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Related Discussions
First PT Post CC
Hi everyone,
I recently just took my first fully timed PT after completing the CC. I did not take a diagnostic test so I don't know how much I would have improved by. I got a 152 on PT 37 with a BR of 166. My section breakdown is as follows:
Section 1 RC: -6 / BR: -4
Section 2 LR: -12 / BR: -6
Section 3 LG: -11 / BR: -0
Section 4 LR: -10 / BR: -4
I'm disappointed with this score, as I was hoping it would be closer to 160. I have fool-proofed 1-35 by individual game and am working on finishing the FPing 1-35 by sections. For the past several days leading up to the test I was going -3 or less on logic game sections. During the PT I finished logic games on time, but I think I was so stressed out with the clock that I made dumb errors on easy questions.
During the BR process the games seemed much easier and the inferences really stood out to me, maybe since I was more relaxed with no clock. To fix the issue I plan on continuing to FP 1-35 by section and the new games I complete as I do PTs.
For LR I feel like I know how to solve each question type, but the time constraint + mental exhaustion seems to bring my score down. When I BR LR I can quickly and clearly see why my answer was wrong. (except for some 4 and 5 star questions).
Honestly I don't really have a strategy for RC, although I have been practicing with the LRS method.
The somewhat good news is that my goal score is 165 so at least I know I am theoretically capable of scoring in that range. I don't plan on applying until September 2019 so I have plenty of time and 4-5 attempts to take the test.
I plan on using Analytics to hammer out all my weak areas for LR.
Is there anything else I can do to decrease the stress when I take a fresh PT? I would assume my familiarity with taking PTs will lower my stress after a while.
Does anyone have any advice on how to best improve? I have watched the Post-cc Webinar and plan on implementing all the strategies offered. I would imagine I probably just have to serve my time now as it relates to drilling, intensives, FPing, and BRing.
Comments
I think you nailed it. Since this is your first PT and I am going to guess and say maybe you haven't taken that many sections under time -it all make sense about why you may have felt mentally exhausted. I would say get more familiar with taking timed sections and PT's. I think after that you are going to get a more accurate picture of what you may need to improve on in future.
Your drills should be determined by what your weaknesses were in the last PT you took. So take a look and figure out if you were weak at something and why you struggled with a question; was it grammar, conditional logic, not understanding an argument type etc. Use that information to carve out a study plan for the week or two before taking a new PT.
I agree with you about the need to finish fool-proofing LG sections but don't feel afraid to do a bunch of games of certain game types as well. For RC, I do agree with your analysis that you do need to work on form. When you read, you want to read for understanding and do low resolution. You also need to have a strategy about how to deal with RC question types. It's hard to say anything more particular about what you may need to do exactly because all of that comes from analyzing the section in detail and it could be different for each person.
Your RC isn't bad. So, that is good. I'd say just keep working on games and really try cutting that LR, BR score to half of what you have now. That'd get you into 170 range BR. Baby steps.
As far as stress goes, I'm right there with you. I've often read about the timing strategy where you start a stop watch then simply do not look at it during the section. Usually, from my understanding, this is for drilling/section practice, but I think there would be benefit to doing a full test like this as well. Try to go quickly, but don't sacrifice accuracy. I honestly feel like once you get better at the test, you will feel more confident and in turn less stressed, ultimately leading to even faster test taking. Something that has kind of stuck with me is a quote from the founders of Lawschooli (another prep test group) is that "if one cannot correctly answer 90 percent of any given set of LSAT questions untimed, then they don't have any business doing timed tests." This is obviously a strict standard, and probably one for people aiming for mid to high 160s and higher. Nonetheless, I think the underlying principle is spot on. Accuracy comes before everything when it comes to the LSAT (like most things in life, when you think about it. haha).
Once you start to see that you can trust yourself with this test, hopefully it won't feel like such a life and death ordeal every time you sit down to take a PT.
@Sami Thanks for the info! I was going to take 1 PT per week, but after reading your advice I think I will do 1 every two weeks. You're right, I need to take time to drill weak areas before I dive in again.
I haven't taken fresh timed LR sections, the timed LR sections I did practice with were from questions I had seen at least once before (PTs 1-15). I think I will start doing 2-3 sections at a time to get used to the endurance aspect of the test. Thanks again!
@J.CHRIS.ALST Thanks for the insight! I agree that turning my LG score will be a crucial goal. I am definitely going to start practicing timed LR sections with the stopwatch method. Its funny you mentioned Lawschooli, that study program was my first exposure to the LSAT. I'm glad I left since 7Sage has so much more material and tools, but I do think lawschooli has some helpful articles.
I agree that exposure should solve a majority of test related stress, now I just need to do the work. Thanks, good luck in your prep!
I think the biggest contributor to stress is to have high expectations. We all know that expectations don't really help in anyway, so why do we keep having them? Certainly, it's natural to have expectations, and in all honesty, I doubt anyone can truly not have any expectations, but it's what cause us to be stressed and perhaps disappointed. Imagine all else equal, if you had the goal of a 150 going into that PT. I don't think you would be as stressed or disappointed. What's changed? Nothing, right? Your score would be the same. Except you would be happier. Of course, it's good to be hard on yourself, since you can use disappointment to motivate yourself for future growth.
It's good to have a goal when preparing, and reviewing(your review seems very good and analytical; I'm sure you'll improve abundantly), but during the actual test, and slightly before it, I think having a clear, quantitative goal in mind can only harm your actual performance, especially if that goal is higher than what you can realistically, consistently, achieve. So my advice would be to just forget about that 160, and just focus on improving, doing your best, and being happy with whatever you get. Que sera, sera.
Hope this can help
@Bamboosprout thanks for the words of wisdom! I agree that expectation is the killer of happiness. I will certainly lower mine for subsequent PTs. A large part of this test is having the right mind set, which is easy to forget. Thanks for the practical words, I wish you well on your prep.
Great! I love that you see that and you arrived at a very good solution. Keep us up to date on how that goes.
@Bamboosprout what do I have to do have you be my personal lsat guru?
All are welcomed, but there's a 5 year waitlist.
But if you ever want to chat, feel free to message me. Not sure how I can help, but I'll always give it a shot. Hahaha
If you’re still getting stressed after 20 PTs then we might have a problem. It’s your first PT ever, so it’s natural to have timing issues. Continue to do timed drilling and taking PTs on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and most of these issues will clear up.
@Ohnoeshalpme thanks man! It was shortsighted to be disturbed by my first PT. It’s all about the process now.