Pt 50-60 September Crew. Enter Here Forum

[Hannibal]

Just got 176 on PT 60. -1, -1 (stuuuupid mistake), -0, -3. First RC section was a bloodbath and I don't know why.

[Hedwig]

Just got 176 on PT 60. -1, -1 (stuuuupid mistake), -0, -3. First RC section was a bloodbath and I don't know why.

PT twins... except I missed -2, -0, -1, -2.

I missed #3 and #5 in RC. I agree, first RC section was... urk.

[JJDancer]

PT 59 - spoiler alert.

The last game.. I ran out of time during it (then just kept going and "got it" all but it probably took me 11ish mins. Was there some big inference I missed or do I just need to get faster at doing hypos?
Any important not laws I should have seen right off the bat??

PM me if you don't want to talk abt the actual game here (in case of spoilers) .. Thanks.

[northwood]

see response on october test prep thread

[Sandro]

I have 59 and 60 left before I take October. Planning to take them Monday and Wednesday and only touch maybe an odd section here or there until Fri.

[Blindc1rca]

Just took PT60. Okay now I'm legitimately scared with LG.

After missing a total of 4 LG questions between PT45 and PT56 (3 on July 07), I have missed 12 on my last two PTs (57 and 60).

I missed 7 on PT60 today, 3 on the first game (WTF?), 1 on the second, and 3 on interns. On the rest of the test I missed a total of 3 questions.

My God I hope that I don't get pwned by LG on test day I have no idea what's happening to me it used to be my baby; the section I counted on for -0/-1.

[JJDancer]

Just took PT60. Okay now I'm legitimately scared with LG.
My God I hope that I don't get pwned by LG on test day I have no idea what's happening to me it used to be my baby; the section I counted on for -0/-1.

Yeah my LG is going through a teenage rebellion stage. I'm hoping I don't run out of time on it for Saturday. Although PT 60 wasn't easy, I managed to get LG besides the 2 questions I ran out of time for.

Have you done the LG for PT 58/59?
Late 50s is a bit tricker/crunched for time.

[kpuc]

PT 58: 95 raw, 175 scaled.

I think I'm officially out of my 50s funk now after PT 57 gave me a great confidence boost.

The breakdown was -4 LR, -0 RC, -2 RC (Exp), and -2 LG.

Very happy with my first -0 RC in the newer LSATs. Satisfied with my -4 LR, but a little disappointed since I've hit -2 on my last 3 PTs. Very happy with -2 LG, especially since none of the games caused me to panic or rush, and one of my mistakes was due to a question I left blank and forgot to even guess on.

I now have PTs 59 and 60 left. I think I'm going to use PT 59 for drills, and only take PT 60 as a practice test (on Tuesday).

[Blindc1rca]

oh...my...god. i just redid the LG section for PT60, which I took this morning and bombed.... HOW DID I MISS THE w..K/F,G,L inference on the last game!!!???

[Cromartie]

Just got done with PT 58.

LR1 -2
No. 21, changed the damned answer from C to D. It seemed to be that the stimulus only supports the principle that exploiting depraved popular tastes is not necessarily "not wrong", whereas C takes it one step further by stating that it is, in fact, wrong. D seemed to fit better with the ambiguity in the stimulus, since the government may or may not limit production. Oh well.

No. 25: I officially hate wigs. That is all.

RC -0
This was a breeze compared to the immediately preceding PT's. There really wasn't any passage among the 4 that caused me any trouble.

LR (Exp) -0
LR from PT 4.

LG -1
WTF! Sort of ran out of time again on the last question, but still, it was very obvious what the correct answer was and I should've been able to discern it immediately. Whatever option excludes P and T is the answer... duh!

LR2 -0

Overall 98/178

If I hadn't changed my answer in LR1 or hadn't had a brain fart in LG, I would have had my 5th 180 in the bag. Hopefully, I get at least 1 180 in PT 59 and PT 60. That would definitely provide a huge boost heading into the real thing.

PT 59 will be on Wednesday night. So close, I can taste it. Can't wait to move to the Admissions threads.

[aesis]

PT 59 will be on Wednesday night. So close, I can taste it. Can't wait to move to the Admissions threads.

Great job on 58. AND DITTO on moving to Admissions forum. I've been avoiding it like the plague.

I had a big headache yesterday so I couldn't do the consecutive PT schedule that eit suggested so I'm doing 58 piecemeal today, 59 tomorrow and 60 on Wednesday, which leaves me two days to drill a few sections and relax.

An update on 5-hour energy:
I took half a bottle around 4:00 and it is now 5:30. I'm pretty wired and I keep moving my foot up and down. Kind of jittery. The effects kick in within 10 minutes I'd say. Tomorrow I'll down a whole bottle and see how that affects my performance, but as of right now even a half bottle is doing me fine. I plan to take half of 58 within the next few hours, break, then take the other two sections, before which I will finish off the second half of the 5-hr energy bottle.

[aesis]

PT 59 will be on Wednesday night. So close, I can taste it. Can't wait to move to the Admissions threads.

Great job on 58. AND DITTO on moving to Admissions forum. I've been avoiding it like the plague.

I had a big headache yesterday so I couldn't do the consecutive PT schedule that eit suggested so I'm doing 58 piecemeal today, 59 tomorrow and 60 on Wednesday, which leaves me two days to drill a few sections and relax.

An update on 5-hour energy:
I took half a bottle around 4:00 and it is now 5:30. I'm pretty wired and I keep moving my foot up and down. Kind of jittery. The effects kick in within 10 minutes I'd say. Tomorrow I'll down a whole bottle and see how that affects my performance, but as of right now even a half bottle is doing me fine. I plan to take half of 58 within the next few hours, break, then take the other two sections, before which I will finish off the second half of the 5-hr energy bottle.

Reporting in.

After about 3 hours the jitters go away, but you still feel alert. I took the rest of the bottle during my break and resumed the PT. Jitters returned a little bit and I'm still feeling the effects about 1.5 hours later. Overall I am very pleased with the effects and never experienced any mental fatigue and never really had to re-read a stimulus due to fatigue/lack of concentration.

Results:
PT 58
LR -2/-0
RC -0
LG -0
99 --> 180

It doesn't count as an accurate score because I took it 2 sections at at time. But it does make me feel good, and it certainly gives 5-hr energy my approval. Let's hope the performance is similar tomorrow morning!

[almostthereee]

Just took 59. Had to brute force the last game on LG cause I just couldn't see the inference. Felt pretty good going into my last section and the one I had most difficulty with since I hit the 50's... RC. Felt pretty good about all the passages... but Noguchi completely tore me up. Tackling these more densely worded questions has become a big problem. I'm basically averaging at least 30 seconds a question as opposed to just reading it through once with the answer jumping out at me with the PT's in the 40's. Tried a strategy of basically reading quicker but I'm at the point where if I tried to read any quicker I wouldn't know wtf is going on... Going to review and see how RC goes on PT 60

[Cromartie]

PT 59 will be on Wednesday night. So close, I can taste it. Can't wait to move to the Admissions threads.

Great job on 58. AND DITTO on moving to Admissions forum. I've been avoiding it like the plague.

I had a big headache yesterday so I couldn't do the consecutive PT schedule that eit suggested so I'm doing 58 piecemeal today, 59 tomorrow and 60 on Wednesday, which leaves me two days to drill a few sections and relax.

An update on 5-hour energy:
I took half a bottle around 4:00 and it is now 5:30. I'm pretty wired and I keep moving my foot up and down. Kind of jittery. The effects kick in within 10 minutes I'd say. Tomorrow I'll down a whole bottle and see how that affects my performance, but as of right now even a half bottle is doing me fine. I plan to take half of 58 within the next few hours, break, then take the other two sections, before which I will finish off the second half of the 5-hr energy bottle.

Reporting in.

After about 3 hours the jitters go away, but you still feel alert. I took the rest of the bottle during my break and resumed the PT. Jitters returned a little bit and I'm still feeling the effects about 1.5 hours later. Overall I am very pleased with the effects and never experienced any mental fatigue and never really had to re-read a stimulus due to fatigue/lack of concentration.

Results:
PT 58
LR -2/-0
RC -0
LG -0
99 --> 180

It doesn't count as an accurate score because I took it 2 sections at at time. But it does make me feel good, and it certainly gives 5-hr energy my approval. Let's hope the performance is similar tomorrow morning!

Congratulations, I see you've one-upped me Seriously though, I thought this PT was pretty much a giveaway, especially when ranged against the preceding ones. Additionally, the curve wasn't too bad either. Hopefully, we both get something like it for the real deal (taking on the 12th).

Edit: Now that I think about it, the curve was bad for me, since my -3 netted me a 178 instead of 179.

[Blumpbeef]

I just unscientifically did PT 60. I was half asleep through LR1 and LG, so I'm not taking my score too seriously. I also went over by 3 minutes on RC, but I looked at the clock and if I had stopped on time I would have gotten a -4 instead of a -2. Either way, a much much better score on RC than the ones I have become accustomed to getting.

84/167

LR1 -5. LG -6. LR2 -2. RC -2(again, more like a -4).

I'm just glad that I seem to be figuring out RCs. I need to work on my pacing to get back down to under 35 minutes, but it is doable, and a -4 wouldn't be too disastrous if I perform as well as I usually do on LG and LR.

[xqhp82]

Did PT60 this morning, I think the first two sections are manageable, but as I started the second LR I didn't want to continue....I was uncertain about almost half of the answers, and needless to say RC killed me (did not understand the law passage at all). I felt like I got a 155 or something but it turns out to be a 165, which is just around my average score. That's weird, I guess I just got lucky this time, but i felt it's a very very tough test. I just pray 61 is nothing like that (but i won't be too sad if i get a 165)

LG:-4
LR1:-4
LR2:-5
RC:-7

[DreamShake]

PT's 57 (Friday/Saturday) & 59 (today) are in the books!

PT 57 was a little screwy--I dl'ed it from Cambridge, but my printer ran out of ink in the middle of section 3. I took the first 2 sections then and the second half the next day. -0 LG, -0 LR, -2 LR, -1 RC. 98/101=179.

Also just finished PT 59 a few minutes ago. -1 LG (misbubble, ugh), -2 LR, -2 RC, -2 LR. 94/101=176. My lowest raw score in quite a while...a lot of dumb mistakes. One misbubble, three misreads, and three "real" comprehension mistakes. The four dumb errors cost me four points. I think I might try out 5 hour energy on PT 58 (Wed.) because of the discussion in this thread. I'll try it out tomorrow on a couple sections and again on Wednesday for PT 58.

Despite the drop on 59 from stupid mistakes, I feel pretty confident about the test on Saturday. I think my low range is probably 172-173 (3-4 points below my average and lower than my lowest score in the last several months), and even that would be very pleasing. If I can really lock in and "flow" during test day, I think I have an outside shot at 180. I just need to focus on the sleep schedule now...and maybe 5 hour energy will help me be wide awake the morning of. Hard work --> satisfaction

[catsparka]

PT's 57 (Friday/Saturday) & 59 (today) are in the books!

PT 57 was a little screwy--I dl'ed it from Cambridge, but my printer ran out of ink in the middle of section 3. I took the first 2 sections then and the second half the next day. -0 LG, -0 LR, -2 LR, -1 RC. 98/101=179.

Also just finished PT 59 a few minutes ago. -1 LG (misbubble, ugh), -2 LR, -2 RC, -2 LR. 94/101=176. My lowest raw score in quite a while...a lot of dumb mistakes. One misbubble, three misreads, and three "real" comprehension mistakes. The four dumb errors cost me four points. I think I might try out 5 hour energy on PT 58 (Wed.) because of the discussion in this thread. I'll try it out tomorrow on a couple sections and again on Wednesday for PT 58.

Despite the drop on 59 from stupid mistakes, I feel pretty confident about the test on Saturday. I think my low range is probably 172-173 (3-4 points below my average and lower than my lowest score in the last several months), and even that would be very pleasing. If I can really lock in and "flow" during test day, I think I have an outside shot at 180. I just need to focus on the sleep schedule now...and maybe 5 hour energy will help me be wide awake the morning of. Hard work --> satisfaction

Yeah, I definitely need to focus on my sleep schedule too. I set my alarm for 7am today, but could not get myself out of bed until like 7:35am. Hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep early today, so that waking up early again (I'm aiming for 6:30am!) tomorrow won't be as bad.

Also, I keep hearing about how people are going to take the 5-hour energy drink. I was planning on just having a cup of coffee or something, but I'm starting to consider the 5-hour. I don't usually drink coffee, but when I do I notice a significant improvement in my focus, but maybe the 5-hour will be even better?

[northwood]

whatever you do.. make sure to try it out before saturday. if you dont drink coffee- dont start on sat. if you do, dont stop on saturday.

[aesis]

Also just finished PT 59 a few minutes ago. -1 LG (misbubble, ugh), -2 LR, -2 RC, -2 LR. 94/101=176.

I just need to focus on the sleep schedule now...and maybe 5 hour energy will help me be wide awake the morning of. Hard work --> satisfaction

Haha got the same score as you today on PT 59. LR -2/-2 RC -2 LG -1.

Except I didn't misbubble the LG problem. Overall I'm pleased, but am quite shaken by the difficulty of games in the later 50s. I think the strategy is to move as fast as possible during the easier games to allow oneself time to finish the harder ones. I find myself brute-forcing solutions to the harder games, which takes up sooo much time. I'm not even sure that inferences can be made because I haven't been stopping to really think about them.

Does anyone else notice an increased emphasis on hypo's in the harder games in the later 50s? Or do those games rely on inferences that I just seem to be neglecting?

And regarding 5-hr energy -- it's awesome. Coffee makes you pee.

[Hedwig]

Ugh PT 59. -2LG, -4LR, -2LR, -1RC. 92 raw, 174.

Really grossed out by this. Also grossed out by my overthinking of LR. Not sure what to do about that.

[ATR]

Worked 53 and 54 today... not very pleased with RC (missed -6 and -5, usually get -2 or -3) but did pretty well on LG. 165 and 164, even though I felt out of it for most of the exams. Confident that I'll do better tomorrow on 55 and 56.

[kpuc]

Does anyone else notice an increased emphasis on hypo's in the harder games in the later 50s?

I completely agree.

I think my troubles with the 50s LGs started because I was too fixated on trying to come up with the universal master diagram. In the older PTs, the harder questions required hypos, but the easier ones usually lent themselves to a limiting master diagram. In the 50s LGs, however, even the easier games seemed to yield empty diagrams and relied more on a plug-and-chug method. I'd panic when I couldn't make a limiting diagram, thinking that I missed a key inference and that plugging away meant that I had failed at adequately "getting" the game.

However, I have now come to stop expecting a neat limiting diagram to come about, and I have come to expect a lot of hypos in many questions. Consequently, I've done much better in games now.

[DreamShake]

Haha got the same score as you today on PT 59. LR -2/-2 RC -2 LG -1.

Except I didn't misbubble the LG problem. Overall I'm pleased, but am quite shaken by the difficulty of games in the later 50s. I think the strategy is to move as fast as possible during the easier games to allow oneself time to finish the harder ones. I find myself brute-forcing solutions to the harder games, which takes up sooo much time. I'm not even sure that inferences can be made because I haven't been stopping to really think about them.

Does anyone else notice an increased emphasis on hypo's in the harder games in the later 50s? Or do those games rely on inferences that I just seem to be neglecting?

PT twins! I dunno about you, but I'd be happy to double up 176 in a few days, haha. I definitely think hypotheticals have become more prominent in recent LG; in fact, I recall a 180-er in the TLS content contest forum who mentioned a book that helped with hypos (not the LG Bible), noting that hypo's are more common in the 50's+. I have the same strategy/dispiriting experience of tearing through the early games and spending 10-12 minutes on the last one (e.g., on either 57 or 59, I got to the last game with 15 minutes left and thought "Piece of cake!"...then finished with 2:30 left). It also seems like they've stopped asking questions that can be easily answered by referring to a previous problem's work.

Ugh PT 59. -2LG, -4LR, -2LR, -1RC. 92 raw, 174.

Really grossed out by this. Also grossed out by my overthinking of LR. Not sure what to do about that.

I think 59 generally has this effect on people, thus the crazy -3/-13 curve. But it seems like you've been overthinking LR a lot lately--maybe you should take a break for a few days/just take the last couple PT's a couple sections at a time?

[catsparka]

Haha got the same score as you today on PT 59. LR -2/-2 RC -2 LG -1.

Except I didn't misbubble the LG problem. Overall I'm pleased, but am quite shaken by the difficulty of games in the later 50s. I think the strategy is to move as fast as possible during the easier games to allow oneself time to finish the harder ones. I find myself brute-forcing solutions to the harder games, which takes up sooo much time. I'm not even sure that inferences can be made because I haven't been stopping to really think about them.

Does anyone else notice an increased emphasis on hypo's in the harder games in the later 50s? Or do those games rely on inferences that I just seem to be neglecting?

PT twins! I dunno about you, but I'd be happy to double up 176 in a few days, haha. I definitely think hypotheticals have become more prominent in recent LG; in fact, I recall a 180-er in the TLS content contest forum who mentioned a book that helped with hypos (not the LG Bible), noting that hypo's are more common in the 50's+. I have the same strategy/dispiriting experience of tearing through the early games and spending 10-12 minutes on the last one (e.g., on either 57 or 59, I got to the last game with 15 minutes left and thought "Piece of cake!"...then finished with 2:30 left). It also seems like they've stopped asking questions that can be easily answered by referring to a previous problem's work.

Ugh PT 59. -2LG, -4LR, -2LR, -1RC. 92 raw, 174.

Really grossed out by this. Also grossed out by my overthinking of LR. Not sure what to do about that.

I think 59 generally has this effect on people, thus the crazy -3/-13 curve. But it seems like you've been overthinking LR a lot lately--maybe you should take a break for a few days/just take the last couple PT's a couple sections at a time?

I definitely agree that they've stopped asking questions where I can use previous work. Especially the freebie hypothetical they give you in the list question-- in the older PTs, there were some games where that would help me answer a couple of questions, but in the 50s, I have yet to encounter any.