3rd Retake Advice Forum

[freaknroll]

My current cycle is not going as well as I had hoped it would go and as such I am considering sitting out for one year and sitting on the Between those two scores I have done nearly every prep test from about 30 to the most recent and a good majority of the material from tests prior to PT30. Any advice on how to go about studying? Should I simply just redo what I've done even though I'll be somewhat familiar with the material? Any help is appreciated.

[Mr.Binks]

Instead of just bulldozing through PTs--I did the same thing--you should do some drilling first and focus on specific question types until you're very comfortable with all of them. Also, since you have so much time, it wouldn't hurt to figure out what your weaknesses are and relearn those question types in a different way. I am currently relearning LR and RC using Manhattan's materials.

[freaknroll]

I did do serious drilling before I started doing PT's. I went through nearly all of the Kaplan LSAT mastery book that organized LR questions by type as well as a similar book that does the same for LG. I didnt do much regarding RC because I've never done worse than -3 on that section.

[Mr.Binks]

I did do serious drilling before I started doing PT's. I went through nearly all of the Kaplan LSAT mastery book that organized LR questions by type as well as a similar book that does the same for LG. I didnt do much regarding RC because I've never done worse than -3 on that section.

Interesting. Perhaps you could try relearning the question types using a different company, such as Manhattan, Powerscore, or Velocity. Kaplan notoriously under-prepares its students, and according to several TLSers, it is more intended for those shooting to score in the 160s instead of 170+.

Also, when you did your PTs, did you carefully review each question and answer that you missed or had difficulty with? Reviewing is crucial to improving your performance.

[freaknroll]

I did do serious drilling before I started doing PT's. I went through nearly all of the Kaplan LSAT mastery book that organized LR questions by type as well as a similar book that does the same for LG. I didnt do much regarding RC because I've never done worse than -3 on that section.

Interesting. Perhaps you could try relearning the question types using a different company, such as Manhattan, Powerscore, or Velocity. Kaplan notoriously under-prepares its students, and according to several TLSers, it is more intended for those shooting to score in the 160s instead of 170+.

Also, when you did your PTs, did you carefully review each question and answer that you missed or had difficulty with? Reviewing is crucial to improving your performance.

I didnt take the kaplan prep course, I only used the book, got it off amazon, + the LRB for drilling. I reviewed PT's a fair amount but definantly could have done much more. More than anything I am worried that none of the material will be fresh and brand new when I begin to prep again. I definantly think that lack of serious serious review did hurt me though.

[Mr.Binks]

I did do serious drilling before I started doing PT's. I went through nearly all of the Kaplan LSAT mastery book that organized LR questions by type as well as a similar book that does the same for LG. I didnt do much regarding RC because I've never done worse than -3 on that section.

Interesting. Perhaps you could try relearning the question types using a different company, such as Manhattan, Powerscore, or Velocity. Kaplan notoriously under-prepares its students, and according to several TLSers, it is more intended for those shooting to score in the 160s instead of 170+.

Also, when you did your PTs, did you carefully review each question and answer that you missed or had difficulty with? Reviewing is crucial to improving your performance.

I didnt take the kaplan prep course, I only used the book, got it off amazon, + the LRB for drilling. I reviewed PT's a fair amount but definantly could have done much more. More than anything I am worried that none of the material will be fresh and brand new when I begin to prep again. I definantly think that lack of serious serious review did hurt me though.

Yeah, this is where I made my mistake also. I only casually reviewed PTs, and also did not have a strong enough grasp on all the question types.

[gaud]

Mr. Binks is correct.

If you have the time and money.. I'd experiement with a different company to see if you like their particular approach on a question better (who knows.. it may get you that one extra point to score a 170).

3link has a spreadsheet in the LSAT forum you should be able to find that can help you keep track of the types of questions you are missing so you can drill those types individually (highly recommended). Drilling individual question types is the best way to master certain types that give you trouble.

Also, like Mr. Binks said, review is crucial. Make sure you understand why each answer choice is either correct or incorrect. Open MS Word and literally type explanations as to why (they don't have to be long, just thorough.. so sometimes an explanation may be one or two sentences while other times it may be a paragraph).


Finally, keep in mind that re-doing PT's will not necessarily harm you. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=150072
Your scores WILL be slightly inflated, but as long as you are aware of that there is definitely merit to re-doing tests.

[DonnaDraper]

I retook and when I was prepping for my second score, I had already used a decent amount of material. My four main points of advice would be:

1. Take time off. Like serious time off. I did not look at an LSAT question for 6 months before I started studying again, and I forgot a LOT of problems. I would take PTs over again and get the same score as I had gotten before. At first it was a little discouraging, but in retrospect it was because I had forgotten the questions, so my score was not inflated. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will KNOW when you remember a question because you will know the answer and remember the thought process you had when you did it before. This rarely happened to me after taking all that time off. Many times I would think "this vaguely looks familiar" but it was either because a) I vaguely remember the prompt but not the answer or b) I had not done it but thought I already had because all LSAT questions are basically copies/variations of other questions hence the fake familiarity.

2. Try another test prep company. First time I used Powerscore. Second time I used Manhattan. I heavily preferred Manhattan. Also, sometimes you just have to look at it a different way, and another prep company could help you with that.

3. Review your questions thoroughly. It really has to intensely bug you when you cannot find an explanation to something. If you have trouble, look through TLS or the Manhattan question forum.

4. DRILL!!!!!

Good luck!