Stuck in a rut... Help Forum

DoYouEvenTLS · Post by **DoYouEvenTLS** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:59 am

As the October LSAT nears, I honestly cannot see myself improving from my current average PT score (150) to the score I would like to achieve on test day roughly 2 months from now. With that being said, I've given some thought to paying the $90 to postpone for the December LSAT (or maybe even one later than that)...

I've done 100% self studying with the PS Bibles, the Trainer, and Cambridge bundles but I just can't seem to grasp LR or RC and I think that I may need to register for a course in order to do so. There's not really a pattern to the specific question types I'm missing, I'm missing almost every question type left and right. I've been doing some research and I'm interested in either one of 7sage's courses or Manhattan's LR and RC course.

Has anyone ever been in this position?

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:32 am

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rnoodles · Post by **rnoodles** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:36 am

Don't worry, and keep prepping. It literally (and I'm not exaggerating here) took me 2 months until LR started clicking to the point where I was going -3 or so and actually started seeing improvements I was expecting way sooner. It just takes a lot patience, determination, and, as cliched as this sounds, drive. The worst thing you can do right now is give in to this rut and leave points and $$$ on the table.

Good luck, and keep at it!

EDIT: I will say what helped me most on LR was when I sat down and meticulously deconstructed and attempted to understand every single type of question type, underlying nuances, and the accompanying answer choices. Sometimes an hour would go by and I'd only finished 3-5 questions, but it helped a lot with seeing patterns I didn't see before and eliminating 'commonly wrong' answers much quicker.

DoYouEvenTLS · Post by **DoYouEvenTLS** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 10:13 am

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:
DoYouEvenTLS wrote:As the October LSAT nears, I honestly cannot see myself improving from my current average PT score (150) to the score I would like to achieve on test day roughly 2 months from now. With that being said, I've given some thought to paying the $90 to postpone for the December LSAT (or maybe even one later than that)...

I've done 100% self studying with the PS Bibles, the Trainer, and Cambridge bundles but I just can't seem to grasp LR or RC and I think that I may need to register for a course in order to do so. There's not really a pattern to the specific question types I'm missing, I'm missing almost every question type left and right. I've been doing some research and I'm interested in either one of 7sage's courses or Manhattan's LR and RC course.

Has anyone ever been in this position?
How much of the bibles/ bundles have you completed?
What do you do when you drill questions? Have you noticed and idiosyncrasies within the question types that you have a hard time with? You can't be getting questions right or wrong completely randomly, there's gotta be something.
This is a stupid trick that I learned but helped exponentially.
Take a business card, and cover up the answers when you're drilling. Do not move on from an answer choice until you have a specific word that makes the AC incorrect, and circle it. If you legitimately can't find one, or the AC matches your anticipation, move on to the next one. I found that I was way more picky about wording once I did that.
I'm willing to guess that your understanding of flaws, sufficient and necessary terms, and diagramming are all weak.
Also, focus on what the answer choices are actually saying. A lot of times there are some really ridiculous answer choices (I saw one that said gravity didn't exist, I'm a really convoluted way, but that was the core).
Hearing info from other sources might help, but really I think that a key part of the test is interpreting info in a way that makes for you. Fully examine why an answer is wrong or right in a way that you understand. I found that a lot of the time I thought I understood why I got a question wrong, but actually didn't. Or if I did, I couldn't avoid getting a similar question wrong again. Try writing out, or in your head at least explaining, what the argument is, and why the wrong answers are wrong as if you're talking to a 12 year old. Seriously, act like you're a tutor.

I've completed the bibles and about just under half of the Cambridge bundles. When I drill I go through each answer choice and think about why it's wrong and why the right answer is right. I've realized that I struggle with both NA and Sa questions. I think I will try your method of drilling and see how it goes.

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:01 pm

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BasilHallward · Post by **BasilHallward** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:14 pm

it is entirely possible that things could click soon, but being realistic here, you should plan for December. Given that you have completed the Bibles, there is a concern. Did you race through these books??

On the whole, this is not the end of the world. Keep plugging away. But, I would recommend slowing your pace. To echo the previous poster, really take your time to understand why an answer choice is correct, and more importantly, incorrect. Don't race through all of your valuable practice tests. I recommend slowly going through the Trainer. DO NOT KEEP DOING PRACTICE TESTS. You need fresh ones for later in the process

DoYouEvenTLS · Post by **DoYouEvenTLS** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:18 pm

BasilHallward wrote:it is entirely possible that things could click soon, but being realistic here, you should plan for December. Given that you have completed the Bibles, there is a concern. Did you race through these books??

On the whole, this is not the end of the world. Keep plugging away. But, I would recommend slowing your pace. To echo the previous poster, really take your time to understand why an answer choice is correct, and more importantly, incorrect. Don't race through all of your valuable practice tests. I recommend slowly going through the Trainer. DO NOT KEEP DOING PRACTICE TESTS. You need fresh ones for later in the process

December, IMO, seems more realistic too... I may have inadvertently raced through the LR Bible. Thankfully, I've only done 5 PTs, the rest are still fresh... I'm planning on enrolling in a 7sage course and (semi-)starting over, learning from scratch. I have discipline, but what I think I lacked in my prep was structure.

mintberry - thanks for the advice in your previous posts!

eli2015 · Post by **eli2015** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:52 pm

DoYouEvenTLS wrote:
BasilHallward wrote:it is entirely possible that things could click soon, but being realistic here, you should plan for December. Given that you have completed the Bibles, there is a concern. Did you race through these books??

On the whole, this is not the end of the world. Keep plugging away. But, I would recommend slowing your pace. To echo the previous poster, really take your time to understand why an answer choice is correct, and more importantly, incorrect. Don't race through all of your valuable practice tests. I recommend slowly going through the Trainer. DO NOT KEEP DOING PRACTICE TESTS. You need fresh ones for later in the process

December, IMO, seems more realistic too... I may have inadvertently raced through the LR Bible. Thankfully, I've only done 5 PTs, the rest are still fresh... I'm planning on enrolling in a 7sage course and (semi-)starting over, learning from scratch. I have discipline, but what I think I lacked in my prep was structure.

mintberry - thanks for the advice in your previous posts!

Buy the Ultimate package if you can, you get almost ever PT explanation til PT 72, and they are invaluable. (I have the ultimate package). 7sage is great for LR and LG, however for RC I would recommend MP, or the Trainer.

DoYouEvenTLS · Post by **DoYouEvenTLS** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:25 am

eli2015 wrote: Buy the Ultimate package if you can, you get almost ever PT explanation til PT 72, and they are invaluable. (I have the ultimate package). 7sage is great for LR and LG, however for RC I would recommend MP, or the Trainer.

I've heard/seen A LOT of great reviews regarding the course. I am, in fact, thinking about purchasing the Ultimate package.

eli2015 · Post by **eli2015** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:38 am

DoYouEvenTLS wrote:
eli2015 wrote: Buy the Ultimate package if you can, you get almost ever PT explanation til PT 72, and they are invaluable. (I have the ultimate package). 7sage is great for LR and LG, however for RC I would recommend MP, or the Trainer.

I've heard/seen A LOT of great reviews regarding the course. I am, in fact, thinking about purchasing the Ultimate package.

Don't hesitate to dish out the cash, I can seriously speak nothing bad of JY's explanations for LR and especially LG. His lessons on quantifiers, and and valid argument forms are seriously just fantastic. I love the fact the he doesnt deceive you by giving you easy problem sets making you think you get it. He's also hilarious while explaining. Best JY saying during his lessons when an answer choice is wrong is " WHUT, WHUT THE HELL DOES THIS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH X. Lmfao