TRUE LIFE: THE LSAT HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE Forum

[washin34]

I have been studying for 4-6 hours a day for the past three weeks and 6 hours a day for the past week. So far I have linear and advanced linear games down via LGB and pretests 29-38. I can consitently do 5 games with -2 or less untimed. I study by doing a game, correcting it, and writing out explanations for all answer choices. (Already read applicable LGB chapters.) I am currently doing grouping games,I am not sure how well I'm improving. Some days I can do 4 games with -2 or less in one day. Some days I can miss as many as 3 on each game. There is no real pattern on the types of games I am missing. Does this mean I'm making small mistakes and missing inferences?

I didn't take a diagnostic before I started studying, so I decided to take one this morning.

The Results:
PT 33
Section 1 LR (-17)
Section 2 RC (-12)
Section 3 LR (-16)
Section 4 LG (-14) Raw 42 Score 142

I want to take the June test. My goal score is 160. I have never in my life studied for anything this hard and failed. I feel terrible. I think it will be much easier to improve my RC and LR score once I learn the LGs. From your own personal expierence, what am I doing wrong?

[GoBroncos22!]

It would seem that there are fundamental issues you are not grasping if you are scoring a 142. Dont get discouraged however. LG is where I made my best improvement. I went from being in your position of missing 14 on LG and feeling utterly at a loss for how to even begin to make improvements. LG is all about repetition for me. Game after game after game. I do minimum 12 games a day and it doesnt really matter if I have done them before, the basic principles of game set up are reinforced-which is key.

With LR, I am still in need of improvement but have managed to go from -12 to a consistent -5 per section. LR is about familiarization with each type of question and being able to weed out obvious false answers quickly. In all honesty, this may seem rather elementary but I think the LSAT, and particularly LR, is all about familiarizing yourself with what the WRONG answers look like and the right answer will be left remaining. I used to sift through the answers only looking for the right one. Now, I focus on elimination. Im sure many may believe this to be to time consuming but this way I am positive (or alteast as close as I can possibly be) that each response is wrong and that I have read each one.

Take the time to go through each LR answer and consciously tell yourself WHY each one is wrong and the right one is right. Act like your explaining it to someone.

Now, with RC. I have been looking for good avice on that since I started studying-Im lost on that

[jpSartre]

Untimed, untimed, untimed.

No use rushing through questions. Take a long hard look at every question you do.

[washin34]

Thanks guys. I'm encourgaed by your responses. I have no problem grinding it out. I will step it up and do at least 12 games per day.I guess I'm a little on edge because I look at where I am after three weeks and where I want to be and it seems SO far away. Judging by your responses though, it doesn't appear improbable that I will reach my goal score by June. Am I right?

[goblue1646]

don't burn out though--i wouldnt do that many a day. i think you should get the LG bible and study fundamentals from that, because if you don't understand the basics then it'll be a waste of time to do 12 a day anyway.

[washin34]

I have a logic game bible. I have read it, and I refer to often. I think I have the concepts. I can set up games. Some I don't need one for. However, deducing inferences has to come from somewhere else. I've been told it comes from repetition. Some say there are only "so" many setups and once you learn those you can solve much faster.

[pearl_earrings]

.

[Shrimps]

It would seem that there are fundamental issues you are not grasping if you are scoring a 142. Dont get discouraged however. LG is where I made my best improvement. I went from being in your position of missing 14 on LG and feeling utterly at a loss for how to even begin to make improvements. LG is all about repetition for me. Game after game after game. I do minimum 12 games a day and it doesnt really matter if I have done them before, the basic principles of game set up are reinforced-which is key.

If I bomb on the actual test, I will have no one but myself to blame. I haven't done any games since Thursday, even though that's exactly what I promised myself, too: 12 games daily.

Any hints on how to grow some sense of responsibility and better work habits?

[CMDantes]

...

[GoBroncos22!]

Any hints on how to grow some sense of responsibility and better work habits?

Whats worked for me is...Good LSAT score= Good law school...Bad LSAT score=Bad or no law school

I am yet at the score I want, but I am getting there. Just look at it like, you only have so many months of study before you take it so might as well go all out because it will be over in a short bit. And there is nothing worse than knowing you could of tried harder or put more effort into it

[cavebat2000]

Do not study everyday. Only study every other day.

This is really important because by studying every day you are adding another variable to your study: burnout/mental fatigue. The best way to study for the lsat is to think of it like an onion and peel one layer off at a time. Studying every other day helps you focus on removing variables.

For the off days and before you study on your main study days, develope a 15 minute warm up exercise that works on your worst sections (cut outs of hard LR sections, a LG or two).

You really need a good 4 months of studying every other day to get that score up. If you are super worried about June just take the Sept one. Just be sure to have your applications ready by the time your score would come back so you don't lose any time on your applications (applying early = win).

Got a 171 if you care.

[jrobby6]

I also agree with the sentiments about not studying every single day. Days off are important when it comes to studying.

[makingwaves]

Untimed, untimed, untimed.

No use rushing through questions. Take a long hard look at every question you do.

Agreed. I saw alot of improvement in myself just taking my time for a while. I've started to time myself at like 40 mins per section and i'm going to pull it down to 32 by June, just for a little wiggle room. Try to take a week and just do untimed sections and really just be calm and take your time and try to grasp the different question types. My biggest gains were untimed, where I was able to practice being able to switch my thinking pattern between for instance a Must Be True question and a Weaken question. It has taken me a bit of time and I have still not perfected it, but I stand by my choice to stick with untimed for a while. Try it for a couple days and see if you see any improvement.

[makingwaves]

Any hints on how to grow some sense of responsibility and better work habits?

Whats worked for me is...Good LSAT score= Good law school...Bad LSAT score=Bad or no law school

I am yet at the score I want, but I am getting there. Just look at it like, you only have so many months of study before you take it so might as well go all out because it will be over in a short bit. And there is nothing worse than knowing you could of tried harder or put more effort into it

Bingo. That's my motivation too. It can be a lot of pressure knowing that your options for law school are basically in your hands, but I think that pressure is motivating.

[washin34]

Any hints on how to grow some sense of responsibility and better work habits?

Whats worked for me is...Good LSAT score= Good law school...Bad LSAT score=Bad or no law school

I am yet at the score I want, but I am getting there. Just look at it like, you only have so many months of study before you take it so might as well go all out because it will be over in a short bit. And there is nothing worse than knowing you could of tried harder or put more effort into it

+10000
I'm a first gen high school and college graduate. My father actually tried to discourage college. I'm recently unemployed so this would feel bad if I can't get it with all of this "extra" time available. Ya know?... However, I would feel even worse if I didn't do well enough.

[eye]

Do not burn out, you don't notice it, but it sucks.

[Me-a Culpa]

Do not study everyday. Only study every other day.

This is really important because by studying every day you are adding another variable to your study: burnout/mental fatigue. The best way to study for the lsat is to think of it like an onion and peel one layer off at a time. Studying every other day helps you focus on removing variables.

For the off days and before you study on your main study days, develope a 15 minute warm up exercise that works on your worst sections (cut outs of hard LR sections, a LG or two).

You really need a good 4 months of studying every other day to get that score up. If you are super worried about June just take the Sept one. Just be sure to have your applications ready by the time your score would come back so you don't lose any time on your applications (applying early = win).

Got a 171 if you care.

Wrong.... he may have done well, but it's different for all. Study every minute you have... this is only the begining, get used to it.

[madlsatter]

Do not burn out, you don't notice it, but it sucks.

How do you not notice burn out?

[cavebat2000]

Do not study everyday. Only study every other day.

This is really important because by studying every day you are adding another variable to your study: burnout/mental fatigue. The best way to study for the lsat is to think of it like an onion and peel one layer off at a time. Studying every other day helps you focus on removing variables.

For the off days and before you study on your main study days, develope a 15 minute warm up exercise that works on your worst sections (cut outs of hard LR sections, a LG or two).

You really need a good 4 months of studying every other day to get that score up. If you are super worried about June just take the Sept one. Just be sure to have your applications ready by the time your score would come back so you don't lose any time on your applications (applying early = win).

Got a 171 if you care.

Wrong.... he may have done well, but it's different for all. Study every minute you have... this is only the begining, get used to it.

Perhaps, but the very basis of your argument is that it is different for all, which undermines your conclusion that I am wrong.

No seriously, don't study every day. The fatigue will start catching up with you quickly and you won't know if poor performance is due to fatigue or due to something else. My brain chemistry is not all that amazingly different from everyone else. Mental fatigue exists for everyone and unless you address it you are gonna let it affect your score.

There are other great threads on this forum about how high scoring people studied. Many of them didn't study all that much at all actually. Friend on mine got a 170 by studying only on weekends. You'll figure it out, but don't listen to people who think they are super-man/woman and can study for 60000 hours straight. It's BS and even if they did well they could have done better if they spaced out their studying a little bit.

[Me-a Culpa]

Wrong.... he may have done well, but it's different for all. Study every minute you have... this is only the beginning, get used to it.

Perhaps, but the very basis of your argument is that it is different for all, which undermines your conclusion that I am wrong. ...It's BS and even if they did well they could have done better if they spaced out their studying a little bit.[/quote]

BS? I'm a fan of spatial repetition... but BS?

How do you know they "could have done better"?

[cubswin]

I want to take the June test. My goal score is 160. I have never in my life studied for anything this hard and failed. I feel terrible. I think it will be much easier to improve my RC and LR score once I learn the LGs. From your own personal expierence, what am I doing wrong?

I empathize with you, but you're in for a reality check on what I underlined. LG is the easiest to see huge improvements on. Continue working untimed sections until you can go -0 on just about any game, and then start worrying about speed. Do the same with LR.

For RC, however, I suggest you start timing yourself immediately. Cap your RC drills at ten minutes per passage.