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⚖ Official January 2021 LSAT-Flex Discussion Thread ⚖

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  • yoderyoder Core Member
    60 karma

    yeah definitely really peculiar.
    I know of two distinct RC sections, one which has been used previously [kente cloth, physics/chemistry, electronic court displays, and middle ages music iconography] the other floating around is [Big Bang, Kafka, Diplomacy, and japanese-american immigrants*?]

    The two LG sections seem to be [puppies/kitties, buildings, paintings/sculptures/centuries] and [students/classes, doctors/nurses/social workers, lawyers/cases, and newspaper 16-18]

    Apparently there's a really weird and difficult LR as well as an unsettlingly easy LR.

    I assume they would have to base the curve on a group that had identical tests or elseeeeee.... how would it make any sense?
    So I guess we'll all wait for that Powerscore podcast to reveal the mystery!!

    @Nice_home said:
    With all these seemingly different versions of sections floating around, how in the world do they come up with the scaled score that pieces them all together fairly???

  • forthewinwinforthewinwin Member
    117 karma

    @ntereza3 said:
    I had LG-LR-RC and the first three games of LG were straight forward but I realized that with my nerves I had miswritten a rule in the first game which had seven!7! questions. So with 8 min left to start my last game, which was very weird, I answered the first three of five questions, guessed on the last two and redid the first game. I usually go -1 for lg so this was a big hit but im hopping I made up for it with the other two sections. For anyone who hasn't taken the exam yet re-read your rules for the love of whatever you believe in. As for the other sections, LR felt very comfortable I only didn't have time for one question, and RC was dense with a lot of questions but doable. I was rushing for time but still had 8 min to do the last passage which had 7 questions. So make sure you pace yourself. Good luck!

    Yeah sounds like we had a similar issue. I just wrote the one today, with the same order. I missed 1 rule for one game too, which caused me to take excessive time on one question, as more than one answer seemed very possible as result.

  • This_is_HardThis_is_Hard Alum Member
    815 karma

    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

  • forthewinwinforthewinwin Member
    edited January 2021 117 karma

    @This_is_Hard said:
    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

    Mine were identical. My Proctor disconnected me at the Physics vs. Chem question right after I read the passages. Lost some memory by the time I could resume the exam.

  • hopefullinghopefulling Member
    905 karma

    Yikes, finally managed to get the Writing section done ... hopefully it will go through without issue. I could NOT get it to load the last few days, but used Microsoft Edge and it started up. Guess I was just doing it wrong and/or it doesn't like Firefox to click on the LSAC button. Who knows :).

    It's weird though, because when I took my test on Sunday, I wasn't feeling really great - I thought it was allergies. But ... yikes, feeling really feverish today (so I really wanted to get that Writing section out of the way!) and head-cold sick. Hope it's not Covid, the irony. Sad that I'm going to look like a red-eyed druggie in all the videos - me taking the test on Sunday and especially taking the writing section today - with today also being fever face. :p Haha

  • This_is_HardThis_is_Hard Alum Member
    edited January 2021 815 karma

    @forthewinwin said:

    @This_is_Hard said:
    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

    Mine were identical. My Proctor disconnected me at the Physics vs. Chem question right after I read the passages. Lost some memory by the time I could resume the exam.

    Sorry to hear about that. Physics vs chem was pretty easy too... why were you disconnected?

    I found the cloth weaving and medieval one the hardest of the four.

    But overall nothing was out of the ordinary.

    Also, when people are saying diplomats are you guys referring to the cloth weaving one? I don't think the main point there was about diplomats lol...

  • forthewinwinforthewinwin Member
    edited January 2021 117 karma

    @This_is_Hard said:

    @forthewinwin said:

    @This_is_Hard said:
    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

    Mine were identical. My Proctor disconnected me at the Physics vs. Chem question right after I read the passages. Lost some memory by the time I could resume the exam.

    Sorry to hear about that. Physics vs chem was pretty easy too... why were you disconnected?

    I found the cloth weaving and medieval one the hardest of the four.

    But overall nothing was out of the ordinary.

    Also, when people are saying diplomats are you guys referring to the cloth weaving one? I don't think the main point there was about diplomats lol...

    I found the medieval instrument one the most painful one to digest. It was dry and utterly boring, so it was hard to retain the details.

    The Proctor claimed HE could not see me, though my webcam had no issues on my end. So my exam was paused and closed on me, until we were actually transferred to tech support. It was not quickly resolved (15-20 minutes minimum), so by the time the exam was re-opened, I already had forgotten many details of what I read.

  • virginiakirchnervirginiakirchner Core Member
    7 karma

    Was it just my proctor or did others experience the exam starting and the proctor is still checking my PC and loosing a bit of time. It happened two of sections and then there was a connection issue mid section. Is this something that needs to go to LSAC? If anything for awareness. I documented it on my survey at the end of the test. Curious. It seems like a 1 minute gap doesn't really allow enough time for one to breath, message the proctor and for them to do their check.

  • hey judeshey judes Member
    14 karma

    Hi all! Just finished my exam. Had LR - LG - RC. Definitely be careful with your rules -- like others, also almost missed one with 7 questions. I couldn't figure out the last game -- about newspapers. but game 1-3 were definitely doable!
    RC - also found the weaving and the medieval instruments to be the hardest. Physics and Chemistry weren't that bad and computers in England also not that bad.
    LR - I thought the earlier ones were the most tricky -- but I'm also someone who has trouble with the first few and flies through the rest, so if you're also quicker toward the end, I recommend trying your best and coming back to the beginning. (But I recommend not completely switching up your strategy right before test day!!) I would say based on others' comments I had a normal? ish LR. But if you have a hard LR - don't panic!! Just try your best.

    Best of luck to everyone!!!

  • houzhou1988houzhou1988 Core Member
    8 karma

    @This_is_Hard said:
    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

    The same as yours.
    I found LR was so tough, but the LG is easy.

  • LSATbekeeLSATbekee Alum Member
    137 karma

    Tested at midnight LOL. I had LG-LR-RC (talk about luck) the last game woke me up haha but the rest were freebies. LR wasn't bad and RC was mmehh- my weak section. Fingers crossed i did good.

  • This_is_HardThis_is_Hard Alum Member
    815 karma

    @forthewinwin said:

    @This_is_Hard said:

    @forthewinwin said:

    @This_is_Hard said:
    Hey everyone,

    Seems like some of the RC themes were different than the one I took. I had Cloth Weave, Medieval Instrument, Physics vs Chem, and Law Tech.

    Also my order was different than some of you!

    Mine were identical. My Proctor disconnected me at the Physics vs. Chem question right after I read the passages. Lost some memory by the time I could resume the exam.

    Sorry to hear about that. Physics vs chem was pretty easy too... why were you disconnected?

    I found the cloth weaving and medieval one the hardest of the four.

    But overall nothing was out of the ordinary.

    Also, when people are saying diplomats are you guys referring to the cloth weaving one? I don't think the main point there was about diplomats lol...

    I found the medieval instrument one the most painful one to digest. It was dry and utterly boring, so it was hard to retain the details.

    The Proctor claimed HE could not see me, though my webcam had no issues on my end. So my exam was paused and closed on me, until we were actually transferred to tech support. It was not quickly resolved (15-20 minutes minimum), so by the time the exam was re-opened, I already had forgotten many details of what I read.

    Bummer, sucks how proctor did that.

    Agree, medieval one took some double backs.

    @virginakircher

    You can submit a complaint, saying you had tech problems. They might give you a retake.

  • 59 karma

    @Tima1998 said:
    Just finished..... the LG i had was not bad at all... except for the last game about the damn chapters (16-18 or whatever)... i had no idea what to do
    RC was okay, i'm not overly confident in how i did but i dont think i sucked either.. i DO know that the diplomat passage was my worst one... i had to guess on a lot of the answers... i hope i made up for it with the other 3 passages
    LR feels like my best section, it was not too bad

    that LG game with the 16-18 oddly reminded me of LSAT 37 S3 G4!!!!!

  • jennalpsmithjennalpsmith Core Member
    6 karma

    Holy bananas!

    Just finished the LSAT, I haven't a clue what to think. Order was LR-LG-RC. Thinking back on LG, pretty average, but some tricky questions. LG is typically my strongest with 0-3 missed, but I'm not sure with this one. LR, second best, I was on auto-pilot...had to guess on a few. RC, I think was a bit easier although it's my worst section.

    My first LSAT I panicked and bombed it, this time I didn't panic, but uncertain because of the material.

  • ChoocharooChoocharoo Core Member
    61 karma

    Hello everyone! My LSAT was this morning at 6:20 AM. My sections were: AR(23)-RC(27)-LR(25). I intially felt prepared, but then my mind went blank once the first AR section began. I don't know if anyone else has had this happen/would recommend doing warmup question sets before the start of the exam?

    All of the sections honestly seemed pretty standard in comparison to the other practice tests I've taken on Khan Academy and the PT books.

    This was my first time taking the LSAT and the main reason I signed up for this slot is because I plan to apply in the fall and wanted to have ample time to retake it if I wasn't happy with my score. I paid for score preview offered to first-time test-takers, which lets you see your score then decide if you want to cancel it out. Wondering if there is any downside to cancelling out your score using this preview option?

    Lastly, wondering if anyone has taken the LSAT writing portion. I've taken one LSAT prep course and they didn't put any focus on the practice writing samples in the prep test books. We would always skip over them and focus on the questions, since writing doesn't factor into your score. I'm wondering if the writing portion is something you would suggest practicing or if there is any advice/information you can give on taking it?

    Thank you and good luck to everyone!

  • Rach2341Rach2341 Member
    edited January 2021 14 karma

    had connection issues which threw off my mental a little bit. LG section was had for me but i struggle in that section anyways. Hope i did well enough to get accepted to where i want to go.

  • ChoocharooChoocharoo Core Member
    edited January 2021 61 karma

    @jrknight2 ugh I'm sorry you had those issues with connectivity! I struggled with the LG section as well. Good luck!

  • gpoudrie-1gpoudrie-1 Member
    90 karma

    Just finished my Flex! I got LR - LG - RC. Overall, it felt like a slightly above average difficulty exam from the upper 80's. I found LR to be a little easier than average, but I had to guess on 2 questions at the end. LG's 1-3 were very easy but my nerves got the best of me in game 3, wasted time and I ended up having to guess on most of game 4. Reading comp... ouch. I did the passages out of order, 3,4,1,2 after noticing how unequal the distribution of number of questions to passages were and I'm so glad I did because I would have wasted way too much time trying to answer the questions in passage 1; some incredibly hard questions. Expecting 158/9 praying for a 160-163. Good luck everyone and lets hope we get a generous curve!!

  • ThisNewbieThisNewbie Member
    11 karma

    @yoder said:
    yeah definitely really peculiar.
    I know of two distinct RC sections, one which has been used previously [kente cloth, physics/chemistry, electronic court displays, and middle ages music iconography] the other floating around is [Big Bang, Kafka, Diplomacy, and japanese-american immigrants*?]

    The two LG sections seem to be [puppies/kitties, buildings, paintings/sculptures/centuries] and [students/classes, doctors/nurses/social workers, lawyers/cases, and newspaper 16-18]

    Apparently there's a really weird and difficult LR as well as an unsettlingly easy LR.

    I assume they would have to base the curve on a group that had identical tests or elseeeeee.... how would it make any sense?
    So I guess we'll all wait for that Powerscore podcast to reveal the mystery!!

    @Nice_home said:
    With all these seemingly different versions of sections floating around, how in the world do they come up with the scaled score that pieces them all together fairly???

    I did my test in Western Australia, and it seems like all my RC passages are 'floating-arounds'. LR was fair but I wouldn't say easy overall. LG was standard.
    However, my laptop had a problem as soon as the proctor took over. It is still making this mechanical noise as I type these words. I basically did my January LSAT next to a running motor engine. FML.

  • gcoughlan-1gcoughlan-1 Member
    71 karma

    Just finished. LR-LG-RC

    LR felt suspiciously ok as I was making very good time. As always, hard to say if this was a good thing or not. I didnt have enough time to double check all answers but I got through about half of my flagged ones. The only Q I really remember is one about "low sodium" tomato soup.

    LG is a write off. My brain stopped working entirely. I remember one about 18th, 19th, and 20th century paintings and sculpture, archaeologists and studying items, and one more about buildings on upper or lower levels. I got through game 1, then half way through the rest I became so concerned that I was spending too much time on one thing that I kept jumping around which was probably very dumb. Guessed on about 8 questions so thats great. Idk, I was too anxious to properly lay out boards and make inferences so that's a kiss of death for sure.

    RC felt fine. Kafka, corporate evasion, big bang theory, and diplomacy. That section overall felt moderate to easy and I actually finished with enough time to spare to double check a couple answers.

    Overall I don't really know what to expect. Fumbled games worse than usual but the rest seemed alright. Highest PT was 159, not sure if I did enough to hit that. Pray for me.

  • britxlinbritxlin Free Trial Member
    19 karma

    I took the January Flex this weekend. I had just got my COVID test results so I had not been able to arrange for childcare for my 6 year old because he would have been exposed to me. We all felt fine and I was negative. But I had planned to take my test in a small room on the first floor, behind two doors. But I didn’t have a proper “desk” so they wouldn’t let me take the test in their. It was quiet and isolated.

    I ended up in my bedroom, which was a mess. I had to clean off my desk. And I had to fight off my much older son who didn’t understand that I was taking a proctored exam and needed to stop walking into the room complaining that I had his car keys!

    It took an hour before I could take the test and then with the distractions, it really sucked. But I think that I did ok. At least the minimum that I’m hoping for. Less than two weeks to know! Good luck guys!!!

  • whatsmynamewhatsmyname Member
    edited January 2021 606 karma

    @gcoughlan said:

    that was my experience exactly. same rc and lg as you, same order but my lr was different

  • gcoughlan-1gcoughlan-1 Member
    71 karma

    @whatsmyname said:

    @gcoughlan said:

    that was my experience exactly. same rc and lg as you, same order but my lr was different

    redo the games to see how easy they were. you'll be banging your head all night

    I'm sure that would enrage me. I have no idea how to feel. Probably would have been a good write had my brain functioned the one time I actually needed it to.

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage
    8313 karma

    LR - Orwell, humidity/salt in a glass case, tires stored for 2 years, sodium in soup, maple tree leaves decomposing/tannins, summer/lights on event/cleaning, psychotherapists/confidentiality
    LG - ?, campus buildings, art lectures, archeologists/artifacts (what was the first game?)
    RC - Evasion, Kafka/Kafka, Big Bang, Diplomacy

    Overall seemed on the harder side. 176 over the past 4 tests, 174 average past 10. I'll be ecstatic with a 170+. Hard to gauge... I thought I killed November and got a 169.

  • Quasar180Quasar180 Member
    edited January 2021 64 karma

    @canihazJD very similar stats to you and we had the same LR/ LG.

    Do you think that LR section was absolutely bizarre? That’s the hardest LR section I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’ve never been 50/50 on so many questions before. This section felt markedly different from the majority of LR Ive seen. Curious if you thought similar.

  • whatsmynamewhatsmyname Member
    606 karma

    @gcoughlan said:

    @whatsmyname said:

    @gcoughlan said:

    i think having LG after those long ass passages did not help.

  • AhmadinejadAhmadinejad Member
    46 karma

    I'm sad. I've been studying very consistently for four months and PTing well but before the exam, my webcam stopped working and my proctor was a jerk so I wasn't able to start until an hour after my time. I also wasn't able to sleep at all the night before and I just felt extremely brain fogged and sluggish the entire exam. And this is the last exam I could take really for this cycle. :/

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage
    edited January 2021 8313 karma

    @jpwolf said:
    @canihazJD very similar stats to you and we had the same LR/ LG.

    Do you think that LR section was absolutely bizarre? That’s the hardest LR section I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’ve never been 50/50 on so many questions before. This section felt markedly different from the majority of LR Ive seen. Curious if you thought similar.

    I thought it was harder, and I was definitely behind on time compared to what I normally do. I also have a history of underperforming on test day so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The psychotherapist and Orwell questions got me good... IIRC those were the last two I had flagged. I changed an answer just based on language strength at the last second which is something I never have had to do before.

    Hoping my perception is overly negative just because the timing felt off. I was able to unflag most of my questions and finished everything... Just didn't have the time left over I normally do, and everything just felt harder... like I distinctly remember disproving every other AC in games, but it felt like such a grind, so more room for error.

    @ddeng888 sorry just saw your post, I did take Nov, but want a higher score... 169, PT'ing 176 plus essays aren't ready yet so I figured one more shot.

  • whatsmynamewhatsmyname Member
    edited January 2021 606 karma

    @gcoughlan said:

    @whatsmyname said:

    @gcoughlan said:

    ditto. 3h sleep. still, idk wtf happened with those games. they were rudimentary. the whole purpose of prep was to be able to do games mechanicslly under all circumstances regardless of mental state.

  • yoderyoder Core Member
    60 karma

    I had the same LR and LG as y'all as well. But..... I thought that that LR was like disturbingly easy.... I will say that there were a small handful that I was 50/50 on, but it was mostly all questions involving logic and I just needed to think a little longer to figure it out.

    I know its apparently the case thats there's one crazy tough LR and one weirdly easy one. So now I'm unsure of which I/we got :neutral:

    @jpwolf said:
    @canihazJD very similar stats to you and we had the same LR/ LG.

    Do you think that LR section was absolutely bizarre? That’s the hardest LR section I’ve seen in a long, long time. I’ve never been 50/50 on so many questions before. This section felt markedly different from the majority of LR Ive seen. Curious if you thought similar.

  • Quasar180Quasar180 Member
    edited January 2021 64 karma

    @yoder @canihazJD that feel when yoder walks in here and rains on my parade, lol.

  • cmoren21cmoren21 Member
    217 karma

    I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the PowerScore Podcast to come out. ugh.

  • emmorensemmorens Core Member
    1470 karma

    @cmoren21 me too, I have no idea what to do with myself today

  • Quasar180Quasar180 Member
    64 karma

    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    I am entirely ok with someone saying a section was difficult. But when people get into the specifics of say, passage 1 is very hard, 2 is easy, 3 is easy, and 4 is very hard, it gives an absolutely massive advantage in avoiding time sinks, if not anything else. Advantages that people who take the exam earlier miss. Hell, even just saying "X passage/ game was really difficult" opens the door for me to easily strategize.

    It is mind boggling how few unique sections this LSAT seems to have. As far as I can tell, there really aren't that many section options. In fact, it seems to come down to 1 of 2 sections for LG/RC/LR (might be wrong). People are still getting the same sections I got back on Saturday!

    This is a problem. I am curious if the LSAC will notice scores creeping up as the week goes on.

  • 39 karma

    Pretty cookie cutter LSAT. It would've been a great test for me HAD I NOT BEEN INTURRUPTED OVER ONE DOZEN TIMES BY PROCTOR U!!! I tested my connection the night before and everything was good to go. Come test day I spend over an hour at my house attempting to connect. I tried my laptop and my girl friends to no avail. They said it was my connection, so I went to my legal office to commence the test there. I got through my first section (LR) unscathed. However, my second section (LG) was a shit show. I was interrupted by Proctor U stating the video went down. They barely ever paused the test so I lost valuable time. Also the constant distractions f*cked up my LG mojo. It was terrible. It was my first LSAT too. I was so scared that my test had been lost. They had trouble reconnecting me to the test. I think it took over an hour just to conduct my 2nd section. I pushed thru and finally got to RC. I was interrupted again during my first passage, and again during my last, and perhaps somewhere in the middle too. It was a nightmare. However, I am actually impressed with how well I was able to concentrate despite all these setbacks. What enrages me most is that it was a cookie cutter LSAT. Reminded me the 50's and 60's tests with some 80's type LR here and there. I sent an email to LSAC with demands that I see my score with the option of a retake free of charge. Anyone else have these issues? Proctor U claimed it was my connection at fault; however, I took the test at the law office where I work. So the internet connection is rock solid. Anyway. Here I am.

  • forthewinwinforthewinwin Member
    117 karma

    @CJtryinghisbest said:
    I was interrupted by Proctor U stating the video went down. They barely ever paused the test so I lost valuable time. Also the constant distractions f*cked up my LG mojo. It was terrible. It was my first LSAT too. I was so scared that my test had been lost. They had trouble reconnecting me to the test. I think it took over an hour just to conduct my 2nd section. I pushed thru and finally got to RC. I was interrupted again during my first passage, and again during my last, and perhaps somewhere in the middle too. It was a nightmare.

    Yeah I had similar issues, but during RC. So I was disconnected after I read a passage. By the time I was re-connected, I had to re-read it. Sigh

  • forthewinwinforthewinwin Member
    edited January 2021 117 karma

    @Quasar180 said:
    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    Most of the information isn't going to help one achieve a better score, though. For example, someone mentions a question about newspapers in LG. But it can be anything from ordering newspapers, whether certain newspapers are included or not, certain people writing in newspaper in a certain order, newspapers being shredded in no particular order, the order of articles within a newspaper, etc. (None of these which were actually on the LSAT). The "Newspaper" subject can theoretically produce any variant of LG problem we know of. On a similar vein, you can replace the subject of Newspapers with fruits and produce a structurally similar problem.

  • 39 karma

    @gcoughlan said:
    Just finished. LR-LG-RC

    LR felt suspiciously ok as I was making very good time. As always, hard to say if this was a good thing or not. I didnt have enough time to double check all answers but I got through about half of my flagged ones. The only Q I really remember is one about "low sodium" tomato soup.

    LG is a write off. My brain stopped working entirely. I remember one about 18th, 19th, and 20th century paintings and sculpture, archaeologists and studying items, and one more about buildings on upper or lower levels. I got through game 1, then half way through the rest I became so concerned that I was spending too much time on one thing that I kept jumping around which was probably very dumb. Guessed on about 8 questions so thats great. Idk, I was too anxious to properly lay out boards and make inferences so that's a kiss of death for sure.

    RC felt fine. Kafka, corporate evasion, big bang theory, and diplomacy. That section overall felt moderate to easy and I actually finished with enough time to spare to double check a couple answers.

    Overall I don't really know what to expect. Fumbled games worse than usual but the rest seemed alright. Highest PT was 159, not sure if I did enough to hit that. Pray for me.

    I am in the same exact boat as you. We got the same test. I got interrupted without mercy during LG. I could not get in the LG zone bc of all the distractions. However I am praying for a 159 low 160s. Good luck!

  • cmoren21cmoren21 Member
    edited January 2021 217 karma

    -

  • @forthewinwin said:

    @Quasar180 said:
    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    Most of the information isn't going to help one achieve a better score, though. For example, someone mentions a question about newspapers in LG. But it can be anything from ordering newspapers, whether certain newspapers are included or not, certain people writing in newspaper in a certain order, newspapers being shredded in no particular order, the order of articles within a newspaper, etc. (None of these which were actually on the LSAT). The "Newspaper" subject can theoretically produce any variant of LG problem we know of. On a similar vein, you can replace the subject of Newspapers with fruits and produce a structurally similar problem.

    This is obviously not true. I wrote on Sat and have seen very helpful RC commentary that I would agree with and would give me an advantage going in. Also just knowing that the "4th newspaper game is unconventional" is at the very least a strategy & mindset advantage.

  • TheMommaBearTheMommaBear Member
    348 karma

    As someone who wrote on Tuesday I would have to agree that it could be a benefit for someone, especially if the harder game had come earlier because they would know to skip. Unfortunately it was of no help to me because my brain farted and I didn't even get to read the scenario before I ran out of time.

    But on the flip side, knowing there's a particularly difficult game is also counterproductive because it increases anxiety and decreases confidence going into it. So maybe it equals out?

  • TheMommaBearTheMommaBear Member
    348 karma

    Next time I take the LSAT I plan to schedule it for the first day so I can sit back and read all the comments without overanalyzing them against my potential performance. I think getting it out of the way would have been better than having an extra 4 days to overhype. It wouldn't have impacted how I shit the bed this time, but I went into it having only done a single diagnostic and no extra tests.

  • This_is_HardThis_is_Hard Alum Member
    815 karma

    @Quasar180 said:
    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    I am entirely ok with someone saying a section was difficult. But when people get into the specifics of say, passage 1 is very hard, 2 is easy, 3 is easy, and 4 is very hard, it gives an absolutely massive advantage in avoiding time sinks, if not anything else. Advantages that people who take the exam earlier miss. Hell, even just saying "X passage/ game was really difficult" opens the door for me to easily strategize.

    It is mind boggling how few unique sections this LSAT seems to have. As far as I can tell, there really aren't that many section options. In fact, it seems to come down to 1 of 2 sections for LG/RC/LR (might be wrong). People are still getting the same sections I got back on Saturday!

    This is a problem. I am curious if the LSAC will notice scores creeping up as the week goes on.

    There's definitely an advantage to taking the test later and getting information you would not have otherwise. It seems from what I read, there are 2 versions of the exam. So 4 different LG themes, 4 different RC themes, and 2 different LG sections. Just knowing which theme you got can kind of mentally prepare you, like you said to avoid a time sink and/or what ever other strategy you can use to prepare yourself.

    Whether this gives someone a significant score boost, I don't think it would.

    On the other hand, I think what is more worrisome is since its so prevalent of people discussing the exam.

    What are people discussing behind closed doors?

    I think people can sell/give in depth information on a particular topic/game/question. For instance, someone could say this game was grouping with these specific rules. In that case, people would have a huge advantage and it would totally be unfair.

    I guess that's the problem with these LSAT Flex, LSAC likely knows this is happening and will see if the problem is negligible or a big issue. If its a big enough issue, they will have to make more tests and/or switch back to live testing.

    But even with live testing there are issues. All testers don't test on the same day due to accomdations/religious holiday/international, so same problems of people selling and giving in depth information. Its just a matter of how prevlalent cheating is and how much of an impact it has on live vs flex formats.

  • yaffa.syaffa.s Free Trial Member
    3 karma

    @canihazJD said:
    LR - Orwell, humidity/salt in a glass case, tires stored for 2 years, sodium in soup, maple tree leaves decomposing/tannins, summer/lights on event/cleaning, psychotherapists/confidentiality
    LG - ?, campus buildings, art lectures, archeologists/artifacts (what was the first game?)
    RC - Evasion, Kafka/Kafka, Big Bang, Diplomacy

    Overall seemed on the harder side. 176 over the past 4 tests, 174 average past 10. I'll be ecstatic with a 170+. Hard to gauge... I thought I killed November and got a 169.

    Did you not think the November test was harder? Although, I had different sections for both the LG and LR, but I did have RC as above.

  • gcoughlan-1gcoughlan-1 Member
    71 karma

    @wheresthegabagool said:

    @forthewinwin said:

    @Quasar180 said:
    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    Most of the information isn't going to help one achieve a better score, though. For example, someone mentions a question about newspapers in LG. But it can be anything from ordering newspapers, whether certain newspapers are included or not, certain people writing in newspaper in a certain order, newspapers being shredded in no particular order, the order of articles within a newspaper, etc. (None of these which were actually on the LSAT). The "Newspaper" subject can theoretically produce any variant of LG problem we know of. On a similar vein, you can replace the subject of Newspapers with fruits and produce a structurally similar problem.

    This is obviously not true. I wrote on Sat and have seen very helpful RC commentary that I would agree with and would give me an advantage going in. Also just knowing that the "4th newspaper game is unconventional" is at the very least a strategy & mindset advantage.

    eh, honestly I disagree. Seems like lots of different versions of this test are floating around. I saw comments about the RC section I ended up getting the days leading up to my exam and if anything, it made me unnecessarily nervous when I realized what was in front of me. Lots of people said "passage x was dense and hard" but to me, it wasn't. Difficulty is subjective and people ultimately don't know what sections they are going to get. Me knowing that a logic game question about newspapers is "hard" isn't going to help me much when I probably won't even get that section, or if someone else's version of difficult is different than mine. It takes about 15 seconds of reading game rules to realize whether a game is unconventional or not. If anything, I think the surplus of info floating around is anxiety inducing for later test takers. I really don't think LSAC can do much better in protecting their precious Qs when we are all writing at home over the course of several days. They can't put a gag order on the internet.

  • tsunchauertsunchauer Core Member
    19 karma

    I've only done PTs in 7Sage and in print, can anyone tell me if it's normal to have sections close out with 10 or more seconds left on the timer? This was my experience during the flex.

  • 117 karma

    I think the main section to worry about in regards to cheating or advantages to be gained later in the week is LG. It would be very easy to just tape up your scratch paper and review your work afterwards. It’s not like they’re making you put the sheets through a paper shredder. Not to mention it is not difficult to recall game boards and at least a few of the rules, especially if it was your last section.

  • mmlegal1mmlegal1 Member
    22 karma

    You guys act like LSAC doesn't know about people potentially telling others about the content. If this was an issue for them they would of never administered in different days. The order in which you will get Qs is going to be different. I doubt that anyone, including myself, where I took the exam on Tuesday and knew about a potential 17-18 newspaper game, will have a difference in curve and results. I was surprised by the game just as much as anyone.

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage
    8313 karma

    @"yaffa.s" said:

    @canihazJD said:
    LR - Orwell, humidity/salt in a glass case, tires stored for 2 years, sodium in soup, maple tree leaves decomposing/tannins, summer/lights on event/cleaning, psychotherapists/confidentiality
    LG - ?, campus buildings, art lectures, archeologists/artifacts (what was the first game?)
    RC - Evasion, Kafka/Kafka, Big Bang, Diplomacy

    Overall seemed on the harder side. 176 over the past 4 tests, 174 average past 10. I'll be ecstatic with a 170+. Hard to gauge... I thought I killed November and got a 169.

    Did you not think the November test was harder? Although, I had different sections for both the LG and LR, but I did have RC as above.

    I thought November felt much easier. But I also scored way lower than I felt I did, so take from that what you will.

  • @gcoughlan said:

    @wheresthegabagool said:

    @forthewinwin said:

    @Quasar180 said:
    I am going to be a bit of a Karen, spurred by posts I've seen across the internet.

    Is anyone else rather concerned at the level of leaked information out there regarding these exams? This forum, reddit, elsewhere, are all getting into which passages are the most difficult, which games are the most difficult, and so on. Indeed, I've seen several posts now of people happy they took the exam later since they knew what to expect.

    Most of the information isn't going to help one achieve a better score, though. For example, someone mentions a question about newspapers in LG. But it can be anything from ordering newspapers, whether certain newspapers are included or not, certain people writing in newspaper in a certain order, newspapers being shredded in no particular order, the order of articles within a newspaper, etc. (None of these which were actually on the LSAT). The "Newspaper" subject can theoretically produce any variant of LG problem we know of. On a similar vein, you can replace the subject of Newspapers with fruits and produce a structurally similar problem.

    This is obviously not true. I wrote on Sat and have seen very helpful RC commentary that I would agree with and would give me an advantage going in. Also just knowing that the "4th newspaper game is unconventional" is at the very least a strategy & mindset advantage.

    eh, honestly I disagree. Seems like lots of different versions of this test are floating around. I saw comments about the RC section I ended up getting the days leading up to my exam and if anything, it made me unnecessarily nervous when I realized what was in front of me. Lots of people said "passage x was dense and hard" but to me, it wasn't. Difficulty is subjective and people ultimately don't know what sections they are going to get. Me knowing that a logic game question about newspapers is "hard" isn't going to help me much when I probably won't even get that section, or if someone else's version of difficult is different than mine. It takes about 15 seconds of reading game rules to realize whether a game is unconventional or not. If anything, I think the surplus of info floating around is anxiety inducing for later test takers. I really don't think LSAC can do much better in protecting their precious Qs when we are all writing at home over the course of several days. They can't put a gag order on the internet.

    I’m not saying “RC was hard!” would help me. I’m saying “game 2 grouping wasn’t bad, but game 4 was a new set up and I only had 8 minutes left so I had to guess 3 Qs” is not useless information.

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