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Hi everyone,
I am wondering whether taking the LSAT a third time is going to be helpful. I took the September LSAT and I am 3-4 points away from my ideal score. The thing is, I used up almost all of the preptests (or if not all, definitely all the new ones). I am set on applying for this cycle and can only write in December.
How would I go about studying/practicing for December in the little time left and without any really fresh PT's?
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I find RC to be particularly useful on retakes.
This is excellent advice. Retaking also tests your ability to notice the mistakes that you once missed. You'll also be able to determine whether or not your BRs were sufficient. Making the same mistake twice is a sign that you really need to buckle down and figure out what's going on with that question/game/passage.
I love retakes. Of course, fresh takes have certain advantages over repeats, but repeats have their own subtle advantages over fresh takes.
I find RC to be particularly useful on retakes. Something about retaking RC sections taught me to see deeper. It was like when I retook I could see through the curtain and observe all the mechanics of the test and all the intentional subtleties designed by the test takers. Being able to see that on retakes, of course, then allowed me to learn to see it on fresh takes. I know that's really abstract, but I can't figure out how to explain it in more concrete terms. Anyone else ever experience this?
LG is different. Retakes on LG basically turn those into extensions of fool proofing exercises. Which is great. That's how you get better at LG. After every PT, I'd add the LG section into my drilling rotation.
LR is the only section on which I tended to remember answers, but this provides its own opportunity. Of course, on questions I don't remember, great, I can work them through losing little value from having seen them before. But I really liked the ones I remembered. For those, I make myself achieve BR level comprehension before allowing myself to mark the answer. Because I'm most likely to remember questions I BR'd, and because I'm most likely to BR highly challenging curve breakers; this was frequently an incredibly difficult task. It's a great exercise though. Breaking down curve breakers to that level of understanding- under time- is a really powerful ability. Of course, I'd seen these questions before, so I had some idea of what I was doing; but what I began to realize is that the process is essentially always the same. Once I learned how to do it using questions where a lingering memory could guide me, I was able to make enormous improvements on fresh takes.
The good news is retakes hold more benefit than we tend to believe. Like previously mentioned, try to finish in a 25-30 min time frame.
I am set on applying for this cycle and can only write in December.
How would I go about studying/practicing for December in the little time left and without any really fresh PT's?
It seems like you're trying to find a reason NOT to retake. You've made up your mind and self-imposed the condition that you HAVE to apply this cycle; that's just not true. It is totally within your power to wait another cycle, study until you are hitting your average, or above your average, and then take + apply. Depending on the schools you are aiming for, February might not even be too late. I say all this because I don't think a 4 point point increase is likely with a little over a month of prep left.
That said, what PTs haven't you done? Honestly, newer tests are slightly more helpful, but the differences are very minimal between the new vs. old tests, and the older tests are just fine to study with. So if you can get your hands on some older tests they would still very useful.
As far as new tests, I would be sure to retake all of the later 70s. the December exam will likely be more similar to one of those tests. As @emma486 says, you can give yourself 25 or 30 minutes on retakes to make up for having seen them.
I'd make sure to not waste whatever of the closest to newest ones you have. So first drill questions/games you may be weak on. Also I heard someone suggest doing a PT you've already done but 25 minutes per section.