The Official September 2016 Study Group - WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS Forum

[appind]

PT 68 complete:
RC: -2
LR1: 0
LR2: -2
LG: -3 !!! DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN YOU [clenches fist] CAN'T DO A SIMPLE LINEAR GAME WHEN YOU BEEN PRACTICING THEM FOR TWO AND HALF MONTHS. last game, had plenty of time, ran out of time anyways, guessed a question and left a question blank. that is EMBARRASSING.
raw: 94
scaled: 175

So I'm going to keep with alternating heavy RC and heavy LR + moderate LG, and do full 5-6 section practice tests of the old PTs in weird locations, and weird times. So much of it is attention span, endurance, etc. Also - will be starting up a strict regimen of regularly bashing my head with a stack of game 68.4. jeepers.

Dude you're fucking killing it. Keep it up.

nice..

actually that G4 in 68 ain't simple. it's one of the hardest games in recent tests so it isn't that shocking to miss a few on it.

Ah, thanks, that's a relief to hear. It is 1-to-1 linear so I felt pretty dumb.
It reminded me a bit of 36.3 (? aisle/window seats) in that it seemed like there weren't a tremendous amount of general inferences I could find off the bat and the questions themselves were troublesome. Very heavy on the local CBT. I need to develop effective strategies to deal with that when the clock's ticking.

yeah 68 G4 initially is linear but has really no solid inference up front. so you have to kinda brute force it. i recall the game took me some 15 minutes even with kinda half guessing a question or two when i first took 68.

i think i did 36 a month or so ago, so i will check how i did in 36.g3 and report back.

so i had a -1 in 36 lg finishing in 31:15 min. the miss was on the easy first game.

the windows/aisles game 3 was a tough one, it alone took me 13:45 min.

[appind]

Anyone have a recommendation for a good RC book?

I'm planning on taking my last time in September. LG on my others have been -0, and LR -2 to -4, but my RC has been all over the place. I used the bibles for the first one, but didn't find the RC bible to be really helpful at all.

i know people talk a lot about trainer but i somehow didn't find find anything earth shattering in it than what's been in other books. have you done all PTs? if not you can use them for rc practice.

it also depends on if you're retaking and what your range in rc is? someone within -5 to -2 may be at a different stage of prep than say -9 to -6.

[Alexandros]

PT 68 complete:
RC: -2
LR1: 0
LR2: -2
LG: -3 !!! DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN YOU [clenches fist] CAN'T DO A SIMPLE LINEAR GAME WHEN YOU BEEN PRACTICING THEM FOR TWO AND HALF MONTHS. last game, had plenty of time, ran out of time anyways, guessed a question and left a question blank. that is EMBARRASSING.
raw: 94
scaled: 175

So I'm going to keep with alternating heavy RC and heavy LR + moderate LG, and do full 5-6 section practice tests of the old PTs in weird locations, and weird times. So much of it is attention span, endurance, etc. Also - will be starting up a strict regimen of regularly bashing my head with a stack of game 68.4. jeepers.

Dude you're fucking killing it. Keep it up.

nice..

actually that G4 in 68 ain't simple. it's one of the hardest games in recent tests so it isn't that shocking to miss a few on it.

Ah, thanks, that's a relief to hear. It is 1-to-1 linear so I felt pretty dumb.
It reminded me a bit of 36.3 (? aisle/window seats) in that it seemed like there weren't a tremendous amount of general inferences I could find off the bat and the questions themselves were troublesome. Very heavy on the local CBT. I need to develop effective strategies to deal with that when the clock's ticking.

yeah 68 G4 initially is linear but has really no solid inference up front. so you have to kinda brute force it. i recall the game took me some 15 minutes even with kinda half guessing a question or two when i first took 68.

i think i did 36 a month or so ago, so i will check how i did in 36.g3 and report back.

so i had a -1 in 36 lg finishing in 31:15 min. the miss was on the easy first game.

the windows/aisles game 3 was a tough one, it alone took me 13:45 min.

Yeah, they're not very similar structurally but both brute-force games. I did 36 G all individually when starting out but yeah 36.3 took a ridic long time.

[34iplaw]

Can't focus today. Just going to do something else for awhile and see if I can get into it.

[Alexandros]

Just took a PT.

PT 60
Conditions: Taken around 9am after coffee and a warmup. I don't know why, but my mind was foggy the entire time. Maybe alcohol the night before? Either way, definitely unnerving. 5 sections, stopwatch/analog watch proctored.

LR1: -1
LG: -0
LR2: -2
RC: -3
Raw: 93

Scaled: 175


It's not like I'm disappointed with a 175, but I know I can and should do better.

Great score man! Especially with a foggy head - that kind of thing can throw you off your game completely.

[JGPGH]

What's up guys, been a long time lurker but finally making my first post in this thread.

Unfortunately, I am making this post off of a very unfortunate test score that I got on the June test. I started studying for the June test in mid-april with an in-person Kaplan course (that SUCKED so so badly) and supplemented that with 7sage's cheapest course, whose methods I used for LG, which are so much better than Kaplan's. Obviously I didnt take enough time to really prepare myself appropriately, but my diagnostic was a 151 and I ended up getting a 158 on the June test. However, I choked really badly on the first two sections. I was averaging -5 to -7 on LG and I ended up getting -14 (Yeah I know, really bad) and my first LR section I got a -9 when I had been averaging -5. On RC I got -3 which was what I was expecting and the last LR I got -5. So, taking that into consideration if I had scored my average on the sections I would have had a 164 which would have been enough to get me into BC which is what im shooting for right now .

My biggest weakness right now is LG and I just got the LSAT Ultimate package from 7sage and I'm planning on reviewing their LG methods and then strictly taking PT's for the next 2 months until the September test. I'm hoping that will be enough to shoot me into the mid 160's at the minimum, which I know I already have the capacity to do and maybe get a better score but I'm not really sure.

Anyway, just wanted to make myself known and say this thread is definitely a huge source of motivation. Best of luck to everyone on their journey to crushing the September test!!

[legallyadog]

PT 69 - 173 (ok brb crying, this is my highest score ever)

LR 1: - 2
LG: -0
RC: -3
LR -3

Took a break in the first LR because I had to take the dog out before he peed in my living room. Still really need to get RC back in shape, not performing like I was before June.

[Alexandros]

What's up guys, been a long time lurker but finally making my first post in this thread.

Unfortunately, I am making this post off of a very unfortunate test score that I got on the June test. I started studying for the June test in mid-april with an in-person Kaplan course (that SUCKED so so badly) and supplemented that with 7sage's cheapest course, whose methods I used for LG, which are so much better than Kaplan's. Obviously I didnt take enough time to really prepare myself appropriately, but my diagnostic was a 151 and I ended up getting a 158 on the June test. However, I choked really badly on the first two sections. I was averaging -5 to -7 on LG and I ended up getting -14 (Yeah I know, really bad) and my first LR section I got a -9 when I had been averaging -5. On RC I got -3 which was what I was expecting and the last LR I got -5. So, taking that into consideration if I had scored my average on the sections I would have had a 164 which would have been enough to get me into BC which is what im shooting for right now .

My biggest weakness right now is LG and I just got the LSAT Ultimate package from 7sage and I'm planning on reviewing their LG methods and then strictly taking PT's for the next 2 months until the September test. I'm hoping that will be enough to shoot me into the mid 160's at the minimum, which I know I already have the capacity to do and maybe get a better score but I'm not really sure.

Anyway, just wanted to make myself known and say this thread is definitely a huge source of motivation. Best of luck to everyone on their journey to crushing the September test!!

Welcome! Sorry about the disappointing june score, but it sounds like you've got a really good grasp on what you need to work on. I'm sure you'll kill it for September.

[Alexandros]

PT 69 - 173 (ok brb crying, this is my highest score ever)

LR 1: - 2
LG: -0
RC: -3
LR -3

Took a break in the first LR because I had to take the dog out before he peed in my living room. Still really need to get RC back in shape, not performing like I was before June.

DAMN congratulations! Good shit!

[ngogirl12]

Anyone have a recommendation for a good RC book?

I'm planning on taking my last time in September. LG on my others have been -0, and LR -2 to -4, but my RC has been all over the place. I used the bibles for the first one, but didn't find the RC bible to be really helpful at all.

Some people like the Trainer for RC, I just finished the Manhattan RC guide and highly recommend it.

[proteinshake]

PT 69 - 173 (ok brb crying, this is my highest score ever)

LR 1: - 2
LG: -0
RC: -3
LR -3

Took a break in the first LR because I had to take the dog out before he peed in my living room. Still really need to get RC back in shape, not performing like I was before June.

nice! even better that it's on such a recent PT!

[SalMoney13]

What's up guys, been a long time lurker but finally making my first post in this thread.

Unfortunately, I am making this post off of a very unfortunate test score that I got on the June test. I started studying for the June test in mid-april with an in-person Kaplan course (that SUCKED so so badly) and supplemented that with 7sage's cheapest course, whose methods I used for LG, which are so much better than Kaplan's. Obviously I didnt take enough time to really prepare myself appropriately, but my diagnostic was a 151 and I ended up getting a 158 on the June test. However, I choked really badly on the first two sections. I was averaging -5 to -7 on LG and I ended up getting -14 (Yeah I know, really bad) and my first LR section I got a -9 when I had been averaging -5. On RC I got -3 which was what I was expecting and the last LR I got -5. So, taking that into consideration if I had scored my average on the sections I would have had a 164 which would have been enough to get me into BC which is what im shooting for right now .

My biggest weakness right now is LG and I just got the LSAT Ultimate package from 7sage and I'm planning on reviewing their LG methods and then strictly taking PT's for the next 2 months until the September test. I'm hoping that will be enough to shoot me into the mid 160's at the minimum, which I know I already have the capacity to do and maybe get a better score but I'm not really sure.

Anyway, just wanted to make myself known and say this thread is definitely a huge source of motivation. Best of luck to everyone on their journey to crushing the September test!!

Hey this sounds just like my story! My June exam was lower than all of my PTs. I was PT'ing in the 163-167 range, and wound up with a 155. Talk about disappointing. Like you, I bombed my first two sections really bad. Went -8 on LG when I was historically at -0 to -2. LR sections were -11 and -8 when I was averaging -5 or so. RC was -10 when I was averaging -7ish. So I was far from my average on nearly every section. Gonna pick myself back up and focus more on my fundamentals. My impression was that I was too easily perturbed during the test and rushed through without relying on my fundamentals. Glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't fair as well as they would have liked!

[PhiladelphiaCollins]

Just finished BR for the RC section of PT63,..it took me almost 2 hours Breakdown ended up being

LR1: -4
LG: -8
LR2: -3
RC: -8
Score: 162
B.R.: 169

Obviously not happy at all about going -8 on games which is usually my strongest section but that may be mostly because I went -5 on a single game that absolutely clapped me. If I could get to -3 a piece on each LR section while figuring my shit out on RC and staying consistent with LG I'll be a happy

Supposedly, LR2 was easier, but I ran out of time on RC 1 and not 2?

Honestly, that RC actually really sucked IMO. I felt a lot of the questions had much better sucker choices than usual.

Which game screwed you up? Was it the truck one? I don't know why, but that game just didn't really click for me *that* well.

Do you mean LR1 and 2? I was the opposite, I ran out of time on 2 and not 1 but somehow performed better.

But yeah, that RC was godawful, I really struggled through the magnetite/ocean floor passage, and even the other ones I wasn't hitting immediately. I think I did the final comparative passage in about 5 minutes, which was admittedly pretty easy, I think I went -0 on it.

The truck game absolutely clapped me, yeah. I ended up skipping that one halfway through, going perfect on the stacked balls in <5 and then going back to the trucks. It wasn't actually that tough of a game, but the lack of restrictive rules/inferences to be drawn didn't make it easier.

[ngogirl12]

Sup everyone?

I did barely any LSAT prep yesterday. Instead I just watched TV on my internet and a chicflick on YouTube. I know soo bad, but it got me ready to go! This is why I can't have off days like I did Saturday, because then I just get distracted :/

Anyhow, I just did a legal RC section. Went -3 on this one. First two passages=perfect score, second -1, and last one -2. What was weird about this section for me was I really thought I did better than I actually did. I was only really confused with one or two questions and made sure I picked what I thought was the correct answer. The passage I went -2 on was the Thurgood Marshall sociological data passage, I picked the answer choice for sociological data vs the Brown ruling (in what the Shelley v. Kramer ruling meant for Marshall's argument). I thought it was sociological data because the last paragraph discusses how the Shelley vs. Kramer ruling allowed for sociological data which he later used in Brown v. Board of Education. Siiigh. I'm going to go listen to JY now. I noticed JY is amazing with RC explanations.

Anyhow, I think the fact that I have moved from -5 to -3 by just doing RC untimed is a good sign. Hopefully it bodes as a positive sign when I get to PT's in a week or so. Ugh nervous about that stage.

I'm also thinking of drilling the comparative RC passages too, because I want to be ready for those when I take PT's. I'm thinking I won't get the time to do more than 20 preptests because I'll be PTing roughly around 2 months, with 3 preptests a week and 2 the week before that gives me 23 preptests to work with, so I'm assuming the 60s and 70s with 3 from the 50s. I'll have to use the 50's for experimental sections and if I'm lucky the 40s as well. Do you know if the comparative passages were introduced in the 50's or 60's? I want to be ready! lol

Also are there fitness people on here? I'm a total healthy/fitness person in the sense that I like to eat healthy/work out/go to the gym but I haven't been able to work out for about a month
I'm going to try from tomorrow morning. My plan is wake up early->gym->shower->breakfast->LSAT prep.

Also, what are good brain foods? I want to get my brain in shape. So far this is what I know:
Salmon-avocados-granola-oats-dark chocolate-blueberries-blackberries-broccoli-almonds
I also know it's important to constantly drink water (something I need to work on lol) because it helps the body.

I find since I've started studying full time, I'm ALWAYS hungry. I have to eat at least every 2 hours!

[JGPGH]

What's up guys, been a long time lurker but finally making my first post in this thread.

Unfortunately, I am making this post off of a very unfortunate test score that I got on the June test. I started studying for the June test in mid-april with an in-person Kaplan course (that SUCKED so so badly) and supplemented that with 7sage's cheapest course, whose methods I used for LG, which are so much better than Kaplan's. Obviously I didnt take enough time to really prepare myself appropriately, but my diagnostic was a 151 and I ended up getting a 158 on the June test. However, I choked really badly on the first two sections. I was averaging -5 to -7 on LG and I ended up getting -14 (Yeah I know, really bad) and my first LR section I got a -9 when I had been averaging -5. On RC I got -3 which was what I was expecting and the last LR I got -5. So, taking that into consideration if I had scored my average on the sections I would have had a 164 which would have been enough to get me into BC which is what im shooting for right now .

My biggest weakness right now is LG and I just got the LSAT Ultimate package from 7sage and I'm planning on reviewing their LG methods and then strictly taking PT's for the next 2 months until the September test. I'm hoping that will be enough to shoot me into the mid 160's at the minimum, which I know I already have the capacity to do and maybe get a better score but I'm not really sure.

Anyway, just wanted to make myself known and say this thread is definitely a huge source of motivation. Best of luck to everyone on their journey to crushing the September test!!

Hey this sounds just like my story! My June exam was lower than all of my PTs. I was PT'ing in the 163-167 range, and wound up with a 155. Talk about disappointing. Like you, I bombed my first two sections really bad. Went -8 on LG when I was historically at -0 to -2. LR sections were -11 and -8 when I was averaging -5 or so. RC was -10 when I was averaging -7ish. So I was far from my average on nearly every section. Gonna pick myself back up and focus more on my fundamentals. My impression was that I was too easily perturbed during the test and rushed through without relying on my fundamentals. Glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't fair as well as they would have liked!

So relieving that I wasn't the only one that this happened to! Yeah I honestly just got nervous at the beginning of the test and choked, I opened up to the LG section and just thought "shit" instead of just getting after it like I was during PT'ing. I believe that it's just a matter of familiarity though. If we can just drill out tests from now until September, we should be scoring where we want to easily. I'm also a big believer that someone who can score in the mid to low 160's has the capability to get closer to the high 160's if they put in the time.

[34iplaw]

Just finished BR for the RC section of PT63,..it took me almost 2 hours Breakdown ended up being

LR1: -4
LG: -8
LR2: -3
RC: -8
Score: 162
B.R.: 169

Obviously not happy at all about going -8 on games which is usually my strongest section but that may be mostly because I went -5 on a single game that absolutely clapped me. If I could get to -3 a piece on each LR section while figuring my shit out on RC and staying consistent with LG I'll be a happy

Supposedly, LR2 was easier, but I ran out of time on RC 1 and not 2?

Honestly, that RC actually really sucked IMO. I felt a lot of the questions had much better sucker choices than usual.

Which game screwed you up? Was it the truck one? I don't know why, but that game just didn't really click for me *that* well.

Do you mean LR1 and 2? I was the opposite, I ran out of time on 2 and not 1 but somehow performed better.

But yeah, that RC was godawful, I really struggled through the magnetite/ocean floor passage, and even the other ones I wasn't hitting immediately. I think I did the final comparative passage in about 5 minutes, which was admittedly pretty easy, I think I went -0 on it.

The truck game absolutely clapped me, yeah. I ended up skipping that one halfway through, going perfect on the stacked balls in <5 and then going back to the trucks. It wasn't actually that tough of a game, but the lack of restrictive rules/inferences to be drawn didn't make it easier.

MUH MAN MUH TWIN.

That was my diagnostic this Saturday...LR 1 I ran out of time on and guessed on four [all wrong guesses] and LR2 I finished and had five minutes left to finish the remaining four questions.

The first game I didn't track time, but I'm certain I finished that game within 3 minutes. Even the rule substitution I got fast... literally my only work on that game was...

HJ*KLM*O*PX*X*
a: L H/P _
t: K P/H _ _ _ _

I wrote nothing else.

Second game was fast, but, for some reason, I second guessed myself on #10 and changed my answer.

3rd game just messed me up... there was one kind of big [seemingly small] that I just didn't get... #6 has to be P or L....it's significant b/c it determines the order of P - S - L and, if P is in 6, forces S into 5.

Game 4 I crushed like you. Much of it I did in my head, as it clicked. Unfortunately, I was a bit cocky and flipped #20...

[JGPGH]

Just wanted to ask but how effective do you guys find BR? I haven't been doing it but was thinking about using it to study until the September test, have you guys found it useful in increasing your score?

[YupSports]

Just wanted to ask but how effective do you guys find BR? I haven't been doing it but was thinking about using it to study until the September test, have you guys found it useful in increasing your score?

BR is the single biggest thing you can do to improve you score - in my opinion.

[20170322]

Just averaged my last 10 PT's-- 176.7. If I hit that on test day, I'll be happy.


Also, very confused at how I got 7/10ths of a point. haha

[Mikey]

Did an Lg section during my break. 35 mins and 4 seconds lmao ehh whatevs

PT 28
LG: -3

I really didn't think I was even going to get any wrong but the ones that I did get wrong, I misplaced something in the game for that question. Ugh silly little mistakes.

[Replitz]

Just took a PT.

PT 60
Conditions: Taken around 9am after coffee and a warmup. I don't know why, but my mind was foggy the entire time. Maybe alcohol the night before? Either way, definitely unnerving. 5 sections, stopwatch/analog watch proctored.

LR1: -1
LG: -0
LR2: -2
RC: -3
Raw: 93

Scaled: 175


It's not like I'm disappointed with a 175, but I know I can and should do better.

I know how you feel. Not a bad score by any means but you feel like you could have pulled off something amazing.

What happened with your RC? Did you feel like you were losing energy toward the end?

[20170322]

Just took a PT.

PT 60
Conditions: Taken around 9am after coffee and a warmup. I don't know why, but my mind was foggy the entire time. Maybe alcohol the night before? Either way, definitely unnerving. 5 sections, stopwatch/analog watch proctored.

LR1: -1
LG: -0
LR2: -2
RC: -3
Raw: 93

Scaled: 175


It's not like I'm disappointed with a 175, but I know I can and should do better.

I know how you feel. Not a bad score by any means but you feel like you could have pulled off something amazing.

What happened with your RC? Did you feel like you were losing energy toward the end?

Tbh, I felt great about RC. Thought I went -0. -3 is near the norm with RC for me though. The real shocker was LR. Normally I average -0/-1.

[JGPGH]

Just wanted to ask but how effective do you guys find BR? I haven't been doing it but was thinking about using it to study until the September test, have you guys found it useful in increasing your score?

BR is the single biggest thing you can do to improve you score - in my opinion.

Do you recommend it for every PT?

[34iplaw]

Just averaged my last 10 PT's-- 176.7. If I hit that on test day, I'll be happy.


Also, very confused at how I got 7/10ths of a point. haha

Why confused?

You're pretty likely to get a score that has 1/10th of a point if you average 10 test scores.

[Replitz]

Just wanted to ask but how effective do you guys find BR? I haven't been doing it but was thinking about using it to study until the September test, have you guys found it useful in increasing your score?

BR is the single biggest thing you can do to improve you score - in my opinion.

Do you recommend it for every PT?

My problem with BR is that I'm already 100% sure on all my answers. I usually mark about 3-5 hard questions for further review, and use the 3-5 minutes left on the test to go back and check them again.

The questions I'm getting wrong are due to missing subtle wording changes, and running out of time on LG. BR doesn't fix this problem on RC and LR because if I don't catch my mistakes during review during the test I don't catch them later on either.