Advice on studying without any untaken PTs Forum

[some_antics]

I'm in the unfortunate position of having to take the LSATs again this September after not doing as well as I had hoped in June. Because I wasn't anticipating having to sit for the test again, I've taken all the official LSAT PTs already prior to June. I've been retaking some PTs for the September test, but often find myself remembering the answer from the last time I took it. I'm afraid that using these PTs might condition me to be lazy and/or uncritical when approaching questions since I'm implicitly relying on previous knowledge.

Any advice on how I can stay mentally sharp without any new material?

[msp8]

What did you score on the test itself, and what were you scoring on PTs?

[some_antics]

Prior to taking the June test, all my PTs ranged from 175-180. I figured I would probably score a little lower than that range due to normal test day jitters, but got a 170. Checked my answer sheet and realized I had bubbled in the wrong section for a few questions....

My GPA, reccs, extracurriculars puts me in contention for HYS and the LSAT is currently the weakest part of my application. I know 170 is too low to be seriously competitive at those schools and my PTs show I can definitely do better.

My strategy since June has been to do light studying just to stay in mental shape. Do a few drills and practice tests to keep the techniques I'd learned fresh, correct some of the bad habits I still have. My fear is that using these old tests has made me lazy since I'm probably not as focused and critical of my reasoning when I'm attacking a problem. I might be going into each question with an unconscious bias toward the correct answer since, in 60% of the cases, I can vaguely remember what the correct answer is. All my PTs thus far (taken 4) have been 180, which is likely more a sign of my familiarity with the test rather than me having mastery over it.

Law schools are interested in a new score really only if it is +6 from the previous since any LSAT score represents a +3, -3 range (HYS looks at all scores). Knowing that I have to basically score a 176+ to get HYS to really notice, and knowing that scoring 175+ is super arbitrary, I'm afraid that re-taking these PTs are doing more harm than good.

My situation is rather unique, but I wonder if other retakers have had the problem of running out of fresh PTs

[BillsFan9907]

I am a retaker who has done all the tests.

Just to clarify - you have done PT's 1-72?

Have you done the Indian LSATs?

http://www.cambridgelsat.com/resources/ ... -practice/

If you're a spanish speaker you can also give a stab at the Spanish lsat.

In the link above, there are some very legit, challenging unofficial games made by one of the best test prep companies around. There is also a book with very legit unofficial games: http://www.getprepped.com/free-book-ace ... gic-games/

Have you done the February LSATs?

Have you done the LSAT Trainer? It's opened my eyes to a whole new world of LSAT thought.

There are also pre-1991 LSAT materials available on amazon from the old test.

[gatesome]

170 is a strong lsat score that will get you into hundreds of law schools

stop deluding yourself and start working toward your future

[ScottRiqui]

170 is a strong lsat score that will get you into hundreds of law schools

stop deluding yourself and start working toward your future

True, he'd get into lots of schools right now, but he's said that even with a 170, his LSAT is the weakest part of his application, so I don't think that retaking is delusional, especially with his PT track record and the fact that he made some mechanical errors on test day.