The Official December 2014 Study Group Forum

[Rigo]

[madz]

Does your roommate have a Vitamix?

A nutribullet. Changed my life.

Yeah I used to eat oatmeal, eggs, etc. But once I found this smoothie and adjusted it the way I liked I never looked back. You stay full forever, and I have yet to tire of it.

Also, I was at Trader Joe's last week and saw they have "pumpkin" spice. Just the spice, in a jar. I'm gonna try adding this in.

[nlee10]

I have a food related question for y'all- what do you guys eat for breakfast on the days you're taking a PT? I normally eat cereal everyday but I find myself getting ridiculously hungry midway through a PT, so I don't think it's enough. If I eat oatmeal or eggs, I get brain fog, so idk what to do

I eat a bowl of oatmeal with almond milk and vanilla protein powder.
You want to find a good balance of carbs protein and fat. Too much carbs and you might get sleepy, not enough carbs you might feel hungry throughout.

[Adrian Monk]

any startegy that u follow on rc? any tips? please would appreciate it, im not doing well at all.

I try to minimize the amt of notating I do, because I get easily distracted by clutter on the page. I summarize each paragraph with a one or two word description on the side, and at the end of the passage, I take a few secs to just look at what I noted and put them together in my mind so I know what the passage is trying to say. I think that's key for me b/c otherwise some of the passages are just so dense or boring that my eyes start to glaze over

thanks peppermint! really appreciate it, and just a q, do u have a topic where u really hate it? like for example say a science passage one?. some passages, for me especially science ones, i really dont get what the hell they are talking about. as someone with no science background, i dont get some stuff. what do u do in that situation?

They choose really obscure things on purpose--to level the playing field. Read for structure and main idea. Don't worry about comprehending the actual subject matter.

when u say structure, is it like to just see what the author is saying, who is he agreeing with, who is disagreeing with the author, whats the conclusion, and stuff like that right?

[Smallville]

Ik were talking about RC but found this a lil interesting about LR (only read a part)
http://lawschooli.com/arent-getting-bet ... ign=buffer

[dreamerchic19]

I feel so excited I feel the urge to study!!!! Going to take a free online practice test tomorrow thats timed so I'm interested to see what my score will be after taking months off

[Rigo]

[nlee10]

when u say structure, is it like to just see what the author is saying, who is he agreeing with, who is disagreeing with the author, whats the conclusion, and stuff like that right?

In a sense, yeah. But moreso on a macro level.

P1 introduces a problem at hand and two conflicting points
P2 talks about one viewport
P3 dismisses first viewpoint + talks about a second viewport + gives an analogy
Mark author's point of view if there is one.

Looking at the macro helps you answer a lot of the "what is the purpose of this?" questions as as forming a clear understanding of the main idea.

I definitely agree with peppermint that less is more when it comes to notation.

AM- for the science passages, a lot of complex discussion isn't meant to be understood completely. A lot of times it still boils down to two different viewports. (Ex. Organism polarity is determined during fertilization versus organism polarity is determined after fertilization.)

True. Trying to actively identify the structure of the passage helps a lot. But still hell for me.

[Rigo]

[Adrian Monk]

thanks a lot Dirigo!, appreciate it. this weekend, plan to practice some rc.

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Thats why dirigo is OP

I just want to state for the record that Colonel can be a really good egg sometimes.

[lawjag2015]

I went into my last PT telling myself I wasn't going to stress too much about the passages. I approached them a lot more relaxed and did pretty well with time to spare.
I have a tendency to get super anxious about things, so reminding myself to stay calm and collected really helps.
Being very conservative with notations has allowed me to just read and really absorb more. Stopping to notate would break my concentration and would actually lead to poorer comprehension.

I second that!

Hey everyone,

I will chime in regularly from here on! December is my last attempt. Took it twice already, and am really well prepared for LR and RC, scoring almost full and getting done within time. LG is my Achilles, and I need to double down on it! I have spent insane amount of time on LR and RC, hence the level of comfort, but I have not developed the confidence in LG. I was getting through LG fine in PTs, but, that is not all. At least in my case, before every PT, I had, and still do, chills about how I would do in LG, doubts if I would even finish the section. To get to a point where you know you will be fine is critical, and that is what being prepared means. Hopefully I get there before December!

[tier3]

How is Barron's for prepping for the LSAT?

[Smallville]

I went into my last PT telling myself I wasn't going to stress too much about the passages. I approached them a lot more relaxed and did pretty well with time to spare.
I have a tendency to get super anxious about things, so reminding myself to stay calm and collected really helps.
Being very conservative with notations has allowed me to just read and really absorb more. Stopping to notate would break my concentration and would actually lead to poorer comprehension.

I second that!

Hey everyone,

I will chime in regularly from here on! December is my last attempt. Took it twice already, and am really well prepared for LR and RC, scoring almost full and getting done within time. LG is my Achilles, and I need to double down on it! I have spent insane amount of time on LR and RC, hence the level of comfort, but I have not developed the confidence in LG. I was getting through LG fine in PTs, but, that is not all. At least in my case, before every PT, I had, and still do, chills about how I would do in LG, doubts if I would even finish the section. To get to a point where you know you will be fine is critical, and that is what being prepared means. Hopefully I get there before December!

Well id rather have RC and LR in the bag and need to work on LG than any other way around... you got this man, just keep drilling and getting your diagrams and inferences down

[Rigo]

[lawjag2015]

I went into my last PT telling myself I wasn't going to stress too much about the passages. I approached them a lot more relaxed and did pretty well with time to spare.
I have a tendency to get super anxious about things, so reminding myself to stay calm and collected really helps.
Being very conservative with notations has allowed me to just read and really absorb more. Stopping to notate would break my concentration and would actually lead to poorer comprehension.

I second that!

Hey everyone,

I will chime in regularly from here on! December is my last attempt. Took it twice already, and am really well prepared for LR and RC, scoring almost full and getting done within time. LG is my Achilles, and I need to double down on it! I have spent insane amount of time on LR and RC, hence the level of comfort, but I have not developed the confidence in LG. I was getting through LG fine in PTs, but, that is not all. At least in my case, before every PT, I had, and still do, chills about how I would do in LG, doubts if I would even finish the section. To get to a point where you know you will be fine is critical, and that is what being prepared means. Hopefully I get there before December!

Well id rather have RC and LR in the bag and need to work on LG than any other way around... you got this man, just keep drilling and getting your diagrams and inferences down

Thanks, I hope so! LR and RC are work, but, doable. RC is all about how you have read all your life, do not give up your own reading style, I think that is critical. Add to your style, but, do not change it!

[mist4bison]

.

[MEAhrnsbrak]

I have a food related question for y'all- what do you guys eat for breakfast on the days you're taking a PT? I normally eat cereal everyday but I find myself getting ridiculously hungry midway through a PT, so I don't think it's enough. If I eat oatmeal or eggs, I get brain fog, so idk what to do

Try adding nuts (cashews, peanuts, pecans, whatever) to your breakfast. They will help hold you over. I'm a fan of eating Larabars and other nutritional bars before I PT and during my break.

[flash21]

stuck in the low 160's.. feels bad man. Not sure really what to do, am going to try to review more in depth or something.

[madz]

I'm a fan of eating Larabars and other nutritional bars before I PT and during my break.

They are the best. I eat 2-3 every PT break. Cherry pie is #1

[nlee10]

I'm a fan of eating Larabars and other nutritional bars before I PT and during my break.

They are the best. I eat 2-3 every PT break. Cherry pie is #1

Quest Bars ftw. Cept they're expensive af.

[nlee10]

How is Barron's for prepping for the LSAT?

I've never heard anybody mention it so I'd go with a more establish LSAT prep company if I were you.
People here like Manhattan, Powerscore, 7Sage, and Blueprint (assuming those ITT taking the Blueprint actually like it).

I really like Blueprint so far. Still a bit early to tell if it's working or not, but maybe I'll end up scoring past my current high score of 154 tomorrow.

[madz]

I have to shout out 7Sage. It took me from a 150s diagnostic into the 170s. worth every penny

[MEAhrnsbrak]

How is Barron's for prepping for the LSAT?

I've never heard anybody mention it so I'd go with a more establish LSAT prep company if I were you.
People here like Manhattan, Powerscore, 7Sage, and Blueprint (assuming those ITT taking the Blueprint actually like it).

I really like Blueprint so far. Still a bit early to tell if it's working or not, but maybe I'll end up scoring past my current high score of 154 tomorrow.

I really like Blueprint thus far. Even though I went into the course scoring mid 160's, I've already learned some new things. I'll tell you tomorrow after my PT how I really feel, but so far so good!

[Rigo]