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Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 1:28 pm
by Bschonfeld
So it's 3:30am and I've been studying to take LSAT that is in less two days and I am going mad. I can finish the practice test in the allotted time but I when it comes down to answering the question, I can narrow it down to two possible answers but upon check it I keep choosing the wrong one. Sometimes I feel better if I could just flip a damn coin. Anyone else have that problem? Am I alone? Manly logical reasoning and those assumption questions.
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 2:07 pm
by Binghamton1018
With all due respect, there are a plethora of methods that people on this forum and several others have used to become familiar enough with the ins-and-outs of the test to succeed at it. I have researched many of these and can tell you with a fair degree of confidence that if questions still feel like a "coin flip," I would advise you to defer taking the exam until a later date. That feeling-which I have also had- for most people goes away only after hours and hours of practice and familiarization with the exam.
Furthermore, I do not want to draw any unwarranted assumptions about your particular schedule/timezone/study techniques etc, but 3:30am, 2 days before the exam sounds like how I used to cram in my undergraduate days. This exam (for the most part-there might be extreme outliers) does not lend itself to being conquered by cramming, but rather: the accumulation and fashioning of skills and techniques for future use. It has been my experience that the LSAT is more similar to a language exam or boxing match (where one has fashioned skills to recognize and adapt to a series of situations) than it is to a high school regents exam (where one could do great simply-for the most part-by restate facts presented over the course of a school year in a text book.)
TL;DR:Based on your post and without trying to stretch what you said too far, you (more than likely) aren't ready to take tomorrow's exam. If you want to do as well as many other TLS'er strive to do, don't take.
edit: spelling error*
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 3:10 pm
by Barack O'Drama
Maybe you're just freaking out and getting cold feet?
Hovever, if you can't normally do PTs with out timing problems than you should really shouldn't be taking the LSAt and instead wait until September. Often timing issues later in your prep are a result of not having a firm mastery of the basics needed to do questions in the expected amount of time.
Good luck!
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:27 pm
by mornincounselor
You are not ready. Withdraw. Get much more practice in before you take it.
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:59 pm
by jnwa
As someone who tutors the LSAT, i can only narrow it down to 2 choices is the most common excuse after i can get the questions right i just cant do it in time. Both those things are a sign that you havent gained enough aptitude with the test. Once you have a rudimentary understanding of the LSAT its pretty easy to eliminate 2 or even 3 answers right of the bat, its selecting the right one that separates the men from the boys. If you get good enough at the questions youll know why the trap answer is wrong and youll get to the point when youre eliminating it with as much ease as the other 3.
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 6:37 pm
by proteinshake
withdraw and take in September. it's too late for this.
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:28 am
by Bschonfeld
Thank you for all the tips. I already paid so I'm going o take it. If I withdraw now then I would feel like I threw away $180.00 and quit. I don't quit, I use failures as learning experiences.
Just some background to an earlier question about study habits. I'm a 41 yr old that works midnights and a father of two (8 and 10 year old). I wish I had the free time and money to spend on all these prep test and prep classes but I don't. I study on down time at work.
Thank you and good luck to anyone taking the test today.
Re: Going Mad
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2016 9:05 pm
by mornincounselor
Bschonfeld wrote:Thank you for all the tips. I already paid so I'm going o take it. If I withdraw now then I would feel like I threw away $180.00 and quit. I don't quit, I use failures as learning experiences.
Just some background to an earlier question about study habits. I'm a 41 yr old that works midnights and a father of two (8 and 10 year old). I wish I had the free time and money to spend on all these prep test and prep classes but I don't. I study on down time at work.
Thank you and good luck to anyone taking the test today.
Well, when your ability to get on a financially stable path to a good law school depends on your ability to retake the test you will wish you weren't so pig-headed about not "quitting". But, hey a buck is a buck.