How long did it take to master the fundamentals?

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• 3 Likes

  GSU Hopeful Core ⭐

  January 2016 1644 karma

  I think the answer to your question will lie in the variations between each person. Of course those who devote 40 hours a week to the curriculum will cover it faster than the person who only has 5 hours a week to spare. There is a huge difference between learning the curriculum and mastering it. Mastering will take a lot longer than simply getting accustomed to the concepts through the curriculum. Mastery comes with experience and lots of "perfect" practice. I'm going to shy away from advising a time table because there are so many unknowns. I will say this: take as long as you need in the curriculum. Practice the core concepts and repeat them ad nauseum. Don't rush to the PTs. There are plenty of them and they will be there when you are ready. The mistake that tends to lead to the most regret is burning through PTs before your're ready for them. Retakes are beneficial in their own right, but you only get so many fresh takes. So cherish them and don't knock the dust off until you have a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Best of luck to you.
• GSU Hopeful Core ⭐

  January 2016 1644 karma

  @noobie1 Consider this advice as you progress through the curriculum.
  
  http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2584/why-knowledge-is-not-enough
• 1 Like

  nye8870 Alum ⭐

  January 2016 1749 karma

  @"GSU Hopeful" always gives such sound and generous advice. You are good peeps!
• 1 Like

  sarahfatima28 Alum Member

  January 2016 320 karma

  @"GSU Hopeful" Great advice.
• GSU Hopeful Core ⭐

  January 2016 1644 karma

  Ya'll are too kind.
• 3 Likes

  allison.gill.sanford Alum Inactive Sage

  January 2016 1128 karma

  @noobie1 I remember feeling like I was taking far too long on the core curriculum. I pushed back my PT start date 2 times. For reference, at 40-50hrs/wk, the fundamentals took me about three months to master. That is including the time to memorize all the suggested memory stuff (conditional translations, common valid and invalid argument forms, etc.). I also drilled a lot of the LGs with the foolproof method during that time; didn't quite make it through the whole pack, but probably 2/3 of it.
  IMO it is time well spent. By the time I got to PTs, it was about applying the methods I had learned quickly, rather than spinning my wheels trying to remember things. I still struggled with LG initially and went back to drill those a few times.
  Hope that helps!
• noobie1 Member

  January 2016 266 karma

  Thanks very helpful information!
• 1 Like

  allan.kogan Member

  January 2016 64 karma

  I have a question! I am unfortunately 2 weeks behind on my cirriculum because I got really sick and it slowed me down. But thankfully i have 5 months still left. I made a schedule for myself which still gives me roughly 4 months to take PTs but I will only get up to PT 67 instead of 72 which is what the cirriculum says to accomplish. I plan on staying on track from here on out so I was wondering if I can maybe add 3PTs a week the last few weeks instead of (2 a week for PT taking for 4 months which is what the cirriculum advises). Will taking an extra one especially like the last 3 weeks be bad? If so, then will only getting to PT 67 be detrimental to my overall score?
  
  I also wanted to ask as material piles up each week and you have to keep up with lecture it freaks me out that theres not enough time to review stuff we have learned the previous weeks. Is that something we should be doing? Or will the start PTs help with beginning to practice the material as a whole together? I am assuming that is the case and that is why I was advised to take practice exams for 4 months I am assuming to be able to get better each week and constantly reviewing every question type and so on.
  
  Lastly timing! I have definitely improved with accuracy untimed, but when I do the problem sets of 5 for LR especially for the difficult sets my accuracy sucks, will that come with practicing from PTs? Is it okay to start PTs in a month which is what my cirriculum says even though I have not really mastered timing. @"GSU Hopeful"
• allan.kogan Member

  January 2016 64 karma

  How do you know when you are ready for PTs I mean dont you have to test the water at some point? I mean if you are looking for mastery you can spend years doing this, should I just start the PTs when I am done with the cirriculum? I mean If I am blind reviewing each exam properly I should be able to catch up to something eventually right, especially with 30+ PTs ?
• 1 Like

  lsatings Alum Member

  January 2016 349 karma

  @"GSU Hopeful" said:
  Of course those who devote 40 hours a week to the curriculum will cover it faster than the person who only has 5 hours a week to spare. There is a huge difference between learning the curriculum and mastering it.
  

  definitely this is the most important approach to thinking about this question.
  
  I would also add that even if you have to do things repetitively to understand them, that it's okay. Everyone has a different learning process and one doesn't make you dumber than the other. You should, however, focus on learning actively rather than passively -- I find that makes a difference in speed and comprehension/memory. Some days I would try to work through material after working 12 hours and would be so tired I wouldn't even comprehend what I was studying. That's passive learning, and you want to make sure you give yourself an opportunity to be awake and engaged in what you're doing (active learning). So if speed and repetition are what currently worry you, then don't stress it and just keep making changes in your studying so that you are getting the most out of it.
• GSU Hopeful Core ⭐

  January 2016 1644 karma

  @allan.kogan said:
  I was wondering if I can maybe add 3PTs a week the last few weeks
  

  As long as you can avoid burnout and effectively BR, then I would say three is fine but represents the max. Its all on you to decide what is too much. If you have PDFs or access to a copier, I would consider taking 5 section tests and let the fifth section be a section from a fresh take. This way, you are essentially taking a fifth test for every four you take. BR it the same as the others and when all four sections are taken and count up the score. This would catch you up instead of forcing yourself to do three.

  @allan.kogan said:
  If so, then will only getting to PT 67 be detrimental to my overall score?
  

  If you simply cannot get caught back up, I would definitely consider subbing in the later tests for some of the previous tests. You want to have a fresh look at those newer tests...maybe even more than one look if you can squeeze that in.

  @allan.kogan said:
  Is that something we should be doing?
  

  Yes. Continuously looking back over the fundamentals and core concepts leads to mastery of the material. By mastering these crucial concepts and core fundamentals, you put yourself in a much better position to attack these tests. You want to browse over these concepts in addition to BRing and learning from the practice tests.
  
  Lastly, I'm a firm believer that timing will come with experience and a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Timing won't matter when your accuracy is shit. I don't care how early you finish a section when you go 15/25. That's pointless. Go at a pace that you can get your accuracy to a comfortable level. Then start speeding it up. Never sacrifice accuracy for speed. It should be the other way around. People don't score high by finishing as fast as possible. They score high by getting questions correct. As the military saying goes, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. The timing will come.

  @allan.kogan said:
  How do you know when you are ready for PTs
  

  When you reach the end of the curriculum and have seen everything, start hitting them. Of course you have to test the waters first. But, don't forget the fundamentals either. The caution that goes into not PTing before you're ready originates from the damage you can do to yourself by burning through PT after PT without really knowing what you're doing.
  
  The study schedule is a guideline. Its flexible. JY put it there to be a guide for you. If something comes up and you get behind... shit happens. Do your best to catch back up without sacrificing the material. If you make it into some legalistic "OMG I'm behind" kind of a thing, you'll burn out and get to a state of capitulation from the pressure of "having to catch up". Use it as a guideline and use it to your advantage. Best of luck to you. We're here to help.
• allan.kogan Member

  January 2016 64 karma

  Thank you so much! @"GSU Hopeful" I guess my last question is why do we have to do the LR practice sets, reading comp practice sets, and game practice under timed conditions 1st? Is that because immediately after we have to blind review anyway which means doing these problems untimed and see where you went wrong timed, and then check the answers? Because it says to do the practice problems timed before the blind review which can get kind of discouraging, but I guess doing them untimed right after in the blind review gives us a second chance to have a crack at the question and see if its possible to answer correctly without looking at the answers first, and be able to explain why each answer is incorrect/correct.
• 1 Like

  GSU Hopeful Core ⭐

  January 2016 1644 karma

  @allan.kogan said:
  why do we have to do the LR practice sets, reading comp practice sets, and game practice under timed conditions 1st?
  

  You always want to do problems timed. This will get you acclimated to the time constraints of the test. Might as well get used to it now so you're not slapped in the face with it when it starts. While doing these problems, you want to circle the problems that you cannot eliminate the four incorrect answer choices with 100% confidence and confirm the correct answer choice with 100% confidence. These are the problems that you will be BRing. Spend as much time as it takes to grasp the reasoning and articulate to yourself why the wrong answers are wrong and correct answers are correct. BR is where the most learning will take place IMHO.
  
  Also, you don't want to complete every problem set during the curriculum run. Do the minimum that gets you acclimated to question types and then move forward. When you start PTing, you want fresh drill material to go back to in order to shore up the weaknesses that will pop up during this phase.