does anyone know that actual curves for this test?

TLDR: about 7-8 months of studying for round 1; but I was also working full time + overtime then (yikes lol DO NOT recommend), then about 4 months of studying for round 2 ( while job searching with a small side gig)

My timeline isn't linear but I'm still happy with it, so I'm writing this to show that it's okay to not have a linear timeline and everyone has their own timeline that works for them!

I started January 2019, got 7sage subscription around that time and took the June 2019 exam (aka PT 87 and in retrospect, that was an awesome and fair exam, I just wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be...) Then, I took the September 2019 (aka PT 88 which was a DISASTER on all fronts - really horrible proctor experience with the digital exam which led LSAC to refund me and PT 88 is just a cruel exam in general). I did my master's from September 2019-May 2020 so I couldn't really do anything about my LSAT situation.

I picked up studying again this past September (2020) during the pandemic, because I was job searching and really felt like there were a lot of strings and unresolved feelings leftover from my previous LSAT test taking experience. I studied from September 2020 to mid-January 2021 (I just took the January 2021 LSAT yesterday!) This was my best studying/LSAT taking experience so far because I finally learned what study strategies worked for me and understood the groove of the LSAT. Long story short, this time around, I made sure to do at least one section and blind review every day (consistency is so rewarding for this exam), took about a week break at the end of every month (sometimes longer to avoid burnout), and then the 3 weeks leading up to the exam I tried to challenge myself as much as I could by doing very difficult problem sets (ie hard LR qs, hard LGs, hard RC passages) and difficult PTs. Even though I won't know how I did until next month, I felt like my study experience this time around was the best for me and the healthiest.

I wouldn't advise to map out every single one under timed conditions. The question types that truly warrant mapping are probably Must be trues/falses, Necessary/Sufficient Assumptions. But even then, depending on the difficulty, not all of those need to be mapped.

I think mapping out every question during your drills or practice is a great study strategy. The more you map out, the better you get at doing these questions mentally and intuitively and the hope is that by the time test day comes, it'll have all sunk in.

I took it today (Sunday January 17).

LR hit different (as someone who scores -2/3 average on LR) in a bad way :(, but RC and LG were moderate enough to balance out LR. Overall very fair exam IMO.

Proctor was an absolute angel so shout out to him. The very best of wishes to everyone!

Are all the exams this week the same, or are they variations?

Didn’t know you could have coffee and mechanical pencils! Yay

@nwong9630 Exactly what I was looking for - thanks a lot!

@nwong9630 AHH thank you sm!

I feel safe in this thread lol

I might be wrong, but the testing cycle every year is from like June to Spring right? i.e. The first test of the cycle is in June, and then the last test is March or April because that's the last possible exam you can take in order to apply to the current admissions cycle.

April 2021 is the final exam for 2020-2021 cycle, and this entire cycle happened to be Flex due to COVID. So I wonder if the consideration for June is if they go flex, then would they have to make the entire cycle flex in order to "even" the playing field among applicants applying for Fall 2022 admissions? I can't really see LSAC justifying an in-person exam in June, but then again, other standardized tests such as SAT and MCAT have continued in-person so it's hard to say...

how do we find info on prohibited items @nwong9630 ?

following

following

If you're not applying to this cycle (Fall 2021 admission) then I would take a break and come back to it. I empathize with struggling with mental health and anxiety throughout this and I understand how difficult it can be :'(

However, I went through a similar process and came back to it after a year break (I don't think everyone needs this long but my timeline just worked out this way), and I feel much better. Studying is never going to be "easy", but there's definitely a balanced and healthy way to study for this exam and still do really well - so I definitely think it's worth it to take the break and come back to it. Hugs to you!

I feel :'( Mine is more anxiety leading up to the exam...coming from the girl who just lost almost all of last night's sleep because of test anxiety... good luck all

@emmorens932 Oh no...do you mind me asking what happened? Hope it goes better for you next time!

@hsiyad8r1 Good on you for being so upfront! So I'm actually confused about this... is it that every proctor is only in charge of supervising one student? I didn't realize you would actually be able to have a convo with them beforehand.

167-173 is an excellent range for PTs, so clearly you have an awesome grasp of the exam. If I were you, I would take 2 if not 3 PTs (maybe one every other day) between now and Friday 1/15 after 8:30 PM and see how you do.

If you are doing much worse than your PT average (i.e. 5-10 points lower) that might just because your brain works better at other times of the day, and in that case, I would spend the $125 to move the test to April.

If you're hitting your average even taking it after 8:30 PM, then I say shoot for Jan!

@marcvalente2013658 I'm hoping that's the case :( The thing is, I've already created a ProctorU account in November so in theory I should be able to sign in...

I did a full, timed 35-minute section 5 days/week for... about two months (took a 2-week break in between bc too much RC lol). I tried to BR as thoroughly as possible after I completed every section. I also actively engaged with material (asking questions such as: why is the author writing this, what's their point, what's their attitude on this topic).

I can't say I'm a RC-pro still, but I feel much more confident now than I ever did in the past. It takes consistent effort, but the rewards are worthwhile.

I would do individual, timed (35 min) sections frequently (i.e. at least once a day, if not twice). Then do a thorough blind review.

I would drill the LR/LG question types that you get incorrect most often.

RC is a tricky one, because for me I had to do about 20 to 30 full, timed RC sections over a period of weeks to see improvement - but that was also my weakness so that's just based on my personal experience. The biggest piece of advice I would give is: (1) Consistently do 35 min timed sections and thoroughly BR and (2) Make sure to home in on your weakest question types

Agree! I recall PT 80 being preeeetttty bad. Esp RC but that might be just me.