The Official June 2017 Study Group Forum

[Walliums]

Could you guys tell me if Blind Reviewing is useful? I never did that (and I don't actually know what does it mean, even if I could make an educate guess) but it seems that many of you are affectionate blind reviewers!

Blind Review is helpful, but for me, most of the benefits haven't come from the "blind" portion. What I do is input my answers into 7sage right after the test, I mark the questions I got wrong without looking at the answers, then I go and redo them along with any question I considered hard.

I won't say this is a better way, because it isn't. It simply allows me to review without being anxious to see my score, which helps me really make sure I don't rush through the review process to see my score.

I like this idea. I'm going to try it out! How long do you wait to do it?

[MediocreAtBest]

Took all 4 sections of a test in the 40's separately the last couple days, and they shook out to a 177, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. But a bit concerned that I lack the stamina to do it all in a row. Going to start experimenting with 6 section PT's. I've noticed my best tests seem to fly by since I'm focused like a laser, whereas I tend to feel a bit foggy on my worse tests. Trying to figure out the secret formula to get that hyper-focus come test day.

Anyone else absolutely pumped to ace this damn test ? I don't think I've ever wanted something as bad as I want to score a 175+ come test day, honestly. For all 4 years of UG, law school was my Plan A, and then through a combination of events, it wasn't. I got a job and it kind of became a fall back. Flash forward a couple years, and law school actually makes some real sense (career wise) and has become Plan A again, so I really don't want to squander all my hard work in college w/ a 167 come test day.

I second the focus thing. When I'm in a zone, I feel like 180 is possible, when I'm out of it, a 160 could happen haha. But I'm also pretty pumped about it so i think my focus on test day will be just fine. I just keep visualizing getting my score back and seeing a 176.

[zkyggi]

Could you guys tell me if Blind Reviewing is useful? I never did that (and I don't actually know what does it mean, even if I could make an educate guess) but it seems that many of you are affectionate blind reviewers!

Blind Review is helpful, but for me, most of the benefits haven't come from the "blind" portion. What I do is input my answers into 7sage right after the test, I mark the questions I got wrong without looking at the answers, then I go and redo them along with any question I considered hard.

I won't say this is a better way, because it isn't. It simply allows me to review without being anxious to see my score, which helps me really make sure I don't rush through the review process to see my score.

I like this idea. I'm going to try it out! How long do you wait to do it?

I either do it the same day or the next day. Really it just comes down to feeling like I can devote time to digesting the error in my reasoning, the principles underlying the correct answer, and connect them to larger patterns in my test performance. I do make sure to not do it immediately after I see my score though. The minimum is usually two hours.

[InterLaw]

Thank you, all clear! I'll try to BR and see how do I like it.

Get that LG down to -0 and the RC down to -3 and you're golden. I think LR is the hardest section and clearly you've got that under control.

I'm working on LG down to -0. RC to -3 could be just beyond my current capacities, language matter (eng is my second language and I don't live in US, as I was saying some posts ago).
However, I'm trying to improve my reading skills with a good novel and some articles every day.
It would be easier for me to get a -0 on LR (it happened 2/3 times), it is always my best section...

I quote myself telling you today's PT39 results:
LG: -0
RC: -1
LR: -9 (LR1: -2 / LR2: -7)

Scaled: 172
BR (zkyggi way): 179

I don't know wtf happened on LR2. I couldn't get to the end of it and I made some incredible mistake. It has been the hardest LR section by far until now, and being the last section of the PT probably didn't help.

I don't feel BR being very helpful though, I already knew that my big problem was the time... Indeed I almost always have my answers wrong just in the last 7-8 questions of each section.
Could working on single hard questions with a limited timing (1 min) be a good way to improve time management? Bah...

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

I've been crushing LR recently but RC and games just haven't been where I want yet. I was hoping to not have to break out the drilling packets but looks like I will. I've only been doing timed sections

[MediocreAtBest]

Thank you, all clear! I'll try to BR and see how do I like it.

Get that LG down to -0 and the RC down to -3 and you're golden. I think LR is the hardest section and clearly you've got that under control.

I'm working on LG down to -0. RC to -3 could be just beyond my current capacities, language matter (eng is my second language and I don't live in US, as I was saying some posts ago).
However, I'm trying to improve my reading skills with a good novel and some articles every day.
It would be easier for me to get a -0 on LR (it happened 2/3 times), it is always my best section...

I quote myself telling you today's PT39 results:
LG: -0
RC: -1
LR: -9 (LR1: -2 / LR2: -7)

Scaled: 172
BR (zkyggi way): 179

I don't know wtf happened on LR2. I couldn't get to the end of it and I made some incredible mistake. It has been the hardest LR section by far until now, and being the last section of the PT probably didn't help.

I don't feel BR being very helpful though, I already knew that my big problem was the time... Indeed I almost always have my answers wrong just in the last 7-8 questions of each section.
Could working on single hard questions with a limited timing (1 min) be a good way to improve time management? Bah...

Yesterday you said RC to -3 was beyond your capabilities and look at you today! As for the LR timing, I just say keep practicing and maybe trying to move a little quicker if you need to. You've shown the ability to go -0 on LR, so I don't think I'd try to go too fast, just keep on doing what you're doing.

[zkyggi]

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[MediocreAtBest]

Is anybody else finding that something kind of quirky is working for them?

Very small sample size, but I score higher when I wear my glasses vs. when I don't.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

Thank you, all clear! I'll try to BR and see how do I like it.

Get that LG down to -0 and the RC down to -3 and you're golden. I think LR is the hardest section and clearly you've got that under control.

I'm working on LG down to -0. RC to -3 could be just beyond my current capacities, language matter (eng is my second language and I don't live in US, as I was saying some posts ago).
However, I'm trying to improve my reading skills with a good novel and some articles every day.
It would be easier for me to get a -0 on LR (it happened 2/3 times), it is always my best section...

I quote myself telling you today's PT39 results:
LG: -0
RC: -1
LR: -9 (LR1: -2 / LR2: -7)

Scaled: 172
BR (zkyggi way): 179

I don't know wtf happened on LR2. I couldn't get to the end of it and I made some incredible mistake. It has been the hardest LR section by far until now, and being the last section of the PT probably didn't help.

I don't feel BR being very helpful though, I already knew that my big problem was the time... Indeed I almost always have my answers wrong just in the last 7-8 questions of each section.
Could working on single hard questions with a limited timing (1 min) be a good way to improve time management? Bah...

Dude nice job on that RC!

To the bolded, I would say no. Timing can be a mixed bag of issues and it's important to look at where you losing time during the sections. The reason why doing hard questions under a strict time doesn't help is because hard questions are rare and designed to be a time sink. As result they tend to prey on logical aspects that don't really show up quit as often. It's not really worthwhile to spend a bunch of time studying for things that come up rarely. The reality is that it's totally fine to spend 2 mins on a really hard question, and if you're in timing trouble, it's because you were already in trouble before you got to that question. I would instead focus on addressing basics so that you can be more prepared to get easy ones out of the way, and also effectively address hard questions. In my experience, I've found that answer choices are actually where you spend most of the time and can lose a large chunk of time, so by shoring up some basics and your approach, you can focus on knocking off wrong answers (which is a skill you need for hard questions anyway).

[InterLaw]

Dude nice job on that RC!

To the bolded, I would say no. Timing can be a mixed bag of issues and it's important to look at where you losing time during the sections. The reason why doing hard questions under a strict time doesn't help is because hard questions are rare and designed to be a time sink. As result they tend to prey on logical aspects that don't really show up quit as often. It's not really worthwhile to spend a bunch of time studying for things that come up rarely. The reality is that it's totally fine to spend 2 mins on a really hard question, and if you're in timing trouble, it's because you were already in trouble before you got to that question. I would instead focus on addressing basics so that you can be more prepared to get easy ones out of the way, and also effectively address hard questions. In my experience, I've found that answer choices are actually where you spend most of the time and can lose a large chunk of time, so by shoring up some basics and your approach, you can focus on knocking off wrong answers (which is a skill you need for hard questions anyway).

Thank you!
Actually, I can't project any strategy at the moment, the last two PTs have been my higher scores overall and they are in discordance with each other. I'll wait for 2/3 more PTs and see what happens with the section averages. I don't believe in this latter -1 in RC as well as in the -9 in LR.
Let's just go on and see by the end of the week how that goes...
One thing is clear: taking LG to -0 is a must for a solid 170+ average. I'll keep on working on that!

[Barry grandpapy]

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[GoLandcrabs]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

[Platopus]

Just BRd 69. If it weren't for those loud af sorority girls sitting next to me I know for a fact I wouldn't have gone -3 on the first LR. If anyone wants to know how Josh is such a dick and the struggle of not using square cash because Jennifer only uses Venmo and Sarah won't let her pay her back for Oreos with a gallon of gas (It takes like five seconds to download Vemmo, Jennifer. And Sarah, those Oreos were $2...you'd MAKING money) PM me for details.

God I know this struggle. I PT at my public library, and everyday there is an elderly couple that sits in some chairs near the study tables, and neither can hear shit. Amy reads the newspaper, and poor Dick doesn't have a god damn clue where he is. I saw him reading Total Frat Move the other day, and was suddenly very scared of getting old and senile. Anyway, every time Dick gets up from his chair he rips ass like no one's business. It has to be the single most distracting thing somebody could do.

Also, what are these 5 Star reading passages? Where I can find a resource that lists the passage by difficulty, I want to get in on this tortuous RC challenge.

[Platopus]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

[GoLandcrabs]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

It really wouldn't be that bad since the June LSAT is at 12:30. Leaving 3 hours ahead of time would be leaving at 9:30, meaning I would get plenty of sleep the night prior.

The problem with the waitlist anyway is that I will get something "in a 100 miles", which can be an even further drive than this.

And I definitely want to take the June LSAT.

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

^^^^


I did an hour drive (for an 8am) and it sucked. Don't do it.
If you're not trying to get in off a WL, June isn't a ride or die option.

Also, where I am, I actually ended up with a location 20 mins away while being on the WL

[GoLandcrabs]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

^^^^


I did an hour drive (for an 8am) and it sucked. Don't do it.
If you're not trying to get in off a WL, June isn't a ride or die option.

It really wouldn't be too bad though imo...it's not an 8am, it's in the afternoon.

And it's not ride or die, but I want to maximize the amount of LSATs I can take. Not taking it in June gives me a real max of 2, while doing so gives me that max of 3. (I am purposefully not including Feb., do not suggest it)

[Platopus]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

^^^^


I did an hour drive (for an 8am) and it sucked. Don't do it.
If you're not trying to get in off a WL, June isn't a ride or die option.

It really wouldn't be too bad though imo...it's not an 8am, it's in the afternoon.

And it's not ride or die, but I want to maximize the amount of LSATs I can take. Not taking it in June gives me a real max of 2, while doing so gives me that max of 3. (I am purposefully not including Feb., do not suggest it)

You have your answer, June should be fine. It you're not too concerned with the drive, register. $90 may be a bit, but it's worth it if you need the extra takes. If you feel ready go for it.

[GoLandcrabs]

Do you think the $90 to get off the LSAT waitlist is worth it?

It's also a 1.5 hour drive, but I'd likely leave 3 hours early in case of a disaster.

Depends, if you think you'll peak in June and run out of material between now and then, yes. If you can postpone until September, it would be just as good for admissions purposes. The $90 doesn't scare me as much as a potentially 2 hr drive....

^^^^


I did an hour drive (for an 8am) and it sucked. Don't do it.
If you're not trying to get in off a WL, June isn't a ride or die option.

It really wouldn't be too bad though imo...it's not an 8am, it's in the afternoon.

And it's not ride or die, but I want to maximize the amount of LSATs I can take. Not taking it in June gives me a real max of 2, while doing so gives me that max of 3. (I am purposefully not including Feb., do not suggest it)

You have your answer, June should be fine. It you're not too concerned with the drive, register. $90 may be a bit, but it's worth it if you need the extra takes. If you feel ready go for it.

Well I definitely will, my question was just if you're on the waitlist - what is the likelihood you'd get a nearby spot? Is getting a spot on the waitlist guaranteed?

[Barry grandpapy]

.

[MediocreAtBest]

Just BRd 69. If it weren't for those loud af sorority girls sitting next to me I know for a fact I wouldn't have gone -3 on the first LR. If anyone wants to know how Josh is such a dick and the struggle of not using square cash because Jennifer only uses Venmo and Sarah won't let her pay her back for Oreos with a gallon of gas (It takes like five seconds to download Vemmo, Jennifer. And Sarah, those Oreos were $2...you'd MAKING money) PM me for details.

God I know this struggle. I PT at my public library, and everyday there is an elderly couple that sits in some chairs near the study tables, and neither can hear shit. Amy reads the newspaper, and poor Dick doesn't have a god damn clue where he is. I saw him reading Total Frat Move the other day, and was suddenly very scared of getting old and senile. Anyway, every time Dick gets up from his chair he rips ass like no one's business. It has to be the single most distracting thing somebody could do.

Also, what are these 5 Star reading passages? Where I can find a resource that lists the passage by difficulty, I want to get in on this tortuous RC challenge.

It's definitely a love/hate relationship with loud people when I PT. I love them for making the testing condition insane which will make the actual silence of test day a blessing, but god...do I hate them at the same time.

If you're interested in a pdf list send me a PM!

It depends what kind of distraction. Chatter in the background is fine, a detailed conversation about a hookup the night before will likely catch my attention and affect my performance lol. Some generic, soft music playing is ok, but a song I'm familiar with just takes over in my head when I'm trying to study. So there are definitely certain things I can live with but certain things that just mess everything up.

[Walliums]

I hate art/humanities passages. The science and law ones are so clear and I can so easily point to the evidence in the passages for answer choices.

[Mikey]

I hate art/humanities passages. The science and law ones are so clear and I can so easily point to the evidence in the passages for answer choices.

I think it partly depends on difficulty though, not just the subject. there are humanities/art passages that are pretty easy to read through and answer questions for, but once you get into the harder ones, things wont be too clear cut anymore.
honestly though, just stop caring about subject. yeah, if you're interested in it, the passage may be more smooth for you, but I've improved at least a bit by just realizing that the subject is pointless and to just focus on what is important (MP, views, structure, all that other crap).

[Mint-Berry_Crunch]

I always try to look at RC as a chance to gain trivia knowledge

[zkyggi]

I always try to look at RC as a chance to gain trivia knowledge

This x 1,000,000

Except I have an almost comically strong aversion to all things art, which makes art-related passages a slog of epic proportions.