'natural' section and therefore I did not do much work from any source on it. Compared to LG/LR that is.

IIRC the Trainer's exploration of various RC question types and approaches was somewhat helpful. Very similar to his approach to broad themes of LR questions.

Ah. Maybe I'll adjust, like with LG, if I don't find certain methods to click. Thanks!

also the Trainer is 600 very dense pages. the RC chapters probably make up about 100 of those pages (its the least talked about section in the book (for obvious reasons)).

Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

[proteinshake]

Depends on what you're looking for. First off.......I recommend getting the Trainer regardless. But with respect to RC,

His approach is more intuitive and less about categorizing every little thing to death. So in RC, he says he doesn't personally annotate and therefore he's not going to advocate for that.

The test prep companies generally (not sure about BP) tend to create these elaborate notation systems for RC. Some people may find that helpful, others not. I don't know how helpful I found the Trainer's RC stuff, but then again RC was my best 'natural' section and therefore I did not do much work from any source on it. Compared to LG/LR that is.

IIRC the Trainer's exploration of various RC question types and approaches was somewhat helpful. Very similar to his approach to broad themes of LR questions.

Ah. Maybe I'll adjust, like with LG, if I don't find certain methods to click. Thanks!

also the Trainer is 600 very dense pages. the RC chapters probably make up about 100 of those pages (its the least talked about section in the book (for obvious reasons)).

Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

yeah I reread the Trainer this summer and it was great. I got my RC down from -6-8 to just having scored -3 on a tough RC section yesterday. so I guess it is definitely a good option for RC lolz. I have a copy of the BP RC as well (got it for free) but it uses recent RC passages (from PTs 50+) so I don't really wanna use it if I don't have to.

[Mikey]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[proteinshake]

.

[pretzeltime]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[Mikey]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[+] Spoiler

So I'm curious, do you know (or anyone else that knows this info) what is going to happen when LSAC decides what they're going to do with your score/complaint? If they give you the option to cancel and get a free retake, will they tell you your score before you make the decision to cancel?

[20170322]

I realized that RC sections really tire me out, so now I'm doing RC prep the same way I do LG prep. Packs of 4, 35 minutes max, over and over until I can learn this section.

[pretzeltime]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[+] Spoiler

So I'm curious, do you know (or anyone else that knows this info) what is going to happen when LSAC decides what they're going to do with your score/complaint? If they give you the option to cancel and get a free retake, will they tell you your score before you make the decision to cancel?

Well, there's scant information out there. It appears that IF they offer the option to cancel and retake, you have to decide on that before seeing your score.

Actually I think for sure I am stilled allowed to cancel, but I'm not going to.

The only other thing they can do as far as I've read is just make a note on the record that test circumstances were shady.

IMO they should let you see your score and then choose to cancel, but hey, it's LSAC. they do what they want.

[Mikey]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[+] Spoiler

So I'm curious, do you know (or anyone else that knows this info) what is going to happen when LSAC decides what they're going to do with your score/complaint? If they give you the option to cancel and get a free retake, will they tell you your score before you make the decision to cancel?

Well, there's scant information out there. It appears that IF they offer the option to cancel and retake, you have to decide on that before seeing your score.

Actually I think for sure I am stilled allowed to cancel, but I'm not going to.

The only other thing they can do as far as I've read is just make a note on the record that test circumstances were shady.

IMO they should let you see your score and then choose to cancel, but hey, it's LSAC. they do what they want.

Hmmm. I don't think there will be any harm in having an LSAT score that shows a clear indication of shady testing conditions, instead of cancelling. Because if you get a good score, essentially it probably won't even matter that testing conditions sucked (to you, Jeeves, others), I'm assuming?

[pretzeltime]

No
Yep. Trainer was a total game changer for me after doing a PS class and taking in Dec. I had taken 20+ PTs and never broke 170, did poorly on the real Dec test.

Took some time off, read the Trainer. It reset my perspective and its simpler approach helped me. First PT after re-studying was 176 or something like that.

#teamtrainer

No, #teampretzel

[+] Spoiler

So I'm curious, do you know (or anyone else that knows this info) what is going to happen when LSAC decides what they're going to do with your score/complaint? If they give you the option to cancel and get a free retake, will they tell you your score before you make the decision to cancel?

Well, there's scant information out there. It appears that IF they offer the option to cancel and retake, you have to decide on that before seeing your score.

Actually I think for sure I am stilled allowed to cancel, but I'm not going to.

The only other thing they can do as far as I've read is just make a note on the record that test circumstances were shady.

IMO they should let you see your score and then choose to cancel, but hey, it's LSAC. they do what they want.

Hmmm. I don't think there will be any harm in having an LSAT score that shows a clear indication of shady testing conditions, instead of cancelling. Because if you get a good score, essentially it probably won't even matter that testing conditions sucked (to you, Jeeves, others), I'm assuming?

Yeah, I think you're right. It's a biiiit unfortunate because this was my second take but ideally schools wouldn't look badly upon whatever score I got if LSAC notes that there were problems.

I mean, who knows what they have been deliberating about for this long? Maybe they will give us absolutely nothing! That's always a fun option.

[Mikey]

Yeah, I think you're right. It's a biiiit unfortunate because this was my second take but ideally schools wouldn't look badly upon whatever score I got if LSAC notes that there were problems.

I mean, who knows what they have been deliberating about for this long? Maybe they will give us absolutely nothing! That's always a fun option.

The council members really are something for making you guys wait this long. They're probably not even worried about this situation and are all together at pool side sipping on margaritas. Hold the lime.

[amta]

please advise as to new pole ideas.

[Justice4Birdperson]

Does The LSAT Trainer do a decent job explaining reading comprehension?

I figure it's time to get it, but I'm also torn between that and Blueprint RC... Maybe I'll get both.

In my opinion yes. The LSAT Trainer emphasizes reading for structure, always staying on task, and understanding why ACs are wrong. I've found the last part to be very important because as the Trainer always says the right answer may be somewhat vague but the wrong answers will always be clearly wrong. And I've noticed that it is almost always the case that at least 3 of the ACs are obviously wrong and can quickly be eliminated. And then if there are 2 ACs left it's commonly the case that one is trying to trick you into getting off task and the key is to recognize that. The LSAT Trainer teaches how to do these things.

[Deardevil]

Trainer always says the right answer may be somewhat vague but the wrong answers will always be clearly wrong. And I've noticed that it is almost always the case that at least 3 of the ACs are obviously wrong and can quickly be eliminated. And then if there are 2 ACs left it's commonly the case that one is trying to trick you into getting off task and the key is to recognize that. The LSAT Trainer teaches how to do these things.

I've definitely noticed that pattern after seeing enough questions. Increase in quality -> increase in quantity, in a sense.
Trainer will be at my doorstep by next week, though I'm still tempted to get BP... For that sick cover, if nothing else.
Thanks!

[pretzeltime]

Does The LSAT Trainer do a decent job explaining reading comprehension?

I figure it's time to get it, but I'm also torn between that and Blueprint RC... Maybe I'll get both.

In my opinion yes. The LSAT Trainer emphasizes reading for structure, always staying on task, and understanding why ACs are wrong. I've found the last part to be very important because as the Trainer always says the right answer may be somewhat vague but the wrong answers will always be clearly wrong. And I've noticed that it is almost always the case that at least 3 of the ACs are obviously wrong and can quickly be eliminated. And then if there are 2 ACs left it's commonly the case that one is trying to trick you into getting off task and the key is to recognize that. The LSAT Trainer teaches how to do these things.

Dis.

[pretzeltime]

Yeah, I think you're right. It's a biiiit unfortunate because this was my second take but ideally schools wouldn't look badly upon whatever score I got if LSAC notes that there were problems.

I mean, who knows what they have been deliberating about for this long? Maybe they will give us absolutely nothing! That's always a fun option.

The council members really are something for making you guys wait this long. They're probably not even worried about this situation and are all together at pool side sipping on margaritas. Hold the lime.

Oh yeah, they don't give a fuck. Honestly I can't even blame 'em. It's not exactly life or death

[20170322]

Just went -0 on a pack of 4 RC passages, 27 minutes.

Starting to get really excited for this test. I'm ready to take it once, then never again. I've decided that anything 173 or above I'll keep, anything below I'll retake.

[mwells56]

Just went -0 on a pack of 4 RC passages, 27 minutes.

Starting to get really excited for this test. I'm ready to take it once, then never again. I've decided that anything 173 or above I'll keep, anything below I'll retake.

Woof dude, you're killing it.

[Mikey]

Just went -0 on a pack of 4 RC passages, 27 minutes.

Starting to get really excited for this test. I'm ready to take it once, then never again. I've decided that anything 173 or above I'll keep, anything below I'll retake.

I admire/hate you. Teach me your ways senpai.

[Deardevil]

Just went -0 on a pack of 4 RC passages, 27 minutes.

Starting to get really excited for this test. I'm ready to take it once, then never again. I've decided that anything 173 or above I'll keep, anything below I'll retake.

I admire/hate you. Teach me your ways senpai.

Seriously. Going HAM.

[34iplaw]

please advise as to new pole ideas.

Most irritating LSAT words?

I'm in a love-hate relationship with only. It's an easy way to sometimes eliminate an answer, but it's also an easy thing to overlook.

How many empty bottles you plan to wake up next to on the evening of September 24th?

[proteinshake]

please advise as to new pole ideas.

Most irritating LSAT words?

I'm in a love-hate relationship with only. It's an easy way to sometimes eliminate an answer, but it's also an easy thing to overlook.

How many empty bottles you plan to wake up next to on the evening of September 24th?

realistic dream school was a poll in the December thread.