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Hi everyone,
I wanted to write this because I felt it important to demonstrate that with hard work and dedication, this test IS learnable. I still have a long way to go but don't give up, I have seen a few posts in the last couple of days about a member not feeling like they have seen any improvement, or just struggling with the test, I am here to say that is possible with hard work. I am an older student (mid 30s) with a family, work, school full time and it CAN be done. Do not give up, if you are struggling rewatch the CC or hire a tutor if needed. I started to actively study end of May, my score was a whopping 146, my test today after a month and a week, 161. I was so defeated and still am at times but I have seen a huge improvement in the month that I've been studying. I have attached screenshots of the first test and one that I just finished now.
I want to thank this community, although I am not one to post, I am always reading and appreciative of the support and advice shared.
Goodluck to everyone taking their tests soon and a big congratulations to those who already took it.
-Cynthia
https://i.imgur.com/M5Tdpqp.png
https://i.imgur.com/j4YcxbA.png
Comments
This post is so appreciated Cynthia. Thank you for sharing your journey, i know i really needed this! Wishing you the best!
Wow that's great. Thanks for the motivation. I hope and have a good feeling you'll reach your goal, keep at it!
Thank you! Love the screen name lol. Force users and Jedis ugh I can't wait for this test to be over .
Thank you very much, same to you !
wow amazing!!! i hope to make this imporvement !!
I study between 5-8 a day, its exhausting but learnable for sure. You'll get there !
This is amazing Cynthia! Just curious, what did you find made the most improvement in your logic games? I feel like I might be plateauing a little bit!
Hey,
I print all the ones that I have gotten wrong on previous tests and do ten daily until memorized, then I start with another ten, rinse and repeat.
Wow! You are killing the logic games section. Thank you for sharing this, and keep up the amazing work
Thank you!
As a fellow mid-30s working person, I really appreciate this post. Proud of you + encouraging for the rest of us! Keep up the good work!
thanks for the motivation not giving up!!
Aww Lauren, you're so sweet, this comment means more than you know ,especially today when I'm having a rough time with it all. Good luck with the studying🥰
You got this !
Same to you!😀
Pop off Cynthia!
edit: also, how'd improve your RC?
Great job on the improvement, Cynthia! Did you focus your studying on one section at a time or did you do bits from all the sections together?
Thanks Xavier, here is my study schedule. I study about 4 to 5 hours a day.
1-I have a binder where I print all LR questions that I have ever gotten wrong on previous tests and I look at them daily. By this I mean, before I do any studying I skim thru all of the ones that I have ever gotten wrong on previous preptests. (I take about 30 minutes doing that daily)
2-Then I take the stack out of all of the LG that I have ever gotten wrong and do them daily until mastery, I do a group of 10 daily . So, once I master one, I put it in the bottom of the stack and work on the current ones that I am mastering, rinsing and repeating over and over again. (THIS ALONG WITH MY RC STRATEGY IS WHAT HAS HELPED MY SCORE IMPROVE SO MUCH SINCE MAY 27TH)
3-I create a problem set with two passages and do that daily(from a -17 to a -3 right now since May 27th, so doing two daily has been helping, along, along with going over the explanation video s for all questions after each test).
As you can see its no easy feat, this test unfortunately requires that sort of dedication.
Lol , thank you ! I watch videos after every preptest I make on the passages. I also do two daily, meticulously going through all answer choices until I understand why they are wrong /right.
Hi Cynthia, can you explain what you mean by doing a group of 10 LGs daily? Do you do each only once, or do you repeat each one in one sitting until you memorize it? Meaning, you’ll do each one of those 10….say a couple of times or more?
Hello,
I do ten in one sitting , then check my work. If I got any wrong I do not watch the video after, instead I make a mental note for the next day to really focus on that one.The idea is for me to figure it out without watching the videos, eventually it clicks for me. Also, when I check the answers , I write my answers on a separate sheet of paper, this way I avoid looking at the questions and memorizing the answers. When I get to the point that I have perfected each one, then I start with the next batch. I do not do the same game twice in a day, I do the ten and do them again the next day.
It's grueling work, I mean grueling. I have alot going on in my life, but I need to go this hard, I really need a 167 minimum. I will be honest though, it's one of those things where I have to peptalk myself into doing it because I'm just exhausted.It can be done, I recommend my method , it works, at least it has for me.
The most challenging section for me is LR, I can't get better than a -8. I am now doing two preptests a week, two passages daily, the 10 games PLUS I am going over the CC for the items in red in analytics.
Goodluck
Your dedication and stamina is amazing, awe inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing your methods, your struggle, and your journey.
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks for the response. One more question, do you do them timed or untimed?
Currently, my method is to Fool Proof every game I do. I'll watch the explanation from JY to see if he has a better way than my way. If he does, then I try to incorporate whatever I see will benefit me into my attempts. After that, I'll do them 3-4 times (timed) depending on how difficult the game is. Then, I don't come back to them. I have definitely seen significant improvement from -15 to -4ish....untimed. I'm still trying make some improvements, since I'm not seeing those results transfer to timed practice. I might try to return to the bottom of the pile to re-do those I have already done to make sure I have them mastered...similar to what you're doing.
I liked your idea for RC, I'm now incorporating doing a set of two passages at least 6 days a week. I was only doing 1. Timing is also an issue for me here. I have been working with a tutor for a few months with significant improvements untimed, but not timed. So, now I need to figure out how to transfer my untimed results to timed. Lots of work!
LR, I have been focusing on RC so much that I haven't truly focused on it in the last few months. I'm still at around -15 here. I think I'll try to incorporate your idea of looking at the past wrong questions daily so that they can stay fresh in my mind and some day start seeing patterns for future questions.
I feel you on that! It's a lot of work on top of our everything else we have going on. I'm also aiming for high 160s, at least.
Hi @Cynthia-2, thank you for sharing! Keep it up!! I was wondering if you have worked through the entire core curriculum yet in the month and a half you have studied?
Hey,
Frankly, I haven't , I have been going over only the question types in LR that I have been trouble with. I went through analytics and determined what those were. I suggest implementing a daily intense drill of LG that you have had trouble with u til mastery, and two passages daily doing the same with those. LR for me is just going over the CC daily with the focus on those which are giving me trouble.
This is an amazing jump in such a short time! Great job! I went from a 148 diagnostic to a 163 practice test, but when I took the June Flex I ran out of time on Games and ended up guessing on the last two games which resulted in a score of 155. Now I am studying hard to be better prepared for the August exam.
I suggest drilling the same games daily until you master them and then moving onto the next batch. I do batches of 10. Thank you so much, it's definitely a big sacrifice studying for this thing, I've never studied anything like this in my life. One thing is certain, it is learnable.