Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

156 (Diagnostic) --> 178 (July Flex)

pm2lawyerpm2lawyer Member
edited August 2020 in General 81 karma

I got a 178 on the July Flex thanks to 7Sage, a consistent study partner, a good study environment and luck!

My study methodology:
I took my diagnostic in February, and then did the 7Sage course over the next three months while working full-time (50 hour work weeks). I started diligently studying in mid-May: I took my first practice test 5/23, and started averaging ~168, and ~171 BR. My highest practice test was a 174.

I took the week of July 4th off from work, and starting doing drills. At this point I was doing PTs about every 3-4 days. I kept a spreadsheet tracking all the question types I'd missed, and did drills of the LR types I was missing most frequently (Flaw, Weaken, NA). For drills, I did smaller problem sets (~10 questions) of each problem type at each difficulty level (i.e. 1* Flaw, 2* Flaw, etc). My study partner (a close friend with a complimentary strengths) and I would often go over questions either one of us missed on a problem set, or once did an entire LR section together and talked through how to approach each problem and predict answers. RC was the section where I saw the most improvement: I went from -7 to -2/3 on problem sets. The key for me was reading quickly, but thoroughly and making sure I understood what each paragraph or shift in structure contributed to the overall meaning. I would highlight important names or key dates, and underline the main thesis. For the most part, I would get the answers right with my gut instinct, and the ones I missed were usually answers I had changed at the last minute. So, on test day, I just decided to trust my gut and not flip flop between answers. I'm also an avid reader and spent most of my downtime reading (when not studying or working), and I think that helped me quite a bit. LG was my strongest section from the start (my diagnostic was -0) and I was pretty consistent throughout my studying. The key for me was doing the initial games pretty quickly, so that if later games were tougher I had more than enough time to map out game boards or brute force the game.

I took a day off before the test where I just read a novel all day, and didn't stress about the test. On test day, I felt pretty calm, but walked out of the test having no clue how I did. My biggest piece of advice would be to not over-study, and to be relaxed on the day of the exam (even if it means forgoing some days of studying). I even signed up for the August Flex to relieve the stress of doing well on the July test. Good luck to you all!! Feel free to PM me with questions - this community really helped me when I was studying!

Comments

  • xtinextinextinextine Member
    861 karma

    Congrats!!

  • Lej Not LegLej Not Leg Member
    238 karma

    Congratulations! Thank you for posting, it's really helpful. When you say you "took the week of July 4th off, and starting doing drills," do you mean you took that week off of PTs but still did drills? Or you took a week off, then picked up with drills? I'm trying to map out one or two breaks or easy weeks leading up to my test date and wondering what might work best

  • Heinz DoofenshmirtzHeinz Doofenshmirtz Member
    481 karma

    Sorry just to clarify--your highest PT was 174 and you got a 178 on the actual exam? I may have read that wrong but if I didn't then congratulations! (congratulations either way of course)

  • pm2lawyerpm2lawyer Member
    81 karma

    I took a week off of work to really study 100% during the week of July 4. During this time, I did LR drills (smaller problem sets of questions I was struggling with) and did a PT every 3-4 days. Before the test, I also took the Monday off (test was on Tuesday).

    And yes, highest PT was a 174 and score was a 178.

  • ashleyk9610ashleyk9610 Core Member
    16 karma

    When you were LR drilling, how did you create those problem sets? From old PTs or questions you hadn't done before?

  • Hopeful9812Hopeful9812 Member
    872 karma

    Congratulations!!

  • pm2lawyerpm2lawyer Member
    81 karma

    I created the problem sets from questions from prep tests 38-59. They were questions I had not seen before.

  • LadyLawyerLadyLawyer Alum Member
    146 karma

    Great job dude!!!!

  • pm2lawyerpm2lawyer Member
    81 karma

    I'm a woman, but thank you

  • OneFortyDotSixOneFortyDotSix Alum Member
    edited August 2020 634 karma

    holy moly...the most astounding thing in this (at least to me) is -0 on your diagnostic for logic games. Without having been familiar with the methodologies you must either have an exceptionally high aptitude for drawing inferences, or insanely fast mental processing speed for brute force - perhaps even both.

    Either way, amazing job. Sounds like you worked smart and worked consistently. Should hopefully inspire a lot of test takers; certainly inspiring to me.

  • noonawoonnoonawoon Alum Member
    3481 karma

    Congrats!!

  • swetolawyerswetolawyer Alum Member
    46 karma

    This is so impressive!!!!!

  • Jay TeeJay Tee Alum Member
    298 karma

    You go girl!! 🏅

  • SophiaaaaSophiaaaa Member
    4 karma

    way to gooooo!!!! out of curiosity, what was the novel you read the day prior to the test?

  • pm2lawyerpm2lawyer Member
    81 karma

    @Sophiaaaa said:
    way to gooooo!!!! out of curiosity, what was the novel you read the day prior to the test?

    Know My Name by Chanel Miller, super good read

  • username-1username-1 Live Member
    29 karma

    Congrats!!! just wondering @pm2lawyer how many PTs did you take total??

  • gogo180gogo180 Member
    89 karma

    CONGRATS!!!! Bumping @deborah_ 's question!!

  • 1050 karma

    Congratulations!!!

Sign In or Register to comment.