PT 75 the hardest one yet?

chris.dp3

Just completed PT 75, and I found it to be by far the hardest PT I have ever taken, following a subtle increase in difficulty (specifically LR) as opposed to previous tests. Is it just me, or is this a common theme amongst those of us that have taken PT 75 (June 2015 PT)?

Julia L

I thought PT 75 was really hard. I did much worse on the LR sections than usual. I'm still trying to figure out why exactly... I think the wording of the questions and the answer choices were hard for me to process. So I'm going over it again and again!

nicole.hopkins

To be honest, 75 was my best section to section performance EVER. It's got a tight curve so maybe that's what you're talking about. PT's are PT's ... Period. The only thing that varies is section by section difficulty. PT difficulty on the whole is reflected in the curve variation.

So don't overthink it

chris.dp3

Not really, what worried me; I consistently got -5/-8 on LR on it, which is not typical for me at all. I felt the answer choices were extremely deceptive per the Lsat norm. Could just be me, though!

sean.marz

Just wanted to chime in as well. I got one of my highest timed scores to date on 75. It was a big ego boost after taking 72 the week before. Some tests play more to your strengths than others.

chris.dp3

That's awesome! Not what I wanted to hear, but nevertheless awesome. I'll keep on working on it.

Julia L

@chris.dp3 I felt that way too, I just couldn't make sense of what some of the stimuli/answer choices were saying. Sometimes I would be looking for one type of answer, but none of the ACs had what I was looking for, and I missed something subtle. I think some tests will click with you and some don't. But yeah I don't think we should read too much into it. Just do your best to understand review the right and wrong reasoning for the ACs, and keep in mind things that can trip you up so you'll be better prepared for next time!

allison.gill.sanford

75 is also my best score so far, though I noticed it played to my strengths and went easy on my weaknesses... more difficult RC and three relatively easy LGs. For LR, however, I think there is more precision in the 70's series, rather than vagueness in the stimulus.
It does take a minute to adjust to the 70's; you often need to get through more information in the stimulus. It also requires more mental dexterity as you do LR; there might be a few minor issues in each stim that are not the core issue the question is targeting, so you must be able to let go of your initial impression of the question (especially if a minor issue stuck out to you) and laser-focus on the support to conclusion relationship. Skipping and then returning to a question helps the most if you're stuck on insignificant details you noticed in your initial read.
Overall though for the 70's, I think it is just adapting to a few new challenges (multiple issues in LR stims, but only one truly relevant issue, and larger amount of info to slog through), and these newer tests reward you highly for going into the answer choices with clarity. Their precision is top notch in my opinion.
@"Julia L" we'll tackle BR together for this one!

Julia L

Thanks for that analysis @allison.gill.sanford! I think that makes a lot of sense. Do you think it's true that you can "get by" with the older PTs with less stringent logic, and that's why the newer ones feel harder? Excited to review with you!!

allison.gill.sanford

Hmm maybe that is the case... if the stimulus in LR is more likely to be simpler (by that I mean only one issue) in earlier tests, then yes you can go into answer choices with a little less clarity and hunt for the right answer. It might be more obvious. But I would say being very clear on the issue at hand before looking at the answer choices is a solid strategy for all the tests even with the shifts in the 70s.

gs556

If I'm not mistaken, PT75 was the actual LSAT I took. The games threw me off a bit, but otherwise it didn't seem particularly difficult.

pattyesq

I thought both LR sections in PT75 were pretty easy (I finished with 5 minutes to go on the actual test, which is not an occasional occurrence). On the actual exam, I screwed up on the LG, but this was due more to test anxiety than not being ready since I usually go -0 on LG. The last game was different. I would say LG was more difficult than LR this time around.

as5324therapy

dont think so. standardized is meant to be standard; they all are pretty much the same. just keep at the drills and flashcards works great