To Optional Diagnostic or Not?

AlexanderCM

So I'm brand new and 6 months out and cruising through the core curriculum at about 2.25 to 3 hours a day and I just came across the optional diagnostic. I've got to be honest, the idea of taking a test cold right now seems a little silly as I've only learned the basics of argument and grammar. Is there a serious benefit of taking a cold LSAT test prep-test? Any thoughts either way? My intuition is saying I rather learn everything I can before I start drilling prep-tests and blind reviewing.

JustDoIt

Hi!

I think it's a great practice to take a diagnostic. The June 07 is a throwaway test anyways and there's no point in using it any other way. A diagnostic works great in that it allows you to know right off the bat what your strengths and weakenesses are. You can also assess at the onset what you need to work in order to achieve your goals. Another benefit is you can see how far you came once you are done with the test (and share it with others if you like).

Hope this helps!

Sarah889

The benefit is to assess your natural abilities versus your developed abilities later. You have natural weaknesses and natural strengths. This diagnostic is how you can identify those cold without the benefit of training.

I wouldn't say it's necessary though. I took a cold diagnostic and a diagnostic after I had an understanding of the basics, but I know people who haven't. It's more to set the initial scale of your abilities and how far you have until you hit your goal.

Pink Dust

Hey! I took a cold diagnostic without any studying (I was reading the instructions on every section, so completely new) and did pretty bad LOL
I personally think its really optional but depends on your mind set! I felt extremely discouraged and let down by how poorly I did.
I think its just important to remember, its like taking an exam for a course in university without studying or going to class... so don't expect to do well on it.
Hope that helps

Cant Get Right

I didn't take a test until several months in. I don't think that affected my studies, but now, I do wish I had a diagnostic score so that I could see just how far I ultimately came.

AlexanderCM

Thanks everyone! I'll sit with your answers and decide this weekend as that's when I'll have time for it anyways.

BenjaminSF

For me, the diagnostic helped to point out areas of relative weakness after completing the CC. It helped me to focus my additional drilling, especially for LR. While one test doesn't give you a perfect model of your testing, it is a great place to start. By the time I hit around 10 PTs, I could see how the areas on which I focused had become stronger, and other weaknesses became more apparent.

It gave me something to focus on in the short run, and it really is fun to take the first timed test!

AlexanderCM

Follow up question for you all. Since I know so little once I hit the first Prep Test (you've only done Arguments and Grammar) how can you possibly Blind Review the first Prep Test effectively? Won't I just end up having to watch the videos for essentially every question I get wrong? Not necessarily a bad thing, but I love the Blind Review method and its ability to help you teach yourself/identify issues without immediately needing the videos.

Cant Get Right

I think it's fair to say that you probably can't effectively Blind Review a diagnostic. I think it would still be an interesting exercise though, and it would provide an additional metric to help further define your baseline.

AlexanderCM

@"Cant Get Right" alright, I've got Monday off work, I think I'm going to take the Prep Test and perhaps try and blind review the questions I've studied for thus far (I'm through Main Point/Main Conclusion now and will be working my way through MSS today this weekend). If it gets too frustrating trying to Blind Review Logic Games, more advanced LR, and RC then I'll just watch the video explanations or perhaps refocus on studying and return to BR those parts once I've gone further through the Core Curriculum.

Overall I love 7Sage so far though! Thanks for all the feedback you all.

Alex

I'll play the devils advocate here: I don't think diagnostics are always necessary. I took one about 2 weeks into my studies and it just seemed largely a waste in many respects. I got like 9/23 logic games correct, and missed -8/9 on each LR and like 10 on RC. I think it ended up being a 153 or something and I was extremely discouraged. However, thinking back I think its important to take a diagnostic; not particularly just for the score.to see how far you have to go, but just to get an idea of how the test works. Exposing yourself to the time pressure and the sections of the test will expose some things you may need to prioritize. It will also help you see what your ultimate goal is going to look like. For example, you'll see how important timing is and how crucial it is to not get bogged down and skip when needed. I don't think a lot of these things would have been instilled in me as early on as if I had taken a diagnostic.

I think you just have to understand that your diagnostic doesn't have too much to do with your end score. I've seen people start at 161 and end at 164 after a year. I've seen (and there are plenty of examples on here and TLS) of people starting at 147 and ending at 170+

To be honest though, if you'd rather learn a little more first of the basics -- especially LG -- and then take the diagnostic, I wouldn't see anything wrong with that. Just don't wait too long because otherwise you may develop bad habits that are hard to break until you've experienced a real test.

AlexanderCM

Welp. Did the June 2007 Prep Test as a diagnostic today and blind reviewed everything I felt I could blind review with any sort of accuracy/usefulness.

156 Raw Score
159 after Blind Review

Clear trends the diagnostic revealed:

I still don't know anything when it comes to the Logic Games (not too surprised by this, I skipped/didn't even make it to just under half the logic game questions)

There are several question types in Logical Reasoning that I'm unfamiliar with that I need to learn and I need a bit more practice on the very hardest (5 dot) MSS questions.

I need to practice the hardest Reading Comprehension Questions (I missed the 5 dot questions in RC)/learn strategies for RC that make it easier to find things in the stimulus.

inactive

Great assessment! Two good things that came from this:

1. You have a high diagnostic, which is great!
2. You know where some of your weak spots are / what you don't quite get yet, which you'll be able to pick up in the Core Curriculum.

Keep it up!

AlexanderCM

Thanks @"Dillon A. Wright" just the encouragement I needed today after a busy day at work/a day without LSAT prep.