Four days left: LGB Worth it? Forum

[Christophosphorus]

Hey guys,

Haven't spent nearly as much time as I would have liked studying, but I've increased my score by a solid 10+ points on every single diag I've taken compared to my initial 150. (Took the Blueprint online course, FYI.) I have a fair score in LR (-10), but LG (-6) and RC (-10) are still somewhat of a struggle to perfect. I'd like to brush up on these two areas, as well as review some spots that I know I can use some improvement on.

So, four days left... do you think it's wise to get the logic games bible and just blast through it over the next few days? I'm thinking of purchasing it (store is 5 mins away) and doing a healthy mix of LG and RC/LR review over the next few days, with one or two diags (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday). I'll be taking it easy on Friday for sure, but I find myself doing much better on tests when I study all the way to the last minute.

Just looking for some constructive advice from the forum members. I feel like games and RC are the two sections that I could drastically improve my score on.

Good luck to all taking the test this Saturday. Let's rock it.


C.Phosphorus

[Nonok]

LRB is amazing. If you have time to read it, buy it.

Also, I think 'diag' only refers to your first test you use as a diagnostic to compare all future PTs to. You had me confused for a minute.

[sundance95]

LGB not worth it for four days of studying. You can't cram for the LSAT-its a skills test, not a knowledge test.

[ack]

I went through the LGB in 2-3 days and it helped me. But I had already studied the LG a lot on my own and developed a lot of my own strategies for it.

[Pleasye]

The LGB is definitely useful, but what it does is give you a way of attacking each game that you come across. The real gains come from drilling LG over and over so it probably won't help you 4 days before the real thing.

[Christophosphorus]

Went ahead and bought it. I had a gift card to Barnes & Noble so I didn't see a reason not to purchase it for the sake of having it. It looks pretty promising. I'll be blasting through it today and tomorrow, as well as brushing up on other stuff from RC and LR.

Also, I think 'diag' only refers to your first test you use as a diagnostic to compare all future PTs to. You had me confused for a minute.

Ha, good point. Should've said PT. I throw out the word "diag" too liberally sometimes.



Thanks for the replies.

[robotclubmember]

I know that this advice is counter to what everyone else is saying, but... if you're at minus 6 WITHOUT having ever been exposed to the LGB, then I think you have a strong chance of making significant improvements with a couple day's of DILIGENT review of the LGB.

It is possible to make it through the book in two days. I did it. And I've stayed above -3 for every single LG I've taken since, except for one outlier in which I basically just took way too much caffeine/stimulants, lol. Now I'm at a consistent -0 with LG, with the occasional -1 interspersed in there (maybe -1 a 25% of time or so). You will NOT reach -0 without significant practice. But I could see a path in which you could change that -6 to a -3 in nothing more than two days of absorbing theory and applying through practice.

It's suboptimal, sure. But if you're looking for the biggest bang for your buck, I don't see a reliable way you could shave three points off of your RC or LR sections in three days. I do see a reliable way in the LGB though. I think it's a good idea. But beware, usually the first few times you implement a new strategy, your score falls a little bit. Don't be discouraged. Just work through as much of the book as fast as you can and try to do at least 6 LG sections before EOD Friday so that you've solidified some level of performance with the new methods. That said, not only do I think it's a good idea, I think it's the best bet you have for adding a few extra points to your score in a VERY limited amount of time.

[robotclubmember]

Oh and don't cram too much the day before the test. Try to do as much as possible before EOD Thursday.

[northwood]

keep plugging away. Its really too late to be trying to learn anything new. You should be focusing on solidifying your sectional attack plan, timing, and just reviewing/ gaining confidence. Make any final touches to your strategies and keep using them.

If you are going to purchase the LGB, I would wait until after the test. You dont want to confuse yourself 4 days before. If you dont like your score, go to the bookstore and purchase it, then read and dominate the feb/ june test.

best of luck

[Christophosphorus]

Thanks for the replies.. they're all much appreciated.

Robot and Northwood, I understand everything you're saying and will do this for sure. However, here's an interesting update.
I just took the June 2004 PT and scored a 158. I was tired and anxious to finish so that I could eat, and I started at 10:00PM! I know, extremely bad situation to take a PT in, but nonetheless, my results were interesting:

I got 34/51 correct on the LR, which is below my average.
RC was 18/28, which is somewhat consistent with what I usually get. I wish there were a way to improve this with a few simple methods.
Now, for LGs, which, as I've stated before are a problem for me, I got 18/22, and I felt like I had actually done much, much worse.

LGs seem to be improving ever so slightly, but my LR was very weak this time. I attribute this to lack of energy and concentration, and will take another PT tomorrow morning right after breakfast.

While I will avoid "burning myself out" over the next two to three days, I want to give it my all. And yes, I know many will say "should've done that weeks ago," this is what I'm currently dealing with, and I'll do my best.

Cheers,


Chris

[robotclubmember]

Good luck!

That said, I think the key to LSAT success is probably being able to master LR, for which the skills that it takes to answer those questions transfer over nicely to RC. Newer RC's tend to have a few abstract LR-like questions in them even, such as weaken and strengthen questions. Hit it as hard as you can today and tomorrow, and make sure you're throwing in some LR practice that focuses on why you got the answers wrong that you got wrong. If you are able to classify LR questions by their type, I would suggest taking five minutes to add up all the wrong LR answers from your last three PT's by their classification (flaw, assumption, must be true, paradox, etc), and then look at where you missed the most questions. If it's all over the place, not much you can do. If you see a pattern that shows there is one or two problems that really consistently give you problems, then maybe a couple days is enough to look into strategy for those question types specifically. If you're having problems with a specific question type, feel free to PM me and I'll give you a quick idea of how to fix the problem.

That's a lot to do in two days, but try to improve LG and LR as much as you can in two days. And take Friday off. For realz, yo.

[albanach]

I know that this advice is counter to what everyone else is saying, but... if you're at minus 6 WITHOUT having ever been exposed to the LGB, then I think you have a strong chance of making significant improvements with a couple day's of DILIGENT review of the LGB.

Indeed - games are the easiest section to master. You should be able to reach -0 with time.

From a 160, those extra six correct answers would take you to a 164. From there you'd 'only' need to find another 6 correct answers to reach 168 and have a shot at T14 if your GPA is decent. You might want to think about that and applying next cycle.

[Christophosphorus]

I'd love to take yet another year off, and perfect my LSAT skills. In truth, I think I'd be able to break 170 without a sweat if I took the June LSAT next year. However, I've already taken it once, and this is my second year that I'm considering law schools. I want to apply now and just start the process instead of delaying it for another year.

I realize that a delay of one year, and an LSAT of ~170 would be a much better scenario to be in, but current circumstances don't allow for such a choice (unless I make big, big changes.)

Anyway, back to studying... I'll go ahead and take a PT right now, then start brushing up on stuff again.


Thanks again all.

[albanach]

You realize this is likely to determine everything for the rest of your career? Given the economy, at least take a very good look at the employment numbers from the lower schools.

Hopefully you will do well on Saturday. That might buy you a decent scholarship which would make the decision a lot easier.

[Christophosphorus]

Yes, I do. Which is why I'm not giving up on this!


I've sent you a PM, by the way.