Help! Preparing for June re-take Forum

[Chriz]

I have the four preptest books as well as the 3 PS bibles. I am not sure what the best study plan is for the next month. I have been working through one of the bibles and taking a PT daily. So far both of my tests were 163s. Any tips, advice on a good approach to practicing?

[wtrc]

I have the four preptest books as well as the 3 PS bibles. I am not sure what the best study plan is for the next month. I have been working through one of the bibles and taking a PT daily. So far both of my tests were 163s. Any tips, advice on a good approach to practicing?

I don't think you should take June. I think you should take October, giving you nearly 6 months to really go through the Bibles and study.

You are taking too many PT's if you are doing one a day, especially at where you are at. Take one, spend several days reviewing it, get an LSATQA account, and then see where your weaknesses are.

Aim high. Six months is plenty of time to turn that 163 to a 172+ score. One month is not.

The disadvantages to taking October are marginal- only that you don't have your application in the absolute first, might miss an ED deadline, and can't really retake without having a later-end application. These are far outweighed by having a mediocre score.

Good luck!

[Chriz]

I appreciate the advice but I am pretty locked into taking it in June. I recently quit my job to give me a month and a half of full-time studying. I am also currently waitlisted at UW-Madison and I feel like I may be able to get off the waitlist with a better score in June. I wanted to see how well I can do in June and if I feel like I am making a lot of improvement and could potentially make a lot more I plan on retaking in October and reapplying to schools next cycle with much better prospects but going nowhere after graduating is taking a huge toll on my life and I need to take a shot at not spending another year out of school. I am just not sure of the most efficient way to use my full-time month and a half of study time.

[LSATGamesTutor]

How many mistakes are you making on each section type? Have you figured out what is causing you problems within each section type? Some difficulties are more easily conquered than others.

[Chriz]

I am making quite a few mistakes.. I have only done 2 preptests but I have been entering them on LSATQA to try to figure out where my problems are. I am wondering if it would be helpful to just keep going through preptests and trying to get everything right and try to learn from the ones i get wrong or if I should just focus on the bibles.

[LSATGamesTutor]

If you're scoring 163 you're not making that many mistakes. Go back and check how many mistakes you made on each section type. Use your time efficiently by focusing on your problem areas.

[nyjets2090]

You're not in a terrible place for June...but I'd be pting sooner rather than later, spending several hours reviewing and drilling where you're making mistakes. Are you having difficulty in a particular section?

[Chriz]

From my untimed and timed diagnostics, i missed about 24 which were scattered pretty evenly throughout... about 3-5 errors in each logic reasoning, and then a lot in RC. I got lucky on the Logic Games for my diagnostic which sucks.. I will be taking a new practice test on Sunday though which will pry be more telling. There are still a lot of Games that I dont know how to setup properly.

[Chriz]

Got a 158 on a PT today.. Its hopeless...

[Clearly]

Got a 158 on a PT today.. Its hopeless...

Dude, you've taken 3 preptests, you have literally just begun studying. It's wayyyyy too early for this talk. Also, regarding being "locked in to June", that's nonsense...There are practically no compelling reasons that a June take is worth whatever extra points an extra 4 months of studying could bring in Oct. So you have time without work to study...Study full time for the month in a half, then get a job, and continue studying with your free time till Oct! Your applications would still be in early, and the extra time would almost certainly translate to points, which certainly translate to better offers/scholarships... Quite frankly I've never know anyone who has maxed their potential in a month of studying. This test is hard, time consuming, and the most important test of your life. It's graded on an equation to establish your position relative to the rest of the LSAT taking public. Many of them are studying 6-12 months for this test, don't let yourself be compared with them until your sure you are where you need to be...

Keep your head up, confidence is huge on this test, and there is technically nothing stopping you from a perfect score except a bubble sheet, and every answer is right for a reason. Just don't short change yourself on studying time and expect it to end well. Good luck!

[VegasLaw702]

If you're scoring 163 you're not making that many mistakes. Go back and check how many mistakes you made on each section type. Use your time efficiently by focusing on your problem areas.

[Chriz]

well technically June would be my first test in 2 years, so I could take June and October no problem... Is there any real negative in maybe doing better in June then even better in October?

[rebexness]

well technically June would be my first test in 2 years, so I could take June and October no problem... Is there any real negative in maybe doing better in June then even better in October?

Its a waste of time and money, and you will end up using material in prep inefficiently.

[Chriz]

How is it a waste of time? If I am preparing for a re-take and doing PTs isnt actually taking the test a good PT. Its in a test location and under realistic testing conditions.

[rebexness]

Because if you want to get to a score much higher than your current ones, you are wasting the opportunity to gauge your success with more PTs. I mean, while you are still working through the Bibles/whatever books, I would not be PTing.

[chadbrochill]

Its a waste of time and money, and you will end up using material in prep inefficiently.

Don't waste good materials or you'll regret it. Also you're better off studying through June than waiting on a score. Take October.

[Pneumonia]

If you're scoring 163 you're not making that many making lots of mistakes. Go back and check how many mistakes you made on each section type. Use your time efficiently by focusing on your problem areas and not taking until October.

also, as others have said, quit wasting PT's. I've neglected replying to this and other threads of yours because I thought you were trolling. There is a wealth of information on this site and you seem to be pretty blatantly disregarding all of it; the LSAT is not something to be apathetic about. The first piece of advice you got in this thread from wrtcoins3 was solid and you're doing yourself a disservice by not heeding it. That said, 158 is a really good starting point if you're aiming for October.

[Chriz]

Is there anyway to change my test date to october? When I try it says it is not available yet. Will it be available by the change date deadline? I am not going to go through the work of getting my money refunded and everything if I want to take it in June but advice suggests not to. If it will let me change my date to October, I will.

[wtrc]

Is there anyway to change my test date to october? When I try it says it is not available yet. Will it be available by the change date deadline? I am not going to go through the work of getting my money refunded and everything if I want to take it in June but advice suggests not to. If it will let me change my date to October, I will.

You can definitely change your date, and I'm pretty sure you are still within the date change time to get a partial refund (I think you just pay a fee to re-register). If it's not working online, I'd call them.

When you get your amazing 17X or 180 score in November because you had way more time to study, it'll be worth it .

[Chriz]

I still don't see why I can't take it in June, continue studying and take it also in October. On the site it doesn't allow registration for October this early I dont think so it wont let me change it.

[Pneumonia]

I still don't see why I can't take it in June, continue studying and take it also in October. On the site it doesn't allow registration for October this early I dont think so it wont let me change it.

reasons to not take June:

1- you will do poorly compared to your potential for October.

2- Schools would rather see one good score then two scores, one good and one bad. They'll still take you without batting an eye of course, but why not put yourself in the best place possible?

3- you should be studying for October. Given where your at in June you should be drilling, not thinking about taking an actual LSAT. Taking in June would promote inefficient study habits; you'd try to rush and end up wasting more PT's.

Premise-
a) you should not take the LSAT until you're fully prepared
b) it does not appear that you will be fully prepared in June
--------
c) you should not take in June

Perhaps others can chime in on this, but June just doesn't seem prudent to me.

[Chriz]

Ill have to do some serious thinking...

[ManoftheHour]

Got a 158 on a PT today.. Its hopeless...

Don't take it in June. I took the LSAT when I wasn't ready and got a 162 on my first LSAT. How I wish I could have that one back so I can have two retakes instead of one left. Also, it's not hopeless. 158 and 162 isn't that far off. Since then, I've been PTing in the low 170s and upper 160s. You'll get the hang of it. I highly suggest using the Manhattan books. It helped me so much with the LRs and LGs.

[Teflon_Don]

I still don't see why I can't take it in June, continue studying and take it also in October. On the site it doesn't allow registration for October this early I dont think so it wont let me change it.

Dude, I know what you mean. This isn't good advice but you aren't the only one with that mindset. I was averaging around a 161-162 going into the June test and I knew with a 3.9 that I should score higher and would probably retake in October. I ended up taking in June and got a 160.. Studied hard for October and 169. The other people are right, it's a waste of time and money and resources to take June if you aren't prepared. BUT, for me personally, taking the experience of taking the actual test benefited me greatly. I was WAY less nervous the second time around. Good luck in whatever you do

[Chriz]

I am going to talk to my mom tonight to see if it is economically feasible. If she will help with my bills till October I will get a refund for my June test and use it to by some more materials. What other materials should I get? I have the PS bibles, the 4 official test books 10 each and the individual tests from 61-68. should i get some of the drilling materials from cambridge instead of using them from the test books? What I have been doing for LR is taking the 2 sections from the test, within the 35 minute time limit while circling those I am not sure about. I then go back after and figure out the ones I wasnt sure about and figure out why I was wrong. I then score and review all right and wrong answers. I havent started really doing anything for RC and for logic games I go through the 4 from a test and then I watch the 7sage videos for them. If I got -0 on it I just compare my setup to 7sages to see if I could have done it better. If I missed a lot I watch the whole video and see what I did wrong. I will figure out exactly my study schedule after i have materials but Just wanna know the best materials and maybe what I should be focusing on this far out from the October test.