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I sat for the December test last year and was ill-prepared for it. My prep leading up to that take was filled with most of the common errors laid out in the 7Sage curriculum. I'm now planning to sit for this December's test and while I still have lots of work to do, I wanted to share this one thing since it is probably the only reason my goal score of 170 is within reach.
Spend A LOT of timing mastering the fundamentals upfront. That is shared regularly in this community but only because it is so important. I did nothing but fundamentals (Lawgic, grammar, QT strategies, LG Foolproofing) from February of this year through July! Here is why this was so important to me:
High Score --> Mastery of Fundamentals
not(Mastery of Fundamentals --> High Score)
Now that I have been taking full timed PTs and timed sections, I realize just how intuitive all the material has to become in order to be applied consistently when the clock is ticking. It is really difficult to perform at your peak for each section of a PT and then to do that consistently enough that you are confident you'll do it on D-Day. There is so much that I've had to learn beyond fundamentals like skipping strategies, comparative RC strategies, POE strategies, endurance, and durable composure. I tried to learn these things concurrently with the fundamentals last year and it resulted in a unideal score because I wound up learning neither. Even learning those "extras" now when I have a pretty good handle on fundamentals is difficult.
This is probably most useful to those who are just beginning or those who are debating whether or not to delay their take. I hope some of you find some use in this and will learn from my mistakes. Best of luck!
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18 comments
@jkatz1488955 in a similar boat i took this past dec exam and was not sufficiently prepped. Went back to the fundamentals.
I have been planning on taking September but my shocking performance on PT72 and PT79 opened a can of worms. Iv got plenty to work on so i am likely pushing till December.
I am also anxious about applying late. And not having a fall back date to retake.
@nathanieljschwartz435
do you plan on applying this cycle?
Yes. But I'm anxious about not being early in the cycle.
@marine4life6798246
(Not to re-direct what the OP was but this may help someone) Regarding PTs, I have an idea that I'm going to start. I'm planning on December so I'm starting to PT with the ODD number PTs from say 55 to 79. If I need to postpone/retake/etc I'll have the EVEN number PTs from 56-80 fresh and unseen.
What y'all think?
Sounds good. You also could go 55, 65, 75, 57, 67, 77, etc. That way you see the recent tests before getting too close to test day. I just had a shocking experience on test 60. Really happy I had that happen now instead of a few weeks before the test.
@uhinberg359 Thanks! Doing it right so I can share a test day success story :smile:
@jkatz1488955 Great stuff. I always enjoy reading success stories of people who approach this test with the proper seriousness.
@uhinberg359 haha no I totally get that. Some times this forum almost seems anti-PT though. You still gotta take them once in awhile haha
@nathanieljschwartz435 said:
@uhinberg359 said:
@jkatz1488955 , @nathanieljschwartz435 , this is great advice. Thank you! Would you two then say that it's okay to burn a few PTs between now and early November? I was under the impression that burning of too many PTs should be avoided as much as possible. My initial plan was to take a few PTs (2-3, at max) within the next couple of weeks, and if I find myself far behind my target score (170+), I'd revisit the fundamentals (and obviously drop the idea of sitting for the December take).
Also - and I should've said this earlier - congrats to the two of you for getting your score to where it is today!
While the common advice is to not burn through PT's...that does not mean don't take any. If you want a solid understanding of where you are, and are willing to blind review them, take a couple of full timed PT's and see whats going on. If you are still not solid go back to the CC and spend time studying before you burn any more.
Thanks! Appreciate the advice! Just to be clear - I didn't equate the advice on not burning PTs with not doing any PTs at all :tongue:
(Not to re-direct what the OP was but this may help someone) Regarding PTs, I have an idea that I'm going to start. I'm planning on December so I'm starting to PT with the ODD number PTs from say 55 to 79. If I need to postpone/retake/etc I'll have the EVEN number PTs from 56-80 fresh and unseen.
What y'all think?
@uhinberg359 said:
@jkatz1488955 , @nathanieljschwartz435 , this is great advice. Thank you! Would you two then say that it's okay to burn a few PTs between now and early November? I was under the impression that burning of too many PTs should be avoided as much as possible. My initial plan was to take a few PTs (2-3, at max) within the next couple of weeks, and if I find myself far behind my target score (170+), I'd revisit the fundamentals (and obviously drop the idea of sitting for the December take).
Also - and I should've said this earlier - congrats to the two of you for getting your score to where it is today!
While the common advice is to not burn through PT's...that does not mean don't take any. If you want a solid understanding of where you are, and are willing to blind review them, take a couple of full timed PT's and see whats going on. If you are still not solid go back to the CC and spend time studying before you burn any more.
@jkatz1488955 do you plan on applying this cycle?
@jkatz1488955 , @nathanieljschwartz435 , this is great advice. Thank you! Would you two then say that it's okay to burn a few PTs between now and early November? I was under the impression that burning of too many PTs should be avoided as much as possible. My initial plan was to take a few PTs (2-3, at max) within the next couple of weeks, and if I find myself far behind my target score (170+), I'd revisit the fundamentals (and obviously drop the idea of sitting for the December take).
Also - and I should've said this earlier - congrats to the two of you for getting your score to where it is today!
@uhinberg359 ditto to what LSATcantwin said regarding when to postpone. I will just add that unless you've taken lots of PTs prior to the CC (like I did from my previous prep), try not to be shocked if your score is the same or even lower. Its extremely difficult to employ all this info and strategy simultaneously. In fact, I highly recommend using retakes for those first several PTs following the CC.
My diagnostic was a 146 and my official test score was 159 (averaging 161 leading up to it). My current average is difficult to determine because I'm doing a lot of retakes from last year, but it is most likely in the mid to high 160s. LG is still my biggest opportunity. I used to miss -12 or more. Now I am around -4 and the issue is no longer comprehension but instead procedural habits and specific tactics.
Best of luck to you!
@nathanieljschwartz435 said:
@uhinberg359 not OP here but had a very similar experience to him. To answer your questions;
if your average is not +3 higher than your goal score about two weeks to a month before your test date this is a good indication of a need to reschedule. You want to be scoring comfortably higher than your goal because of things like test day nerves.
Before I really dug my teeth into the fundamentals I was scoring at the high 150's. I took the Sept 2016 test and my score was a 157. After a year of studying and really digging into the test My average PT score is now a 169. I have scored as high as a 175. The fundamentals are what got me to this point.
Helpful. Thanks
@nathanieljschwartz435 said:
@6400 said:
Couldn't agree more! Learning the fundamentals is C R I T I C A L. I'm currently going through the CC for a second time just to drill it into my head. Good luck on the test next week, brother! The 170+ is certainly within reach :smile:
shhhh.... the Sept test is actually forever away still. It's not every finger minus a thumb away from today....shhhh
But yes, fundamentals are key to this test!
haha yeah, you still have plenty of time.
P.S. I believe you have to disclose your murdering of the LSAT for C & F purposes. Just keep that in mind :wink:
@uhinberg359 not OP here but had a very similar experience to him. To answer your questions;
if your average is not +3 higher than your goal score about two weeks to a month before your test date this is a good indication of a need to reschedule. You want to be scoring comfortably higher than your goal because of things like test day nerves.
Before I really dug my teeth into the fundamentals I was scoring at the high 150's. I took the Sept 2016 test and my score was a 157. After a year of studying and really digging into the test My average PT score is now a 169. I have scored as high as a 175. The fundamentals are what got me to this point.
Also, wondering if you'd be willing to share your average PT score range prior to mastery of the fundamentals and your average PT score now?
Much needed. Thank you. I've been shooting for the December take, but will most certainly postpone if I find myself treading on a shaky base.
Would you say that the first few PTs post CC would be the best indicator on whether one should re-evaluate taking LSAT on a particular date?
These are facts. I'm 85% done with the CC and plan on going over grammar, question stems and invalid arguments before I dive into PT.
Namaste dawg.
@6400 said:
Couldn't agree more! Learning the fundamentals is C R I T I C A L. I'm currently going through the CC for a second time just to drill it into my head. Good luck on the test next week, brother! The 170+ is certainly within reach :smile:
shhhh.... the Sept test is actually forever away still. It's not every finger minus a thumb away from today....shhhh
But yes, fundamentals are key to this test!
Couldn't agree more! Learning the fundamentals is C R I T I C A L. I'm currently going through the CC for a second time just to drill it into my head. Good luck on the test next week, brother! The 170+ is certainly within reach :smile: