The Official September 2016 Study Group - WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS Forum

[20170322]

Decided to change my LSAT strategy. I have 14 fresh tests left. I'm going to do 3 tests a week for the next 3 weeks. That'll kill 9, then I'll do 1/2 a week for the next month (I'll have job training and classes), and that'll kill the other 5. Then, for September, I'll only retake PT's and drill. Hopefully this will boost my confidence and send me into the test feeling calm. This strategy also means I'll see basically every LSAT ever given before test day.

[Mikey]

So today the only thing I did was 1 timed LR section, I already blind reviewed it and here is how it went:

PT 41
LR 1: -3
After BR: -1

The -1 after BR was a MBF question that I could not for the life of me figure out so I honestly gave up and checked out the 7sage explanation. Once I saw the explanation I felt like such a failure for not seeing a simple inference. To be fair, the question is ranked 5/5 difficulty, but at the same time, J.Y made the right answer look so easy to see so quickly. Also, I never really practiced much MBF questions so at least I know what I should drill, whatevs.

Most likely going to do the other LR for this PT tomorrow, along with starting 7sage's RC lessons (yippy ).

ETA: I just want to point out that there were 2 parallel questions in this section (1 reasoning 1 flaw), and I'm extremely happy to say that I was 100% confident with my answer to both of them, which were correct!

[Mikey]

Decided to change my LSAT strategy. I have 14 fresh tests left. I'm going to do 3 tests a week for the next 3 weeks. That'll kill 9, then I'll do 1/2 a week for the next month (I'll have job training and classes), and that'll kill the other 5. Then, for September, I'll only retake PT's and drill. Hopefully this will boost my confidence and send me into the test feeling calm. This strategy also means I'll see basically every LSAT ever given before test day.

If you think that's best for you then go for it! Just make sure not to burn out, 3 PT a week is a lot, at least imo.

[ngogirl12]

So today the only thing I did was 1 timed LR section, I already blind reviewed it and here is how it went:

PT 41
LR 1: -3
After BR: -1

The -1 after BR was a MBF question that I could not for the life of me figure out so I honestly gave up and checked out the 7sage explanation. Once I saw the explanation I felt like such a failure for not seeing a simple inference. To be fair, the question is ranked 5/5 difficulty, but at the same time, J.Y made the right answer look so easy to see so quickly. Also, I never really practiced much MBF questions so at least I know what I should drill, whatevs.

Most likely going to do the other LR for this PT tomorrow, along with starting 7sage's RC lessons (yippy ).

ETA: I just want to point out that there were 2 parallel questions in this section (1 reasoning 1 flaw), and I'm extremely happy to say that I was 100% confident with my answer to both of them, which were correct!

You might want to rewatch the 7Sage Invalid Arguments and More MBT/MBF questions lessons videos. I'm at the Invalid Arguments right now (it's the last lesson I'm rewatching before moving on with the curriculum) and it's really helpful!

[Mikey]

So today the only thing I did was 1 timed LR section, I already blind reviewed it and here is how it went:

PT 41
LR 1: -3
After BR: -1

The -1 after BR was a MBF question that I could not for the life of me figure out so I honestly gave up and checked out the 7sage explanation. Once I saw the explanation I felt like such a failure for not seeing a simple inference. To be fair, the question is ranked 5/5 difficulty, but at the same time, J.Y made the right answer look so easy to see so quickly. Also, I never really practiced much MBF questions so at least I know what I should drill, whatevs.

Most likely going to do the other LR for this PT tomorrow, along with starting 7sage's RC lessons (yippy ).

ETA: I just want to point out that there were 2 parallel questions in this section (1 reasoning 1 flaw), and I'm extremely happy to say that I was 100% confident with my answer to both of them, which were correct!

You might want to rewatch the 7Sage Invalid Arguments and More MBT/MBF questions lessons videos. I'm at the Invalid Arguments right now (it's the last lesson I'm rewatching before moving on with the curriculum) and it's really helpful!

Yeah I actually went back and rewatched the valid arguments lessons after I watched the explanation for the question. Then I went back to the explanation and just watched it again.

[gery0n]

New to the thread / longtime TLS lurker!

Heads-up for anyone who qualified for an LSAC fee waiver; "Lsatmax" offers their $800 LSAT app for ~free~ to anyone who qualifies for a fee waiver; you just have to email them with subject line like "fee-waiver scholarship". I've been using it to drill LR questions on my commute / during times I'd normally text. (I hope this is okay to post? I just know that for me, a lot of LSAT materials were a financial burden).

[LawTweet]

I've been using 7Sage like crazy and my logical reasoning performance is GOING DOWN. It is so frustrating! When I used my intuition I was getting -2 or -3 on each section (so like -5ish total). Now I'm getting something like -12 overall.

Should I just stop bothering with the kind of "basics" 7Sage is offering and do all practice sections instead? I have PTed between 161 and 174 but recent ones have been in the lower 160s range. I'm really hoping to test in September if at all possible.

[gery0n]

I've been using 7Sage like crazy and my logical reasoning performance is GOING DOWN. It is so frustrating! When I used my intuition I was getting -2 or -3 on each section (so like -5ish total). Now I'm getting something like -12 overall.

Should I just stop bothering with the kind of "basics" 7Sage is offering and do all practice sections instead? I have PTed between 161 and 174 but recent ones have been in the lower 160s range. I'm really hoping to test in September if at all possible.

Honestly, nothing has helped more than taking every single pt. *Pt + blind review* is the best you can do, imo. All the 'strategies' just really confused me ; the only exception was reading the bibles at the very beginning of my prep. (I started off 159 diagnostic, and five months later am consistently pt'ing 177-180).

[appind]

Decided to change my LSAT strategy. I have 14 fresh tests left. I'm going to do 3 tests a week for the next 3 weeks. That'll kill 9, then I'll do 1/2 a week for the next month (I'll have job training and classes), and that'll kill the other 5. Then, for September, I'll only retake PT's and drill. Hopefully this will boost my confidence and send me into the test feeling calm. This strategy also means I'll see basically every LSAT ever given before test day.

don't you want to keep a few fresh ones right before the test for diagnostic value?

[Deardevil]

Hey there, gery0n! Good lookin' out for the TLS community. :]

I've been using 7Sage like crazy and my logical reasoning performance is GOING DOWN. It is so frustrating! When I used my intuition I was getting -2 or -3 on each section (so like -5ish total). Now I'm getting something like -12 overall.

Should I just stop bothering with the kind of "basics" 7Sage is offering and do all practice sections instead? I have PTed between 161 and 174 but recent ones have been in the lower 160s range. I'm really hoping to test in September if at all possible.

I know the feeling. Stick with your roots if that will get you back to -2 or -3.
I'm also seeing a lot of -12s on my end as well. Sucks even more when I feel fairly confident, too.
Achieved a new low today with -14 lol. Can't be helped... For now. Just need to keep at it.

Stay grindin'.

[Alexandros]

I've been using 7Sage like crazy and my logical reasoning performance is GOING DOWN. It is so frustrating! When I used my intuition I was getting -2 or -3 on each section (so like -5ish total). Now I'm getting something like -12 overall.

Should I just stop bothering with the kind of "basics" 7Sage is offering and do all practice sections instead? I have PTed between 161 and 174 but recent ones have been in the lower 160s range. I'm really hoping to test in September if at all possible.

That happened to me after I started MLSAT LR - like -4 to -8 per section. Don't have any experience with 7sage but I say don't force yourself into something that's extremely counterintuitive / unnatural, but take what's useful.

[Alexandros]

I've been using 7Sage like crazy and my logical reasoning performance is GOING DOWN. It is so frustrating! When I used my intuition I was getting -2 or -3 on each section (so like -5ish total). Now I'm getting something like -12 overall.

Should I just stop bothering with the kind of "basics" 7Sage is offering and do all practice sections instead? I have PTed between 161 and 174 but recent ones have been in the lower 160s range. I'm really hoping to test in September if at all possible.

Honestly, nothing has helped more than taking every single pt. *Pt + blind review* is the best you can do, imo. All the 'strategies' just really confused me ; the only exception was reading the bibles at the very beginning of my prep. (I started off 159 diagnostic, and five months later am consistently pt'ing 177-180).

Good to know. Is this your first take?

[notsolawful]

Was practicing 173-175. 169 on test day. Feels bad but I know I can do better in Sept. Officially joining the thread

[gery0n]

Yeah, first take! Started really studying in February.

Just trying to study enough that test day feels routine...

[gery0n]

Was practicing 173-175. 169 on test day. Feels bad but I know I can do better in Sept. Officially joining the thread

Sorry to hear that Nothing wrong with a retake though!
What do you think accounted for the score drop?

[appind]

Was practicing 173-175. 169 on test day. Feels bad but I know I can do better in Sept. Officially joining the thread

which administration?

i feel like this thread is full of first-timers, and not many retakers

and that discussion is more like learning the alphabet stage when the endgoal is mastering the foreign language.

[Burt Macklin]

I'm officially going hardcore with prep as of today.. I reviewed a bunch of MBT questions..

I have a question for September takers, are people working on their personal statements? I kind of have an idea where I want to go with mine, but would love some guidance or know what other people are doing i.e. working on their personal statements or just focusing on the LSAT..

I have a very rough draft that I am working on editing little by little. I think it provides a nice break from ongoing and mostly monotonous LSAT prep.
I think it is good to start early because although writing my first draft took about an hour I am seeing that the edits and changes I am making are going to take forever. It is really something you want to be perfect.

Thanks for your response.

Did you read books to help you out? I kind of have an idea and an opening but am a little confused as how to link it to other parts of my essay.. I'm thinking getting some books might help me out..

Are you working on it every day or only dedicating one day a week for it?

I haven't read any books as of yet, but I am planning on getting something. I am probably going to use The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions
Heard good things about it from personal friends and online, so I figured I'd give it a shot!

I don't work on it everyday. I sort of just add/edit when I think of something I want to change. I have a really good skeleton that I am working on editing, but I think most everything I want to say is written and it is just a matter of dining the most clear and eloquent way of saying it.

So, yeah, I would say I probably work on it 1-2 days a week. Sometimes I end up just randomly thinking of an idea at 2am and end up working on it then for an hour, but that has been rare.

Also, I should add that I wrote like 3 personal statements outlines and ended up growing this one to a full, 2-page statement.

This might be a long post, so I apologize in advance. Below are some notes that I took while listening into 7Sage's free webinar the other day.


Good resource for example statements:
University of Chicago School of Law Admissions Letters: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/maga ... irownwords
http://www.law.uchicago.edu/node/1451

A good personal statement topic finds a good center between What Matters to You and What is an Interesting Story (where there exists the most overlap)
-Also where there exists an intersection between what Matters to you and What doest make you look like a douche
-A really good writer can make almost anything an interesting story (I am not a good writer thought....)
-Tells your life story, or a thin slice of your life's story

Do you have an incredible story (something that could be made into a Lifetime movie?)
-If yes, then you want to use that
-If no then DON'T use that --> Brain storm, general rule is that 1 in 10 ideas are good

Should have an internal before and after, should be a lesson that reflects a small journey you made

Questions to ask yourself to find a good topic
1) When did you change your mind, your beliefs, or your goals? Anywhere in your life where you took a new direction, a big inflection point. Maybe it is smaller than significant change, such as a psychodrama.
2) What is the most challenging thing that you've done? What is your mountain? This might be a really good topic because it presents movement 1- the challenge and movement 2- the solution
3) What contributed to your identity? What shaped you or what made you, you? Might be about how you grew up, such as had to raise your siblings. Maybe you were a parking lot attendant and had a bunch of time to focus on something, like reading.
4) What is most surprising about you? It forces you to dig deep about something that will be memorable. Maybe its a hobby, a skill that most people don't have, or an interest most people don't have.
5) (Most powerful statement) What 5 seconds changed your life? Doesn't necessarily have to be actually 5 seconds. Might be easiest to write because you have an identifiable changing point and have a before and after.
6) What made you want to be a lawyer? This is a good topic for anyone who has a good and sincere interest in becoming a lawyer, not a boring reason such as a stable or respected profession. Don't pretend you want to be a lawyer for some abstract reason because your resume will flush out that your interest isn't actually sincere. If you have some use for your UG degree.

Topics can meld together, such as a 5 second change that drove you to want to be a lawyer.

Dude's favorite essays:
1) Tourettes essay - about a time someone who has tourettes his whole life, seemed ordinary from his POV, but from someone eles's POV its pretty interesting
2) Defending a Neo-Nazi - a African American who ends up defneding a Nazi in court
3) Coffee Shop - A 5 second change in this girls life, who normally didn't stand up for herself, but was a pivotal movement for her
4) Paper Cranes - Korean student who moved to Japan who had an inherent distrust for Japanese culture, while making paper cranes in a park
5) Max's Death - An VETs story about an Iraqi Soldier who died while trying to get his Green Card, focus's more on his relationship between the two NOT ABOUT MAX
6) Tourne - Someone who could make a type of food, tourne, and his struggle
7) Women like you - About a woman who was harassed in a police station in South Korea, turns that moment about being harassed into what are her core beliefs
The best personal statements touch on the MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE


Things to ask yourself about your personal statement:
1) Do you play an active part in this story? If you're not active then the topic probably doesn't work
2) Can you illustrate the point with specific anecdotes and details? These are the "bricks" that build your essay. If you can't remember specific details about the event, it might be a shitty essay because it will be vague
3) Is the topic important to you? Can you write about it sincerely?
4) Is it "the time that"?

Things to NOT DO:
Don't say what you're not sincere about because you think its what they want to hear, the admissions will flush out your bullship
Bad Essays topics:

1) The time I witnessed injustice essay, unless you were wronged or people you were connected to were wronged, then this is not going to seem sincere. Did you try to, or actually, do something about it? Did you actively act on that cause?
2) The Blah Business School Essay
-Did this experience working at the internship, or working at your job, matter to you? Did it change you? If not then it will feel like blah.
-Is your accomplishment something special, or was it just doing your job? Sometimes just doing your job can have a sense of nobility.
3) The essay about the obstacle that's not really an obstacle.
-Disappointments are not real obstacles
-Is this an actual obstacle or is this a disappointment?
4) The Two-Headed Essay
-Writer doesn't really know what he wants to write about and morphs into something weird
-Do I have more than one topic?
-Is every paragraph part of the same story?
5) The Headless Essay
-People writing about their resume or writing about
-Can you explain what this essay is about in one sentence or less? If you can't then you probably don't have a good essay

[notsolawful]

Was practicing 173-175. 169 on test day. Feels bad but I know I can do better in Sept. Officially joining the thread

which administration?

i feel like this thread is full of first-timers, and not many retakers

and that discussion is more like learning the alphabet stage when the endgoal is mastering the foreign language.

June Asia. I'm just here to spend my time. I can contribute to those trying to learn the language. I generally understand the test and am a teacher by profession so I like helping. My main focus for myself is just test-taking,

[Alexandros]

Yeah, first take! Started really studying in February.

Just trying to study enough that test day feels routine...

That's awesome! Good early start there. Congrats on those awesome PT scores!

[Alexandros]

I realized that RC sections really tire me out, so now I'm doing RC prep the same way I do LG prep. Packs of 4, 35 minutes max, over and over until I can learn this section.

Let us know how that works! I've been doing that for LG too and it's worked quite well, but I've been staying away from repeating RC since I wasn't sure if it would do any good.

Did someone steal your shades?

Get some clubmasters. They'd look sick.

Kind of irritated. Went 55/60 on the type 7 MP/MC questions. I drew over and erased all of my work so I can't read my previous markings. I'll go back to them later and trying to reason through them a bit more thoroughly.

Need to eat. Then type 8. Need to be productive to day.

Yeah, goddam Scythians again. Thanks for the rec - I'll make an order!

Hey, 55/60 ain't bad at all! And you're holding yourself to very high standards and figuring out what went wrong, which is excellent.

[Alexandros]

There are not enough hours in the day, this is ridiculous.
Going to do another set of LG then will have to quit for tonight because I'm too bloody tired for this.
Thus far - 1 RC this morning, mlsat lr ch 6, logic game set of 5, mlsat lr ch 11, lr set.
Doesn't seem like very much at all.

(Lol like why did the one time I'm offered a surprise not-to-be-turned-down full time position have to be the summer I'd set aside for chill LSAT studying. Also this 24 cycle thing is frankly a terrible design.)

You're not alone! Ive been working "more-than" full-time this past month in NY Finance ( an incredible opportunity) and It's been extremely difficult to rack in the right LSAT hours. Im learning consistency is key and utilize your weekends! Haha

Every week Im getting in more of groove and able to accomplish more and more- we can make it through this summer together!

YES. WE CAN DO THIS.

Also shit that sounds like an amazing opportunity but stressful af! I'm glad you're getting in groove. Agreed - consistency and weekends are key. time management! We've got this

When are you doing your PTs? I haven't managed to do a proper one on a workday yet, but that may have to change. (Somehow...)

Amen!!! I havent been doing PTs yet. I am about ready to start. I am going to utilize my weekends for sure and then I have been working out at 5:30/6 AM before work and I havent been working out 2 weekdays to either sleep in before work (if i really need to catch up) or to study. I was thinking of doing a PT in the morning, but I dont think there is quite enough time. If I can get out of work relatively early/normal doing one in the evening is fine, but this week I've been working till 8ish (9 tonight) so Im too tired for a full accurate PT.

What were you thinking?

Ah, ok - I've only done a few and I feel like I may have jumped the gun a bit with that, so glad to hear there's others that haven't started.
Geez, working to 8-9 pm sounds exhausting, especially with 5:30 am mornings! Seriously impressive that you're managing that plus LSATs.

I'm not sure - I work fairly flexible hours so I could potentially do one on a day where I don't have to be there at 9am. And then there's the evening, of course. I'm not sure if that will prove feasible or not but it would be nice to have the full weekend for studying (I always get a bit burnt out after a PT and am not able to do too much drilling afterwards.)

[appind]

Was practicing 173-175. 169 on test day. Feels bad but I know I can do better in Sept. Officially joining the thread

which administration?

i feel like this thread is full of first-timers, and not many retakers

and that discussion is more like learning the alphabet stage when the endgoal is mastering the foreign language.

June Asia. I'm just here to spend my time. I can contribute to those trying to learn the language. I generally understand the test and am a teacher by profession so I like helping. My main focus for myself is just test-taking,

what do you teach?

i've run out of fresh PTs to take, so not sure what my prep would or should look like.

[notsolawful]

Teaching English abroad. I'm out of fresh PTs too. I'm gonna write explanations for each question from the last exams (maybe 62-77)

[Alexandros]

I've realized the odds of making my target in September are not too high, so I'm going to give everything I've got for September, then, if I need to, retake Dec or Feb - probably Feb because of finals, but I should have time to see. (I hate to have a fatalistic attitude here - if my target was even low 170s it would probably be different.)

Anyhoww, going to try to escape from the relatives enough tomorrow to do some LG, do some serious LR type training and hopefully read through another chapter of MLSAT, and at least a bit of RC . Starting to repeat RC - went -1 on a section I've done before, probably extremely inflated but w/e.

Alright, bed time - Good night everyone!

[Mikey]

I've realized the odds of making my target in September are not too high, so I'm going to give everything I've got for September, then, if I need to, retake Dec or Feb - probably Feb because of finals, but I should have time to see. (I hate to have a fatalistic attitude here - if my target was even low 170s it would probably be different.)

Anyhoww, going to try to escape from the relatives enough tomorrow to do some LG, do some serious LR type training and hopefully read through another chapter of MLSAT, and at least a bit of RC . Starting to repeat RC - went -1 on a section I've done before, probably extremely inflated but w/e.

Alright, bed time - Good night everyone!

Are you applying this cycle or next year?