The Official June 2017 Study Group Forum

[Walliums]

If you guys have ever heard of the pomdoro technique, it's really been helping me keep a study schedule. I study for an hour, then take a ten minute break, then another hour, then take a 20 minute break (every 2 hrs you take a 20 minute break). During that time, no phone, no talking to anyone, TLS, nothing.

My friend is studying for the MCAT and this is basically the plan for the both of us; go to the quiet library and shut up, settle in and study for 1.5 hours, get a energy drink and go for another 1.5 before calling it around 12am before work in the morning.

I think hitting 6-10 hour days is good a few times (like 7 or 8 over a 5 month period) but consistently will burn you.

Think you are right. I've been hitting 6 hour days with a full-time job (9-5) for the past 3 weeks and am hitting the early burn out. 3 hours, with a full time job though, might be the move. Are you working as well?

Start the 1st, low energy job, SAD!

I'm going to keep it to 2-3 hours during the weekday and 4-(Some)6 on the weekend broken up of course.

Studying with a full-time job is no easy feat. I am trying to study an hour before work, an hour at lunch, and an hour after work. Limiting myself to six hours each weekend day to prevent burn-out.

It is really great to see more people who are working full-time and studying as well! It's hard b/c it feels like you aren't putting in enough time during the week and you have to cram on the weekends. Lately things at the job had been slow so I was able to sneak away to study during the day for a few spells. Now I just found out a bunch of crap is being added to my portfolio and I'm already not happy at this job... but good news is I am applying for a job at a big law firm with an infinitely better commute. Fingers crossed I get an interview!

Curious for those of you working full-time (or doing school, anybody who doesn't have the luxury of doing LSAT studying full-time) what stage of prep you are all at? I've read through most of the Trainer and have done 7Sage's core curriculum, at the point where I'm taking some PTs to identify weaknesses. I'm trying to set a number of sections/number of games goals for each day rather than studying for a set number of hours. Currently getting my ass handed to me by in/out games.

[dj9i27]

It is really great to see more people who are working full-time and studying as well! It's hard b/c it feels like you aren't putting in enough time during the week and you have to cram on the weekends. Lately things at the job had been slow so I was able to sneak away to study during the day for a few spells. Now I just found out a bunch of crap is being added to my portfolio and I'm already not happy at this job... but good news is I am applying for a job at a big law firm with an infinitely better commute. Fingers crossed I get an interview!

Curious for those of you working full-time (or doing school, anybody who doesn't have the luxury of doing LSAT studying full-time) what stage of prep you are all at? I've read through most of the Trainer and have done 7Sage's core curriculum, at the point where I'm taking some PTs to identify weaknesses. I'm trying to set a number of sections/number of games goals for each day rather than studying for a set number of hours. Currently getting my ass handed to me by in/out games.

Retake McGillicutty here so I can offer a little insight to in/out games; do 7Sage's redo method or PithyPikes redo method this will make you a guru at them and you'll be going -0/1 on conventional games in no time.

[somedeadman]

Full-time workers; I studied for an hour a day during the week, and took a practice test on the weekend for 7 months, and was able to get a 169. It's doable

[Walliums]

It is really great to see more people who are working full-time and studying as well! It's hard b/c it feels like you aren't putting in enough time during the week and you have to cram on the weekends. Lately things at the job had been slow so I was able to sneak away to study during the day for a few spells. Now I just found out a bunch of crap is being added to my portfolio and I'm already not happy at this job... but good news is I am applying for a job at a big law firm with an infinitely better commute. Fingers crossed I get an interview!

Curious for those of you working full-time (or doing school, anybody who doesn't have the luxury of doing LSAT studying full-time) what stage of prep you are all at? I've read through most of the Trainer and have done 7Sage's core curriculum, at the point where I'm taking some PTs to identify weaknesses. I'm trying to set a number of sections/number of games goals for each day rather than studying for a set number of hours. Currently getting my ass handed to me by in/out games.

Retake McGillicutty here so I can offer a little insight to in/out games; do 7Sage's redo method or PithyPikes redo method this will make you a guru at them and you'll be going -0/1 on conventional games in no time.

Thanks! I really suck at timing.. with in and out I blank on inferences and have to brute force that shit. Fool proofing is helping... how many times do you find you have to repeat games before it starts coming easier to you? I've been doing 3-4 but have just started in on it

[dj9i27]

It is really great to see more people who are working full-time and studying as well! It's hard b/c it feels like you aren't putting in enough time during the week and you have to cram on the weekends. Lately things at the job had been slow so I was able to sneak away to study during the day for a few spells. Now I just found out a bunch of crap is being added to my portfolio and I'm already not happy at this job... but good news is I am applying for a job at a big law firm with an infinitely better commute. Fingers crossed I get an interview!

Curious for those of you working full-time (or doing school, anybody who doesn't have the luxury of doing LSAT studying full-time) what stage of prep you are all at? I've read through most of the Trainer and have done 7Sage's core curriculum, at the point where I'm taking some PTs to identify weaknesses. I'm trying to set a number of sections/number of games goals for each day rather than studying for a set number of hours. Currently getting my ass handed to me by in/out games.

Retake McGillicutty here so I can offer a little insight to in/out games; do 7Sage's redo method or PithyPikes redo method this will make you a guru at them and you'll be going -0/1 on conventional games in no time.

Thanks! I really suck at timing.. with in and out I blank on inferences and have to brute force that shit. Fool proofing is helping... how many times do you find you have to repeat games before it starts coming easier to you? I've been doing 3-4 but have just started in on it

3 redos sometimes 4 if I have another one laying around but don't see the point (personally) going over 4 in a weeks time span, then you start remembering the answers. Inferences come naturally, it sounds like bullshit but trust me same with timing; one of the early games something about buses its been months since I've done it took me 45 minutes to do but I would just keep trying.

On the matter of remembering things, I don't remember anything question wise. I think it is because the last time I looked at these particular questions was in June/July so yeah I'm not concerned about the whole, "UR GON REMIMBR ALL DEM Q'S"

[Rupert Pupkin]

quick vent time:

Jesus fucking christ I hate this goddamn town, everything sucks and I can't wait the extra 10 days to move again. I think the water here is frying my goddamn brain.


Going to power through 2 or 3 more trainer chapters then drink a bunch of Miller because reasons.

Power through it brotha! Are you talking about Gville?

I'll be moving to Gville, but I'm in my small shitty hometown because the complex I'm moving into fucked my paperwork up ugh, glad they haven't seen any money from me yet.

Ahh okay... thats annoying the apartment complexes always find a way to mess things up

[dj9i27]

quick vent time:

Jesus fucking christ I hate this goddamn town, everything sucks and I can't wait the extra 10 days to move again. I think the water here is frying my goddamn brain.


Going to power through 2 or 3 more trainer chapters then drink a bunch of Miller because reasons.

Power through it brotha! Are you talking about Gville?

I'll be moving to Gville, but I'm in my small shitty hometown because the complex I'm moving into fucked my paperwork up ugh, glad they haven't seen any money from me yet.

Ahh okay... thats annoying the apartment complexes always find a way to mess things up

Yeah, I know once I move tho (aside from the week of drinking) my numbers will shoot up due to library and study group access; also my apartment is 1/1 so noisyness isn't going to be a factor either. just shitty drone work

[blackmamba8]

I should finish the Manhattan LR book tonight and then I'll start drilling question types tomorrow. I'll probably start back up with RC as well. I'm hoping to get in a solid 6 hours tomorrow morning/afternoon before meeting up with some friends.

[DreamerBulk]

Today is the day guys. I'm starting the LSAT trainer on the 16-week schedule. Will probably cut it short though since the last couple weeks are just practice tests.

You got this man! I would really try to finish the Trainer very quickly -- I just finished it and I feel no where near fame day ready.

Would you recommend skipping the practice tests that are included in the schedule? I don't want to complete the trainer with the tests and be stuck without recent tests to help prepare at the end.

[ngogirl12]

Today is the day guys. I'm starting the LSAT trainer on the 16-week schedule. Will probably cut it short though since the last couple weeks are just practice tests.

You got this man! I would really try to finish the Trainer very quickly -- I just finished it and I feel no where near fame day ready.

Would you recommend skipping the practice tests that are included in the schedule? I don't want to complete the trainer with the tests and be stuck without recent tests to help prepare at the end.

Maybe you can switch to older tests? 40s/50/60s?

I used 7Sage and Trainer and I didn't start taking tests until I completed my curriculum and felt I had mastered the different question types/important fundamentals. That said, I have heard its important to take some of the recent tests earlier rather than later bc of the changes in the more recent tests. What I'm doing is mixing the order of the 50s/60s/70s.

HTH

[greatspirit]

Full-time workers; I studied for an hour a day during the week, and took a practice test on the weekend for 7 months, and was able to get a 169. It's doable

Any more details on your approach to your studies? Thankfully I'm not working full time now, but want to be roughly 3 months before the test.

[Rain]

Checking in.

I think I will take June, maybe I'll end up doing September. I still have to set up the overall study plan but I am going to start dipping into LR first. I've already been playing around with the Manhattan LR Book. I think that is the section that overall I'll need to spend the most time onto so I'll start with early exposure. The skills seem more transferable to RC than LG as well, which also seems to be a longer term fix than LG. Also, I don't want to start photocopying games yet.

I'll take my diagnostic in a few days. I think my few days of LR studying won't poison the diagnostic too much, so be it. I really want to go further in the LR book.

HYS is the dream.

[somedeadman]

Full-time workers; I studied for an hour a day during the week, and took a practice test on the weekend for 7 months, and was able to get a 169. It's doable

Any more details on your approach to your studies? Thankfully I'm not working full time now, but want to be roughly 3 months before the test.

You're in a good situation then. The first 3 months of my studying I was unemployed, and really hit the powerscore bibles hard. This was the most frustrating part of studying, but once you start to understand the general concepts, things start clicking.

First 3 months - Powerscore bibles, drilling, occasional practice test (this can be demoralizing, so it's not absolutely necessary). Probably studied 20-30 hours a week
Next 6 months - did a section every day during lunch, then went over it when I got home. Took practice tests on the weekends, and BRed them. I was extremely diligent about this. No matter what came up, this schedule was not broken.

I was stuck in the 167-171 plateau for the last 3 months of my study process, so this may be able to be condensed. Basically, don't be intimidated by this test if you're working full-time.

[aurelian]

Today is the day guys. I'm starting the LSAT trainer on the 16-week schedule. Will probably cut it short though since the last couple weeks are just practice tests.

You got this man! I would really try to finish the Trainer very quickly -- I just finished it and I feel no where near fame day ready.

Would you recommend skipping the practice tests that are included in the schedule? I don't want to complete the trainer with the tests and be stuck without recent tests to help prepare at the end.

Maybe you can switch to older tests? 40s/50/60s?

I used 7Sage and Trainer and I didn't start taking tests until I completed my curriculum and felt I had mastered the different question types/important fundamentals. That said, I have heard its important to take some of the recent tests earlier rather than later bc of the changes in the more recent tests. What I'm doing is mixing the order of the 50s/60s/70s.

HTH

I would really not use fresh tests while going through the Trainer. I think the best thing to do is get a solid grasp of the fundamentals, as aforementioned, and use the tests as a full indicator of your progress. I didn't take one single day test and I've gone up to a -2 average on LR and -1 on RC thru the Trainer... LG is a different story.

[Rain]

Well, I just took my diagnostic I got a 163 on PrepTest 63, counting guesses, though most were wrong. The first LR went well, the second LR was much worse, the fatigue. Though I ended well on RC. LG wasn't too bad. Maintaining consistent focus and deliberate intention will be key, as well as difficult.

At one point in the LR I totally lost focus on what I was doing.

[Instrumental]

Well, I just took my diagnostic I got a 163 on PrepTest 63, counting guesses, though most were wrong. The first LR went well, the second LR was much worse, the fatigue. Though I ended well on RC. LG wasn't too bad. Maintaining consistent focus and deliberate intention will be key, as well as difficult.

At one point in the LR I totally lost focus on what I was doing.

163 diagnostic means you're probably going to be knocking out mid 170s by June no problem

[O.J.]

Well, I just took my diagnostic I got a 163

Lol, that's my target score, yo.

[JazzyMac]

*Not a fan of being ignored...deleting posts*

[Rupert Pupkin]

quick vent time:

Jesus fucking christ I hate this goddamn town, everything sucks and I can't wait the extra 10 days to move again. I think the water here is frying my goddamn brain.


Going to power through 2 or 3 more trainer chapters then drink a bunch of Miller because reasons.

Power through it brotha! Are you talking about Gville?

I'll be moving to Gville, but I'm in my small shitty hometown because the complex I'm moving into fucked my paperwork up ugh, glad they haven't seen any money from me yet.

Ahh okay... thats annoying the apartment complexes always find a way to mess things up

Yeah, I know once I move tho (aside from the week of drinking) my numbers will shoot up due to library and study group access; also my apartment is 1/1 so noisyness isn't going to be a factor either. just shitty drone work

The 1/1 will be super nice. I am in one now for the first time and it sucks in a lot of ways since you are alone, but for productivity it is great.

[dj9i27]

The 1/1 will be super nice. I am in one now for the first time and it sucks in a lot of ways since you are alone, but for productivity it is great.

I went a little crazy in UG living alone but, all of my friends left for the summer so social like=0. Now I have a job and this test to study for so social life is already going to be 0.

Worried I won't finish the trainer on time, I'll give myself a week gap and set the date for Feb.1

[Mikey]

165 on a PT this morning. Tanked RC and one of the LR sections.

[Walliums]

165 on a PT this morning. Tanked RC and one of the LR sections.

Story of my life. Got the same score as you on a PT take and RC was to blame.

[Rupert Pupkin]

The 1/1 will be super nice. I am in one now for the first time and it sucks in a lot of ways since you are alone, but for productivity it is great.

I went a little crazy in UG living alone but, all of my friends left for the summer so social like=0. Now I have a job and this test to study for so social life is already going to be 0.

Worried I won't finish the trainer on time, I'll give myself a week gap and set the date for Feb.1

Ya my goal of Feb 1 is cutting it close. GOnna push myself and see if I can still make it though.

[dj9i27]

The 1/1 will be super nice. I am in one now for the first time and it sucks in a lot of ways since you are alone, but for productivity it is great.

I went a little crazy in UG living alone but, all of my friends left for the summer so social like=0. Now I have a job and this test to study for so social life is already going to be 0.

Worried I won't finish the trainer on time, I'll give myself a week gap and set the date for Feb.1

Ya my goal of Feb 1 is cutting it close. GOnna push myself and see if I can still make it though.

My main concern this retake is the weird games and me not losing my shit on RC; when I'm mellow headed I do well but if I drift LAMO no.

[Rupert Pupkin]

The 1/1 will be super nice. I am in one now for the first time and it sucks in a lot of ways since you are alone, but for productivity it is great.

I went a little crazy in UG living alone but, all of my friends left for the summer so social like=0. Now I have a job and this test to study for so social life is already going to be 0.

Worried I won't finish the trainer on time, I'll give myself a week gap and set the date for Feb.1

Ya my goal of Feb 1 is cutting it close. GOnna push myself and see if I can still make it though.

My main concern this retake is the weird games and me not losing my shit on RC; when I'm mellow headed I do well but if I drift LAMO no.

Hahaha yeah, i feel you on that