Insight Needed and Appreciated Forum

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

I'm new to the boards so forgive me if I'm posting about something that's been covered elsewhere.

I'm currently prepping for the June 2014 Lsat, but considering sitting the October test instead unless I can figure out what's happening with my Lsat skills and fix the problem. I started studying seriously a month ago. Ive been studying anywhere from 2-5 hours/day and 6-7 days/week. My mastery practice went well. I understood wrong answer types and how they differed from correct answer choices in Logical Reasoning, categorizing each question type was of no issue, and breaking down the argument into its parts was also pretty easy. For the most part, Id get O-2 wrong per section untimed. Logic games was going alright too. I could recognize the action of the game right away and set up the appropriate diagram and make the necessary deductions to finish the section as well as logical reasoning. Same thing for Reading Comprehension. So after 3 weeks of mastery, I began mini-timing. On LR I was answering each question within, on average, a minute and getting about 2-4 wrong per section. For LG Id normally complete two games in about 6 min each, one game in about 8 min, and one in 10 with about 2-4 wrong per section. I havent started mini timing RC yet. Anyways, this was all great until one session when I went to mini time again. Suddenly, I was getting almost everything wrong. My mistakes were stupid. For example, when Id go to review them my thoughts would be "How did I misread that?!" or "How did I miss that?!" instead of "Oh I understand now."

So I took a day off to let my mind rest under the belief that I was mentally fatigued. When I went back to studying, my mind seemed improved again but this lasted for 4 days before the same thing happened. Only the circumstances, this time, were significantly different in that I moved onto full length timing and noticed I was panicked with full length timing in comparison to mini timing. All of my mistakes were silly errors. So I backed off and went back to mini timing after some review. And I was still making tons of stupid errors.

So my question is whether it seems likely that im suffering from mental fatigue at times and should schedule in two days off a week or make sure that I take at least one day off a week? And/or if stress is interfering with my abilities at times and what to do about that?

Im also wondering if you suggest focusing on certain sections each session or mixing them. Ive been mixing them up until now. As well as, do you suggest spending more time on review than practice, equal time, or more time on practice than review?

I was once told by someone who did well enough on the lsat to devote 3 hours to practice and 1 to review each session. This division of focus didnt seem to make sense to me, though.

Any insight is much appreciated.

Please be kind.

Thanks!

[Clearly]

You're using Kaplan right?

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

Yes. And Ive heard that may be a bad thing :S

[Clearly]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

Ok, thanks.

But given my symptoms, do you believe those are characteristic of mental fatigue or poor approach? It seems odd that Id be doing fine and then suddenly not.

Nonetheless, Ive heard bad things about Kaplan so Ill make the switch. Since Im two months out from the test date, do you recommend sitting the October test instead?

[Captain Rodeo]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

This. Stay away from Kaplan.

Btw, PS is Power Score. Check out study guides by Pithy Pike and Noodley One. Google those names and their study guides will pop up. You may need to change the books if you use Pithy Pike--like getting your material online from Cambridge LSAT and not an actual book like Kaplan's collection of tests

Read around the LSAT prep forum. Watch logic game videos by 7Sage and LSATBlog also has some.

[Captain Rodeo]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

Ok, thanks.

But given my symptoms, do you believe those are characteristic of mental fatigue or poor approach? It seems odd that Id be doing fine and then suddenly not.

Nonetheless, Ive heard bad things about Kaplan so Ill make the switch. Since Im two months out from the test date, do you recommend sitting the October test instead?

What else do you, right now, besides study for the LSAT. Job? Exercise? Social life? Down time?

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

Ok, thanks.

But given my symptoms, do you believe those are characteristic of mental fatigue or poor approach? It seems odd that Id be doing fine and then suddenly not.

Nonetheless, Ive heard bad things about Kaplan so Ill make the switch. Since Im two months out from the test date, do you recommend sitting the October test instead?

What else do you, right now, besides study for the LSAT. Job? Exercise? Social life? Down time?

I train intensely 4 times a week- powerlifting type training. I just quit my job so that I could be completely charged for studying. This test has haunted me for a while. Ive feared it for so long that I needed to just focus on it.

I socialize once in a blue moon right now, but mainly because everyone I know only likes to drink and I hate that lifestyle.

My life right now is Lsat, train, stretch, rehab work for a bummed hip, chiropractor visits, and attending to my grandma who is living with me for a bit.

[Captain Rodeo]

Yeah throw that right in the garbage and pick up Manhattan's rc guide, Manhattan or PS for LG and lr.

Ok, thanks.

But given my symptoms, do you believe those are characteristic of mental fatigue or poor approach? It seems odd that Id be doing fine and then suddenly not.

Nonetheless, Ive heard bad things about Kaplan so Ill make the switch. Since Im two months out from the test date, do you recommend sitting the October test instead?

What else do you, right now, besides study for the LSAT. Job? Exercise? Social life? Down time?

I train intensely 4 times a week- powerlifting type training. I just quit my job so that I could be completely charged for studying. This test has haunted me for a while. Ive feared it for so long that I needed to just focus on it.

I socialize once in a blue moon right now, but mainly because everyone I know only likes to drink and I hate that lifestyle.

My life right now is Lsat, train, stretch, rehab work for a bummed hip, chiropractor visits, and attending to my grandma who is living with me for a bit.

Wow. This sounds so much like what I was doing while studying for the LSAT- I too quit my job and was living with my ill grandmother.

SO

You workout, and that is great. Don't stop that. But, I think you can dismiss the necessity of socializing. I'm not saying getting drunk and partying- though that may work for some people.

I'm talking about getting out of LSAT-world enough times per week and visiting Reality Land. Everyone talks about how it's important to stay balanced during LSAT studying. So, don't put yourself through some sort of life that is actually going to eff-up that needed balance. If you've always gone out to the movies on Friday nights as a personal treat, or you like to hang out with friends and bowl and grab a beer after every Wednesday- Don't. Stop. These. Things.

I don't do the drinking lifestyle either- but I DO love going to a bar and drinking a well-crafted IPA and chilling with some cool bros. I don't take that to be the drinking lifestyle- and I don't think you mean that.

You can read what I posted in this same forum under "Biggest Regrets whole Studying for the LSAT."

For me, the more the LSAT became some idol I worshipped in my life, the more I stressed and my scores reflected this.

It's a big test and difficult to not freak- and I don't know what caused (could be multiple causes) your drop. BUT- you'll move on. You'll be fine. You'll progress beyond it.


You're a smart person it seems. So I'm sure you've thought about a lot of this. Don't make the LSAT your god, make it your bitch.

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

Wow. This sounds so much like what I was doing while studying for the LSAT- I too quit my job and was living with my ill grandmother.

SO

You workout, and that is great. Don't stop that. But, I think you can dismiss the necessity of socializing. I'm not saying getting drunk and partying- though that may work for some people.

I'm talking about getting out of LSAT-world enough times per week and visiting Reality Land. Everyone talks about how it's important to stay balanced during LSAT studying. So, don't put yourself through some sort of life that is actually going to eff-up that needed balance. If you've always gone out to the movies on Friday nights as a personal treat, or you like to hang out with friends and bowl and grab a beer after every Wednesday- Don't. Stop. These. Things.

I don't do the drinking lifestyle either- but I DO love going to a bar and drinking a well-crafted IPA and chilling with some cool bros. I don't take that to be the drinking lifestyle- and I don't think you mean that.

You can read what I posted in this same forum under "Biggest Regrets whole Studying for the LSAT."

For me, the more the LSAT became some idol I worshipped in my life, the more I stressed and my scores reflected this.

It's a big test and difficult to not freak- and I don't know what caused (could be multiple causes) your drop. BUT- you'll move on. You'll be fine. You'll progress beyond it.


You're a smart person it seems. So I'm sure you've thought about a lot of this. Don't make the LSAT your god, make it your bitch.[/quote]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the advice and encouragement. I'm going to grab the PS books today, chill out, and start fresh tomorrow.

That's funny that you were living with your grandma too! Man, it's not an ideal situation during Lsat prep. My grandma's great, but if I gave to hear about the weather one more time, I might die. Lol

[Captain Rodeo]

Ya, but grandmas are awesome so I'd definitely make the most of it. She'll likely be one of your biggest supporters.

And good. Grab those PS books. Consensus seems to be that Manhattan LR > PS LR. But, you could do both. And Manhattan LSAT RC. PS LG for sure- but diagramming for Pure Sequencing is whack. I hear MLSAT LG is great too. Like I said- check out Noodley One's- maybe even PM people on here who have good LSATs (and seem nice).... But before I do that just read around. There's a TON of info and your Qs have likely been answered.

[manillabay]

I'm new to the boards so forgive me if I'm posting about something that's been covered elsewhere.

I'm currently prepping for the June 2014 Lsat, but considering sitting the October test instead unless I can figure out what's happening with my Lsat skills and fix the problem. I started studying seriously a month ago. Ive been studying anywhere from 2-5 hours/day and 6-7 days/week. My mastery practice went well. I understood wrong answer types and how they differed from correct answer choices in Logical Reasoning, categorizing each question type was of no issue, and breaking down the argument into its parts was also pretty easy. For the most part, Id get O-2 wrong per section untimed. Logic games was going alright too. I could recognize the action of the game right away and set up the appropriate diagram and make the necessary deductions to finish the section as well as logical reasoning. Same thing for Reading Comprehension. So after 3 weeks of mastery, I began mini-timing. On LR I was answering each question within, on average, a minute and getting about 2-4 wrong per section. For LG Id normally complete two games in about 6 min each, one game in about 8 min, and one in 10 with about 2-4 wrong per section. I havent started mini timing RC yet. Anyways, this was all great until one session when I went to mini time again. Suddenly, I was getting almost everything wrong. My mistakes were stupid. For example, when Id go to review them my thoughts would be "How did I misread that?!" or "How did I miss that?!" instead of "Oh I understand now."

So I took a day off to let my mind rest under the belief that I was mentally fatigued. When I went back to studying, my mind seemed improved again but this lasted for 4 days before the same thing happened. Only the circumstances, this time, were significantly different in that I moved onto full length timing and noticed I was panicked with full length timing in comparison to mini timing. All of my mistakes were silly errors. So I backed off and went back to mini timing after some review. And I was still making tons of stupid errors.

So my question is whether it seems likely that im suffering from mental fatigue at times and should schedule in two days off a week or make sure that I take at least one day off a week? And/or if stress is interfering with my abilities at times and what to do about that?

Im also wondering if you suggest focusing on certain sections each session or mixing them. Ive been mixing them up until now. As well as, do you suggest spending more time on review than practice, equal time, or more time on practice than review?

I was once told by someone who did well enough on the lsat to devote 3 hours to practice and 1 to review each session. This division of focus didnt seem to make sense to me, though.

Any insight is much appreciated.

Please be kind.

Thanks!

OP mentions Kaplan?!?! Omg freak out. Forget whatever else he said, Pavlovs fucking dog for Kaplan.

Anyway OP, I'll give you a useful response. That stuff happens to me. It happens for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm being lazy and misreading it. 2. Tired and misreading it (not fully concentrating) 3. I'm anxious and in a hurry, so I'm not fully engaged (I.e. Reading everything). All of them stems from not being in the right mindset while taking. So it's very sensible for you to think its mental fatigue from consistent studying. Make sure you're not just trying to get through it either. When I do mini time things, like you, I have to make sure I'm comfortable and mentally prepared/ ready for everything I'm about to do. If I am tired, just trying to get through it, anguished, or whatever, I will invariably misread/misunderstand critical parts of questions. LSAT requires full mental awareness/alertness at all times and rewards those who can maintain it. I hope you take some sleepy time and maybe draw out your schedule a bit.

Peace

[InPursuitOfaPassion]

[\quote]
OP mentions Kaplan?!?! Omg freak out. Forget whatever else he said, Pavlovs fucking dog for Kaplan.

Anyway OP, I'll give you a useful response. That stuff happens to me. It happens for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm being lazy and misreading it. 2. Tired and misreading it (not fully concentrating) 3. I'm anxious and in a hurry, so I'm not fully engaged (I.e. Reading everything). All of them stems from not being in the right mindset while taking. So it's very sensible for you to think its mental fatigue from consistent studying. Make sure you're not just trying to get through it either. When I do mini time things, like you, I have to make sure I'm comfortable and mentally prepared/ ready for everything I'm about to do. If I am tired, just trying to get through it, anguished, or whatever, I will invariably misread/misunderstand critical parts of questions. LSAT requires full mental awareness/alertness at all times and rewards those who can maintain it. I hope you take some sleepy time and maybe draw out your schedule a bit.

Peace[/quote]

Haha! Thank you. That is very helpful and reassuring. It also makes the most sense given my experiences with prep so far.