The Official June 2014 Study Group Forum

[Straw_Mandible]

beast mode like Straw

Guys, I'm blushing!

But seriously, it is a good idea to give yourself at least a tiny bit of exposure to LSAT material every day--even if it's just a single passage or game or a few LR questions. No matter how busy we are, we can always find some time in the day we're not really using. I have a 15 minute train ride to work, when I would normally just zone out or listen to music, so on busy days, I devote that time to drilling. Remember that the prep process is less about "learning" than it is about cultivating habits and patterns of thought. The brain responds well to frequent and regular repetition, so just getting into the LSAT mindset for a few minutes on a day when you otherwise won't have much time to devote to studying will have a positive impact over the long-term.

In other news: I bought a new planner in which I made a countdown to June 9th (173 DAYS!), and I just noticed the following caption on the first page, written in cute bubbly letters: "Your days are as fun as you make them!" How painfully ironic.

[10052014]

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[Straw_Mandible]

More exposure certainly couldn't hurt. But it might be prudent to leave a portion of each of the LR packets to shore up the trouble spots you may notice during your early PTs. Then again, you can always re-drill. I really don't think that running out of material is as much of a problem as some people believe. If you've followed any retake threads, you've seen people who have made massive gains from going back over old material.

Edited because English.

[flash21]

are you guys strictly drilling right now? How often should I be doing timed sections do you guys think? also, if anyone around the mid 150 level wants to study together, just give me a PM and I'll give you my email

[rebexness]

are you guys strictly drilling right now? How often should I be doing timed sections do you guys think? also, if anyone around the mid 150 level wants to study together, just give me a PM and I'll give you my email

I would not advise timed sections yet, unless you are consistently -0 in untimed sections.

[flash21]

thanks

[Louis1127]

O gawd, I already see an issue popping up that is kind of really sad: my mental stamina sucks.

I went through the Trainer and PS LGB over the past two days, about an hour and a half each day (my schedule is weird from now until normal schedule resumes after Christmas). My mental stamina is pathetic. After an hour, my mind started to wonder and I just got anxious or something. As of today, I would make a really shitty lawyer.

Bright side: I literally stated studying yesterday, so I have time to improve my stamina. AND after going through the first 80 pages of PS LGB, games already seem less scary. Not saying I am going -0 on all of them by tomorrow, I'm just saying, next time I see one hopefully I won't just sit there like a hopeless dope, which is what I did on my diag.

And flash: I would love to take you up on that offer but I think you are significantly ahead of me. I just started going through books yesterday and won't be drilling until at least next week, and next week I'm not sure I'll even get anything done b/c Christmas and all that jazz.

[flash21]

O gawd, I already see an issue popping up that is kind of really sad: my mental stamina sucks.

I went through the Trainer and PS LGB over the past two days, about an hour and a half each day (my schedule is weird from now until normal schedule resumes after Christmas). My mental stamina is pathetic. After an hour, my mind started to wonder and I just got anxious or something. As of today, I would make a really shitty lawyer.

Bright side: I literally stated studying yesterday, so I have time to improve my stamina. AND after going through the first 80 pages of PS LGB, games already seem less scary. Not saying I am going -0 on all of them by tomorrow, I'm just saying, next time I see one hopefully I won't just sit there like a hopeless dope, which is what I did on my diag.

And flash: I would love to take you up on that offer but I think you are significantly ahead of me. I just started going through books yesterday and won't be drilling until at least next week, and next week I'm not sure I'll even get anything done b/c Christmas and all that jazz.

No problem L. The mental stamina comes, trust me. Was in the same position.

Take care of yourself (health wise) , try to meditate, get a good cup of coffee. After drilling for hours and hours for months you'll be a mental stamina pro (wont have a soul though)

[Motivator9]

Could anyone please help me on PT 14, S 4, Q 18. I understand D is the best answer, but I'm having a hard time seeing how by itself, it is correct.

If we know the percentage of crashes, we still don't know the number of crashes where the pilot whistles that result in a crash.

Any help would be appreciated .

[fastforward]

Using six-section prep tests is an excellent way to develop mental stamina. Cambridge just started selling 6-section pdf's. We have our clients get the "extreme endurance" bundle from this page http://www.cambridgelsat.com/bundles/, but they also sell 6-section PTs individually. You can put them together yourself using sections from old PTs, for experimentals, but it's a real pain and if you get them pre-made you won't know which are the experimentals.

We place considerable emphasis on mental preparation. Here's a link to a blog post that contains links to stress-management tools and other useful resources. http://fastforwardlawprep.com/Blog_archive.html#anxiety

[fastforward]

Could anyone please help me on PT 14, S 4, Q 18. I understand D is the best answer, but I'm having a hard time seeing how by itself, it is correct. If we know the percentage of crashes, we still don't know the number of crashes where the pilot whistles that result in a crash.

This is a flaw question. Although it mentions percentages, the real flaw is a variant of the "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy. I We can't assume pilot whistling signals a pending crash without more information. Maybe most pilots whistle most of the time.

Hope this helps.

[Bosh]

Hi guys

I want to start working on RC since is a section I am not so great at. I use to miss -8 to -12 per section. I was wondering if it is a good idea to drill untimed to build on skills and later take timed Section or I should just start drilling by timing myself on RC.

I am only worried that untiming myself in RC will forms a skill of being really slow in RC and will make it difficult to overcome.

[afnajjerh]

Hey guys,

Long time lurker here checking in. I was signed up for the October exam and cancelled 2 weeks before. I was scoring in the high 160's and 2 weeks before the October exam I took a PT and dropped down to a 152.

It freaked me out to say the least, and I got mad since i was studying since July. Kind of threw my books in a corner and went to get drunk that night to let out my frustration lol. Lost all motivation after that. I think if i had a study partner or active in a forum like this, someone one of told me to forget the outlier and keep studying.

But, you live and you learn!! Don't call it a come back!!

I finished the Manhattan books a few months ago. I just got the Trainer in the mail and will be doing the 16 week program starting next week with the Cambridge Packages. Hopefully cancelling was for the best and I can break that 170 barrier.

Wishing everyone luck, lets kill this thing!!

[rebexness]

From the other thread, so you stop derailing it:

what is the aim for how many to get right then? 23? so if one gets -2 and -3 on LR sections, thats fine? what is the amount wrong on LR sections that makes you 'good'?

In my opinion it doesn't really matter, just aim for the highest score possible. For what it's worth, I'd say if you can consistently go -1 or -2 you've got LR down fairly well. I think the consistency is very important for determining the level of skill though. I went LR1 -4 and LR2 -0 on my LSAT, and I didn't feel I was "good" at LR.

can you guys elaborate on this? more comments plz

-0.

[afnajjerh]

From the other thread, so you stop derailing it:

what is the aim for how many to get right then? 23? so if one gets -2 and -3 on LR sections, thats fine? what is the amount wrong on LR sections that makes you 'good'?

In my opinion it doesn't really matter, just aim for the highest score possible. For what it's worth, I'd say if you can consistently go -1 or -2 you've got LR down fairly well. I think the consistency is very important for determining the level of skill though. I went LR1 -4 and LR2 -0 on my LSAT, and I didn't feel I was "good" at LR.

can you guys elaborate on this? more comments plz

-0.

Jaylawyer, to elaborate on steel_shot and rebexness. There is no "highest score possible" to aim for. You study to completely understand the material and try to get a -0 in each section. There are curve balls in each test that can skew the numbers. Don't use the number you got wrong with notion that you are ready. Studying for the LSAT teaches you to be honest with yourself and understand if you truly understand why the MSS you just missed is wrong. Once you get the concept drilled and you're confident about I think you are set. All of this is IMO.

[10052014]

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[flash21]

lets keep working toward our dream people.

[Straw_Mandible]

Hey guys -- Just wanted to share an RC strategy that I developed, which appears to be working. I used to have the problem of annotating too much, and losing the forest among the trees. So I've recently been forcing myself to read through each paragraph quickly without underlining anything, just to get a sense of the big picture, and then going back through to mark the details that I expect will be important (in keeping with that broad-strokes, functional understanding). It really helps to expedite the process of building a structural understanding of the passage, and to circumvent that initial uncertainty at the start of passage, when you're not totally sure what it's about.

I hope everybody's been following the recent JS2s for inspiration. Such a happy place in the Harvard thread today. Reminds us what we're working for!

Cheers,

SM

ETA: 100th post! I would say it's for good luck, but the LSAT doesn't believe in luck. So instead, I'll say it's for a positive return on this great investment of physical, psychological, and emotional grit and determination.

[10052014]

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[Straw_Mandible]

when you guys start PTing, will you guys pt in a busy cafe, or in a quiet library, or both?

All of the above would probably be your best bet. I plan on PTing upside down, hanging by the backs of my knees from a pull-up bar. I hear that's really the only way to make measurable improvements in concentration. hth

[afnajjerh]

Hey guys -- Just wanted to share an RC strategy that I developed, which appears to be working. I used to have the problem of annotating too much, and losing the forest among the trees. So I've recently been forcing myself to read through each paragraph quickly without underlining anything, just to get a sense of the big picture, and then going back through to mark the details that I expect will be important (in keeping with that broad-strokes, functional understanding). It really helps to expedite the process of building a structural understanding of the passage, and to circumvent that initial uncertainty at the start of passage, when you're not totally sure what it's about.

I hope everybody's been following the recent JS2s for inspiration. Such a happy place in the Harvard thread today. Reminds us what we're working for!

Cheers,

SM

ETA: 100th post! I would say it's for good luck, but the LSAT doesn't believe in luck. So instead, I'll say it's for a positive return on this great investment of physical, psychological, and emotional grit and determination.

Straw, on this method, are you still able to keep under the time? My worry is doing this method and then being rushed on the 4th passage.

[Straw_Mandible]

I honestly think it's making me faster. The biggest draw on time would be if you're focusing too much on minor details during your initial read, and missing the big picture. So the paragraph-by-paragraph, skim-then-annotate method helps to quickly isolate the important things that have to do with reasoning structure. It's very efficient, if you know what you're looking for. (Main points, arguments, opinions, author's stance)

[flash21]

hmmm necessary assumption / and must be true are very annoying for me.. I seen to be doing pretty well on the other LR's

[jckund]

Hey guys, so I took the practice test on LSAC for the first time today and went by the timing of the sections... seemed like a good idea at the time, but a terrible one in retrospect. Missed a decent amount of ones because I felt rushed. Got like a 152 heading in cold with no strategy and not knowing a single thing about the format.

So now obviously I'm looking for ways to improve... an ideal number would be like a 172 (ambitious I know). Haven't bought a book, but looking at the LSAT Trainer and then some PowerScore books. Kaplan as well? I know there are some good threads pinned at the top, I read through those I just have no idea where to start! I feel like it's silly to do PTs right off the bat?

[Bosh]

Hey guys, so I took the practice test on LSAC for the first time today and went by the timing of the sections... seemed like a good idea at the time, but a terrible one in retrospect. Missed a decent amount of ones because I felt rushed. Got like a 152 heading in cold with no strategy and not knowing a single thing about the format.

So now obviously I'm looking for ways to improve... an ideal number would be like a 172 (ambitious I know). Haven't bought a book, but looking at the LSAT Trainer and then some PowerScore books. Kaplan as well? I know there are some good threads pinned at the top, I read through those I just have no idea where to start! I feel like it's silly to do PTs right off the bat?

A 152 is good for starters and with hardworking you can reach 172+. Now I would advise you stay away from taking full PTs at the moment. If you're gonna go the self study route, definitely buy the lsat trainer, on his website he also has study schedules create, follow that and it will keep you in perspective. Also I highly advice you get the manhattan Bundles for all sections to supplement the trainer. Then get Cambridge's bundle for at least both LG and LR (you can practice RC from old prep-test or you can get the bundle as well). Take a section, read a chapter and do a corresponding drill from the Cambridge right after. Drill it, review the. Drill some more and review some more, then review even more and review it. All I'm saying is, seems like that is the best way to improve in the test. At this point focus on accuracy over time. There is a lot of resources out there to help you study and this site is very helpful at that. Read other post and you will find more. In the mean time I also advice you look at 7sage.com and lsatblog as well, there is a lot of invaluable information there as well to help you prepare for June.