The Official June 2017 Study Group Forum

[zkyggi]

Just got my ass kicked by pt54. Ended up with a 164, I was shooting for higher than 172 since that was my last pt. I don't remember the last time I missed this many questions. Hoping it's just a fluke.

Also concerned since the 170 curve was -10, so I'm assuming this was supposed to be an easier test.

I just took PT 55 today and got -11 168. It had a -9 curve with one of the harder LG games and one of the hardest RC passages of all time. You shouldn't be concerned about the curve of any individual PT from before ~68 or so. What tripped you up on 54?

Um, everything except LG lol. I'm usually -2 or less on RC and the first section was a difficult RC for me. I also went -11 on LR, I'm reviewing the questions now, most of the ones I missed seem kind of ambiguous to me, but other than that there's no real pattern, I'm kind of all over the place on this one.

It happens. As much as my ego hates it, my bad scores are my bests tests in terms of learning. I'm curious, did you finish the LR sections with substantial time left?

[MediocreAtBest]

It happens. As much as my ego hates it, my bad scores are my bests tests in terms of learning. I'm curious, did you finish the LR sections with substantial time left?

I actually did. With almost 5 minutes left for each one.

[zkyggi]

It happens. As much as my ego hates it, my bad scores are my bests tests in terms of learning. I'm curious, did you finish the LR sections with substantial time left?

I actually did. With almost 5 minutes left for each one.

That is how the worst of my sections have gone as well. When you reviewed LR, did you notice that you were falling for trap answers? One thing I have noticed since I've focused on learning LR is that, because I understand the arguments better, I fall for answers that look correct but aren't. A few weeks ago I would routinely go -4 or -7 on sections I finished in 29 minutes because of this.

[MediocreAtBest]

It happens. As much as my ego hates it, my bad scores are my bests tests in terms of learning. I'm curious, did you finish the LR sections with substantial time left?

I actually did. With almost 5 minutes left for each one.

That is how the worst of my sections have gone as well. When you reviewed LR, did you notice that you were falling for trap answers? One thing I have noticed since I've focused on learning LR is that, because I understand the arguments better, I fall for answers that look correct but aren't. A few weeks ago I would routinely go -4 or -7 on sections I finished in 29 minutes because of this.

I fell for a couple but mostly it just seems like I didn't absorb the information as well as I should have. Looking back at the questions I missed, I calculated that on a normal day I probably would have gone -4 instead of -11 on this section. I guess I just wasn't too sharp today (might've had too much to drink at a friend's cookout yesterday, wondering if that affected my sharpness).

[Platopus]

Just got my ass kicked by pt54. Ended up with a 164, I was shooting for higher than 172 since that was my last pt. I don't remember the last time I missed this many questions. Hoping it's just a fluke.

Also concerned since the 170 curve was -10, so I'm assuming this was supposed to be an easier test.

Test 54 kicked my ass too. I didn't finish RC with about 3-4 questions on the table, essentially flipped a shit since that was the 1st section, so I just scrapped the test for experimental.

[Platopus]

I'm having a really annoying trend of missing early questions. Took 51 today, and missed more than half of my totally misses in the first 15. Ill weirdly get tripped up on question 2 or 3 for like, no reason.
-9 in LR -2 in RC and -0 in games (finished 10 mins early!). Feeling like I'm all tools no box right now

Are you ending up with extra time at the end of the section? I've noticed I usually miss most of my RC on the first passage, and more so, questions 1&2. For some reason, I convince myself that I'll never be able to finish in time, even though lately I've been finish RC with about 3-4 minutes to spare. I had one section where I didn't finish in time, and ever since, I'm been super concerned with my RC timing. If you have the extra time, I would suggest slowing down. Even with 3-4 minutes at the end to double check answers, sometimes it's harder to see the right AC, since you've theoretically already bubbled something, so you have a sort of confirmation bias.

[Barry grandpapy]

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[zkyggi]

It happens. As much as my ego hates it, my bad scores are my bests tests in terms of learning. I'm curious, did you finish the LR sections with substantial time left?

I actually did. With almost 5 minutes left for each one.

That is how the worst of my sections have gone as well. When you reviewed LR, did you notice that you were falling for trap answers? One thing I have noticed since I've focused on learning LR is that, because I understand the arguments better, I fall for answers that look correct but aren't. A few weeks ago I would routinely go -4 or -7 on sections I finished in 29 minutes because of this.

I fell for a couple but mostly it just seems like I didn't absorb the information as well as I should have. Looking back at the questions I missed, I calculated that on a normal day I probably would have gone -4 instead of -11 on this section. I guess I just wasn't too sharp today (might've had too much to drink at a friend's cookout yesterday, wondering if that affected my sharpness).

Ah I see, that is good news then. I don't remember my specific score, but PT 54 destroyed me if I remember correctly.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

I'm having a really annoying trend of missing early questions. Took 51 today, and missed more than half of my totally misses in the first 15. Ill weirdly get tripped up on question 2 or 3 for like, no reason.
-9 in LR -2 in RC and -0 in games (finished 10 mins early!). Feeling like I'm all tools no box right now

Are you ending up with extra time at the end of the section? I've noticed I usually miss most of my RC on the first passage, and more so, questions 1&2. For some reason, I convince myself that I'll never be able to finish in time, even though lately I've been finish RC with about 3-4 minutes to spare. I had one section where I didn't finish in time, and ever since, I'm been super concerned with my RC timing. If you have the extra time, I would suggest slowing down. Even with 3-4 minutes at the end to double check answers, sometimes it's harder to see the right AC, since you've theoretically already bubbled something, so you have a sort of confirmation bias.

i usually have extra time in LR regardless of how i actually do. when i apply my "methods" i actually end up with 5min extra. Rc i usually have 3 mins ish. for RC i go through the passages based most Qs to least and his seems to give me extra time. before i started doing that i would end right on time.
and yeah the confirmation bias is real for me, i cant get myself to change answers.
for Lr i find my biggest issues is approaching the questions consistently. i tweaked my strategy to add much more time before going into the ACs and this increased my accuracy a lot. when i dont do this, i have sections like i did today with dumb mistakes everywhere.

[principalagent]

Took two sections out of PT 10 today, timed and bubbled for simulation purposes. -0 on LG and RC, both. Feels good after a couple mid 160s PTS this weekend.

[Platopus]

for Lr i find my biggest issues is approaching the questions consistently. i tweaked my strategy to add much more time before going into the ACs and this increased my accuracy a lot. when i dont do this, i have sections like i did today with dumb mistakes everywhere.

Sounds like the solution is to slow down a bit, especially if it's worked before.

[Platopus]

Ok last weekend's bender was the last one before the test. Time for the last 1.5 month push! LET'S GO!!!!!

Couldn't agree more. I'm so amped for June. Not at my target score yet, but amped like hell nonetheless

[Barry grandpapy]

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[Platopus]

Does anybody have cool post test Summer plans?

I'll be at my roommates wedding the day scores come out (at least according to the projected release date), so I'll be drinking very, very heavily. Mostly, relaxing by the lake, smoking cigars, drinking coronas and eating steaks. I'm burning about a 1/4 of my PTO the week before the test, so I'll have a very modest summer otherwise. Maybe take a motorcycle trip.

[Barry grandpapy]

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[Platopus]

Does anybody have cool post test Summer plans?

I'll be at my roommates wedding the day scores come out (at least according to the projected release date), so I'll be drinking very, very heavily. Mostly, relaxing by the lake, smoking cigars, drinking coronas and eating steaks. I'm burning about a 1/4 of my PTO the week before the test, so I'll have a very modest summer otherwise. Maybe take a motorcycle trip.

That sounds pretty dope. If the wedding does happen on grey day then that's a pretty great distraction from constantly refreshing your browser.

Yeah, I live in the Midwest and the wedding is in Baltimore, so either way, that whole weekend I'll be distracted. Assuming I know the results before the reception, I'll be either partying in celebration or in despair.

[InterLaw]

Does anybody have cool post test Summer plans?

Harvard Summer School in Venice for me, June to August "work hard play hard".
And with the Master starting in September, not very much holiday for the third year in a row !

[InterLaw]

Sorry for double posting, but I have a real question: do you think that retaking PTs after months is reliable or you would discourage that?
I mean, I already took PTs 60 to 78 on October / November last year... Since they are the most recent ones, I would really like to take them again and test my level based on something very similar to the actual test. In your experience retaking a PT after 6 months is "allowed" or the results are inevitably altered? (I tried to read some questions and they seem like new to me..)

[Mikey]

Sorry for double posting, but I have a real question: do you think that retaking PTs after months is reliable or you would discourage that?
I mean, I already took PTs 60 to 78 on October / November last year... Since they are the most recent ones, I would really like to take them again and test my level based on something very similar to the actual test. In your experience retaking a PT after 6 months is "allowed" or the results are inevitably altered? (I tried to read some questions and they seem like new to me..)

You will most likely in the back of your mind remember some questions. There is no harm in redoing PTs, because you can still build on your skills by doing so. Just make sure you're not playing yourself and answering anything just because you remember the answer. That wouldn't be an efficient way to use your time, But in fact, you should still find the logic in all of the questions and make sure you're pretty certain on everything.

[MediocreAtBest]

Sorry for double posting, but I have a real question: do you think that retaking PTs after months is reliable or you would discourage that?
I mean, I already took PTs 60 to 78 on October / November last year... Since they are the most recent ones, I would really like to take them again and test my level based on something very similar to the actual test. In your experience retaking a PT after 6 months is "allowed" or the results are inevitably altered? (I tried to read some questions and they seem like new to me..)

I'd say 6 months is long enough, you'll definitely remember some questions but like Mikey said, make sure you're going through the logical steps to get to your answer and understanding why it's correct. Don't cheat yourself. Re-doing the tests can't hurt, especially after 6 months.

[Barry grandpapy]

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[Barry grandpapy]

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[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

Sorry for double posting, but I have a real question: do you think that retaking PTs after months is reliable or you would discourage that?
I mean, I already took PTs 60 to 78 on October / November last year... Since they are the most recent ones, I would really like to take them again and test my level based on something very similar to the actual test. In your experience retaking a PT after 6 months is "allowed" or the results are inevitably altered? (I tried to read some questions and they seem like new to me..)

i pretty much have to do this and ive found i usually dont remember Qs well enough to no eliminat ACs and to the Q properly, and when i do remember it, it messes me up and ill get it wrong since ill skip TCR bc i remember having a hard time with it.

[Platopus]

About to drill a huge stacked of PR questions Sorting through the sections for PR questions is arguably just as bad as doing the damn questions in the first place...

[MediocreAtBest]

About to drill a huge stacked of PR questions Sorting through the sections for PR questions is arguably just as bad as doing the damn questions in the first place...

Difficult PR questions are a nightmare.