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I'm at that point...

Matthew LLCMatthew LLC Free Trial Member
in General 114 karma
I'm at that point where I'm consistently scoring in the 168-172 range in Blind Review, but still trying to get the hang of completing sections in the allotted time. I've been told that setting the time to 40 minutes and slowly inching my way down to 35 minutes can help with timing. Is this true? I've been kind of wary of this because I feel like it's a waste of valuable preptests. Can any high scorers attest to this strategy?

Thanks.
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  • ddakjikingddakjiking Inactive ⭐
    2116 karma
    I haven't really heard of that 40 minute drilling routine but have you been drilling the cambridge drilling packets? What helped me out was actually doing these packets untimed entirely on LR. I initially did untimed on the LG/RC packets and then moved on to time myself. The theory behind it is that drilling the same question type repeatedly helps you trim off some time.

    -now PTing in your BR range.
  • amanda_kwamanda_kw Alum Member
    383 karma
    Yeah that sounds like a bad idea. You will never have 40 minutes.

    What works for me is to finish 5 questions at the 5 minute mark, 10 at the 10 minute mark, 15 at the 15 minute mark - and then 20 at the 23-24 minute mark (Q 15-20 are always difficult).

    This leaves me ample time to finish the last 5-6 questions, and usually about 5 minutes for review.

    That being said - sometimes I still get stuck on an early question or end up on question 15 at the 20 minute mark. I'm working on consistency with this timing but it doesn't always happen, and then I am rushed for time.

    The great thing about this method is while adjusting - it lets you know where you are messing up. Finished 1-5 in 5? good. finished 5-10 in 15? uh-oh did you get stuck on a question? etc. I double circle the questions that I don't get right away for extra time during BR to help figure out strategies for those.

    Good luck!
  • ddakjikingddakjiking Inactive ⭐
    2116 karma
    @amanda_kw I'd like to add that in especially newer PT's (like 65+) the degree of difficulty has been spread out in LR. I remember a PT in the 70's where the 2nd hardest LR question was before #10. It's good to keep the 10 in 10(min), 15 in 15(min) in mind but always be willing to adapt to the test.
  • jdawg113jdawg113 Alum Inactive ⭐
    2654 karma
    yeah as above posters I havent really heard of 40min and moving down. A popular routine I have heard of is starting normally at 35 and then slowly restricting time to less than 35 (theres arguments for and against doing that though)
    I wouldnt recommend doing any section with more than a 35 time limit (except untimed of course) to get consistently I would prob say to go with untimed drilling by type and then move into sections and full PTs (if taking in June I would try to get like 2 fully timed PTs in a week along with the drilling... and review of course)
  • mariii_mmariii_m Member
    32 karma
    @"Matthew LLC" I totally understand your reasoning and did something similar for the LG section. When I first started LSAT prep I could barely finish the first 3 games in 35 minutes. It just felt completely demoralizing to do LG drills in 35 minutes because from the outset I knew I wouldn't be able to finish and inadvertently started focusing on trying to only finish 3 games really well, which was actually making me slower. So I started drilling older LG sections with 40 minutes and tried to stick to under 10 minutes per game. After doing many drills with 40 minutes, and as I began to feel more comfortable with the games in general, I began lowering the time. On actual timed preptests I have always only given myself 35 minutes, however, as to not waste the newer preptests. In the past months, I have definitely improved my time on LG the most (this is the hardest section for me) and can now usually just barely finish all 4 games at the 35 minute mark on my actual timed preptests. Anyway, like most people above, I would not recommend giving yourself 40 minutes when taking your actual preptests, but drilling older sections with 40 minutes helped me with my LG time for sure.
  • amanda_kwamanda_kw Alum Member
    383 karma
    @ddakjiking Yes and no. When this has happened I notice I spend too much time upfront - so by sticking with the time constraints, I force myself to answer or skip. That way I can come back to it at the end with the 5 or so minutes I have left.

    Otherwise, I get stuck and forget that there's another 20 questions ahead of me.
  • blah170blahblah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐
    3545 karma
    I want to try this out @amanda_kw. I think this is a great way to get through the questions in a timely fashion and give you lee way to go back to the other questions.
  • AlexanderL0AlexanderL0 Alum Member
    239 karma
    If you first start to rush yourself, you'll notice a lower score. With the idea of doing 5 in 5 minutes etc. but with time you'll get better.
  • emli1000emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐
    edited April 2015 3462 karma
    Most people suggest that you give yourself more time when you are drilling practice sets. Not on the PTs. With the June LSAT being so close you wouldn't want to risk your 35 mins per section. It is better to answer 18+ questions right rather than to answer all of the questions in a section and miss half or more. What I learned to do was skip questions that seem difficult or that I didn't understand after reading it once. If you have time you can always come back to them but at least you can skip it and answers the others that you may know instead of spending so much time on a question that's going to take such valuable time from you.
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