The Official September 2014 Study Group Forum

[Straw_Mandible]

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

[BillPackets]

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

Just don't take it in June

[vracovino]

So I'm starting my study using the Pithypike guide. Is anyone else using it? Basically I'm just curious about why he has us start with Assumption / Weaken / Strengthen the first month. Is there logic behind this? The bible itself is structured differently than this. Am I expected to read through the bible in order first, then start with assumption? If i just go over the basics and skip to Assumption, I'm missing the whole section on Conditional Reasoning and likely a few other pointers that were given out along the way.

[Straw_Mandible]

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

Just don't take it in June

Obviously, that's the plan. The problem is that I don't know when Sept. registration opens, and I don't want to miss the date change deadline (May 25).

[bombchells]

I called LSAC and they said registration for September opens on Sunday.

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

Just don't take it in June

Obviously, that's the plan. The problem is that I don't know when Sept. registration opens, and I don't want to miss the date change deadline (May 25).

[Straw_Mandible]

Thanks bombchells!

[johmica]

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

Just don't take it in June

Obviously, that's the plan. The problem is that I don't know when Sept. registration opens, and I don't want to miss the date change deadline (May 25).

I think what Bill was trying to say is that it won't hurt your record to just not show up for the June test. I did the same thing last year - scheduled a re-take, and then decided I wanted to wait a year. There's no official way to cancel a registration, but a no-show is the de facto way. The only downside is the loss of registration fee.

[fnma2jd]

I'm in... Retaker here

[BillPackets]

The fact that I'm still registered for June is stressing me out. The date change deadline is in ten days, and September registration isn't open yet.

Somebody please stroke my forehead and tell me everything's going to be alright.

Just don't take it in June

Obviously, that's the plan. The problem is that I don't know when Sept. registration opens, and I don't want to miss the date change deadline (May 25).

I think what Bill was trying to say is that it won't hurt your record to just not show up for the June test. I did the same thing last year - scheduled a re-take, and then decided I wanted to wait a year. There's no official way to cancel a registration, but a no-show is the de facto way. The only downside is the loss of registration fee.

[Toby Ziegler]

Had a pretty awful study week. It was one of those weeks that everything happens all at the same time, classes, work, family, etc. Excited to smash it this week.
I hate the awful guilty feeling I get when I don't keep to my schedule.

[krwillis01]

Registration is now open for September and December testing. I signed up for September this morning.

[BillPackets]

Had a pretty awful study week. It was one of those weeks that everything happens all at the same time, classes, work, family, etc. Excited to smash it this week.
I hate the awful guilty feeling I get when I don't keep to my schedule.

I had to unexpectedly work 3 14 shifts last week, and left on Friday for a trip to see my SO. Did not get not bit of studying in. I'm studying today for the first time since...maybe Monday. I don't feel rusty though. Blew through some games and am reviewing assumption questions. I think the forced break may have been good for me.

I feel your pain though. I did get stressed out thinking about studying. "I'll NEVER hit 170 now that I took a 5 day break in May!!!!"

[Toby Ziegler]

Registration is now open for September and December testing. I signed up for September this morning.

I also registered today. Made it feel a bit more real -- seeing the score e-mail date, and the "LSAT documents" section that we will be waiting to see go grey. Also the $170.00 fee is an added motivation to not screw this up and get that 99th percentile on the first try.

[Toby Ziegler]

Had a pretty awful study week. It was one of those weeks that everything happens all at the same time, classes, work, family, etc. Excited to smash it this week.
I hate the awful guilty feeling I get when I don't keep to my schedule.

I had to unexpectedly work 3 14 shifts last week, and left on Friday for a trip to see my SO. Did not get not bit of studying in. I'm studying today for the first time since...maybe Monday. I don't feel rusty though. Blew through some games and am reviewing assumption questions. I think the forced break may have been good for me.

I feel your pain though. I did get stressed out thinking about studying. "I'll NEVER hit 170 now that I took a 5 day break in May!!!!"

Glad you feel me. Ha! I am glad you didn't have to shake off any rust. Back to studying tomorrow for me. I am trying to finish all the LR guides this week and start drilling a mixed LR batch (per Bill's advice) next week.

[BillPackets]

Registration is now open for September and December testing. I signed up for September this morning.

I also registered today. Made it feel a bit more real -- seeing the score e-mail date, and the "LSAT documents" section that we will be waiting to see go grey. Also the $170.00 fee is an added motivation to not screw this up and get that 99th percentile on the first try.

What are your ideal schools Toby?

[Christine (MLSAT)]

Does anyone have any opinions on online courses? I have trouble organizing and sticking to study plans, and think that an online course like the Manhattan one mentioned earlier would help me stay on task. Is it worth the money, and what is the best one? Thanks

Hey there! I am obviously horrifically and unabashedly biased, but I (like Walt :p) think our online courses are the best thing since Lucky Charms.

A common misconception about online courses is that they are all 'video style' courses that you just watch passively. Our online course is actually "live online", meaning that while you can take care from wherever you are, while sitting in your PJs, it is a "live" class - it takes place at a particular time, with everyone gathering together in an online room. There's a shared whiteboard, on which the slides/questions/diagrams/whatever are shown, everyone in the class can write on them/type on them/etc, as well as your standard classroom features like shared audio/microphones and text-chat.

You'll be asked to participate - A LOT! Just like you would in a class that met in person. I teach both in person classes and live online classes, and the only major difference is that I can't see your lovely face. :p

Now, for people who really don't want to be tied down to a particular schedule, and don't mind losing the direct participation, we also do have our LSAT Interact program. It's sort of like a 'choose your own adventure' style interactive self-study medium. The program will ask you to select answer to LSAT questions, as well as drills, and will respond to what you select.

If you're looking at either of these options, you should check out our demos or sign up for a trial class of the live online course on our website. I'll stop being all salesy now, but if you have any questions about our live-online classes, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Toby Ziegler]

Registration is now open for September and December testing. I signed up for September this morning.

I also registered today. Made it feel a bit more real -- seeing the score e-mail date, and the "LSAT documents" section that we will be waiting to see go grey. Also the $170.00 fee is an added motivation to not screw this up and get that 99th percentile on the first try.

What are your ideal schools Toby?

I'll PM you with some specifics (and any other regulars in here that would like to know), but T-6 is the goal.

[cavalier2015]

checking in. officially starting LSAT prep today. I have the trainer and plan to read straight through it in the next week or so.

how do you guys suggest reading the trainer? my plan is to read straight through and do the drills. and when completed go through the LG bible and LG blueprint. then get manhattan LR and RC and go through them. and by the start of june start the cambridge packets. and by july start doing PTs. is this a decent plan? my goal is a 175+

[mornincounselor]

Post removed.

[BillPackets]

checking in. officially starting LSAT prep today. I have the trainer and plan to read straight through it in the next week or so.

how do you guys suggest reading the trainer? my plan is to read straight through and do the drills. and when completed go through the LG bible and LG blueprint. then get manhattan LR and RC and go through them. and by the start of june start the cambridge packets. and by july start doing PTs. is this a decent plan? my goal is a 175+

Don't rush through the drills. They take significant time above and beyond simply reading through the book. Personally, I found when I tried to read through too quickly I missed a lot. I did much better the second time through when I took my time and limited myself to a max of 2 lessons daily. But that took me 2 months so it might not be the best method for you given the time frame.

I agree that's A LOT of book work (ie going thru 3 different books about the same section), in a very short amount of time. You might find that you don't actually need to go thru everyone of those books.

I am using the trainer, manhattan LR, and powerscore LG. Also get the 7sage app for logic games bc IMO it is invaluable when you first start learning games. I also used manhattan RC, but I don't think it's necessary. Depending on how much you had to read in college, you may not need any prep books for RC.

A month is a pretty tight time frame to get through the Cambridge packets. IMHO it's too tight. There is so much to learn from those drills, especially in the LR section. You need to dissect each part of the question...what wrong answer choices typically show up for certain questions, language in correct answer choices, what flaws look like...there is so much to chew on. And there are A TON of games to do in the packets. You can never practice games too much. Different people make different recommendations, but I initially printed off 3 copies of each game, and then made more of the games that I still wasn't going -0 on after three attempts.

[deejeezee]

Took the Dec 2013 LSAT. Diving in for round 2. 99+ percentile or bust!

Going to look at my Powerscore and Manhattan banks with a fresh perspective again. Been off the books for a long time, hopefully it won't be a struggle to get back into the thick of it again.

Looking back at my Dec'13 scores, I need to pick up some slack in LG and LR. But RC is going to be a major focus since it always felt like the least 'learn-able' of the 3.

Also, to anyone preparing in Toronto- let's see if we can get a weekly or bi-weekly study group organized!

[cavalier2015]

thanks for the advice. would it be more beneficial to get through the trainer in a week or so and then get into the cambridge packets and refer to my other books as I need to. So for example if i am having trouble with a certain LR type or a LG type, go to my book for just that section--> master it and then do it again?

checking in. officially starting LSAT prep today. I have the trainer and plan to read straight through it in the next week or so.

how do you guys suggest reading the trainer? my plan is to read straight through and do the drills. and when completed go through the LG bible and LG blueprint. then get manhattan LR and RC and go through them. and by the start of june start the cambridge packets. and by july start doing PTs. is this a decent plan? my goal is a 175+

Don't rush through the drills. They take significant time above and beyond simply reading through the book. Personally, I found when I tried to read through too quickly I missed a lot. I did much better the second time through when I took my time and limited myself to a max of 2 lessons daily. But that took me 2 months so it might not be the best method for you given the time frame.

I agree that's A LOT of book work (ie going thru 3 different books about the same section), in a very short amount of time. You might find that you don't actually need to go thru everyone of those books.

I am using the trainer, manhattan LR, and powerscore LG. Also get the 7sage app for logic games bc IMO it is invaluable when you first start learning games. I also used manhattan RC, but I don't think it's necessary. Depending on how much you had to read in college, you may not need any prep books for RC.

A month is a pretty tight time frame to get through the Cambridge packets. IMHO it's too tight. There is so much to learn from those drills, especially in the LR section. You need to dissect each part of the question...what wrong answer choices typically show up for certain questions, language in correct answer choices, what flaws look like...there is so much to chew on. And there are A TON of games to do in the packets. You can never practice games too much. Different people make different recommendations, but I initially printed off 3 copies of each game, and then made more of the games that I still wasn't going -0 on after three attempts.

[Straw_Mandible]

I think what Bill was trying to say is that it won't hurt your record to just not show up for the June test. I did the same thing last year - scheduled a re-take, and then decided I wanted to wait a year. There's no official way to cancel a registration, but a no-show is the de facto way. The only downside is the loss of registration fee.

Just to clarify one point for those of you who may not know: A "no show," without cancelling or postponing your registration, is not a good idea. It shows up on your record as an "absent," and it counts as a take, which means you would then have only two takes left within the two year period beginning on the date of your "no show." Also, it clearly makes economical sense to pay the (smaller) date change fee, rather than forfeiting your entire registration fee.

That said, I just registered for September! May our nervous excitement soon become calm, poised, confidence in our abilities.

Cheers,

SM

[BillPackets]

thanks for the advice. would it be more beneficial to get through the trainer in a week or so and then get into the cambridge packets and refer to my other books as I need to. So for example if i am having trouble with a certain LR type or a LG type, go to my book for just that section--> master it and then do it again?

It's hard to say what will work best for you. I like the trainer for LR. I don't like the trainer for games bc Mike uses a lot of subscripts in games and I think it's confusing. It's also exceedingly difficult to "master" a question type. It takes a lot of time to master LR questions...

You could do the trainer, and see if what he's doing makes sense to you. Do some drills for the question type covered in the chapter, and if it's not clicking, look at the chapter on that question type in MLSAT or whatever you have. You'll see as you go along what method makes the most sense to you. Just don't rush through the drills (unless you're killing them of course).

Also, blind review. You need to blind review. Basically do the questions, and then check your answers before actually looking at the right answer choices. Make sure you are 100% sure why each wrong answer is wrong and why each right answer is right. BR is also invaluable IMO.

[lawschoolhopeful15]

Also, blind review. You need to blind review. Basically do the questions, and then check your answers before actually looking at the right answer choices. Make sure you are 100% sure why each wrong answer is wrong and why each right answer is right. BR is also invaluable IMO.

Blind Review IMO is very important in your LSAT prep. If you can learn why you got any question wrong you can apply that knowledge to other questions later and learn from your mistakes. Without BR you can get lucky guessing questions right but there's no guarantee you'll be lucky on test day. Different books and different methods work better for different people. I looked through the trainer book and thought it had some very good material in it but due to the time span I'm going with the LSAT blog 3 month study plan plus I purchased the Cambridge packets as well as prep tests.