Top Law Schools

Hey everyone, just crawled out of my LSAT study hole so I can ask a question:

I've got a problem with mental endurance. Ive got about 60 days till the LSAT, and this far I have made it through the logic games bible and I'm half way through logic reasoning. I'm also in a testmasters course at Emory.

What I've noticed is that, when I take a full, timed test, toward the end of each section, I find myself so mentally exhausted that I just say "screw this" and begin to put the same letter straight down the line. I have received a 142 and a 144 doing that.

I also, sat down and took a full LSAT and did not time myself (before looking at any study material, that now I understand a GREAT deal more ) and I got a 159.

The thing is, I bought 40 prep tests and I have this course, but I know that my problem is mental endurance. I literally just guess a crap ton and that's where my bad answers come from. I think if I get my mental endurance up and I master the remaining skills, I've got a decent chance on the LSAT.

My question is; other than timed full practice tests (I'm gonna try and work my way up to them)
how can I increase my mental endurance? I feel like I'm literally squeezing my brain dry and it literally takes a physical toll on me.

Also- when I sit down and take a single logic games question, I can take an entire section and not get a single question wrong. However, I'll take a diagnostic with two reading comps before the logic games and I'll miss almost half due to guessing.
Ultimately I'm trying to say, I don't think the problem is due as much to comprehension as it is endurance.

Also, the 159 was tested BEFORE I was able to score perfect on the logic games. That being said I think I can do much better now.

You develop stamina the same way you train for anything physical. Repetition and increasing length. Read long, boring technical articles in Scientific American and The Economist. Concentrate for hours at a time on something you don't find terribly interesting.

But if you're only scoring a 142 on a full timed test, you should absolutely not be taking the LSAT in 60 days. You aren't anywhere near ready. Even discounting your stamina problem, your accuracy is nowhere near what it should be. A 142 is getting like 44 out of 100 questions correct. That's about 11 correct per section. Assuming you finish half of the section (13 Qs) and guess on half (12 Qs), and assuming you get 20% of the guessed questions right (2-3 per section), you're still only getting like 60-65% of your answered questions correct. Unacceptable.

Something to ponder: the LSAT is 2 1/2 hours long, with breaks. A law school exam can be four hours long with no breaks. Journal write-on competition (at many schools) is a week of self-paced work. Practicing law is concentrating all day, every day, for 30 years.

I have the same problem as you! Many people will suggest to you that you simply must keep taking practice tests to increase your stamina and get used to the length of the test. I definitely agree with this. I have found that doing separate sections, timed and untimed, has helped. Once you know the material that mental exhaustion will start to fade, I promise. I started at 146 diagnostic in January and I am PTing at around 160 right now and will be taking the June LSAT like you. Just keep focused. Also, caffeine helps to stay awake and energized (I get mine in the form of tea)... there's other brain foods too, and getting enough sleep is important too in order to have the energy to get through a PT. Good luck!

Definitely push yourself as far as you're willing to go beyond your perceived limitations, and then some. Push to the brink of burnout, then ease off, rest, recalibrate, and repeat. Keep riding that threshold, and you'll see massive improvements in mental stamina.

Also, and just as importantly, work toward achieving optimal physical health. Commit to exercising regularly and seriously--treat it like it's part of your prep. Intense cardio will speed up your brain's recovery time after a study session, and you will feel engaged, refreshed, and energetic. Control your nutrition, cut out alcohol, and try this stuff. It's actually amazing.

rinkrat19 wrote:You develop stamina the same way you train for anything physical. Repetition and increasing length. Read long, boring technical articles in Scientific American and The Economist. Concentrate for hours at a time on something you don't find terribly interesting.

But if you're only scoring a 142 on a full timed test, you should absolutely not be taking the LSAT in 60 days. You aren't anywhere near ready. Even discounting your stamina problem, your accuracy is nowhere near what it should be. A 142 is getting like 44 out of 100 questions correct. That's about 11 correct per section. Assuming you finish half of the section (13 Qs) and guess on half (12 Qs), and assuming you get 20% of the guessed questions right (2-3 per section), you're still only getting like 60-65% of your answered questions correct. Unacceptable.

Something to ponder: the LSAT is 2 1/2 hours long, with breaks. A law school exam can be four hours long with no breaks. Journal write-on competition (at many schools) is a week of self-paced work. Practicing law is concentrating all day, every day, for 30 years.

Don't worry about law school, most people get through it. Just take some deep breaths and take some time away from the LSAT. You need to go into your test with 100% energy and motivation. So don't do so many tests so many days and these kinda of things. Space it out AMAP and get some beauty sleep.

I really disagree with manillabay's advice. The only time R&R is useful is when it follows periods of intense work that actively push you past your mental threshold. Rest is necessary for recovery. If you have nothing to recover from, your "time outside the LSAT" is a waste. The value of your rest time will depend on the intensity of your prep time. So push to the brink of burnout, then ease off. As soon as you feel fresh, start the process over again. Threshold training is the only way to improve mental stamina.

Is hard to say whether you need to take a break or not, because we have no idea how hard you are actually studying. But I think if you are really pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion it is pretty counter-productive.

But it is important to note, from what I remember in reading other posts; Straw does not have an official score, and manillabay does, and is up to TLS standards.

Straw_Mandible wrote:I really disagree with manillabay's advice. The only time R&R is useful is when it follows periods of intense work that actively push you past your mental threshold. Rest is necessary for recovery. If you have nothing to recover from, your "time outside the LSAT" is a waste. The value of your rest time will depend on the intensity of your prep time. So push to the brink of burnout, then ease off. As soon as you feel fresh, start the process over again. Threshold training is the only way to improve mental stamina.

+1, I also disagree with manillabay.

OP: if you can't maintain concentration for even a full section, you need to actively work on that. Don't give in to just giving up and selecting random answers as you have been — those are exactly the kind of situations where you need to shake it off and learn to push through.

If you watch a lot of television, consider cutting it from your life completely for a week or two and see if it helps your concentration. Adjust your TV use according to what you learn during this period of abstinence. This was mentioned in a few of the guides by 180 scorers, and I found it helped me fine-tune my mental stamina.

manillabay wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:You develop stamina the same way you train for anything physical. Repetition and increasing length. Read long, boring technical articles in Scientific American and The Economist. Concentrate for hours at a time on something you don't find terribly interesting.

But if you're only scoring a 142 on a full timed test, you should absolutely not be taking the LSAT in 60 days. You aren't anywhere near ready. Even discounting your stamina problem, your accuracy is nowhere near what it should be. A 142 is getting like 44 out of 100 questions correct. That's about 11 correct per section. Assuming you finish half of the section (13 Qs) and guess on half (12 Qs), and assuming you get 20% of the guessed questions right (2-3 per section), you're still only getting like 60-65% of your answered questions correct. Unacceptable.

Something to ponder: the LSAT is 2 1/2 hours long, with breaks. A law school exam can be four hours long with no breaks. Journal write-on competition (at many schools) is a week of self-paced work. Practicing law is concentrating all day, every day, for 30 years.

Don't worry about law school, most people get through it. Just take some deep breaths and take some time away from the LSAT. You need to go into your test with 100% energy and motivation. So don't do so many tests so many days and these kinda of things. Space it out AMAP and get some beauty sleep.

Do worry about law school, because you don't just need to "get through it." You need to do well on exams so you can get a job. If you don't have the stamina to get through a short exam, you'll struggle to do well in law school, which is 6-8 generally time-pressured 3-4 hour exams over your first year.

I thought it had been implied that manilabay was an unfunny troll alt created by the mods.

Pretty sure manillabay is an annoying virgin who lives in his grandma's basement. Probably keeps a stolen store mannequin by his side for emotional support.

LOL at all the fear-mongering in this thread. And LOL at Clyde's frog rebounding resentment. Get over it, go watch South Park.

Let’s get things straight. The LSAT is a test that people generally prepare for over months, sometimes even longer than a year. An exam/test in law school will not require that you look over the same exact material for months on end for one test. Big difference bud. Granted, Law School exams are surely arduous, as I understand them at least. But you’re comparing apples and oranges when it comes to the way in which they are prepared for. So shove a sock in it.

Now If OP is genuinely like unable to take a test because he can’t sit through a test, yeah, that’s a problem. I mean, how the hell did you get through high school or anything else, though? It’s not any longer than any of my normal final exams….

So, you know what? You can bash me all you want, but in reality unless OP genuinely has the attention span of an 8 year old, then I think my advice is sound. IF he does have said attention span, then yeah, what the hell are you doing here?

manillabay wrote:LOL at all the fear-mongering in this thread. And LOL at Clyde's frog rebounding resentment. Get over it, go watch South Park.

Let’s get things straight. The LSAT is a test that people generally prepare for over months, sometimes even longer than a year. An exam/test in law school will not require that you look over the same exact material for months on end for one test. Big difference bud. Granted, Law School exams are surely arduous, as I understand them at least.

That's exactly what a law school exam is like. If given enough time, most of the class could write an 'A' exam (just like most people could do a lot better on the LSAT with unlimited time). What differentiates people is who can write an 'A' exam in 3-4 hours, and that's all about working on the same material all semester so you can regurgitate it in your sleep, then being able to focus completely the whole time on exam day. It's totally different than high school or college, where you have plenty of time on exams and where you have a number of exams that each might only cover 4-5 weeks of material.

Dude Law students studying for law exams are studying for law exams full time. Most LSAT test takers are not studying for it full time. It’s a matter of resourcefulness for some people.

manillabay wrote:LOL at all the fear-mongering in this thread. And LOL at Clyde's frog rebounding resentment. Get over it, go watch South Park.

Let’s get things straight. The LSAT is a test that people generally prepare for over months, sometimes even longer than a year. An exam/test in law school will not require that you look over the same exact material for months on end for one test. Big difference bud. Granted, Law School exams are surely arduous, as I understand them at least. But you’re comparing apples and oranges when it comes to the way in which they are prepared for. So shove a sock in it.

Now If OP is genuinely like unable to take a test because he can’t sit through a test, yeah, that’s a problem. I mean, how the hell did you get through high school or anything else, though? It’s not any longer than any of my normal final exams….

So, you know what? You can bash me all you want, but in reality unless OP genuinely has the attention span of an 8 year old, then I think my advice is sound. IF he does have said attention span, then yeah, what the hell are you doing here?

Lol get out here, creep. Quit giving people advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. Stick to what you know, like your animal sex/pedophilia threads.

I just thought about this...

I do something called intermittent fasting, where you only eat 2-4 hours out of the day and you stay fasted for the rest. im doing it now- body builders do it to shed fat and I lost like 30 pounds last summer doing it. I remember being hungry as hell for both diagnostics, but I'm not sure if that might have played any major role.