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

[boatymcboatface09]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

[Mikey]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

[Pozzo]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

I can't agree more. I screwed my June prep because I put too much emphasis on full PTs and not enough on reviews. Ultimately, PTs are more important if you're seeing a big gap between your *timed* single section score and your PT score. Full PTs are benchmarks of current performance, and good practice to know what to expect on test day. But if your scores on PTs are in line with weekly prep, but not where you want them to be, then you should focus on weekly prep more not more PTs. On the other hand, if you're seeing a big drop off between single section scoring and full PTs, then you'll want to focus on building up endurance with more PTs. And be evermindful of burnout. That'll get ya if you overdo PTs.

[boatymcboatface09]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

Perfect, thanks!

[boatymcboatface09]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

I can't agree more. I screwed my June prep because I put too much emphasis on full PTs and not enough on reviews. Ultimately, PTs are more important if you're seeing a big gap between your *timed* single section score and your PT score. Full PTs are benchmarks of current performance, and good practice to know what to expect on test day. But if your scores on PTs are in line with weekly prep, but not where you want them to be, then you should focus on weekly prep more not more PTs. On the other hand, if you're seeing a big drop off between single section scoring and full PTs, then you'll want to focus on building up endurance with more PTs. And be evermindful of burnout. That'll get ya if you overdo PTs.

Okay, I'm glad you brought that up - that's kind of how I was feeling too. I use PTs to say where I was at but I thought of them more as "diagnostics" than as really a way to improve and practice. I'm glad to hear that's about what other people have been doing too. I tend to do really well on LR but struggle with Games and lately my RC has been dropping a bit too. So I've been focusing on those for practice.

[Alexandros]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

I can't agree more. I screwed my June prep because I put too much emphasis on full PTs and not enough on reviews. Ultimately, PTs are more important if you're seeing a big gap between your *timed* single section score and your PT score. Full PTs are benchmarks of current performance, and good practice to know what to expect on test day. But if your scores on PTs are in line with weekly prep, but not where you want them to be, then you should focus on weekly prep more not more PTs. On the other hand, if you're seeing a big drop off between single section scoring and full PTs, then you'll want to focus on building up endurance with more PTs. And be evermindful of burnout. That'll get ya if you overdo PTs.

^^^ all of that.

I did 1 PT a week for the first 4 PTs, 2 a week for the most recent 4. I am hoping to continue with at least 2, possibly up it if I can because I'm seeing a bit of a discrepancy between drilling and PTs (and I'm close enough to my goal that I think it's justifiable.)

Also - Welcome!

[20170322]

Can we start a running count of days until the LSAT?

[Mikey]

Can we start a running count of days until the LSAT?

can you take my lsat for me plss

[amta]

Can we start a running count of days until the LSAT?

i couldn't find an aesthetically please count down to embed. so at this time, no.

[boatymcboatface09]

Thanks!

Long time lurker, first time poster. Hopefully this isn't a noob question.

How often do you all end up doing full length, timed, testing-day-simulated condition tests? I've been doing them once a week (on Saturday) and any days I have off of work, but I'm worried that might not be enough. I do plenty of studying during the week, of course, but mostly individual sections or games/rc passages. Should I be doing full-length tests more often?

I just started practice testing today, but will be doing 2 per week with thorough reviewing. 1 or 2 PT a week is the norm, no more than 3 though. Reviewing is much more important than trying to do a ton of PT, so go with 1 or 2 per week and continue doing single sections when you want.

I can't agree more. I screwed my June prep because I put too much emphasis on full PTs and not enough on reviews. Ultimately, PTs are more important if you're seeing a big gap between your *timed* single section score and your PT score. Full PTs are benchmarks of current performance, and good practice to know what to expect on test day. But if your scores on PTs are in line with weekly prep, but not where you want them to be, then you should focus on weekly prep more not more PTs. On the other hand, if you're seeing a big drop off between single section scoring and full PTs, then you'll want to focus on building up endurance with more PTs. And be evermindful of burnout. That'll get ya if you overdo PTs.

^^^ all of that.

I did 1 PT a week for the first 4 PTs, 2 a week for the most recent 4. I am hoping to continue with at least 2, possibly up it if I can because I'm seeing a bit of a discrepancy between drilling and PTs (and I'm close enough to my goal that I think it's justifiable.)

Also - Welcome!

Thanks!

[proteinshake]

just did the RC section from PT 48. wasn't too bad except for that passage about Embryos and Polarity, has anyone done this one?! that one was tough, but luckily I had about 9 minutes left for it so I took my time with it. still ended up taking full time. gonna BR it in about an hour.

[dasq5511]

Checking in after lurking for months.

I've been hitting a plateau and have a few questions. I started studying initially about 3 months ago with the powerscore books and then moved to the 7sage curriculum. Once I finished 7sage I started drilling and taking full PTs. I'm aiming for 172-173 on test day and my average for the last 5 PTs is a 167 with the section averages being RC: -2.5, LR: -7, and LG: -4. My strongest section tends to be RC and weakest tends to be LG (RC average hasn't changed much from my diagnostic). Knowing that LG is supposed to be the easiest section to perfect, I've been thinking I should focus on that much more than the other two in this last 6 weeks, as LG being -0 would put me at my target.

My questions are:
1. How achievable is the jump from high 160's to 172-173 in the next 6 weeks?
2. Should I put the test off till December? I would very much prefer attending this cycle, but there is nothing stopping me from waiting a year.
3. How much studying per day is possible without burning out? Obviously I want to do as much as I can since we're in the home stretch.
4. Given that I want to focus on LG and that would put me at my target, how can I determine how to split up my time between that and the other sections as well as taking full PTs?
5. Typical advice given here includes taking a full 30+ PTs, focusing more on LGs means I wouldn't have time to do this, is that a good strategy?
6. My biggest challenge with LGs is getting the setup down, once I have that I'm able to answer the questions fairly quickly, what's the best way to improve this aspect specifically? I tend to score very well on the first 2-3 games and get stumped often on the last one.

Thanks!

[Mikey]

[StopLawying]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

[Mikey]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

Are you applying after the September LSAT? Are you still in undergrad? If you're still in undergrad, maybe try going to see the professors during office hours when the semester starts. If you're not in undergrad, do you have other professors in mind?

[Barack O'Drama]

PT 78 just arrived!

Mine too! Now I have collected them all like Pokemon!

I ordered mine from Amazon like a week ago and it took a while, but finally it is here

[StopLawying]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

Are you applying after the September LSAT? Are you still in undergrad? If you're still in undergrad, maybe try going to see the professors during office hours when the semester starts. If you're not in undergrad, do you have other professors in mind?

Graduated recently. I can always meet with them once the semester starts, that's not a prob at all. I just wanted to get started now because the process takes so damn long. Let's say I meet them in 2 weeks. I need to give them around a month to write + it takes like 2 weeks for LSAC to process it.
Also, I'd rather communicate via email to ask whether they can write me a letter so they don't feel compelled to do it. Want someone who's gonna do it happily rather than someone who'll do it because they feel bad saying no.

[Mikey]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

Are you applying after the September LSAT? Are you still in undergrad? If you're still in undergrad, maybe try going to see the professors during office hours when the semester starts. If you're not in undergrad, do you have other professors in mind?

Graduated recently. I can always meet with them once the semester starts, that's not a prob at all. I just wanted to get started now because the process takes so damn long. Let's say I meet them in 2 weeks. I need to give them around a month to write + it takes like 2 weeks for LSAC to process it.
Also, I'd rather communicate via email to ask whether they can write me a letter so they don't feel compelled to do it. Want someone who's gonna do it happily rather than someone who'll do it because they feel bad saying no.

Yeah I get you. If it's 2 professors that you feel confident about asking though, I wouldn't worry about them not wanting to do it. That is, if they remember you, really liked you as a student, etc. Are they both professors that liked you a lot and you did very well in their course?

[StopLawying]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

Are you applying after the September LSAT? Are you still in undergrad? If you're still in undergrad, maybe try going to see the professors during office hours when the semester starts. If you're not in undergrad, do you have other professors in mind?

Graduated recently. I can always meet with them once the semester starts, that's not a prob at all. I just wanted to get started now because the process takes so damn long. Let's say I meet them in 2 weeks. I need to give them around a month to write + it takes like 2 weeks for LSAC to process it.
Also, I'd rather communicate via email to ask whether they can write me a letter so they don't feel compelled to do it. Want someone who's gonna do it happily rather than someone who'll do it because they feel bad saying no.

Yeah I get you. If it's 2 professors that you feel confident about asking though, I wouldn't worry about them not wanting to do it. That is, if they remember you, really liked you as a student, etc. Are they both professors that liked you a lot and you did very well in their course?

I did very well in their courses, but didn't really establish a strong relationship with them as I was working while in school. So I don't know if they like me well enough to take the time to write it.
One professor though sent me an email after I took his class and told me I was the best student I ever had. He even wrote in the email that he'll write me a letter of rec whenever I need one. He's not teaching in the summer so I can't really meet with him. Emailed him and haven't gotten a response. Semester starts in a few weeks so I'll visit him if I don't get an answer. But again, I want to take care of this stuff now. Thanks Mikey!

[YupSports]

Pt 69.

5:30am tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

[Alexandros]

PT 78 just arrived!

Mine too! Now I have collected them all like Pokemon!

I ordered mine from Amazon like a week ago and it took a while, but finally it is here

Hehe, when you're 'collecting LSAT PTs like Pokemon.'

Yeah - same! Glad it's finally here.

[Mikey]

Pissed off, emailed a few professors for an LOR around 2 weeks ago and haven't gotten any responses. Really wish LORs werent a part of the application process, most are useless anyway and it takes forever to actually get one.

Are you applying after the September LSAT? Are you still in undergrad? If you're still in undergrad, maybe try going to see the professors during office hours when the semester starts. If you're not in undergrad, do you have other professors in mind?

Graduated recently. I can always meet with them once the semester starts, that's not a prob at all. I just wanted to get started now because the process takes so damn long. Let's say I meet them in 2 weeks. I need to give them around a month to write + it takes like 2 weeks for LSAC to process it.
Also, I'd rather communicate via email to ask whether they can write me a letter so they don't feel compelled to do it. Want someone who's gonna do it happily rather than someone who'll do it because they feel bad saying no.

Yeah I get you. If it's 2 professors that you feel confident about asking though, I wouldn't worry about them not wanting to do it. That is, if they remember you, really liked you as a student, etc. Are they both professors that liked you a lot and you did very well in their course?

I did very well in their courses, but didn't really establish a strong relationship with them as I was working while in school. So I don't know if they like me well enough to take the time to write it.
One professor though sent me an email after I took his class and told me I was the best student I ever had. He even wrote in the email that he'll write me a letter of rec whenever I need one. He's not teaching in the summer so I can't really meet with him. Emailed him and haven't gotten a response. Semester starts in a few weeks so I'll visit him if I don't get an answer. But again, I want to take care of this stuff now. Thanks Mikey!

Ahh I see. Well best of luck in getting your letters! For sure meet with that professor who emailed you, that seems like a really LOR opportunity

[appind]

Taking my 15 in the middle of PT62, just finished up LG. It absolutely wrecked me. I have no idea why. Not looking forward to scoring this one.

I took 62 yesterday, the LG REALLY tested your inference making skills.

Yeah, games 2 and 3 especially. Managed an eleventh hour inference on game 2 to salvage most of it, but no time to do anything close to adequate on game 3. I missed 4 of the 5 questions on that game.

is 62 lg the one with the bike game? It's one of the two most difficult games in 60s I think.

[Pozzo]

Taking my 15 in the middle of PT62, just finished up LG. It absolutely wrecked me. I have no idea why. Not looking forward to scoring this one.

I took 62 yesterday, the LG REALLY tested your inference making skills.

Yeah, games 2 and 3 especially. Managed an eleventh hour inference on game 2 to salvage most of it, but no time to do anything close to adequate on game 3. I missed 4 of the 5 questions on that game.

is 62 lg the one with the bike game? It's one of the two most difficult games in 60s I think.

Nah, the two tough ones are stained glass window and business conference.

[proteinshake]

PT 48 RC, 5/5 difficulty on 7Sage:

-4. missed one on the first, two on the second, one on the third, and zero on the last and hardest one (embryos and polarity). all four were either 4 or 5 stars on 7Sage, which is good news for me! I think I can get it together and get near perfect, I felt really confident about most answer choices, just need to work on some of the more tricky questions.