The Official June 2017 Study Group Forum

[Slippin' Jimmy]

Is there anything in PTs 42-51 that you think I should go through, e.g. specific passages, games, LR questions?

Given the time constraint, I was thinking of doing the following:
- PTs 78-80 tomorrow, Sunday, and Wednesday
- Review all the challenging LR questions from past PTs
- Redo challenging LG games
- Redo 5-6 RC (??)

Id skip those

42-51 is probably the easiest book all around. It was good when I still majorly sucked at games but all I use it for now is the occasional experimental.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

I bought pencils on amazon and received the wrong pencils in the right packaging. Should I report this. I paid 1.76 so I'm half like, w/e reorder the ones I want.

But like ethics or something.

[zkyggi]

I started tutoring a friend to help him improve his LSAT score. We spent like 8 hours discussing the LR section of a test, and I literally feel like it may have helped me more than it helped him. If anybody is in a position to teach another person, it may, ironically, be a good idea to do it as part of prep.

[dm1683]

PT 76

RC: -0
LR1: -1
LG: -2 (I always get at least one or two wrong on LG. No time to fix it now though...)
LR2: -2

177

Yay!
Feeling great about that RC especially in light of Monday's -6 disaster. Average them out and you get -3, which is around my RC average.

12 days and 5 PTs to go! Let's do this!

[dm1683]

I bought pencils on amazon and received the wrong pencils in the right packaging. Should I report this. I paid 1.76 so I'm half like, w/e reorder the ones I want.

But like ethics or something.

Report it so amazon can use it as an excuse to fire someone.

[tada77]

Not understanding my scoring..I was scoring 168/169 for a while, trying to break through to the 170s (my goal is 172), and having a hard time getting the extra few points. On PT 78 I finally broke through, scoring a 174. Then, PT 79 and PT 77, my score dropped to 167. I missed way more than normal on logical reasoning, which is usually a good section for me. A couple things seem like simple mistakes, but in several cases I felt that I understood the argument well, had it narrowed down to two, and picked the wrong answer that I would not have corrected going over it. Anybody with a similar score experience? I feel like I'm capable of reaching my goal but definitely feeling discouraged..

[zkyggi]

PT 76

RC: -0
LR1: -1
LG: -2 (I always get at least one or two wrong on LG. No time to fix it now though...)
LR2: -2

177

Yay!
Feeling great about that RC especially in light of Monday's -6 disaster. Average them out and you get -3, which is around my RC average.

12 days and 5 PTs to go! Let's do this!

Crazy, I took PT 76 today too:

RC: -3
LR1: -0
LG: -1
LR2: -0

178

I made a stupid mistake on game 3, and after realizing it I didn't go back and change one of my answers. Kind of annoyed to not go -0.I finished both LR sections with almost 10 minutes left. I wonder how that will work with test day nerves.

[zkyggi]

Not understanding my scoring..I was scoring 168/169 for a while, trying to break through to the 170s (my goal is 172), and having a hard time getting the extra few points. On PT 78 I finally broke through, scoring a 174. Then, PT 79 and PT 77, my score dropped to 167. I missed way more than normal on logical reasoning, which is usually a good section for me. A couple things seem like simple mistakes, but in several cases I felt that I understood the argument well, had it narrowed down to two, and picked the wrong answer that I would not have corrected going over it. Anybody with a similar score experience? I feel like I'm capable of reaching my goal but definitely feeling discouraged..

It looks like the 174 was an outlier. Did you score exceptionally well on a particular section?

Now is not the time to get discouraged, you are almost at your goal. Work to understand why you're making simple mistakes, and don't make them anymore. I know for LR the key to getting rid of silly mistakes was to check myself and justify each answer to myself before moving on, no matter how easy the question was. If it matches my prephrase, I still check to make sure it actually matches and doesn't just look like it. Your mistakes are your barriers to a high score, so learn where the test triggers mistakes from you. Scoring 174 means you understand the concepts, and the testmakers have designed the test so that it is still able to differentiate among people who understand the test conceptually. In my experience, finding out how they do that allowed me to break my plateau.

One last bit of advice: stop trying to get a "few extra points" and aim for perfect instead.

[Slippin' Jimmy]

I'm somewhat concerned with my LR pace over the last couple of weeks. Overall I'd say my accuracy and understanding has improved, but I usually only find myself with 1 minute left. Granted its really rare for me to have circled any questions to return to, and I've been -0/-1/-2 in numerous timed sections the last few days but its a little disconcerting that I don't have the 5-10 minute cushion I had just 2 weeks ago.

Maybe I'm just using the extra review time upfront now getting the questions right the first time? It still makes me nervous to not have time to review though.

[Jack_Kelly]

Still failing to escape LG carnage

169
LR1 -3
RC -1
AR -7
LR2 -2

[tada77]

Not understanding my scoring..I was scoring 168/169 for a while, trying to break through to the 170s (my goal is 172), and having a hard time getting the extra few points. On PT 78 I finally broke through, scoring a 174. Then, PT 79 and PT 77, my score dropped to 167. I missed way more than normal on logical reasoning, which is usually a good section for me. A couple things seem like simple mistakes, but in several cases I felt that I understood the argument well, had it narrowed down to two, and picked the wrong answer that I would not have corrected going over it. Anybody with a similar score experience? I feel like I'm capable of reaching my goal but definitely feeling discouraged..

It looks like the 174 was an outlier. Did you score exceptionally well on a particular section?

Now is not the time to get discouraged, you are almost at your goal. Work to understand why you're making simple mistakes, and don't make them anymore. I know for LR the key to getting rid of silly mistakes was to check myself and justify each answer to myself before moving on, no matter how easy the question was. If it matches my prephrase, I still check to make sure it actually matches and doesn't just look like it. Your mistakes are your barriers to a high score, so learn where the test triggers mistakes from you. Scoring 174 means you understand the concepts, and the testmakers have designed the test so that it is still able to differentiate among people who understand the test conceptually. In my experience, finding out how they do that allowed me to break my plateau.

One last bit of advice: stop trying to get a "few extra points" and aim for perfect instead.

Thanks for your response. Outlier or not, what it means to me is that I'm capable of scoring in my goal range. I did better than normal in logic games on that test (-2) which is a secret that often holds me back. I got -2 total in LR and -2 in reading comp. I'm definitely carefully reviewing now for silly mistakes, I'm just alarmed at the increase in wrong LR questions, which I usually do well on. And one some of the questions, I feel like I fully understand the argument, I just thought of an answer in a different way or was tricked by wording. I've read on here that people think the newer tests require a different attention to detail in LR, so maybe I'm adjusting to the progression of the test. Thanks for the tips, I'm just going to keep working and maintain a positive attitude. I know that I can score in the 170s, but performing at that level has been a struggle.

[Platopus]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

[NavyNuke]

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[Barry grandpapy]

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[Platopus]

Ditching the 60s to move up to the 70s and allow more time to review them given the growing consensus from you guys that they are outliers. And Platopus you got this man. You're a fucking rock. A big badass boulder that's gonna smash this fucking test.

God I hope so, I'm hopelessly digging through the archives to validate that PT LR 2 is a fucking joke and should not be taken seriously, damn...

[NavyNuke]

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[anonposter6775]

Ditching the 60s to move up to the 70s and allow more time to review them given the growing consensus from you guys that they are outliers. And Platopus you got this man. You're a fucking rock. A big badass boulder that's gonna smash this fucking test.

God I hope so, I'm hopelessly digging through the archives to validate that PT LR 2 is a fucking joke and should not be taken seriously, damn...

Maybe try taking a day off? I had a test go not so well today and I'm taking a couple days off to make sure my mind is in the right place. I'm going to exercise, eat right, sleep well, and get some sun.

I plan on taking PT 79 on Sunday or Monday.

I have PT 76, 79, and 80 to go. At this point in my studies, I may drop PT 76 in order to make sure I'm mentally peaked come June 12th. Going to listen to my mind and body this next week to ensure I don't get anymore unreasonably poor scores.

[Platopus]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

I remember some others saying they had to somewhat abandon trying to predict the correct answer choice for some of the more recent tests' LR sections.. If you typically finish sections with a lot of time to spare, maybe try slowing down a bit on the second half of the section and go into the answer choices with an idea what your looking for but not zoned in completely on finding what your anticipating the correct answer choice to be. Hope that helps, but even if it doesn't you got this! You have put in months of work, you are ready. You just need to find the little tweak that will put you back where you were.

Yeah, I haven't reviewed my last 2 PT's yet, so I'm hoping with some review I can really flesh out the difference and start to correct whatever it is that is throwing me off with LR.

[Jack_Kelly]

Ditching the 60s to move up to the 70s and allow more time to review them given the growing consensus from you guys that they are outliers. And Platopus you got this man. You're a fucking rock. A big badass boulder that's gonna smash this fucking test.

God I hope so, I'm hopelessly digging through the archives to validate that PT LR 2 is a fucking joke and should not be taken seriously, damn...

Not exactly encouragement but that's the same one I took today and I missed 2. You still did one better than me though.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

I bombed that section too if it helps.

It's an outlier. Review the test, the new LR can really take advantage of you if you're not ready for it, but this will be fixed with a solid PT review.
That RC is hard if I remember so feel good about yourself for that.

[tuna_wasabi]

PT 76

RC: -0
LR1: -1
LG: -2 (I always get at least one or two wrong on LG. No time to fix it now though...)
LR2: -2

177

Yay!
Feeling great about that RC especially in light of Monday's -6 disaster. Average them out and you get -3, which is around my RC average.

12 days and 5 PTs to go! Let's do this!

Crazy, I took PT 76 today too:

RC: -3
LR1: -0
LG: -1
LR2: -0

178

I made a stupid mistake on game 3, and after realizing it I didn't go back and change one of my answers. Kind of annoyed to not go -0.I finished both LR sections with almost 10 minutes left. I wonder how that will work with test day nerves.

Congrats on those scores! Did PT 76 too on Memorial Day.
LR 1: -4
LR 2: -2
LG: -1
RC: -3
Score: 172

Experimentals:
PT 15.1 (RC): -1
PT 15.2 (LR): 0

Notes: LR: Worst performance in LR in the last 10 or so PTs. I panicked on LR, probably due to stress and disappointment carried over from my performance in PT 75. One mistake was in Q1; was looking for the right answer, couldn't find it, and so settled for the second best option, when the right answer was there all along. I honestly think I could have prevented 3 or 4 questions. LG: 1 careless mistake. Again, panicked in one of the games and didn't think clearly. RC: One is likely a lost cause; the other two, I didn't read the ACs carefully and jumbled them up.

Starting to really wonder if I'm ready for the June test. Confidence took a big hit after the last 2 PTs, and now I'm kinda scared of taking PT 78 tomorrow.

[Platopus]

Starting to really wonder if I'm ready for the June test. Confidence took a big hit after the last 2 PTs, and now I'm kinda scared of taking PT 78 tomorrow.

Me too, after a not so hot LR performance today, I'm also second guessing myself. But, were both being unreasonable. We are ready for June. There certainly is a psychological component to this test, and any doubt gets punished, harshly, but it's fixable. Confidence goes along way



Get 'em next time.

[tuna_wasabi]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

Hey Plato, I'm in the same spot right now. You can do this! There's something different with the 70's, but your foundation in LR is definitely solid enough to make it work. At the very least, it's better to spot these mistakes and fix them before the test than finding them after the test

[Platopus]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

I bombed that section too if it helps.

It's an outlier. Review the test, the new LR can really take advantage of you if you're not ready for it, but this will be fixed with a solid PT review.
That RC is hard if I remember so feel good about yourself for that.

Thanks, it's good to know I'm not the only one. I'll review tomorrow and probably feel really dumb. Still plenty of time to figure out what I'm doing different and how to fix it.

[Platopus]

Currently having a fucking panic attack. IDK what it is, but I seriously forgot how to do LR on the recent tests.

PT 70
LR1: -4
RC: -0
LG:-1
LR2: -7

Like WTF is this. Neither section felt particularly difficult, so I guess I'm just stupid and falling for all the trap answers? This literally feels night and day from even the late 60's. Very, very seriously considering withdrawing from June at this point. Feeling defeated and like I've totally wasted the last 6 months.

edit: In case it isn't clear this is a desperate cry for help for someone to tell me its gonna be okay

Hey Plato, I'm in the same spot right now. You can do this! There's something different with the 70's, but your foundation in LR is definitely solid enough to make it work. At the very least, it's better to spot these mistakes and fix them before the test than finding them after the test

I agree, I managed an average of -0.75 per section in the 40's + 50's when drilling, so the foundation is there. Just need to tweak a few things to get caught up on the curve balls from the 70's