The Official February 2015 Study Group Forum

AtticusRising · Post by **AtticusRising** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:45 am

[/quote]
This is actually my second time taking the test. My first time I got 161 and not happy about it. Now I bought LSAT Blog three courses – LR,LG and RC – and finding them great.
I'm also using the Trainer which I like less then the courses, because it has little annoying drills like the evidence drill, but it's still great.
Moreover, I'm using Manhattan RC 4th ed, which is somewhat helpful but less than my other resources.

My study plan – to finish the LSAT blog courses and then take it from there…

What is your plan of attack?[/quote]

I've heard good things about the LSAT Blog. I hope they do the trick for you.

I'm doing a "self-study while working full time" suicide mission:
October: finish LGB and all LG cambridge packets, un-timed PTs once a week
November: finish MLR and all LR cambridge packets, un-timed PTs once a week + blind review
December: Voyager's RC/Superprep RC/Trainer's RC and all RC cambridge packets, 3 timed PTs per week + blind review
January: 3 timed PTs per week + blind review
February: Prove it was all worth it[/quote][/quote]

Thanks for the encouragement.
I think that taking PTs in October is too early, I'm planning to take most of mine starting at the end of November. But, if you already have a firm grasp of the fundamentals then go right ahead. Moreover, I think that doing PTs untimed is ineffective, because you want to use them to build endurance and time efficiency, I also did a couple of PTs untimed, which didn't help me much.

I want to drill the Cambridge packets, especially the LG ones, then I want to start PTing and do the hardest RC/LG/LR questions from the packets.[/quote]

I've already gone through the Trainer once (just finished my second read through) and have a solid foundation for each section so I definitely don't think it's too early to start PTing in my case. And I think doing untimed PTs is absolutely essential. It's the only way to see what fundamental errors in thinking you're making. Timing yourself as soon as you start PTing will give you inconsistent scores clouded by timing errors. I thinks it's important to understand and perfect your thought process in order to produce consistent accuracy. Plus, you will naturally get quicker over time as the strategies start becoming second nature to you. Accuracy --> Speed --> Endurance

Smallville · Post by **Smallville** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:16 am

AtticusRising wrote: I've already gone through the Trainer once (just finished my second read through) and have a solid foundation for each section so I definitely don't think it's too early to start PTing in my case. And I think doing untimed PTs is absolutely essential. It's the only way to see what fundamental errors in thinking you're making. Timing yourself as soon as you start PTing will give you inconsistent scores clouded by timing errors. I thinks it's important to understand and perfect your thought process in order to produce consistent accuracy. Plus, you will naturally get quicker over time as the strategies start becoming second nature to you. Accuracy --> Speed --> Endurance

+1

ChemEng1642 · Post by **ChemEng1642** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:23 am

AtticusRising · Post by **AtticusRising** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:56 am

ChemEng1642 wrote:
AtticusRising wrote: I'm doing a "self-study while working full time" suicide mission
I did that - first time I took a course because I figured there was no way I was going to motivated without one, and the second time I did the Trainer 16 week schedule or something.

Definitely possible and I'm still alive!

Sweet. That's what I need to hear! I'm on some kind of LSAT high right now but I'm hoping it doesn't lead to burn out before Feb.

ChemEng1642 · Post by **ChemEng1642** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:09 am

kirilrez · Post by **kirilrez** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:55 am

Do you take notes for the prep books you're going over?
If so what do you take note of?

AtticusRising · Post by **AtticusRising** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:28 am

ChemEng1642 wrote:
AtticusRising wrote: Sweet. That's what I need to hear! I'm on some kind of LSAT high right now but I'm hoping it doesn't lead to burn out before Feb.
Err I was definitely burnt out by the end of January BUT I was able to realize what was happening the week before the test so I didn't do any studying 3 days before the test and I scored 5 points higher than my last PT!

That's the funny thing about working full time and taking PTs after work. Most people say to expect your score to be lower on the real test than your PTs. But because I was taking PTs in worse conditions (after work when I was brain-dead exhausted), I actually felt a lot better the morning of the test.

Dude...It's like training at high altitude. Why didn't I think of that before?! Totally going to use that to my advantage now!! Thanks!

AtticusRising · Post by **AtticusRising** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:40 am

kirilrez wrote:Do you take notes for the prep books you're going over?
If so what do you take note of?

I take minimal notes but it's usually regarding rules or strategies that I need to drill into my thinking.

Like for LG: "only if" vs "if and only if", always show not laws for blocks, if two separate variable sets have fixed spaces who's sum is greater than total spaces then there must be overlap, "if" will be before the sufficient condition, etc. I have a few notes like this for each section and then I review them before every PT. It may be overkill but I find it helpful.

ChemEng1642 · Post by **ChemEng1642** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 9:50 am

kirilrez · Post by **kirilrez** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:01 am

Do you guys Blind Review the PTs you take?
If so, how long does an average PT take you and how effective it is?

cloy26 · Post by **cloy26** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:50 pm

kirilrez wrote:Do you guys Blind Review the PTs you take?
If so, how long does an average PT take you and how effective it is?

BLIND REVIEW EVERY TEST YOU TAKE.

I can't stress this enough. You need to read the question, digest it, and truly comprehend the reasoning behind it. It wasn't until I starting genuinely blind reviewing these tests that I started seeing gains. I jumped 7 points between my 1st and 2nd attempt solely because of BR.

To do an honest blind review, it takes however long you need it to take. If you were unsure on 20 of 25 LR questions in a section, you're going to have to go back and rip those suckers apart; otherwise, you're cheating yourself out of a score and leaving money on the table. Know the argument inside and out. I've spent hours on some tests blind reviewing, FWIW.

JackelJ · Post by **JackelJ** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:24 am

kirilrez · Post by **kirilrez** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:10 pm

What kinds of materials and methods are you using in RC, LG and LR?

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:06 pm

Smallville · Post by **Smallville** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 8:01 pm

mist4bison wrote:Just dropping by. Planning on Dec now, but will more than likely end up doing February. Wanna be PTing at ~172+ before I take.

YOUR GOINGE TO LEAVE US?!?!?!

jk, #realtalk #LSATprobs #180

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 8:49 pm

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nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:17 pm

Jgoods wrote:
mist4bison wrote:Just dropping by. Planning on Dec now, but will more than likely end up doing February. Wanna be PTing at ~172+ before I take.
YOUR GOINGE TO LEAVE US?!?!?!

jk, #realtalk #LSATprobs #180

Real talk indeed. Dropping by just in case. Really hoping that I don't have a nervous break Dec 6th. I want to apply this cycle!

JazzyMac · Post by **JazzyMac** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:39 pm

I'm glad you all are here. I tapered off at Lesson 11 in The Trainer, and felt so guilty that I haven't been on these forums for quite a while. Now I know all is not lost and I'm going to get back in gear. My intensity at work has increased, but now my boss and other leadership folks know about my goals, so I have their support when I need to leave work on time every time.

Best wishes to you all for this test!

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:42 pm

JackelJ · Post by **JackelJ** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 7:52 am

cuboxing25 · Post by **cuboxing25** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:59 pm

well i did not get the score I wanted in Sept (161)... so im here going to take it in Feb

KingJamesXXIII · Post by **KingJamesXXIII** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:23 pm

Just joined the board. I am also taking the Test in Feb. 2015 @ St Marys Univ in San Antonio, Texas.
I just ordered the Manhattan Series of Books and Im ordering the Logic Games Bible too.

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:37 pm

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cranburial · Post by **cranburial** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:59 am

Hi y'all. Long-time occasional lurker, first-time poster checking in.

I took BP's live course, and on their six PTs I scored 165, 170, 174, 174, 179, 180. I had every hope of getting a 180 in September.

Unfortunately, hopes are meant to be dashed against the jagged rocks of reality. I ended up getting a 170. I know I can do better.

Just bought the last 20 preptests from Amazon. LET'S DO THIS.

Btw, anyone know if HYS really average your scores like they claim to do?