On Track for the June 2010 LSAT -- Refractory Period Forum

[Knock]

Took PT #28 today. The first LR section was really difficult, I had about 6 that I was uncertain about as time ran out so I left blank, and I went back and spent another few minutes trying to get them 100% correct. I ended up missing 2 out of those 6, so not too bad, but still should've done better considering I missed it due to not fully understanding a concept rather than time.

LG I had done once about 2 months ago , so that too also affects my score and doesn't make it the most valid indicator of my current skills. But I believe I had done most if not all the LG from the last 10 PT's I took well in advance of when I took them, and still managed to get a -9 in there, so i'm somewhat satisfied with a -2, although i'd obviously like to get this down and keep it at -0, so i'm going to have to do some practicing of LG. I also feel like my stamina has improved a little bit, feeling a little less tired as I finished up 4 than usual. Also did LG, 2nd LR, and RC with at least a few minutes to spare, so that felt good as well. Also feel like i'm slowly getting better at resisting noise and distractions, because there was definitely a girl crying near me in the library while I was taking this test, but it wasn't too bad. Actually, on second thought, maybe it was because I took it in the library and it is overall a bit less noisy than at home (if my rommate is home, and for some reason he always gets in when i'm halfway through a PT ). Not sure though, there was a loud air conditionar that every 10 or 15 minutes sounded like a chainsaw for half a minute or so. I guess i'll have to give this one a push for now. But I did like taking this PT in the library over home. For some reason I believe I went faster with the change of scenery, and also I feel like overall there were less distractions and noise.

Anyways, summary:
28 -- 04/09/10 ----- -3 LR -2 LG -2 LR -0 RC ------ 94/175 ---- untimed on 1st LR section, all else timed, 4 sections

New averages:
LR: -6.8 (-.2)
LG: -3.6 (-.18)
RC: -2.2 (-.22)

[7ED]

if ur hitting 170+ on 4 section tests, u should be doing timed 5 section ones.

[hemm]

PT29: 98/179. -2 LR, -1 LG, -0 RC

Redid a ton of old logic games over the weekend and I actually finished the section in time! The games felt a lot better. If I hadn't second-guessed myself on one LR question I would've hit 180. Kind of annoying. I also worry that this game section was a fluke, so I'm going to continue to redo 3-4 games on my non-PT days.

[Knock]

Took SuperPrep A today. Got my best two individual LR sections, and got them in one test! -0 LR on first and -1 on the second. Went -2 on RC, which was a little disappointing, but okay. -1 on LG, I ended up going about 5 minutes over time, definitely need to work on improving the speed of my LG.

Summary:
SpA- 04/12/10 ----- -0 LR -2 RC -1 LG -1 LR ------ 97/177 ---- SuperPrep A, untimed LG, 4 sections

[Knock]

Took SuperPrep B today, and WOW, these games were difficult/time consuming! I had to go probably 10 minutes over to finish them. A little discouraging overall. Also, weird LR today, going -5 on the 1st LR and -0 on the 2nd LR. Probably because I wasn't warmed up, I suppose. And -3 on the RC was a little disappointing too, I definitely could've done better. I REALLY need to get on improving the speed/accuracy of my LG though, it's holding me back!

Summary:
SpB- 04/13/10 ----- -5 LR -3 LG -3 RC -0 LR ------ 90/173 ---- SuperPrep B, untimed LG, 4 sections

Edit: So far, in reviewing SuperPrep A, I discovered that 1 of my two RC misses was due to a misbubble . If I had correctly bubbled I would've had 98/178, but i'm going to keep my score as it previously was. And my one LG mistake (in an untimed context keep in mind) was due to misreading that particular question stem . Jeez! I need to get rid of these sloppy mistakes! I could've conceivably rocked a 99/179 if I didn't have two pretty egregious sloppy mistakes. Hopefully I can eliminate these mistakes and not miss more points that I absolutely have to.

[hemm]

Took SuperPrep B today, and WOW, these games were difficult/time consuming! I had to go probably 10 minutes over to finish them. A little discouraging overall. Also, weird LR today, going -5 on the 1st LR and -0 on the 2nd LR. Probably because I wasn't warmed up, I suppose. And -3 on the RC was a little disappointing too, I definitely could've done better. I REALLY need to get on improving the speed/accuracy of my LG though, it's holding me back!

Summary:
SpB- 04/13/10 ----- -5 LR -3 LG -3 RC -0 LR ------ 90/173 ---- SuperPrep B, untimed LG, 4 sections

Edit: So far, in reviewing SuperPrep A, I discovered that 1 of my two RC misses was due to a misbubble . If I had correctly bubbled I would've had 98/178, but i'm going to keep my score as it previously was. And my one LG mistake (in an untimed context keep in mind) was due to misreading that particular question stem . Jeez! I need to get rid of these sloppy mistakes! I could've conceivably rocked a 99/179 if I didn't have two pretty egregious sloppy mistakes. Hopefully I can eliminate these mistakes and not miss more points that I absolutely have to.

Yeah those games were brutal. I took it strictly timed and had to guess on like the last three questions. Dinged me to a 173 as well.

Are your sloppy mistakes due to time constraints, or just misreading? I improved in the "sloppy mistake" area just by slowing down - I usually finish with about 10-12 minutes left per section on RC and LR, but the last test I took, I slowed and relaxed a bit. Finished with only 5 minutes to spare, but scored higher. And I'm sure you'll get better with practice at filling in that cramped, annoying answer sheet.

[lsatntr]

Are your sloppy mistakes due to time constraints, or just misreading? I improved in the "sloppy mistake" area just by slowing down - I usually finish with about 10-12 minutes left per section on RC and LR, but the last test I took, I slowed and relaxed a bit. Finished with only 5 minutes to spare, but scored higher. And I'm sure you'll get better with practice at filling in that cramped, annoying answer sheet.

I hate you, Hemm!

Hahaha. I wish I had your RC skills. That's the only real trouble spot for me now. I'm wildly inconsistent (got a -3 on SP A and a -9 on SP C) and I'm always running out of time.

What's your secret???



Enjoy HYS!

[Knock]

So I finished SuperPrep C today, and I would probably say that this had the hardest LG section of any SP PT, or any PT that i've done so far. Had to do it untimed, still only scored -5. If I had to do it timed, I wouldn't have gotten to the last game, and would've had somewhere around a -11. I'm hoping that these were just abnormally difficult LG sections, and that when I get to normal ones, I can do better. I also feel like I've gotten a good handle on LR and RC lately, although I hope that it isn't because the LR/RC on the 3 SuperPrep tests was easy. I guess we will see when I take whatever PT I take tomorrow. 39? If I have it. If not the earliest PT I have in the 39-42 range, had difficulty finding these, so I couldn't get them all.

Summary:
SpC- 04/14/10 ----- -5 LG -2 LR -1 LR -1 RC ------ 92/174 ---- SuperPrep C, untimed LG, 4 sections

[hemm]

So I finished SuperPrep C today, and I would probably say that this had the hardest LG section of any SP PT, or any PT that i've done so far. Had to do it untimed, still only scored -5. If I had to do it timed, I wouldn't have gotten to the last game, and would've had somewhere around a -11. I'm hoping that these were just abnormally difficult LG sections, and that when I get to normal ones, I can do better. I also feel like I've gotten a good handle on LR and RC lately, although I hope that it isn't because the LR/RC on the 3 SuperPrep tests was easy. I guess we will see when I take whatever PT I take tomorrow. 39? If I have it. If not the earliest PT I have in the 39-42 range, had difficulty finding these, so I couldn't get them all.

Summary:
SpC- 04/14/10 ----- -5 LG -2 LR -1 LR -1 RC ------ 92/174 ---- SuperPrep C, untimed LG, 4 sections

They were definitely harder for me than most LGs too. Just think of them as really good prep for the other games.

[Knock]

So I finished SuperPrep C today, and I would probably say that this had the hardest LG section of any SP PT, or any PT that i've done so far. Had to do it untimed, still only scored -5. If I had to do it timed, I wouldn't have gotten to the last game, and would've had somewhere around a -11. I'm hoping that these were just abnormally difficult LG sections, and that when I get to normal ones, I can do better. I also feel like I've gotten a good handle on LR and RC lately, although I hope that it isn't because the LR/RC on the 3 SuperPrep tests was easy. I guess we will see when I take whatever PT I take tomorrow. 39? If I have it. If not the earliest PT I have in the 39-42 range, had difficulty finding these, so I couldn't get them all.

Summary:
SpC- 04/14/10 ----- -5 LG -2 LR -1 LR -1 RC ------ 92/174 ---- SuperPrep C, untimed LG, 4 sections

They were definitely harder for me than most LGs too. Just think of them as really good prep for the other games.

Haha, I will try

How's your prep going?

[hemm]

How's your prep going?

Pretty well so far, but I take another test tonight (PT30), so we'll see how I feel after that!

[Knock]

How's your prep going?

Pretty well so far, but I take another test tonight (PT30), so we'll see how I feel after that!

Make sure to post your results!

[lebob]

hey,
so, i'm prepping for june too - i was wondering,
what are the superprep A/B/C exams?

are they real tests? imitations?

anyhow, it sure looks like you're studying hard, best of luck man

[Knock]

hey,
so, i'm prepping for june too - i was wondering,
what are the superprep A/B/C exams?

are they real tests? imitations?

anyhow, it sure looks like you're studying hard, best of luck man

Thanks man, I like to think i'm studying hard, but I always think that I could be doing more.

The SuperPrep book are prep tests that weren't ever administered (I believe), and were written by LSAC (the company that creates the LSAT tests, at least during this time period; they might hire another company to make them now, i'm not sure). The trick about the SuperPrep tests is that they contain full explanations of every answer choice, and a difficulty level of every question. They are good because they allow you to hear things about the questions on the LSAT directly from the people who make them (although I think they are a little bit overrated in this sense).

Edit: I was incorrect according to the post below me. They were administered, but they weren't published. Wow though, I truly feel for the people who had to deal with the incredibly difficult logic games sections. They definitely drew the short straw there.

[Cambridge LSAT]

what are the superprep A/B/C exams?

are they real tests? imitations?

Yes, they are real. They are the February tests from 1996, 1999, and 2000.

[hemm]

hey,
so, i'm prepping for june too - i was wondering,
what are the superprep A/B/C exams?

are they real tests? imitations?

anyhow, it sure looks like you're studying hard, best of luck man

Thanks man, I like to think i'm studying hard, but I always think that I could be doing more.

The SuperPrep book are prep tests that weren't ever administered (I believe), and were written by LSAC (the company that creates the LSAT tests, at least during this time period; they might hire another company to make them now, i'm not sure). The trick about the SuperPrep tests is that they contain full explanations of every answer choice, and a difficulty level of every question. They are good because they allow you to hear things about the questions on the LSAT directly from the people who make them (although I think they are a little bit overrated in this sense).

Edit: I was incorrect according to the post below me. They were administered, but they weren't published. Wow though, I truly feel for the people who had to deal with the incredibly difficult logic games sections. They definitely drew the short straw there.

You're right about the explanations - they're not nearly as helpful as the PS Bibles, and I found myself getting a little frustrated with the near-tautologies involved. An explanation would be something like, "A. cannot be true because it's not true" - hah, maybe not to that extent, but close!

[hemm]

Tonight:

PT30: 96 / 178. -1 LG, -3 LR, -1 RC

I was nervous about this one because I finished LG in about 30 min., and I just kept thinking I'd missed something, but it turned out okay. It annoys me that I second-guessed myself on one LR Q that I missed, and it annoys me more that I just carelessly misread an answer choice in RC. The LR on this PT seemed more difficult that most sections I've taken, especially the Superpreps.

[Knock]

Tonight:

PT30: 96 / 178. -1 LG, -3 LR, -1 RC

I was nervous about this one because I finished LG in about 30 min., and I just kept thinking I'd missed something, but it turned out okay. It annoys me that I second-guessed myself on one LR Q that I missed, and it annoys me more that I just carelessly misread an answer choice in RC. The LR on this PT seemed more difficult that most sections I've taken, especially the Superpreps.

Wow very nice. I am envious of your LG skill! Good job man We are both doing so well already, I know that we can both produce a top score!

I took PT 40 today, fully timed. Went -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC for 95 raw 174 scaled. Pretty happy with this score, as it is my highest so far under fully timed conditions. If I had missed 1 less question, I would have gotten a 176 too! Definitely need to focus on improving my LG speed, since I barely finished, and cleaning up these last couple of misses in each section. It's been a goal for a while for me to get all sections to -2 misses or less. Now I just need to clean up these last few misses.

Summary:
40 -- 04/15/10 ----- -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC ------ 95/174 ---- 4 sections, fully timed

New averages:
LR: -5.71 (-.21)
LG: -3.29 (-.17)
RC: -2.14 (-.01)

[hellokitty]

Wow, I must say you are very detailed. It looks like you're doing an awesome job and I'm pretty sure that by June you'll have kick ass score. I was considering doing this to motivate myself, but my numbers aren't quite as high as yours are. But who knows, maybe the ridicule will motivate me. Good luck, I'll be watching your thread!

[Knock]

Wow, I must say you are very detailed. It looks like you're doing an awesome job and I'm pretty sure that by June you'll have kick ass score. I was considering doing this to motivate myself, but my numbers aren't quite as high as yours are. But who knows, maybe the ridicule will motivate me. Good luck, I'll be watching your thread!

Haha thank you ! I hope you're right

I would definitely recommend keeping this prep thread. It has definitely motivated me. I wouldn't worry about getting ridiculed either. If anything, i've gotten a lot of support from other people prepping as well, and it's been nice to have that encouragement, and a place to comiserate.

Good luck to you too!

[hemm]

Tonight:

PT30: 96 / 178. -1 LG, -3 LR, -1 RC

I was nervous about this one because I finished LG in about 30 min., and I just kept thinking I'd missed something, but it turned out okay. It annoys me that I second-guessed myself on one LR Q that I missed, and it annoys me more that I just carelessly misread an answer choice in RC. The LR on this PT seemed more difficult that most sections I've taken, especially the Superpreps.

Wow very nice. I am envious of your LG skill! Good job man We are both doing so well already, I know that we can both produce a top score!

I took PT 40 today, fully timed. Went -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC for 95 raw 174 scaled. Pretty happy with this score, as it is my highest so far under fully timed conditions. If I had missed 1 less question, I would have gotten a 176 too! Definitely need to focus on improving my LG speed, since I barely finished, and cleaning up these last couple of misses in each section. It's been a goal for a while for me to get all sections to -2 misses or less. Now I just need to clean up these last few misses.

Summary:
40 -- 04/15/10 ----- -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC ------ 95/174 ---- 4 sections, fully timed

New averages:
LR: -5.71 (-.21)
LG: -3.29 (-.17)
RC: -2.14 (-.01)

Nice work! Was this your first fully timed test? You're going to do great on the real LSAT.

It kills me to go through checking my answers and see stupid questions that I missed...I start thinking to myself, if I had just gotten one more point! I'm not sure what to do about them other than simply taking more tests.

How do you track your scores? Excel?

[Knock]

Tonight:

PT30: 96 / 178. -1 LG, -3 LR, -1 RC

I was nervous about this one because I finished LG in about 30 min., and I just kept thinking I'd missed something, but it turned out okay. It annoys me that I second-guessed myself on one LR Q that I missed, and it annoys me more that I just carelessly misread an answer choice in RC. The LR on this PT seemed more difficult that most sections I've taken, especially the Superpreps.

Wow very nice. I am envious of your LG skill! Good job man We are both doing so well already, I know that we can both produce a top score!

I took PT 40 today, fully timed. Went -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC for 95 raw 174 scaled. Pretty happy with this score, as it is my highest so far under fully timed conditions. If I had missed 1 less question, I would have gotten a 176 too! Definitely need to focus on improving my LG speed, since I barely finished, and cleaning up these last couple of misses in each section. It's been a goal for a while for me to get all sections to -2 misses or less. Now I just need to clean up these last few misses.

Summary:
40 -- 04/15/10 ----- -2 LR -1 LG -1 LR -2 RC ------ 95/174 ---- 4 sections, fully timed

New averages:
LR: -5.71 (-.21)
LG: -3.29 (-.17)
RC: -2.14 (-.01)

Nice work! Was this your first fully timed test? You're going to do great on the real LSAT.

It kills me to go through checking my answers and see stupid questions that I missed...I start thinking to myself, if I had just gotten one more point! I'm not sure what to do about them other than simply taking more tests.

How do you track your scores? Excel?

Nah, my first 9 PT's roughly I took strictly timed. The last 5 PT's before I took today, I did it strictly timed on 3/4 sections, and then untimed on the section I couldn't finish in time. By untimed, I mean that I just kept going until I finished, and 4/5 of the sections where I ran over the 35 minutes, it was on the LG section (3 of those being the very difficult SuperPrep LG sections). Generally, on LR and RC, timing isn't a big issue, but on LG I am always pressed up against the time limit. My PT today though (40), I was able to finish all the questions in all the sections in under 35 minutes.

I feel the same way, there are always a couple that I really shouldn't have missed, along with the ones that I genuinely got hung up on. Even those I still feel like I should have gotten them right though.

Yeah, I track my scores and trends on an Excel Spreadsheet. I've found that this has been extremely helpful.

Thanks for the encouragement

[hemm]

Nah, my first 9 PT's roughly I took strictly timed. The last 5 PT's before I took today, I did it strictly timed on 3/4 sections, and then untimed on the section I couldn't finish in time. By untimed, I mean that I just kept going until I finished, and 4/5 of the sections where I ran over the 35 minutes, it was on the LG section (3 of those being the very difficult SuperPrep LG sections). Generally, on LR and RC, timing isn't a big issue, but on LG I am always pressed up against the time limit. My PT today though (40), I was able to finish all the questions in all the sections in under 35 minutes.

I feel the same way, there are always a couple that I really shouldn't have missed, along with the ones that I genuinely got hung up on. Even those I still feel like I should have gotten them right though.

Yeah, I track my scores and trends on an Excel Spreadsheet. I've found that this has been extremely helpful.

Thanks for the encouragement

I think I'll start an Excel spreadsheet too. LSAT Blog has a nice one that helps you track the question types you miss on LR.

What's your study schedule like from here on out? I'm taking 2 PTs a week until mid-May, when I switch to 3 PTs a week. Hoping to finish up through PT59 before test day. My situation's a little different - I'm in Asia and the test is administered here on June 27th, so I have an extra three weeks of prep.

Awesome thread man. Keeps me honest!

[Knock]

Took PT 43 today, had a pretty good score, but I'm a little disappointed in missing 4 LR questions, although I feel like this was a fairly difficult LR section. Anyways, feel like i'm really starting to get a strong grasp of concepts, and am improving.

Summary:
43 -- 04/17/10 ----- -1 RC -2 LR -2 LR -0 LG ------ 96/177 ---- 4 sections, fully timed

[honestabe84]

Just wait until all of you get to the more recent tests. You'll be amazed by how easy the game and how hard RC is.