Advice appreciated! Forum

[ar1656]

I've been studying since May and today I hit burnout. I feel like I'm not improving on LR at all. I just finished the section on assumption questions and the results were tragic. I was doing better last week! I'm afraid I'm running out of time to hit a top score before October.
My question is... Is there anyone who felt this way but still scored high? Am I starting in the wrong place by learning how to do these questions before jumping in for prep-tests? How can I tell if I have burnout or if I just suck at this? Should I study more than 3 hours a day?

HELP. I feel like I know where I want to go but I have no roadmap to get there! Or I feel like I have a roadmap but it doesn't tell me that there's a bunch of Indiana Jones shiz in my way. I want to be successful.

[bp shinners]

I've been studying since May and today I hit burnout. I feel like I'm not improving on LR at all. I just finished the section on assumption questions and the results were tragic. I was doing better last week! I'm afraid I'm running out of time to hit a top score before October.

If you're already prepping assumption questions (which should come pretty far along in your studies, as they're complex and require methods you'd learn with earlier questions), you're way ahead of the game. You still have plenty of time for October, including a short break. If you really have hit some burnout, it might be time to take a few days away from the material.

My question is... Is there anyone who felt this way but still scored high? Am I starting in the wrong place by learning how to do these questions before jumping in for prep-tests? How can I tell if I have burnout or if I just suck at this? Should I study more than 3 hours a day?

Yes, plenty of people.

That's exactly the right place to start - tackle the methods before diving headlong into PTs.

If your brain keeps drifting more and more, if it gets harder and harder to sit down and study, and if you see a decline in your ability to answer questions that you had no trouble with, you're burnt out.

The average study time is probably closer to 4 hours/day.

[quote
HELP. I feel like I know where I want to go but I have no roadmap to get there! Or I feel like I have a roadmap but it doesn't tell me that there's a bunch of Indiana Jones shiz in my way. I want to be successful.[/quote]

Awesome. Yes, there's definitely a lot of Indiana Jones shiz in the way for anyone prepping for the LSAT. Just keep cracking that whip.

And hope that there aren't any snakes.

[josemnz83]

Keep at it man!

If you stop practicing at all, it is unlikely you will do well at the end. (possible: yes; likely: not).

I find that reviewing the problems that I missed helps a lot. Try to figure out exactly why you missed a particular question and see if there are any error patterns in your reasoning.

If it is any consolation, this stuff doesn't come easily for everyone, including me. Just keep at it!

[Clearly]

Keep at it man!

If you stop practicing at all, it is unlikely you will do well at the end. (possible: yes; likely: not).

I find that reviewing the problems that I missed helps a lot. Try to figure out exactly why you missed a particular question and see if there are any error patterns in your reasoning.

If it is any consolation, this stuff doesn't come easily for everyone, including me. Just keep at it!

Total disagree. In fact, if you never stop practicing, its unlikely you will do well... Give yourself a break man. Take 3 days off, then see how you feel. So much time between now and Oct.

[powder]

I usually study in two hour segments. Study for a couple of hours. Go to the gym. Eat Lunch. Study for a couple of hours. I might up it to three two-hour segments, but I'm not sure if it's necessary at this point. Also, there's ups and downs in this process. I've been studying off and on since March. If I do bad on a couple of games (my Achilles heel), I go into a terrible mood too--I'm going to fail, I can't do this spiral. Learn to ride it out. Let the off days go. We have time. Three months to nail this test to the wall.

[uchi12]

.

[heebie-jeebies]

I find that reviewing the problems that I missed helps a lot. Try to figure out exactly why you missed a particular question and see if there are any error patterns in your reasoning.

This.

Spend less time & energy worrying about your score, and focus more on how to improve what you are doing wrong. If you are starting to feel burned out, it's probably a sign that you are pushing too hard and not resting enough. You may also be allowing the stress of wanting to achieve a high score hamper your mastery of the material.

A declining score may be indicative of a few things:

Maybe you you are trying to incorporate new ways of thinking as a result of your studying, but you haven't yet mastered it yet.

Maybe you are feeling burned out and as a result, you are not focusing or performing optimally.

Maybe, despite your studying, you are still working with your original thought process/strategy, not fully embracing the material you've learned.

Take a step back, take some time to rest, and evaluate what you are doing.

I'm not an expert about it, but that's how I would approach the problem that you described if I were you.

[burtlantin]

I've been studying since May and today I hit burnout. I feel like I'm not improving on LR at all. I just finished the section on assumption questions and the results were tragic. I was doing better last week! I'm afraid I'm running out of time to hit a top score before October.
My question is... Is there anyone who felt this way but still scored high? Am I starting in the wrong place by learning how to do these questions before jumping in for prep-tests? How can I tell if I have burnout or if I just suck at this? Should I study more than 3 hours a day?

Hey -- I was in the exact same situation a couple weeks ago -- was getting destroyed... But what I did was I reviewed the mistakes a lot, took a break from them, drilled a few other question types in the interim and the results were a lot better. I've also been going hard since May and there definitely are those days where things really don't go right... but all the more reason to come back stronger.

[ar1656]

Should I be reviewing even the ones I got right or is that a waste of time?

[cc.celina]

Should I be reviewing even the ones I got right or is that a waste of time?

Deff box the q's you weren't sure about and go over those even if you got them right. Don't waste time on ezpz ones you got right, except maybe a cursory glance to feel good about yourself.

[burtlantin]

^^

Ditto what celina said. I do the exact same thing.

[lederhosen]

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[togepi]

Don't over exhaust yourself with studying. This isn't undergrad where you can just cram and be alright. Quality over quantity.

Take a week off and watch some movies or hang out with friends and keep yourself distracted. Get to that point where you're suffering from withdrawals from the LSAT and studying for it and doing more PTs or drills turns you on.

[uchi12]

Slow down and build your confidence.

The same thing happened to me, I was scoring on average 9 points lower than my final score.

The LSAT is a test that requires an extraordinary amount of focus. You have to de-stress to survive. Take a day off every once in awhile. You have plenty of time.