June 2011 Study Group Forum

[Eichörnchen]

Well everyone, I think we all know what Sunday marks...3 months till D-Day (well, it's on a Monday but you get the idea). I know everyone is working on the 10 Hardest Games but I thought it would be of good use if a lot of us took the same PT Sunday if at all possible. If anyone is interested lemme know

I wanted to do another PT Sunday, but I was also planning on finishing the LGB by Sunday too and then working on the 1st two hardest LGs. Thanks to a killer migraine coma I'm just starting my prep today (7 hours late is better than never ) so I can't make any promises about having the time for a PT by tomorrow cause I really want to get the bible done. I do like the idea of doing the same PT though so we could discuss it afterward. Is anyone else down and which PT were you thinking of doing?

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Well everyone, I think we all know what Sunday marks...3 months till D-Day (well, it's on a Monday but you get the idea). I know everyone is working on the 10 Hardest Games but I thought it would be of good use if a lot of us took the same PT Sunday if at all possible. If anyone is interested lemme know

I wanted to do another PT Sunday, but I was also planning on finishing the LGB by Sunday too and then working on the 1st two hardest LGs. Thanks to a killer migraine coma I'm just starting my prep today (7 hours late is better than never ) so I can't make any promises about having the time for a PT by tomorrow cause I really want to get the bible done. I do like the idea of doing the same PT though so we could discuss it afterward. Is anyone else down and which PT were you thinking of doing?

Hate migraines . I need to finish up my LGB, just a few more pages of that and LRB as well. Busy making notes of the LRB, it's not sinking in as well as I'd like it to. And I was thinking of taking an earlier PT, maybe 16? Something in the 15-25 range would be great.

Also, I've been debating the importance of taking consistent PTs now vs. reinforcing concepts by sections. Does anyone think I should take PTs, avoid them until my reasoning in all sections is sound, or work on both simultaneously? Thanks for the help

[Eichörnchen]

I know, they suck! I usually power through but today was spent in a half-conscious try-to-sleep-it-off state. I got in 2 hrs of prep before I got too dizzy. There goes the 8 hr prep day I was hoping for Well I have all lsac's "10" series and my "10 More" series tests are all copied and ready to go, but really any of those PTs are doable for me. As for taking PTs regularly, it's not a huge concern for me at the moment because like you, I'm still working on concepts. However, I think they're super helpful for this stage because after doing the bibles and learning new concepts, taking a PT is good for giving me lots of material to nitpick and see how I'm doing. This would be only my second PT after my diag so I think I'm ready for a progress benchmark, but more than that I just like to have a bunch of new questions to analyze after taking it.

[chasy_price]

92 days to go guys!!

Still far from the 170 mark

[Excel]

god grouping games suck.

"theyre having a sale on SOME"

i miss zero i the bible examples, then get to a pt and its

[CrimLaw300]

Retaker here. I scored a 164 on the June 2010 test and I will be taking the real thing again this June. I just took my first diagnostic in about 9 months and the results are as follows.

LG - 20/24
LR -24/25 and 22/25
RC - 18/26

I'm very confident that I can ace the LG and LR sections come June. I'm not at all confident with RC though, and RC was what ruined my score last June (I missed 10).

The good thing is, i never really practiced for RC my last time around, so i know improvement is possible.

My question is, how should i attack the rc section? I have about 35 real LSATs and i just bought the Manhattan guide to RC. Should i just read the guide, pound out and review practice tests until the day of?

Any suggestions/ thoughts are appreciated.

[minnbills]

My question is, how should i attack the rc section? I have about 35 real LSATs and i just bought the Manhattan guide to RC. Should i just read the guide, pound out and review practice tests until the day of?

Any suggestions/ thoughts are appreciated.

What do you normally do?

Have you tried skimming the questions first? Sometimes I'll look at the local questions and jot down what info the q is testing for in the margin. Then, when I'm reading the passage, when I see that info I'll put a mark on the side so I can find it easily.

I went -3 on the Oct. LSAT RC using that technique, make of that what you will. I think RC is probably going to be the most personal section in terms of how an individual deals with it.
Are you having problems with speed? That's probably more difficult to fix.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Surprised and happy with PT 16 under test conditions:

LG 20/24
LR 21/26
LR 21/25
RC 24/27

Raw 86 Scaled 169

I had seen about 3-4 LR questions before so my score isn't 100%. Before I took the test I drank a 5 hour energy, did a warm up section for games, read a few articles in the WSJ, and did a couple LR questions.

[Eichörnchen]

Good work! I would be jumping for joy if I got that score on a PT.

[minnbills]

How did the 5 hour energy work out? I'm considering giving them a try.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

How did the 5 hour energy work out? I'm considering giving them a try.

I've only taken them twice now before studying, but honestly, I love 'em. I am a coffee freak (drink 4-7 cups/day) and need a caffeine high to work quickly, but the feeling from the 5 hour is much better. It is a more concentrated and sustained feeling, instead of that initial "jolt" that coffee gives you which leads to a crash. My focus was maintained throughout every section and I wasn't biting my nails every second (something I do on coffee, cause I'm cracked out). Only downside is the price - about 3x the price of coffee. Try it out and lemme know what you think!

Good work! I would be jumping for joy if I got that score on a PT.

My PTs are anywhere from 155-165 and I was mad about the inconsistency. I looked through TLS1776's (180 Yale) excel spreadsheets (http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=120471) of PTs and noticed he was extremely consistent about taking them, down to what he ate for each meal, time since he woke up, and what he ate during the 10 minute break. I'm sure that having that level of precision and consistency undoubtedly leads to on avg higher PTs

[minnbills]

How did the 5 hour energy work out? I'm considering giving them a try.

I've only taken them twice now before studying, but honestly, I love 'em. I am a coffee freak (drink 4-7 cups/day) and need a caffeine high to work quickly, but the feeling from the 5 hour is much better. It is a more concentrated and sustained feeling, instead of that initial "jolt" that coffee gives you which leads to a crash. My focus was maintained throughout every section and I wasn't biting my nails every second (something I do on coffee, cause I'm cracked out). Only downside is the price - about 3x the price of coffee. Try it out and lemme know what you think!

I'll give them a try- and I'm a coffee freak too. I drink at least a pot a day, plus 3-4 Diet cokes.

Hello liver cancer.

[Eichörnchen]

I wasn't biting my nails every second (something I do on coffee, cause I'm cracked out

Hahaha - 7 cups per day sometimes?! Yowza.
I've only done one PT thus far but I also plan to experiment with a consistant schedule that works best. I want to do another PT asap and I know you wanted some other people to do the same test so we could all compare notes. If I find the time to do one really soon maybe I'll do 16 as well, and if it doesn't work out we should try your idea again sometime cause I think it would he helpful to discuss the same PT

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

I wasn't biting my nails every second (something I do on coffee, cause I'm cracked out

Hahaha - 7 cups per day sometimes?! Yowza.
I've only done one PT thus far but I also plan to experiment with a consistant schedule that works best. I want to do another PT asap and I know you wanted some other people to do the same test so we could all compare notes. If I find the time to do one really soon maybe I'll do 16 as well, and if it doesn't work out we should try your idea again sometime cause I think it would he helpful to discuss the same PT

Great! Let me know if you get the chance to do 16 - if not, I think I'm going to take 13 on Saturday

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Retaker here. I scored a 164 on the June 2010 test and I will be taking the real thing again this June. I just took my first diagnostic in about 9 months and the results are as follows.

LG - 20/24
LR -24/25 and 22/25
RC - 18/26

I'm very confident that I can ace the LG and LR sections come June. I'm not at all confident with RC though, and RC was what ruined my score last June (I missed 10).

The good thing is, i never really practiced for RC my last time around, so i know improvement is possible.

My question is, how should i attack the rc section? I have about 35 real LSATs and i just bought the Manhattan guide to RC. Should i just read the guide, pound out and review practice tests until the day of?

Any suggestions/ thoughts are appreciated.

RC is, for odd reasons, my favorite and strongest section. I think the largest reason for this is because of my background in Philosophy/Poli Sci - I've read way too many dense articles and written way too many papers. I can say that Voyager's RC Guide has definitely given me a nice supplement though. I would encourage you to follow his guide closely and see if it works. This would definitely include 'boxing' all names and terms, ALWAYS understanding what the main point of the article is, and understanding the function of each paragraph within the structure as a whole. I also encourage you to notate with * or serious <------ wherever you see the author's opinion. If you can identify these things and improve your reading time you will miss at most -1 per article. This is because each article asks you about the main point, the opinion of the author, a certain person/term, and the function of a paragraph in a couple of different ways. My breakthrough for RC came when I realized that this section was really like 4 different LR Main Point/Must Be True questions. If you conceptualize the article of an RC passage as one gigantic LR Must Be True, I think you will literally start scoring higher immediately. Some say that RC is extremely hard to improve on, but I strongly disagree. Wishing you luck!

[Rahsaan]

So i just found out i will not be in the same state as my testing center on the june lsat date. and i most likely will not be able to take it where i will be (gotta job that has a crazy schedule). is there anyway to switch my lsat date to the fall? is there any way to save my money?

[GoldenGloves]

So i just found out i will not be in the same state as my testing center on the june lsat date. and i most likely will not be able to take it where i will be (gotta job that has a crazy schedule). is there anyway to switch my lsat date to the fall? is there any way to save my money?

Unfortunately, I think you'll have to pay a fee of $68 in order to push back your testing date to fall.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Did anyone start pithypike's plan yesterday? Anyone planning on following it till June?

[Hunterrhoid]

I'm in. Taking it in June in San Diego. Been lurking the thread, and want to jump in to offer/get support.

Started with PT 19, and have done through 38 (yesterday). Avg so far is 171. Range 166-178 (!)

I recently hit a slump for a few weeks, which is where I created the lower end of my range. Just broke back to 172 yesterday with PT 38! Every test in the slump had some crash and burn area for me: A missed stretch of LR questions (like 8 in a row), and -1s for the other three sections; a mis-diagrammed rule that blew out an entire game etc.

Heavy reviewing, brutal schedule, and I feel like I'm back out of the woods. Hopefully I can contribute meaningfully here.

[Hunterrhoid]

Retaker here. I scored a 164 on the June 2010 test and I will be taking the real thing again this June. I just took my first diagnostic in about 9 months and the results are as follows.

LG - 20/24
LR -24/25 and 22/25
RC - 18/26

I'm very confident that I can ace the LG and LR sections come June. I'm not at all confident with RC though, and RC was what ruined my score last June (I missed 10).

The good thing is, i never really practiced for RC my last time around, so i know improvement is possible.

My question is, how should i attack the rc section? I have about 35 real LSATs and i just bought the Manhattan guide to RC. Should i just read the guide, pound out and review practice tests until the day of?

Any suggestions/ thoughts are appreciated.

Have you tried Voyager's method? Fairly regular -1s on RC since I really got it going (PT 32-38). It's listed here, and it's boss: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... f=6&t=7240

[Eichörnchen]

Did anyone start pithypike's plan yesterday? Anyone planning on following it till June?

I think that I will be following it, but I'm not sure how exact I will stay with it. To be honest, I've just been focusing so much on the bibles that I'm not 100% sure what my plan thereafter is. I've assumed that I will follow Pithypike's guide, and I have Kaplan's Mastery ready to go. Just a quick question - Does the Mastery book specify from which PTs the individual questions come? I paged through it earlier and couldn't see where you could find that info and I don't have it in front of me at the moment. I was wondering because I wanted to keep track of which games, questions, passages, etc I have done if possible.

[mickeyD]

PT18 on 3/6:
LG: 15/24
LR: 23/24
RC: 27/28
LR: 22/25
Raw: 87/101
Scaled: 169

My diagnostic in mid January was 155.

I keep bombing LG, I don't know what it is, I've gone through the entire LGB and aced the LG on my first preptest afterwards, but since then have only been able to complete 3/4 games. I'm absolutely thrilled to see my best LR scores yet, but it drives me insane to see myself losing easy points on games.

Starting today I'm grouping every game from PT 1-46 and working on mastering them by type, starting from Basic Linear. I remember in one thread, a tester who got a 180 said after every practice test he would look at what he would have gotten if he aced games in order to motivate himself to master them. Had I aced the games section, this practice test would have been a 178.

Good luck to everyone, it really motivates me to see everyone working hard for June, I know it's gonna pay off for all of us!

[minnbills]

How closely are you all scrutinizing your preptests during review?

I started going over each question and (except LG) writing down in the margin the reason why a given answer is right or wrong. It's helped me understand the underlying logic and 'get in the heads' of the testmakers. I'm not sure if it will actually benefit me on a fresh test though.

[mac35352]

How closely are you all scrutinizing your preptests during review?

I started going over each question and (except LG) writing down in the margin the reason why a given answer is right or wrong. It's helped me understand the underlying logic and 'get in the heads' of the testmakers. I'm not sure if it will actually benefit me on a fresh test though.

I think it is very benefitial to spend some valuable time with your Preptest after you take it.
What I have done in the past two preptest for the LR section is classify the type of question I got wrong or those I doubted and then wait a few days so that I will not immediately remember the right answer. Then I will type the stimulus in my own words, then the stem and go answer by answer just writing why this certain answer is right, wrong a contestant (might be right), etc. After I do this with all the questions I go back and see if I got them right this time around. It really makes me understand the questions better specially those in which I had a doubt between two answers and chose the wrong one for all the reasons I shouldn't have.
Hope this helps.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

PT18 on 3/6:
LG: 15/24
LR: 23/24
RC: 27/28
LR: 22/25
Raw: 87/101
Scaled: 169

My diagnostic in mid January was 155.

I keep bombing LG, I don't know what it is, I've gone through the entire LGB and aced the LG on my first preptest afterwards, but since then have only been able to complete 3/4 games. I'm absolutely thrilled to see my best LR scores yet, but it drives me insane to see myself losing easy points on games.

Starting today I'm grouping every game from PT 1-46 and working on mastering them by type, starting from Basic Linear. I remember in one thread, a tester who got a 180 said after every practice test he would look at what he would have gotten if he aced games in order to motivate himself to master them. Had I aced the games section, this practice test would have been a 178.

Good luck to everyone, it really motivates me to see everyone working hard for June, I know it's gonna pay off for all of us!

You have 3 months to practice games - if you keep those LR/RC scores consistent you will be above 175 on test day. Work your way through LG without neglecting LR/RC and you'll do great