The Official December 2014 Study Group Forum

nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:50 pm

Dirigo wrote:I've either been completely slacking or solely doing LG the past few days.
Luckily, I have to be out of my house all day tomorrow starting at 8AM so I will do some serious LR drilling on all the questions I missed from PT20-40 at Starbucks. I'll also do some fresh sections from a PT I broke apart for practice.
I feel no sense of urgency. This can either be really bad or turn out alright if I perform well over the next month. I just need to get myself to put in a few hours each day. That's not too much to ask of my lazy/exhausted ass.

On that note, since my untimed PT over the weekend, I'm thinking that it'll be a tough task to hit 168 on the real thing come December,thus, will have to postpone my cycle. If December is no bueno, I'll have Feb/June to retake in an all or nothing attempt. lol

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:56 pm

pta · Post by **pta** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:01 pm

Post removed...

Shakawkaw · Post by **Shakawkaw** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:04 pm

What score are you retaking, Rigo?

Nlee - you're the one always reminding people ITT that we have plenty of time to kick it into gear. I think with your gains, 4.5 weeks is ample time to hit your target. Don't sell yourself too short.

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:05 pm

peppermint · Post by **peppermint** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:08 pm

nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:09 pm

Shakawkaw wrote:What score are you retaking, Rigo?

Nlee - you're the one always reminding people ITT that we have plenty of time to kick it into gear. I think with your gains, 4.5 weeks is ample time to hit your target. Don't sell yourself too short.

haha thanks. I will definitely be taking it in December no matter what because I'd want to experience the feeling of the actual test. Plus I've only been really studying for about a month and a half so want to see where my ceilings at.

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:09 pm

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:10 pm

nlee10 · Post by **nlee10** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:10 pm

peppermint wrote:
mist4bison wrote:
nlee10 wrote:On that note, since my untimed PT over the weekend, I'm thinking that it'll be a tough task to hit 168 on the real thing come December,thus, will have to postpone my cycle. If December is no bueno, I'll have Feb/June to retake in an all or nothing attempt. lol

Dirigo wrote:I'm pretty apathetic about applying this cycle.
I'm planning on a retake as well. Probably in February. I'm thinking a one-two punch will be good. I'm hoping to keep studying after December 6th so I'm not super rushed trying to scrape the rust off my brain from score release in January til February.
Glad I'm not alone on this plan anymore
I think I'll be retaking Feb too. I'm not at the point where I feel confident enough on each section, and I'm already starting to feel a little burnt out. I'll prob take a week off after the Dec exam to clear my mind & then start studying again. I don't mind sitting out another cycle if it means I'll have the opportunity to do well enough to get into a reach school. My gpa sucks anyway, so I'm a splitter, I need to get the best possible LSAT score I can

Yeah, splitter here...Now looking to target UCLA/USC and they LOVE high GPA's so would need a 168+ in addition to applying the first day of the cycle.

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:11 pm

GreenTee · Post by **GreenTee** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:19 pm

I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.

peppermint · Post by **peppermint** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:26 pm

GreenTee wrote:I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.

Yeah, that's my biggest worry about Dec. I'm already cutting myself some slack when it comes to BR. And I'm still struggling with a few question types - I tend to get them right based on instinct rather than actual knowledge, and I know it'll screw me up on test day. I really need to get my head in the game before it's too late

Shakawkaw · Post by **Shakawkaw** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:27 pm

GreenTee wrote:I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.

I definitely agree with this, GT. At the same time, I do think there is some benefit to retaking, if you're the kind of person that experiences text anxiety or not used to taking timed exams (which was true in my case. lol philosophy major). Going into the December exam, I now know what to expect, which is always a potential relaxer. First section of September my hands were literally shaking because I was so out of my element. It could have also been because the TC was ridiculously warm (s/o to Sfogs). In September, I think I spent more time freaking out about what photo would work for the ticket, and which pencils I should bring. Definitely won't be a worry for December.

Rigo - you could have fooled me. You are, imo, one of the LSAT sages ITT.

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:30 pm

Colonel_funkadunk · Post by **Colonel_funkadunk** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:32 pm

Dirigo wrote:
The Village Tard wrote: Rigo [...] comes [...]

IsThisForReal · Post by **IsThisForReal** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:32 pm

GreenTee wrote:I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.

I went into Sept thinking that it would be my only take. And I felt good about my PT scores, which were very close to what I actually scored. And then I met all of you people and now I feel like I need to retake. Thanks guys.

Shakawkaw · Post by **Shakawkaw** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:36 pm

Colonel_funkadunk wrote:
Dirigo wrote:
The Village Tard wrote: Rigo [...] comes [...]

Marx was all about the release from the upper class.

Smallville · Post by **Smallville** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:39 pm

mist4bison wrote:
GreenTee wrote:I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.
Yeah, I can see that. I kind of felt the same way when I decided to retake, but someone said something about how I could slack now and get a 162 or whatever and then in Feb hope for a 169. Or I could work my ass off now, get a 167 or something, and in Feb I'd be much closer to getting a 172/3/etc. It makes sense. The harder I work now, the less room I have to grow in between Dec and Feb.

Dec is "LSAT Round 1" in my calendar/countdown.

Makes sense

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:42 pm

Post removed.

Colonel_funkadunk · Post by **Colonel_funkadunk** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:48 pm

GreenTee wrote:I remember telling myself, leading up to September, that retaking was nbd, and that I would probably have to do it. I tried to use the retake prospect to calm myself down a little bit, you know, keep the pressure low. I even labeled it "First Take" on my calendar.

In retrospect, I don't think I should have approached it that way. I definitely didn't work as hard as I needed to before September. The expectation of having the retake as a fallback gave me license to slack off a bit. So I just did enough work to keep myself scoring around my target range (171-172) on PTs. That's obviously not enough buffer. I gave myself 0 margin for error.

I think if I had a do-or-die mentality leading up to September, I might not have had to retake at all. And even if I did, I would be in a much better position right now because I would have already developed very strong study habits--as opposed to the 1-2 hours per day slackertude I had in August/Sept.

Just something to think about for the first time takers ITT.

I feel where you're coming from but I think a do or die mentality can lead to more nerves and stress and test nerves on D-day. This can cause an even lower score.

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:52 pm

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:53 pm

GreenTee · Post by **GreenTee** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:53 pm

Colonel_funkadunk wrote: I feel where you're coming from but I think a do or die mentality can lead to more nerves and stress and test nerves on D-day. This can cause an even lower score.

You're totally right. But I guess my point is that the do-or-die mentality has to happen at some point, if you actually want to score at that level. Almost nobody gets there by accident. Better to put yourself through that the first time, so that it all becomes easier if there has to be a second time.

mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:54 pm