October 2012 Retakers Forum

[ruhl88]

checking in!

[thetexashammer]

Checking in as well!

[espressocream]

Quick question... is delaying full PTing a good or bad idea, considering I'm going to be drilling instead? I am already familiar with the test (obviously), so I thought tightening up the weaknesses before I begin full PT-work would probably show the most growth. Should I still do maybe ~1 per week to see if any other problems creep in and keep me sharp for the full thing?

This is pretty much what I was planning on. My mistakes last time was not focusing prep enough and just doing a shitton of tests.

This.

Seriously just going to drill for 2.5 months.

[flem]

I'll elaborate:

Every week, this is what my study looks like:

1) Each day, I do a games section. The following day, I do that games section again, and a new games section.
2) Worked/working through the bibles and all drills that I don't find to be a waste of time since my base is already good.
3) Drilling individual LR question types that I "struggle" with (I have the Cambridge LSAT stuff as well as full length PS materials)
4) In the next couple weeks, I'm going to practice test once a week and see where I stand, but most of the focus will be on drilling.

[Glaucon]

Ugh I shit the bed on the june LSAT. I had received a 164 last december, a score below my practise average, and decided to retake it this june. Like an arrogant dick I thought because I had done almost all the PTs (except the PTs from the early teens) and prep work for last december I didn't need to do any prep for the june test. So I prepped by doing a total of 4 PTs before heading into the June test. Needless to say, I got ****ed. Let my example be a lesson But I'm really posting here to ask advice as to how to prep for a second retake. I went through Cambridge, Powerscore, and some Testmasters material in preparation for my december test. Should I thoroughly revisit them? Are there other books you would recommend?

[arkansawyer]

Disclaimer: I teach for Testmasters.

Whenever my students ask what they are going to do for retake, I always advise them to sign up for the TM online course and work through the class again. For those of you who haven't taken TM before, this isn't a waste of your money. If you're retaking, you obviously have weak points that you need to shore up, and you have the time to do that. However, since you're already familiar with the LSAT a live class might not be perfect for you (this isn't true for everybody; some people need the face time). The online course is incredibly thorough, full explanations for every logic game, endless drills, and if you do everything you'll have done every possible LSAT question.

If that's too expensive or you're just a skeptic, I recommend Superprep for those who are looking to understand the test in a more detailed manner.

I'm honestly not enamored with the PS Bibles; I used them when I prepped (got a 174), but the games bible is a bit outdated by now, and the LR bible even more so.

I can't speak to Manhattan or Velocity, but for those of you who are looking to get a good return on your time and energy, you could do a LOT worse than shelling out money for TM.

[Micdiddy]

I'll be around too. Octoberchat sounds awesome, just don't let any loungers know! (half joking).

[biomedhawk]

I got a meh score in feb. My biggest problem is that I struggle with getting done on time. I'm usually close to perfect through the first 15-18 questions then miss a ton as I scramble to finish. I'm sure if I can improve my speed I'll do fine on the retake.

[AngeloPappas]

checking in.

[Pocahontas]

I only took Prep Tests 20-40 before now. I've decided to go back to the basics, since my first go at this was so half-assed.

1) Im re-reading all three bibles and working the corresponding questions in the PS Type Training books from PTs 1-20.

2) After I feel that I've grasped that material, I'll begin drilling sections from Prep Tests 41-50.

3) Once I am answering the majority of the sections accurately with speed I will move on to timed Prep Test 51-end to build endurancen and confidence.

I pray this is a better strategy for me.

[bondja]

I'll check-in here as well. Took a couple days off for personal reasons but I read and did a lot of drilling in LR today I'm excited to get to know you guys during the next couple of months

[Alorain]

Reporting for duty, sah!

Round 2, FIGHT!

[bdeebs]

Checking in as well. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do for prep, but right now I'm working through PT66 now that I can finally force myself to look at it again. What I'm choosing to do (for LR at least) is create a Word document with:

Question type:
Main Conclusion:
Flaw Type:
Predicted correct answer:
Predicted incorrect answer:

I'm highlighting my predictions that end up being correct, as well as the questions I got wrong or was questionable about but got right (it's amazing how vividly I can remember which questions I struggled with during the test). I'm in a phase of deep learning right now and when I finish with it I probably won't try to predict incorrect answers anymore, but it is fairly enlightening to see just how hard it is to make up a good incorrect answer.

I still don't know how I'm going to tackle RC. I feel like for the most part I've gotten what I can out of the prep resources as far as theory goes, so I'm really just going to try to develop a synthesis of methods that works for my skill set. I can't say for sure, but I feel like this sort of personalized approach is the only way I'll be able to make the jump from low 170s to high 170s. Does anyone else feel this way? It seems like a lot of people are leaning pretty heavily on prep companies and I'm not sure if this approach is as useful for a retaker who has already put in a considerable amount of time learning those methods.

[TERS]

Nvm.

[052220151]

I spent all week talking myself out of a retake. I've just come to my senses. Whose ready to crush this bitch with me?

[Eberry]

Checking in. Super pumped for more LSAT studying!

[2012Lsatscore]

Is this seemingly new acceptance of re-taking and multiple re-taking a new thing or something that has been gradually changing? Traditionals seem to still frown on it but it seems like there is a lot of support that I'm kinda surprised by.

[VasaVasori]

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[03152016]

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[sabanist]

Went through my June LSAT this afternoon, tackling each question and writing out why each answer was wrong/right. It was the first time I've touched anything LSAT-related in a month, and when I hit LG...

[bdeebs]

I'M BACK!

Checking in to retake, unfortunately. I got a 169, which gives me a chance up through CCN and makes me basically a lock up through Michigan.

We'll see how this retake goes.

Is this seemingly new acceptance of re-taking and multiple re-taking a new thing or something that has been gradually changing? Traditionals seem to still frown on it but it seems like there is a lot of support that I'm kinda surprised by.

I was personally 100% against the idea of retaking.

Until Monday, that is.

What?? I thought for sure you were going to rock this test! I'm almost as shocked as when I found out I missed questions in the LG section *facepalm*. I'm glad you're back though. You and Max were sort of my benchmarks for whether or not to feel successful on practice tests in the June thread.

[sanjola]

Went through my June LSAT this afternoon, tackling each question and writing out why each answer was wrong/right. It was the first time I've touched anything LSAT-related in a month, and when I hit LG...

I was overconfident with the LG that on test day I bombed them. The new layout didn't help things either.

I'm definitely going to focus a lot more time on LG during my prep this time around.

[VasaVasori]

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[honeycomb]

Checking in.

Need to tighten up LR more than anything... in my prep before the test by the last three weeks or so I was getting it down to -2 per section but on the test LR is what really got me. I got a 167 with -3 RC (also need to work on that) -2 LG and the rest LR.

I just got the LR Bible, but it seems like a lot of posters here got the Manhattan LR guide. Which one is better?

[dkb17xzx]

Checking in.

I created a thread for third time test takers - not a lot going on there but some of the advice from the people who've been there and done that is worth looking over.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=188299