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

[Mikey]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Nice!!!!! I'm so jelly

[proteinshake]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

congrats! I'm also improving from the same LSAT score as you lol.

[ponderingmeerkat]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Nice!!!!! I'm so jelly

You got this Mikey! I'm confident you're going to crush this damn thing.

[Mikey]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Nice!!!!! I'm so jelly

You got this Mikey! I'm confident you're going to crush this damn thing.

Not if my RC doesn't get in shape! I'm confident that I can get a decent score if I can get my RC to be consistent.

[ponderingmeerkat]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

congrats! I'm also improving from the same LSAT score as you lol.

Yea man...I remember Pretzel and Jeeves talking about how it just kinda "clicked" the second time. That's definitely how it feels right now. Now the key is to not get cocky and let off the gas but maintain a slow, steady pace.

[theothercat]

PT 62:

RC: -4
LR: -2
LG: -1
LR: -2
Score: 174

Super happy about this. Glad to be making actual progress. Gonna start on a heavy PT-BR-drill cycle and see if I can break 175 this week!

[ponderingmeerkat]

Not if my RC doesn't get in shape! I'm confident that I can get a decent score if I can get my RC to be consistent.

This may have already been discussed and, if so, just shoo me away. But, are you still doing some crazy-manic notation system? Have you tried just...reading the damn thing? That's what worked for me. I had to get away from all the systems people sell in the RC self-help books and trust I knew how to read/process info. It's hugely freeing and allowed me to get into a "flow" without interrupting it to mark shit down.

Who knows man...might be useful.

[34iplaw]

PT 62:

RC: -4
LR: -2
LG: -1
LR: -2
Score: 174

Super happy about this. Glad to be making actual progress. Gonna start on a heavy PT-BR-drill cycle and see if I can break 175 this week!

Dope score man. Dope.

As an aside, I am trying to think of my move post LSAT. I think that I would like to work at a lawfirm for a bit prior to that (partially to get my feet wet in the world and also get referrals unrelated to me)... I would contact firms in the city, but I think it could look kind of bad to them unless they had a need for someone relatively flexible. One of the firms that does work for my current place is a family friend that, while not enormous, is headed by one of the leading experts on tax certiorari...so I think his name may carry some more weight.

I'm getting a bit more into this now that I'm scoring in territory that permits me to get into the T14 with certainty, likely a T10/T6.

[meeseeks]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Excellent work Meerkat!

[proteinshake]

taking PT 68 tomorrow morning. went 2 PTs in a row without a 170+ so going for a 176+ tomorrow -- the last time I went sub-170 two times in a row I got a 177 on the next PT

[Mikey]

Not if my RC doesn't get in shape! I'm confident that I can get a decent score if I can get my RC to be consistent.

This may have already been discussed and, if so, just shoo me away. But, are you still doing some crazy-manic notation system? Have you tried just...reading the damn thing? That's what worked for me. I had to get away from all the systems people sell in the RC self-help books and trust I knew how to read/process info. It's hugely freeing and allowed me to get into a "flow" without interrupting it to mark shit down.

Who knows man...might be useful.

Yeah, I gave up on the whole notation thing a long time ago, it just didn't work for me. I try to just summarize each paragraph into a few words after I'm done with each of them, and I try to approach most of the questions off of memory. The only thing that I stuck with, notations-wise, is quickly circling any names that I see. idk why, but this is just a habit and I feel like it helps for when I'm iffy on a person's viewpoint, I just quickly glance at the passage, see the name, glance around the name and hopefully that jogs my memory of what view they hold.

I guess my short-term memory just freaking blows, lmao.

[Pozzo]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Rad!

[Instrumental]

For the people banging out high scores on the RC consistently, I'm curious how often you reference the text after reading it the first time as opposed to just answering based on memory. My method has been to simply read the passage in full, then read the next question and choices and only reference the text again if either I don't immediately (think I) know the correct answer or the question points out a specific line/part of the text. I often doubt myself and get details jumbled, so I find myself referencing the text a lot and that kills my time.

[20170322]

Just finished the second PT of the day. Missed 3 on RC, 0 on everything else: scaled 178.


Well, guess I need to do a SUPER long warmup on test day.

[Alexandros]

Just finished the second PT of the day. Missed 3 on RC, 0 on everything else: scaled 178.


Well, guess I need to do a SUPER long warmup on test day.

WOOT Congrats!! You must be exhausted.

[galeatus]

Just dropped a spicy 175 on PT64 (-1/-2 LR, -2LG, -2 RC). Still haven't hit a full-up 180 yet, but this makes three in a row 175+ (177, 178, 175). Now my plan is to eat all the cot damn ice cream in the house.

I deserve this--don't judge me!

Well done and well deserved!!

[Alexandros]

For the people banging out high scores on the RC consistently, I'm curious how often you reference the text after reading it the first time as opposed to just answering based on memory. My method has been to simply read the passage in full, then read the next question and choices and only reference the text again if either I don't immediately (think I) know the correct answer or the question points out a specific line/part of the text. I often doubt myself and get details jumbled, so I find myself referencing the text a lot and that kills my time.

I'm not sure I bang out consistent high RC scores enough to be qualified to answer this question, but I reference the text quite frequently. You're right, though - it does kill time, and I don't think I'd be finishing in time if I verified every answer with the text. I'm finding circling strategically helps with referencing a lot. And really staying vigilant when you read a passage to maximize your comprehension / make sure you're actually reading and registering every word (this is a challenge for me because my mind tends to wander quite a bit.) Also, limiting the time you spend on one question. If you can't verify with the text quickly enough, make an educated guess and put a mark beside the question to come back to it at the end if you have time.

[angelatte]

Does anybody have advice on how to approach LR?

My RC is usually between -3 to -5
LG -1 to -3
and LR will be -4 to -7. Each section

I got a 166 on June's LSAT and am aiming for 170 for Sept, but I just can't seem to improve my LR. TIA!!

What materials have you used to prepare? I used the Powerscore LR Bible for my Feb. 2013 test (169), and now I'm using the Manhattan LR Guide. Really, really liking the Manhattan. It helps you break down what your process for each question should be, and create a much more efficient and effective strategy in general and for specific questions types. It helped me really zero in on my weaknesses and gave me better tools to break bad habits.

Hope you got the newest edition of Manhattan LR. They really expanded on their flaw chapter, and added some extra drills. Really worth paying $40, even to switch from the 4th to 5th edition.
I'm a huge fan of Manhattan LR and RC, and I feel like the books don't get enough love here. They teach you how to approach the test intuitively, unlike Powerscore.

Oops - didn't see this until now! S/O to those who responded. I'm using 7sage and the LSAT trainer - I noticed some improvement after the LSAT trainer. I tend to get the flaw in the reasoning & justify questions wrong, usually in the latter end of the section when they get harder. I just feel like i've been drilling/going through processes so much, but I haven't really seen any improvement... I'll checkout the Manhattan LR guide!!

[20170322]

Just finished the second PT of the day. Missed 3 on RC, 0 on everything else: scaled 178.


Well, guess I need to do a SUPER long warmup on test day.

WOOT Congrats!! You must be exhausted.

Surprisingly, not that bad. Idk why, but it doesn't bother me that much.


So, new game plan. Wake up at 4am, be practicing by 5am, and do 3 full sections of each type the morning of the test.

[ashrice13]

Everyone's getting 175+ and I'm over here celebrating that I just finished an RC section in 31 minutes.

[Deardevil]

Everyone's getting 175+ and I'm over here celebrating that I just finished an RC section in 31 minutes.

That's equally impressive!

[34iplaw]

Not that I've hit a wall yet, but anyone have any thoughts on 171-172 to 174-175?

Typically -0 to -2 on LG, LR (easier section) and -3 to -5 on the harder LR section and RC.

I'm assuming just keep PTing, and keep at it haha.

[proteinshake]

Not that I've hit a wall yet, but anyone have any thoughts on 171-172 to 174-175?

Typically -0 to -2 on LG, LR (easier section) and -3 to -5 on the harder LR section and RC.

I'm assuming just keep PTing, and keep at it haha.

aside from the obvious "fix RC," just really tighten the screws on LR to where you're only missing the hardest of the hard questions. for someone scoring in your range, you need to realize that pretty much all LR questions should be easy for you aside from maybe 1-2 a section. confidence with LR helps a lot for me.

[34iplaw]

Not that I've hit a wall yet, but anyone have any thoughts on 171-172 to 174-175?

Typically -0 to -2 on LG, LR (easier section) and -3 to -5 on the harder LR section and RC.

I'm assuming just keep PTing, and keep at it haha.

aside from the obvious "fix RC," just really tighten the screws on LR to where you're only missing the hardest of the hard questions. for someone scoring in your range, you need to realize that pretty much all LR questions should be easy for you aside from maybe 1-2 a section. confidence with LR helps a lot for me.

Yeah - I think LR is going to be easier to improve than the RC.

Duke 25-75 are up btw lsat (167-169-170); (3.58-3.76-3.83)

re-entering more recent PTs on 7sage..some how my scores are all messed up.

U Chicago 'Why this school': I'm back for shot #2, as you did not very much appreciate my response to your 'mad hatterer' question some years ago.

[PhiladelphiaCollins]

Went out drinking with buddies after work on Friday, so naturally I took Saturday off. I contemplated not writing PT 70 today since I wasn't at full capacity, but then I decided against it to keep myself in the groove...167!!!! Highest score so far! My breakdown ended up being

LR: -4
RC: -6
LG: -2
LR: -4

Great feeling after that 159 I had mid-way through last week. Still haven't finished BRing that one yet btw so I'll be doing a ton of BR this week, maybe with another PT thrown in somewhere mid-week.

Also experimented with only one coffee before the test and a 5-hour energy at the break. The 5 hour energy had me feeling a little bit jittery, but otherwise was pretty good in terms of keep me on the ball and energized for the second half of the test. Will definitely be throwing one back after s3 on the rest of my PTs to get me in the zone.