Are you ready for total DOMINATION?!! (Feb. 2011) Forum

[Pleasye]

No worries!

[Pleasye]

K apparently I'm in need of a lot of help today...

PT 34 game 4:

My first question is, the game says "each of exactly six docs is at exactly one of two clinics". Does this mean that if they are not at one then they are at the other?

My other question: I wrote out all the rules and am doing the game untimed so I was just messing around and putting as many rules together as I could and I came across this:

If Ls --> Nr + Pr

And if Pr --> Ks + Os

Which makes a perfectly logical chain: Ls --> Nr + Pr --> Ks + Os

But one of the other rules is that Nr --> Or. So if L goes to s then where the hell does O go?

Am I just missing something? Every time I look at it my brain just goes: does. not. compute.

Sorry for any typos I'm on my phone.

[risktaker]

Don't worry too much about it pleasye. Just review and see which types of questions you are missing in LR. I had a 161 PT last week and the next test, I got a 173. Even though I had seen the test that I got a 173 on before, I had not seen it in over 6 months, so I did not remember any of the questions. After getting the 161, I just tried to see if there were any types of questions I was missing a lot of. I noticed that strengthen and flaw questions were my weak areas so I drilled them from Kaplan's Big Orange Book and missed 0 and 1 respectively on the LR sections in the next PT I took. Just stay positive.

P.S. I will be taking a few new tests that I have not seen starting this thursday and hopefully, my LR performance will be just as good as the last PT.

I thought you took the LSAT 5 times before? is this #6?

Yup, this is indeed my sixth time. I was adamant about not taking medication for anxiety during my other tests thinking that anxiety would not be an issue, but it was an issue for me. I should have done this a lot earlier, but I went to the doctor to get prescribed beta-blockers and it has helped me immensely. I am hoping that it will keep my nerves in check for the feb 11 test and help me get to my target score of 165.

[Dotson525]

K apparently I'm in need of a lot of help today...

PT 34 game 4:

My first question is, the game says "each of exactly six docs is at exactly one of two clinics". Does this mean that if they are not at one then they are at the other?

My other question: I wrote out all the rules and am doing the game untimed so I was just messing around and putting as many rules together as I could and I came across this:

If Ls --> Nr + Pr

And if Pr --> Ks + Os

Which makes a perfectly logical chain: Ls --> Nr + Pr --> Ks + Os

But one of the other rules is that Nr --> Or. So if L goes to s then where the hell does O go?

Am I just missing something? Every time I look at it my brain just goes: does. not. compute.

Sorry for any typos I'm on my phone.

First question: Doc. at one of the two (wierd wording. lol I added "the" in front of two clinics)

Second question: I deduced L cannot be in S. I numbered the rules 1-5. Found it was easier to figure out 2 or 3 example placements. Also, worked rules backwards started with Pr->Ks +Os.

Hope this helps. At times I find just putting forth a couple of examples faster.

[vissidarte27]

PT42 today.

LG: -0
LR1: -4
RC: -3
LR2: -3

Raw score: 91
Scaled score: 171

That makes me feel a little better, even though it's an older test. I'm not a total dumbass, anyway.

[Pleasye]

First question: Doc. at one of the two (wierd wording. lol I added "the" in front of two clinics)

Second question: I deduced L cannot be in S. I numbered the rules 1-5. Found it was easier to figure out 2 or 3 example placements. Also, worked rules backwards started with Pr->Ks +Os.

Hope this helps. At times I find just putting forth a couple of examples faster.

I don't know why but when I was like "oh maybe L can't go in s" I was immediately like NO that's can't be possible why would they give me all these rules then. GAH

I read those stupid rules like 30 times thinking I was writing them down wrong. Thank you! <3

Congrats on that PT Vissi! That score is legit, the tests aren't THAT different.

[SKI]

Wow nice work on PT above.

[vissidarte27]

Thanks, guys! It definitely made me feel better. Maybe I can pull this off after all?

[thsmthcrmnl]

I will happily eat my words. Well done.

[Pleasye]

Thanks, guys! It definitely made me feel better. Maybe I can pull this off after all?

Um yes you definitely can.

[kulshan]

.

[Pleasye]

Test 9 is REALLY old. Go on cambridgelsat.com and buy some of the newer tests (in the 50 or 60's) individually. They're like 8 dollars each. Reading comprehension has changed significantly and so has the composition of LR. Games have gone through phases and you never really know what you're going to get but you should still get familiar with the newer ones.

You should do at least a few newer tests.

[kulshan]

.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

-4 on games today. horray! now I need to tighten up rc and lr. Anyone else find devoting time to one section can lead to declines in other sections?

[Pleasye]

Okay, I could spare $16 to get a couple of them. Any recommendations on particularly good (representative? hard?) recent tests?

If you want the most recent one go with 62. I'm blanking on which tests are considered particularly hard right now but 57 comes to mind for some reason.

I'll get back to you in a little about that lol

xyzzzzzzzz: congrats on the LG score! Yes, I have noticed that, so annoying

[policestate1234]

Just about two weeks left. How's everyone feeling?

[risktaker]

Took PT 24 today. It was among 5-6 tests that I have not seen before. Got a damn 162. I ran out of time on all the sections and guessed blindly on 13 questions. I thought beta-blockers were a good thing for me, but I have been feeling a lot of the side-effects. Blurred vision, unable to concentrate, etc. I think I will be trying PT 25 this saturday without any beta-blockers and see what the result is. Hopefully better than a damn 162. Have any of u guys tried 5 hour energy with the LSAT and if so, did it help at all?

[vissidarte27]

PT44 today.

RC: -4
LR1: -4
LR2: -4
LG: -1

Seems to be a day of fours.

Raw score: 88
Scaled score: 169

Not as good as yesterday, but I'll still take it. It was my first time dealing with back to back LR and I made some dumb mistakes towards the end of the second section that cost me a couple of points. Ran out of time on LG, which made for a sloppy final game and I think RC would have been better had I not rushed it as much as I did (finished in 30 minutes and didn't go back and check my work because I'm an idiot). Things to improve upon. Ho hum.

I'm feeling better than I was a couple of days ago and happy to be back in a regular study schedule. PT45 (I think) tomorrow.

[99.9luft]

Took PT 24 today. It was among 5-6 tests that I have not seen before. Got a damn 162. I ran out of time on all the sections and guessed blindly on 13 questions. I thought beta-blockers were a good thing for me, but I have been feeling a lot of the side-effects. Blurred vision, unable to concentrate, etc. I think I will be trying PT 25 this saturday without any beta-blockers and see what the result is. Hopefully better than a damn 162. Have any of u guys tried 5 hour energy with the LSAT and if so, did it help at all?

Do NOT take 5 hour energy! Quarter of a bottle of that poison made me unable to focus (speeds you up) in oct. I did the rc in 30 mins - personal record - but missed 9 effing questions. Do not take it, unless you want a score in the 150s, which you don't.

[risktaker]

Any tips for avoiding anxiety on test day without medication?

[vissidarte27]

Any tips for avoiding anxiety on test day without medication?

This is probably lame, but I try to downplay the importance of the test.

Like for the Feb LSAT, I'm just telling myself that I'll retake in June and that takes a little of the pressure off and eases my nerves.

[99.9luft]

Any tips for avoiding anxiety on test day without medication?

Yoga.

[mr_toad]

Took PT 24 today. It was among 5-6 tests that I have not seen before. Got a damn 162. I ran out of time on all the sections and guessed blindly on 13 questions. I thought beta-blockers were a good thing for me, but I have been feeling a lot of the side-effects. Blurred vision, unable to concentrate, etc. I think I will be trying PT 25 this saturday without any beta-blockers and see what the result is. Hopefully better than a damn 162. Have any of u guys tried 5 hour energy with the LSAT and if so, did it help at all?

Do NOT take 5 hour energy! Quarter of a bottle of that poison made me unable to focus (speeds you up) in oct. I did the rc in 30 mins - personal record - but missed 9 effing questions. Do not take it, unless you want a score in the 150s, which you don't.

Sounds like a faulty reasoning question from the LSAT. Where's the flaw in the above reasoning?

FWIW, I tried it for the first time last Friday on a 5-section PT (PT 60 + LG from 58). Did better on PT 60 than I did in October (169, missing 6 on the games; in October I missed probably 10 on the games, maybe more: it scared the shit out of me. But then I got a 170 the next day on the real PT 62). Only missed 2 from the PT 58 LG section. My average is about 171-2 for PTs after 55. And I was sick. I think I did better with the drink, although I didn't feel noticeably different. Still, I think my sickness bothered me less. [edited for grammar]

What it comes down to with something like that is it's gonna be all anecdotal, and it might even work a bit differently each time you try it. I'm going to use it for my PT tomorrow, and then decide if I switch back to nothing for the last two weeks or not.

[99.9luft]

Took PT 24 today. It was among 5-6 tests that I have not seen before. Got a damn 162. I ran out of time on all the sections and guessed blindly on 13 questions. I thought beta-blockers were a good thing for me, but I have been feeling a lot of the side-effects. Blurred vision, unable to concentrate, etc. I think I will be trying PT 25 this saturday without any beta-blockers and see what the result is. Hopefully better than a damn 162. Have any of u guys tried 5 hour energy with the LSAT and if so, did it help at all?

Do NOT take 5 hour energy! Quarter of a bottle of that poison made me unable to focus (speeds you up) in oct. I did the rc in 30 mins - personal record - but missed 9 effing questions. Do not take it, unless you want a score in the 150s, which you don't.

Sounds like a faulty reasoning question from the LSAT. Where's the flaw in the above reasoning?

FWIW, I tried it for the first time last Friday on a 5-section PT (PT 60 + LG from 58). Did better on PT 60 than I did in October (169, missing 6 on the games; in October I missed probably 10 on the games, maybe more: it scared the shit out of me. But then I got a 170 the next day on the real PT 62). Only missed 2 from the PT 58 LG section. My average is about 171-2 for PTs after 55. And I was sick. I think I did better with the drink, although I didn't feel noticeably different. Still, I think my sickness bothered me less. [edited for grammar]

What it comes down to with something like that is it's gonna be all anecdotal, and it might even work a bit differently each time you try it. I'm going to use it for my PT tomorrow, and then decide if I switch back to nothing for the last two weeks or not.

I was speaking of 5 hour energy experience during the TEST day and not during PTs, those are two different things. Of course its effects vary depending on the person and other factors. For instance, I have experienced smth similar to what you have - took it for a PT and did BETTER than without it. Yet, that's also flawed, because you don't know if you've just gotten better, or a combo of both that and the drink.

The reason I am recommending against it is because the general consensus is to avoid taking anything that can affect your pace and focus during the test. For me, 5 hour energy sped up the pace, but at the price of the focus. The real question is whether one will take it on the test day and not just during PTs - it's a somewhat difficult decision, but not for me personally, since i think taking that drink is a crutch and i'd rather study and PT in a high range, relax, and on the test day bring just water, rather than engage in chemical experiments when the next 5 years of your life is at stake (alert: dramatization, hehe).

[mr_toad]

Took PT 24 today. It was among 5-6 tests that I have not seen before. Got a damn 162. I ran out of time on all the sections and guessed blindly on 13 questions. I thought beta-blockers were a good thing for me, but I have been feeling a lot of the side-effects. Blurred vision, unable to concentrate, etc. I think I will be trying PT 25 this saturday without any beta-blockers and see what the result is. Hopefully better than a damn 162. Have any of u guys tried 5 hour energy with the LSAT and if so, did it help at all?

Do NOT take 5 hour energy! Quarter of a bottle of that poison made me unable to focus (speeds you up) in oct. I did the rc in 30 mins - personal record - but missed 9 effing questions. Do not take it, unless you want a score in the 150s, which you don't.

Sounds like a faulty reasoning question from the LSAT. Where's the flaw in the above reasoning?

FWIW, I tried it for the first time last Friday on a 5-section PT (PT 60 + LG from 58). Did better on PT 60 than I did in October (169, missing 6 on the games; in October I missed probably 10 on the games, maybe more: it scared the shit out of me. But then I got a 170 the next day on the real PT 62). Only missed 2 from the PT 58 LG section. My average is about 171-2 for PTs after 55. And I was sick. I think I did better with the drink, although I didn't feel noticeably different. Still, I think my sickness bothered me less. [edited for grammar]

What it comes down to with something like that is it's gonna be all anecdotal, and it might even work a bit differently each time you try it. I'm going to use it for my PT tomorrow, and then decide if I switch back to nothing for the last two weeks or not.

I was speaking of 5 hour energy experience during the TEST day and not during PTs, those are two different things. Of course its effects vary depending on the person and other factors. For instance, I have experienced smth similar to what you have - took it for a PT and did BETTER than without it. Yet, that's also flawed, because you don't know if you've just gotten better, or a combo of both that and the drink.

The reason I am recommending against it is because the general consensus is to avoid taking anything that can affect your pace and focus during the test. For me, 5 hour energy sped up the pace, but at the price of the focus. The real question is whether one will take it on the test day and not just during PTs - it's a somewhat difficult decision, but not for me personally, since i think taking that drink is a crutch and i'd rather study and PT in a high range, relax, and on the test day bring just water, rather than engage in chemical experiments when the next 5 years of your life is at stake (alert: dramatization, hehe).

It's a good point, as I think I am "better" than before anyway. But I feel MORE focused with 5-hour, not less.... so the way it seems to affect me personally has no noticeable downsides. But that said, I prefer being pure like you, too, and out of 30+ pts and 100s of hours of studying, only once did I use it, just to try it out. And now I'm open to either way. But would never "recommend" any drugs, even legal ones, to others. That's such a personal decision with potentially deleterious effects....