Still doing the CC, but feel like I'm forgetting how to do specific question types as I go on...

jennybbbbb

Hey guys,

I am still working my way through the core curriculum, but I feel like I forget how to tackle the specific question types as I progress through the rest of the curriculum. Is this normal? I have been doing fairly well on the problem sets for the different question types, but I keep stressing over the fact that I will forget how to do the previous question types. For example, I finished the Powerscore LG workbook last week, but I haven't touched a game for three days now.. starting to worry a little bit now. I have read a lot of discussions on the forum stating that you shouldn't take too long of a break (ie. days), but is that for overall content or specifically just following how the core curriculum is set up? What do you guys suggest?

I am following the curriculum, hence I haven't been switching between LG/LR/RC. Should I be worried?

I am aiming to score in the high 170s by December so I want to get all the practice I can get starting now. Any advice on what study schedule has worked for you guys?

Thank you for your suggestions in advance!

Alex

Hey @jennybbbbb ,

One thing I have found that has worked for me is beginning each new study session reviewing whatever I learned the day before. I find that any information sticks better if I take notes after each lesson as well. If I'm learning a new LR question type, I fill out a small 3x5 notecard with the steps to solve said question type. These are really convenient to look at to review and they also serve as a good indicator to make sure you have a good understand of each lesson.

I think it may also help to spend more time doing the problem sets at the end of each of each lesson. When I was first going through the CC, one problem I had was going a bit too fast and not doing enough of the problem sets after each lesson. Sometime doing 2-3 of the problem sets may be enough for things to click. However, if it takes 5-6 of the problem sets, then so be it. Once it "clicks" I feel like you're much less likely to forget how to do them in the future.

For games, I think it is important to do something each day you prep. Games are a skill that constantly need practice or skills can quickly atrophy. Try to make time to do a set of games each day. Repeating games and doing some practice each day is a great way to improve!

It is also a Hurclean task to get through the Ultimate + package by December and achieve a 170. I'm not saying it isn't completely possible, but this is an extraordinary score and as such will require an extraordinary amount of work. I truly believe that your best bet will be to follow the CC in order, and adjust the 7Sage scheduler as needed. The scheduler or course only serves as a general guide, so make sure to add in your own review as needed.

Hope this helps!

LSATcantwin

I still feel like I forget how to do certain types of problems. The best way to rid yourself of that feeling, do problems of that type. You might feel clunky for a couple, but I guarantee you that your mind will quickly remember what is going on. Have faith in yourself. You should be able to take a couple days break from the test, come back and do a bit of a warm up, and be right back to where you were. This is true of any section on this test. Trust yourself!

TheMikey

Continue to do what you previously learned by moving onto something new and just doing the old Q type/game type you learned every once in a while in between the new stuff.

Freddy_D

I would always set up a daily drill packet that contained a few LR problem sets, a couple games, and an RC passage or two. In doing this, I would always be exposing myself to every section of the test regardless of where I was in the CC.

sjiang666

It happens to me as well. I am doing timed sections, and it is especially easy to forget your question-type based strategy when you are under pressure. Never hurt to keep everything you learn warm.

username

I don't necessarily do little samples like some of the above posters, but I have a cork board with the basic How To of each question problem laid out. It consists of the PDF print-outs provided in the CC and my own notes. I give it a once over every now and again.

My strategy going through the curriculum was just to do it pretty quickly, focusing primarily on finishing every single slide. You're not going to forget the strategy for a whole section if you don't focus on it for a few days while learning another section. By the same token, developing a cohesive understanding of how to approach each section is more valuable than 'freshness'. If you feel like you're forgetting something, don't worry about it too much yet. You won't know how well you really grasp any particular problem type/concept until you're doing some PTs.

After I started doing PTs I could see where my mistakes were and focus on those specific areas by returning to that cork board concept map. I've found intensity of variety to be more important in the training stages than learning stages.

tringo335

I think this is expected. You're certainly not going to retain everything from the CC and will absolutely have to come back from time to time as you move on to drill where your hardest sections are. I bought a 3 subject notebook and started taking notes on things that stood out to me. Not necessarily to memorize them but because studies have proven that writing things down helps instill learning.

jennybbbbb

@"Alex Divine" !

Thank you for your input! Did you complete all the problem sets for the different question types or just did enough until when you felt confident that you were getting them correct? My problem right now is that when I am doing the problem sets, I don't actually time myself since I am still only trying to learn the material and will start drilling once I am done the CC.

Does this sound like a good strategy?

@"Alex Divine" said:
Hey @jennybbbbb ,

One thing I have found that has worked for me is beginning each new study session reviewing whatever I learned the day before. I find that any information sticks better if I take notes after each lesson as well. If I'm learning a new LR question type, I fill out a small 3x5 notecard with the steps to solve said question type. These are really convenient to look at to review and they also serve as a good indicator to make sure you have a good understand of each lesson.

I think it may also help to spend more time doing the problem sets at the end of each of each lesson. When I was first going through the CC, one problem I had was going a bit too fast and not doing enough of the problem sets after each lesson. Sometime doing 2-3 of the problem sets may be enough for things to click. However, if it takes 5-6 of the problem sets, then so be it. Once it "clicks" I feel like you're much less likely to forget how to do them in the future.

For games, I think it is important to do something each day you prep. Games are a skill that constantly need practice or skills can quickly atrophy. Try to make time to do a set of games each day. Repeating games and doing some practice each day is a great way to improve!

It is also a Hurclean task to get through the Ultimate + package by December and achieve a 170. I'm not saying it isn't completely possible, but this is an extraordinary score and as such will require an extraordinary amount of work. I truly believe that your best bet will be to follow the CC in order, and adjust the 7Sage scheduler as needed. The scheduler or course only serves as a general guide, so make sure to add in your own review as needed.

Hope this helps!

jennybbbbb

@LSATcantwin said:
I still feel like I forget how to do certain types of problems. The best way to rid yourself of that feeling, do problems of that type. You might feel clunky for a couple, but I guarantee you that your mind will quickly remember what is going on. Have faith in yourself. You should be able to take a couple days break from the test, come back and do a bit of a warm up, and be right back to where you were. This is true of any section on this test. Trust yourself!

Thank you @LSATcantwin! I think I have to definitely do a couple questions and games a day to remember everything!

jennybbbbb

@Freddy_D said:
I would always set up a daily drill packet that contained a few LR problem sets, a couple games, and an RC passage or two. In doing this, I would always be exposing myself to every section of the test regardless of where I was in the CC.

@Freddy_D how did you make this daily drill packet? Which tests did you use?

jennybbbbb

@username said:
I don't necessarily do little samples like some of the above posters, but I have a cork board with the basic How To of each question problem laid out. It consists of the PDF print-outs provided in the CC and my own notes. I give it a once over every now and again.

My strategy going through the curriculum was just to do it pretty quickly, focusing primarily on finishing every single slide. You're not going to forget the strategy for a whole section if you don't focus on it for a few days while learning another section. By the same token, developing a cohesive understanding of how to approach each section is more valuable than 'freshness'. If you feel like you're forgetting something, don't worry about it too much yet. You won't know how well you really grasp any particular problem type/concept until you're doing some PTs.

After I started doing PTs I could see where my mistakes were and focus on those specific areas by returning to that cork board concept map. I've found intensity of variety to be more important in the training stages than learning stages.

Hey @username I honestly need to get through the curriculum pretty quickly as well since I would like to start PT's by mid-september. How did you go about doing this? I have made a google doc and I make notes on it as I go through the different question types just to remember my thought process as I was doing the problem sets as well. Did you find yourself skipping some of the videos (ie. only watched half the weaken question video explanations in the CC) and only completing the problem sets until you thought you got the hang of it?

Greatly appreciate your advice!

Alex

@jennybbbbb said:
@"Alex Divine" !

Thank you for your input! Did you complete all the problem sets for the different question types or just did enough until when you felt confident that you were getting them correct? My problem right now is that when I am doing the problem sets, I don't actually time myself since I am still only trying to learn the material and will start drilling once I am done the CC.

Does this sound like a good strategy?

Hey Jenny,

So I actually only did enough to feel comfortable. I truly believe in quality > quantity especially when you're first learning. I think learning to apply the fundamentals with untimed practice is a fine strategy. I would however recommend using a stop watch just to keep track of time. You want to practice pushing the pace and making informed guesses when you can. The one danger of untimed practice is that we may allow ourselves the opportunity to instill bad habits.

That said, never sacrifice accuracy for time while you are still in the learning phase.

Hope this helps

jennybbbbb

@"Alex Divine"

Thank you so much! This definitely helps and makes so much sense!

username

@jennybbbbb If I were to do it all again, I'd likely skip some of the practice sets and kind of dog ear them for drilling later. I would definitely watch all of the instructional videos and do at least some of the drills on the first go, though. I'd suggest doing some of the first problems in the set and then do the last page of the drill set to check understanding, as they're usually the most difficult.

I saw the CC as a necessary basis for improving my score, but I went mid-160s on my diagnostic before the CC and then got the exact same score on my 1st PT after the CC.... so..... Yeah. For me, it's taken interacting further with the material through PT's in order to figure out which areas I need to focus on and then going back to the CC to target those weak points (Flaw, NA, Logic Games - I list them 'cause I think they're most people's problem areas). That's also one reason that I don't think you need to worry about forgetting stuff. Some concepts you'll just get intuitively, other concepts you'll only internalize through practice and development of your own strategy.

As for my concept map, I just first printed out all of the PDFs in the courseware as I went along. I later went back to major concepts and wrote out a sheet for each topic in a way that I understand easily (these include things like; or and not both rules, conditional logic, splitting the sufficient Or and the necessary AND). I'm currently in the process of making a single notecard for each type of LR question with my personal strategy. I use apple notes to save any strategies or suggestions I find useful online and in the forums. I also use quizlet for some stuff. I think you can access this if you want: https://quizlet.com/join/PmJJVPXFj

When I was doing it, I just set daily goals, which usually accounted for like 5 hours of the predicted CC time. If I finished my 5 hrs of CC time in 4 hours of real world time, cool. I'd get up and call it a day. If it took 7 hours, then so be it. If you want to be PTing by mid-sept then budget your time accordingly.

What was the question again...? idk.

jennybbbbb

@username

I think you covered it all! Thank you so much! I am actually going to try this strategy! So far I have been doing the first 10 problem sets and lose motivation when I get to the four and five star questions. I usually do really well on the easier questions, but the harder ones really get me down. I think looking at maybe one harder problem set will definitely help in terms of checking understanding and then to just move on to the next question type.

I am aiming for the high 160s so hopefully I finish the curriculum by mid-September.