@ said:

You are my hero! Congrats and you earned it! : )

I can't imagine what it would be like studying lsat while in pregnant.

I hope you will have the best cycle!!!

One quick question: besides re-doing pt 36-51, what other PT have you done? did you do only once? Thanks : )

I almost did all the PTs, from PT1 to PT82 once; I think I might have missed a few early ones only because the books I bought from Amazon includes only selective PTs from 1-20, which is from the early 90s and I think it doesn't matter that much anyway. Early questions are quite different from the modern ones.

I only redid the LR sessions of PT36-51because that was my main focus during the last month.

@ said:

Hey thanks for the great advice. Could you elaborate on your method of scrapbooking? Do you have both an unmarked copy and then the analyzed version on a different page?

Hey there, so here's what I did:

when I print out the PT, I'll print out extra copy for the LR sessions alone, so since the original PT's printed on both sides, I won't lose any questions because of the cutting; but during CC this is generally not a big problem because the layout of each exercise only left 1 question on the back side and normally I won't need a second copy.

while watching the explanation video, I try to understand the questions and where my confusion come from without writing down to much notes on the actual test pages, so that when I'm actually collecting the questions into my scrapbook, I have the chance to test myself again on my understanding. If I've already lost it, I'll have to go back and watch again, and make a note to the questions because I was tripped over it once again, there's obviously something there to pay more attention to.

after watching all the explanation videos I generally do the scrapbooking before I go to bed. So there's a cooling period – when I test my understandings, it won't be from sheer memorizing what I've just heard maybe an hour ago. I cut and paste the questions on one side of the paper, and left the other side for answers and analysis. I try to write my own analysis based on my understanding, so it reinforces my memory. When I read the book afterwards, I simply cover up the analysis side and re-do the questions.

Does this give you any clarity?

@ said:

You deserve that amazing score because you worked SO hard! Your commitment to mastering this test and pursuing your dream is admirable - I'm very inspired. And how beautiful that your baby was there with you for the whole magical journey :-)

Thank you! I do hope to make her proud!

@ said:

That was an inspiring story. Congratulations. And thank you for sharing your study schedule. Did you watch the explanation videos of all the questions after the PTs?

Hi there, yes, I do watch the explanation videos, in fact that is a big part of how I improved my understanding of the test makers' mindset. But I'd only select questions that I got wrong and those I circled to think twice on. Otherwise the workload would be too much :)

I would sometimes also read the discussions under the video if JY's explanation still baffled me. Or just google the question and utilize whatever discussion source out there that's available. After fully understanding the questions, I'd put everything into the analysis part of my scrapbook.

@ said:

congratulations on that increase!

how the hell did you sit for a 3 hour test in your third trimester without needing to pee. That's hard for non-pregnant people. I'm in awe

I know.. that part was rough. I should've known better to apply for accommodation, but I didn't realize that until it was too late and passed the application deadline :(

But I guess human body can just adjust to any adverse situation when we really have no choice.

@ I really just having been following the study schedule generated by the 7Sage system. After cc, basically 3 PTs a week, collecting all the wrong LR questions with analysis and fool proofing all the games again and again. I then started redoing old LR sessions 1 month prior to the test. Hope this helps!

Thank you! I’ve never felt so much support elsewhere. It’s comforting to know there are so many of us fighting the same fight!

Got my best X’mas gift!!!!!

OMG just when I thought I could have a peaceful Christmas before I have to face the verdict....

Glad to see that the explanations will be up before the Dec test!

@ it's better to leave some wiggle room as you might need to submit more material, which all have to make the deadline

Hi! I'm wrote the above post a while back. Regarding applying for accommodations, my advice would be, do it very very early on. Know the deadline. I took the test on Dec, but the deadline for that application was in Oct.. so I unfortunately missed it. But if you get started early, it would be fairly smooth because all you need to do is have your OB filled out the form for you, and file the applications in advance.

I think if you managed to get accommodation, you can do breaks after each session, that would be a great help in general. You won't be nervous about bathroom breaks and you can actually benefit from the breaks to clear your head and shake off any bad feelings from the previous session. Also, you can do your PTs with breaks as well. Even better!

If you have any other specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

@ said:

Thank you for the detailed post. You're an amazing woman, and you killed it! You must have exceptional focus and discipline, in addition to being very efficient. This test will own you if you don't have enough of those qualities.

In regard to your BR method, would you write out a detailed explanation of your thought process for each question you circled, or would you just go through the thought process in your head? I ask because I'm looking for more efficient study methods. I've been writing out explanations for each question I circle. However, I've found this approach very time consuming.

Thanks, and best of luck with admissions.

I would not really write out everything except for really tough questions, but maybe a few keywords.

I personally don’t think it’s necessary to write your whole thought process down to be honest. It’s time consuming and exhausting for one, but also when you review old questions later, you may develop new ways of thinking about the same question and have new insights into it. I think that’s also part of the growth we went through PT after PT. And even if you find yourself not remembering the right way of thinking about an old question, even better. Time to re-watch the explanation and think again :)

@ said:

Hi Rebecca,

Congratulations! Your story is so inspiring!

Quick question re: the CC. Which package (starter, preminum, ultimate, ultimate+) did you use/does it make a difference?

Hi, I was using the Ultimate package.

I would definitely vouch for its effectiveness considering my own improvement. I don't think I would have done that without all these lectures and video explanations of every single questions. However, which package do you want to choose really depends on how much time do you have and how many hours per day can you realistically put in. I would start by using the "study schedule" function under the "course" tab and figure out how much effort each package requires under your own time frame until the exam and make decision from there.

@ said:

Thank you @ I'll definitely have to try a more thorough scrapbook. Just one more question, is there any specific reason why you chose to focus on PT 36-50 for your LRs? Did you find the LR questions in those PTs more useful than those in other PTs, or was it just random? :)

Those PTs were my first few timed tests and I scored relatively lower in those and made more mistakes in LR compared to the more recent one. That’s really the only reason. I don’t think the questions in different PTs were that different except maybe the oldest ones in early 90s.

Northwestern has fixed the request site. It's working now.

@ said:

@ I'm so inspired by your story!! I wanted to ask you how exactly you worked on LR questions you had already solved/seen. My LR scores are completely unstable, which is probably why my actual test score was 6 points lower than my average...

Even though I told myself that I should look at old/solved questions with a critical eye, I couldn't help myself becoming comfortable with the answer choices, somehow fooling myself that I knew/mastered skills more than I actually had. I also made a scrapbook of sort which analyzed my mistakes and future tips for each type of question, yet.. seems like I was missing something given my December score :( When you re-did your PT LR questions, did you have a special technique/formula you could share?

Hi there, I totally get what you were saying coz the same thing happened to me as well. I find myself remembering a lot of the old questions. However, when I read or re-did those questions, I tried to not only circle the right answer, but also forced myself to explain all the wrong ACs. If I find myself not 100% clear why all the wrong answers were wrong, I pay extra attention to the question and work my way to full clarity.

I hope this method would work for you :)

I would suggest that you put in more effort with LR because if you are looking for 170+ you must hit -1/2 per section with LR and that’s totally doable as long as you put the effort in. RC’s more unpredictable and your LG seems good, as long as you just keep foolproofing those more recent games starting from PT 36