PT schedule/order for Dec & Feb takers

SiliconJedi

Hi all -

I'm aiming to take the test in December and/or February, with June as a backup.

Thus far, I've finished the CC, taken PT36, Foolproofed games from PTs 1-15, and worked on some LR and RC drills.

From here on out, I'd like to take a PT each Saturday. I'm wondering --

(1) Is it possible/advisable to continue Foolproofing games (PTs 16-35) while also running this type of PT cycle, or should I dedicate myself to finishing the Foolproofing before doing more PTs? (With the latter approach -- I'm worried that I'm not getting enough exposure to full-length PTs).

(2) For those planning on Dec or Feb -- do you all have any recommended PT schedules? If I do a PT per week, I can expect to finish about 9-10 PTs by the time Dec rolls around, and then I plan on doing 2 PTs per week between the Dec & Feb exams in order to get an additional 20 PTs by Feb. (This would also leave me with about 15 fresh PTs until June, in case I need to retake).

(3) Is there a recommended order in which to take the PTs (i.e. might it be best to mix up older and recent tests since time is limited until Dec/Feb)?

Many thanks!

inactive

Bumping this to the top.

Alex

Hey @SiliconJedi ,

I think a lot of the answers you're looking for are going to require a bit more information.

What did you score on PT36? What was your BR score? What is your goal score?

As far as fool proofing the rest of the bundle, I'd say that too depends on what your LG situation is like right now. I would err of the side of doing them all though. It will only serve to help you.

SiliconJedi

Thanks, @"Dillon A. Wright"!

@"Alex Divine" -- re: Foolproofing: do you think there's a difference between doing PTs 15-35 before moving on to the PTs versus doing those games (say, on 3 days per week) while also doing a PT cycle each week? Either way, I definitely plan on finishing the rest of the bundle.

Re: PT36: I got a 163 on the timed attempt and a 175 on BR. (I was pleasantly surprised, but then again, this is just one PT; it's probably not fully representative of where my average score is right now). My target score is the T3 median or above ---172+.

I'm thinking of doing roughly a PT cycle per week till Dec, then 2 PT cycles per week till the Feb exam. And maybe switching it up each week - 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s?

SiliconJedi

Correction: the PT36 score was a 164, not a 163.

Cant Get Right

From the fact you're referring to "PT cycles," I'm assuming you've watched my webinar. That lays out most of my opinions on the matter, and for what it's worth I think you've put together a really good schedule. For which PTs to take, there's two schools of thought: In sequence and jumping around.

In sequence: The test has slowly evolved over time, but not enough to make the older tests meaningfully less useful. Taking in sequence exposes you to perfectly relevant material and ensures that you experience the test's evolution so gradually that you don't notice it and aren't thrown off by something like a jump from PT 41 to PT 80. That's could be a little jarring and there's no need for it. To use this, just count the test back from the Feb test date and start at whatever test will have you taking the most recent test as your final PT.

Jumping around: This allows you to see some of the most recent material without burning all of it. If there is anything uniquely difficult about the newer tests (and that seems to remain an open question) it gives you more time to respond to those issues that sequence testing does, since you'll only be seeing those tests in the final weeks of your prep. This does create some potential to be sometimes thrown off by the test's evolution. The example used above, jumping from PT 41 to PT 80, could be a little weird. Logic is universal and didn't change in that interim, but you've almost certainly got a completely different staff of test writers who's personalities may come through very differently to produce a test with a very different "feel."

Personally, I like a combination. By taking tests in sequence, but only taking every third or fourth test, you can kind of get the best of both worlds. When you get to the end, just start over with a fresh round of tests. You take the test in sequence without any big jumps, you prepare yourself for the newer tests using older material while also exposing yourself to some newer material before your final weeks of study, and you save a pretty good spread of tests for future takes if necessary.

There's not really a wrong answer here, just figure out what you like personally and go with that.

SiliconJedi

@"Cant Get Right" - Sage Josh? Thanks so much for your detailed explanation. I have indeed watched your webinar; in fact, I've returned to parts of it several times over the past few weeks.

I think I'll try alternating PTs from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s (~one per week) and then I'll really focus on the 70s & 80s as the Feb test gets closer.

I took my second PT (PT40) this weekend, and my score was lower (162 / 173 BR) than what I had on PT36 (164 / 175 BR). It was a bit disappointing. I'd like to work toward a 173 but a 10-11 point increase (post-CC) seems daunting. But I'm prepared to stick to it.

Here are some of the things I'm thinking of doing -- I'd love to get your thoughts, if you don't mind...

Review CC notes daily

For LG: Continue Foolproofing (PTs 15-35) and doing timed section repeats for games I've already Foolproofed

For RC: Drill hard passages. Do untimed & timed sections from PTs 1-39 and previously-taken PTs.

For LR: Over the past couple of weeks, I did the first 5-6 questions of each type from the PTs 20-29 drills in the Ultimate+ course. I might now focus on just the question-types that I'm struggling with. In addition, I think I should also start doing full sections either (1) untimed, (2) timed, or (3) timed with confidence drills. After Blind Reviewing the sections, I'll analyze my mistakes AND also review each question with cookie cutter review (logic), grammar review, and maybe test writer review.

I'll also try to incorporate pacing/video review across all the sections once I set up a camera.

Here are a few specific questions:

-Generally speaking, should I be reviewing and analyzing every question -- including ones I got correct -- after completing a section or a full PT?

-What sections would be best to use for the LR training I've outlined above? PTs 1-39 and previously-taken PTs?

-How are the 7Sage BR / study groups structured, and would it be a good idea to fit those into this plan?

Sorry for the long note! I hope this line of thinking will be useful to others who are recently out of the CC and/or preparing for the Feb exam.

Alex

@SiliconJedi said:
Thanks, @"Dillon A. Wright"!

@"Alex Divine" -- re: Foolproofing: do you think there's a difference between doing PTs 15-35 before moving on to the PTs versus doing those games (say, on 3 days per week) while also doing a PT cycle each week? Either way, I definitely plan on finishing the rest of the bundle.

Re: PT36: I got a 163 on the timed attempt and a 175 on BR. (I was pleasantly surprised, but then again, this is just one PT; it's probably not fully representative of where my average score is right now). My target score is the T3 median or above ---172+.

I'm thinking of doing roughly a PT cycle per week till Dec, then 2 PT cycles per week till the Feb exam. And maybe switching it up each week - 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s?

Yeah, I think you'd be better served drilling the entire bundle first. But overall, I don't necessarily think it would be too harmful to begin Pt'ing and do the rest of the bundle in tandem.

Cant Get Right

@SiliconJedi said:
@"Cant Get Right" - Sage Josh? Thanks so much for your detailed explanation. I have indeed watched your webinar; in fact, I've returned to parts of it several times over the past few weeks.

I think I'll try alternating PTs from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s (~one per week) and then I'll really focus on the 70s & 80s as the Feb test gets closer.

I took my second PT (PT40) this weekend, and my score was lower (162 / 173 BR) than what I had on PT36 (164 / 175 BR). It was a bit disappointing. I'd like to work toward a 173 but a 10-11 point increase (post-CC) seems daunting. But I'm prepared to stick to it.

Here are some of the things I'm thinking of doing -- I'd love to get your thoughts, if you don't mind...

Review CC notes daily

For LG: Continue Foolproofing (PTs 15-35) and doing timed section repeats for games I've already Foolproofed

For RC: Drill hard passages. Do untimed & timed sections from PTs 1-39 and previously-taken PTs.

For LR: Over the past couple of weeks, I did the first 5-6 questions of each type from the PTs 20-29 drills in the Ultimate+ course. I might now focus on just the question-types that I'm struggling with. In addition, I think I should also start doing full sections either (1) untimed, (2) timed, or (3) timed with confidence drills. After Blind Reviewing the sections, I'll analyze my mistakes AND also review each question with cookie cutter review (logic), grammar review, and maybe test writer review.

I'll also try to incorporate pacing/video review across all the sections once I set up a camera.

Here are a few specific questions:

-Generally speaking, should I be reviewing and analyzing every question -- including ones I got correct -- after completing a section or a full PT?

-What sections would be best to use for the LR training I've outlined above? PTs 1-39 and previously-taken PTs?

-How are the 7Sage BR / study groups structured, and would it be a good idea to fit those into this plan?

Hey, happy to address, and glad you found my Post CC Webinar beneficial.

So first, a note on fool proofing. It is a really powerful approach to learning LG, but it has pitfalls that I don't think are talked about often enough. The problem with fool proofing is that you learn each game so well, your knowledge of the specific game masks careless mistakes. You can be making a ton of careless mistakes and you'll be correcting course without even realizing it. So along with fool proofing, you need to make sure you're drilling procedure and strategy in addition to game mechanics. Don't just work the games, work the games procedurally. This was a lesson I learned a little too late last year, and careless procedural errors cost me a -6 LG section on my test. Add 6 to a 170 and you'll see how big a deal that is for just a series of dumb oversights. To prepare after that, I worked out a very strict LG procedure and drilled it step by step until it was second nature. It took a while to do--probably a dozen untimed sections, game by game, with a flow chart in front of me. So just make sure you're not neglecting this aspect of LG or else it will cost you.

Reviewing notes daily is a great way to start your study day.

For LR, I do think you're in a spot where different drills will be important for different objectives. Ideally, I'd like to see your BR consistently +175, but you're in striking distance so I think you can do question type drills (if there's something conspicuous in your data that needs to be dealt with, otherwise your errors probably aren't due to question types.), untimed drills to focus on high level understanding to keep pushing your BR, confidence drills to focus on time management and confidence issues to begin bridging the game between your timed and BR scores, and timed drills with thorough BR to simulate testing conditions and review for understanding. I think the important thing here is to know what you're addressing with each drill. Each drill has a purpose, and you should keep the objective in mind as you're drilling.

Video review is critical for bridging the gap to your BR score. It's crazy the things that can cost you points. Pro athletes do it, pro speakers do it, pro surgeons do it, pros of all types do it, and pro LSAT students do it.

For reviewing/analyzing questions, whether or not you get them correct is irrelevant for determining whether or not you review them. You can get to a correct answer with very low or even mistaken understanding. All things equal, reviewing everything is better because you get to confirm/correct your understanding on your high confidence questions. That said, there is likely diminishing returns on that at a certain point, so it just depends on your timeline and on the amount of time you can put towards LSAT for any given day/week.

For drilling material, yeah, old materials and repeats. Don't cannibalize new tests; save them for full length takes.

7Sage study groups can differ group to group. A common format is for everyone to take a specific test and then review as a group. In my study group, we took the test, did an individual BR, and then in group went over the ones we still struggled with in BR. Whatever the format, I just recommend doing as much as you can individually beforehand. On test day, you will be all too alone, lol. Next week, @"Daniel.Sieradzki" and I will each be starting weekly workshops on RC and LR respectively. I'll focus on a different LR concept each week, and Daniel's going to focus on RC strategy and tackling questions. These can be really great resources, so check them out and see what you can take away from them.

Hope this helps!

SiliconJedi

@"Cant Get Right" - Many thanks! This is super helpful. I just sent you a direct message with a few thoughts.