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i can't tell if its cause of the lsat or what. but i am getting plently depressed. i think the lsat is so boring its depressing me. has this happeend to anyone else?

thanks

the depression sinks in when I realize I'm stuck studying it while my friends are out traveling XD
other times I just feel really sleepy and bored

I have been getting really upset over the logic games. I have been working on just the simple ordering games, and they are still taking me 15 minutes a piece with about 20 hours spent studying.

I don't think I am stupid, since I scored a 32 on my ACT and have a 4.0 at University. But, I don't know, maybe I will never get it.

I think part of the problem right now is that I am looking at every single thing and asking myself: why does this work? why doens't this work? I am not really quickly picking up patterns or using the inferences to quickly eliminate answer choices.

I feel your pain.

I originally studied for the LSAT as a cure for depression. So I think you have it backwards! Buck up! The LSAT is fun!

Yes, studying for the LSAT is extremely depressing and frustrating. Just dont kill yourself over it, because, well then you cant go to law school

I would get sad after having taken it twice and my stupid reading comprehension never improved. It's a memory I would like to forget and I'm glad it's over.

recaldo wrote:i can't tell if its cause of the lsat or what. but i am getting plently depressed. i think the lsat is so boring its depressing me. has this happeend to anyone else?

thanks

I think it is one of those proportionality things... the more you study, the more you realize the test is important. The more you realize the test is important, the more you realize you can't make mistakes... the more you realize you can't make mistakes, the more you feel the need to study. O_o The LSAT is a cycle.

rsuelzer wrote:I have been getting really upset over the logic games. I have been working on just the simple ordering games, and they are still taking me 15 minutes a piece with about 20 hours spent studying.

I don't think I am stupid, since I scored a 32 on my ACT and have a 4.0 at University. But, I don't know, maybe I will never get it.

I think part of the problem right now is that I am looking at every single thing and asking myself: why does this work? why doens't this work? I am not really quickly picking up patterns or using the inferences to quickly eliminate answer choices.

I feel your pain.

Some of the games were definitely taking me longer than they should have because I made absolutely sure every answer was correct instead of choosing the right answer and moving on. Now, instead of timing how long the game takes me to do, I set a timer for 9 minutes and focus on getting as many right as I can in 9 minutes. (Of course, if I don't finish in 9 minutes I keep working to answer all the questions before going over the answers.) This is really working for me--I find that I can more easily identify which questions are "time wasters" and move on when I'm taking PTs.

Yes, I know what you mean. When I'm studying and not doing well or missing a lot. I tend to get kind of discouraged. When that happens, I work on problems that I'm good at for a confidence boost. LR is my best section, so I just do one section of that or do RC, anything but a science passage. Usually I do better and it makes me feel less sad.

Yes. So sad, in fact, that I've given up for the moment, and I'm taking it in October instead of June because, lets face it, most of May is going to be spent recovering from this school year, and not studying for the LSAT.

Part of the reason why a lot of people get sad taking the LSAT is because of the way they appraise the feedback they get. This is particularly so when the feedback is negative, telling you that you are not as smart as you thought you were. All that takes to overcome this however is to reappraise the feedback in a different light. Instead of taking mistakes to mean a fault that lies within you, look at them as opportunities to improve yourself, and gain mastery over the material. The LSAT is, in many ways, a brain building exercise, and if is approached in this way, you should find yourself healthier than you were before.

blhblahblah wrote:Part of the reason why a lot of people get sad taking the LSAT is because of the way they appraise the feedback they get. This is particularly so when the feedback is negative, telling you that you are not as smart as you thought you were. All that takes to overcome this however is to reappraise the feedback in a different light. Instead of taking mistakes to mean a fault that lies within you, look at them as opportunities to improve yourself, and gain mastery over the material. The LSAT is, in many ways, a brain building exercise, and if is approached in this way, you should find yourself healthier than you were before.

This is 100% the correct attitude.

Yes I was sad. Only because I broke up with my girlfriend of 4 years while I was in LSAT-study mode.

But seriously, the LSAT makes you sad? That seems like a strange word choice to me. Frustrated, disappointed, maybe even a little depressed.

Don't get down, just keep plugging away. Sometimes it takes a while for those scores to get up. What are your current study strategies?

yeah, my 159 last night is really depressing. After all the PTs I've done and reading LGB, to score a 9 on LG is just sickening. (Not -9... NINE!) But then I get a 25/26 on one LR section! I'm dedicating the next 50 days to just games, re-doing them over again if I have to. I'm gonna go find that thread where they are all laid out by type right now...

think in this way:
There's nothing like bad result, only feedback exists. Even if you do worst in your PT or whatever the section, part, just think that you hit the bottom. How could be worse?

it hasn't made me depressed. if anything, i'm having fun studying for this thing. i guess i don't really have anything to lose by taking the test in my situation, that's probably why.

i've also started to get a regular gym and dietary program going which has helped me lose 10 pounds in the last month. i would suggest working out, it really helps.

ps - don't let the hard-a$$ superpreps drag you down.

I have never been more stressed or depressed than when I was studying for the LSAT. Here's a story: I took the test on Dec. 5, so I was in final crunch mode when I went home to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day, I locked myself in my room for 3 hours to take a practice test, and I scored a full 10 points lower than the last 2 tests I had taken. Cut to me at the Thanksgiving table, sobbing over my mashed potatoes, my bewildered parents trying to console me. A week later on the real test I got the best score I've ever gotten. The moral of the story is, allow yourself to be as depressed, frustrated, stressed, etc. as you need to be during this time, but don't let it interfere with you working your ass off. The payoff in the long run is absolutely worth the sadness you're feeling now, trust me.

I feel fat. When I feel fat I feel sad. That plus LSAT
Prep makes nena feel sadder.

Ya, I got sad early on when I was not making the progress as quickly as I liked.

But you have to pick yourself up and keep going. While you need to acknowledge your room for improvement, you also need to believe that you will triumph.

Yeah like just now. I spent 45 mins on 1 LG, not one section mind you, ONE GAME...I don't know what wasn't clicking. I'm gonna revisit it in a few days.

hellokitty wrote:Yeah like just now. I spent 45 mins on 1 LG, not one section mind you, ONE GAME...I don't know what wasn't clicking. I'm gonna revisit it in a few days.

which game? mabe you missed a rule/key deduction?

pleasetryagain wrote:

hellokitty wrote:Yeah like just now. I spent 45 mins on 1 LG, not one section mind you, ONE GAME...I don't know what wasn't clicking. I'm gonna revisit it in a few days.

which game? mabe you missed a rule/key deduction?

It's upsetting because this has to be one of the easiest games I've done in a while. It was PT 57, the first game in the section. It was freaking sequencing for crying out loud!

hellokitty wrote:Yeah like just now. I spent 45 mins on 1 LG, not one section mind you, ONE GAME...I don't know what wasn't clicking. I'm gonna revisit it in a few days.

I hate when that happens. It's so discouraging.

blhblahblah wrote:Part of the reason why a lot of people get sad taking the LSAT is because of the way they appraise the feedback they get. This is particularly so when the feedback is negative, telling you that you are not as smart as you thought you were. All that takes to overcome this however is to reappraise the feedback in a different light. Instead of taking mistakes to mean a fault that lies within you, look at them as opportunities to improve yourself, and gain mastery over the material. The LSAT is, in many ways, a brain building exercise, and if is approached in this way, you should find yourself healthier than you were before.

Thanks for this -- encouraging.

My problem now is focus and speed. I have to get it together. Or, "continue to gain mastery over the material."

Yes!!! You start thinking like a logician, and the vicarious glamour of faith slips away.