Post CC PT

RunawayJury

I took my first PT Ever after completing the CC a couple days ago and got a 149 ( I didn't take a diagnostic prior to starting the course).. my score was bad mainly because I missed an entire game (printing issue) and I was kind of panicking at first because it's the first time I've gone through a full length PT before. I BRd the PT after and my score went up to a 153. I'm registered for the September LSAT and I can devote as much time as I want (I've been doing around 6-8 hrs everyday 6 days a week) but I don't think I would be comfortable pushing to November because I have to go back to school and I want to keep my GPA up. I'm aiming for a 160 at least, but obviously the higher my score the better. I'm strong in Logic Games but I get some roadblocks with the very difficult RC passages and some LR questions. Also I've been studying since April 15 so I don't necessarily feel like I crammed for time but I am getting close to the test date... Some general advice on how I can improve, how to overall manage my time with regards to studying (taking tests, doing drills) , etc would be much appreciated
Thanks guys

JustDoIt

Two things that really helped me were double BR and drills.

Double BR is when you take a test and score it but you don't look at the answers; you only see which questions you got wrong and then redo them. If you don't feel like you understood it or you got it wrong again, you cut that question out.

Drills really helped too, especially with RC. I did every single RC passage released at least once and doing so allowed me to see my strategies and make changes to my habits when necessary.

Hope this helps!

MissChanandler

When are you looking to apply for law schools? I know pushing back a test date can suck, but it sounds like that may be your best option if you are committed to at least a 160. 6-8 hours of studying per day is a lot. I'd recommend backing off and studying a max of 4-5 hours per day. At a certain point you stop making gains and it just wears you out mentally and makes you more likely to burn out. As far as the September test goes, it seems unlikely that you will make an 11+ point increase in under two months. It is definitely not impossible though. You mentioned that logic games is your strong section. How many are you missing per timed section? At a 149, it would probably be best to focus some more time and energy on the fundamentals rather than taking a lot of PTs.

RunawayJury

@MissChanandler said:
When are you looking to apply for law schools? I know pushing back a test date can suck, but it sounds like that may be your best option if you are committed to at least a 160. 6-8 hours of studying per day is a lot. I'd recommend backing off and studying a max of 4-5 hours per day. At a certain point you stop making gains and it just wears you out mentally and makes you more likely to burn out. As far as the September test goes, it seems unlikely that you will make an 11+ point increase in under two months. It is definitely not impossible though. You mentioned that logic games is your strong section. How many are you missing per timed section? At a 149, it would probably be best to focus some more time and energy on the fundamentals rather than taking a lot of PTs.

To be honest I know burnout is a common issue but mentally I feel completely okay with devoting that much time. I don’t know, before I started studying my school was on strike and I had a lighter semester so I had a lot of time to relax before i started studying. So I just kinda see this as work I shoul’ve been doing anyway had my school continued. For LG im missing around 3 questions. I feel like I really need to improve LR and recognize when to incorporate lawgic into the question, I noticed I didn’t do it during the PT. For law schools, I am looking to apply this cycle as this year 2018-2019 year, will be my final year of my undergrad

RunawayJury

@JustDoIt said:
Two things that really helped me were double BR and drills.

Double BR is when you take a test and score it but you don't look at the answers; you only see which questions you got wrong and then redo them. If you don't feel like you understood it or you got it wrong again, you cut that question out.

Drills really helped too, especially with RC. I did every single RC passage released at least once and doing so allowed me to see my strategies and make changes to my habits when necessary.

Hope this helps!

By every single RC passage what do you mean? Like did you repeat the problem sets in the CC?

JustDoIt

@RunawayJury said:

@JustDoIt said:
Two things that really helped me were double BR and drills.

Double BR is when you take a test and score it but you don't look at the answers; you only see which questions you got wrong and then redo them. If you don't feel like you understood it or you got it wrong again, you cut that question out.

Drills really helped too, especially with RC. I did every single RC passage released at least once and doing so allowed me to see my strategies and make changes to my habits when necessary.

Hope this helps!

By every single RC passage what do you mean? Like did you repeat the problem sets in the CC?

Yeah. I did every single RC passage that ever existed. But I focused my drilling on tests 1-35, some of which were also covered in the CC. I did them sequentially starting with PT1. If there was a passage I remembered, I would push myself for time and try to complete the whole thing in about 6 minutes.

kleinstd

I went through the exact same situation with almost identical scores. But now each practice test I've taken I have gone up. Now I am up to a 156. My advice to you would be to take breaks studying. There is no need to devote 6-8 hours a day especially since you've been studying since April 15. Take it day by day and don't feel pressured to study all the time. I've noticed that the more laid back I am while taking the test the better I do. Try not to dwell on an answer and be confident in your own. I think if you clear your head and study a little less (although it sounds crazy) you will actually be more relaxed, more confident in yourself, and be able to score higher. Hope this helps!

samantha.ashley92

Your study plan is great in theory, but will lead to burnout in practice. (My personal experience is not unique on this.) Definitely give yourself two days off, or at least one day off with two half-days. Your brain actually needs time to rest and process information, and your sanity needs a little bit of a social life. Based on the discrepancy between your BR score and your desired score, I would reexamine the CC. Look at whatever you got wrong on your PT and relearn it as if you've never seen it before. There has to be at least one key concept you're not getting, even if it's an advanced one, and this will help you find it. I would also recommend drilling LG to get your speed up-- especially if the timing issue is related game board setups. You got this.