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My learning experience - The LSAT
Hey everyone,
So, I decided that I would write a little (turned out to be long) guide on my LSAT experience. I am doing this for two reasons. First, I am not some genius nor do I even think I did that well, so I think the average person will be able to take at least something away from my experience. Second, 7sage and it's community has been there for me throughout my studies and I believe that giving back and never forgetting where you came from is an important rule to live by. So, that being said, here is what I learned from my LSAT and things that may help you for when you take it.
1) There were two things I certainly didn't want, RC upfront and experimental RC. That is because RC is my worst section, I hate it. Well guess what, that is EXACTLY what I got. I always added LG/LR as a section 5 part PT's and I will always do my added section first. Thus, I don't think I EVER did RC as my first section.
Lesson #1: If you are thinking that there is something you DON'T want, it's best to prepare for it.
2) My experience for LG can be found in this post:
http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/1427/i-just-had-my-worst-pt-which-is-the-actual-lsat-t_t
Lesson #2: Mastery for LG goes beyond getting a perfect score. Once you begin to improve in LG to a point where you can get perfect, it's time to move on and begin working on getting perfect WHILE moving faster. Easier games MUST be done faster in order to have adequate time for the harder/time sucking games.
3) This lesson goes mostly to LR but is applicable to RC as well. I was pretty decent at LR going in, I would average anywhere between -4/-6, with a few cases of -7/-8 on harder LR sections. I definitely wish I would have done more TIMED sections of LR. Being able to finish in 35 minutes was always a stretch for me, as well as I always had difficulty skipping questions. It wasn't until the end of studies where I started making a conscious effort to skip questions. So for LR I gained 3 lessons.
Lesson #3: If you really want to feel good about yourself and get a decent score. You need to get comfortable finishing LR in ~33 minutes (more on this later).
I found that while I was writing the test for LR, I didn't have a clue what was going on. My mind was racing so I was focusing on controlling that, I was keeping track of time, making a conscious effort not to get bogged down, focusing on just keep moving, convincing myself not to worry about that last question I just did. Point is, you have a lot on your mind. So, the lesson from this is to get to a point in LR where your like Nike and "just do it". I say this because if the process in LR is not to the point where it's automatic you are likely going to want to blow your brains out from anxiety. I am not saying this to scare you, nor am I saying this to sound like some guru. Words can't describe the feeling, I am just telling you from my takeaway I actually have NO IDEA how well it went (could've bombed it for all I know). It was a weird feeling and all I know is that if my process was similar to what it was while I was practicing then I should be okay.
Lesson #4: Get the point in LR where you "just do it", like the whole section is something your capable of doing in your sleep. You have a lot more on your mind to manage so it becomes fogged up, so you need to place yourself in autopilot.
One thing I noticed on practice test is I didn't want to take risks. I cared so much about my scores and how well I was doing, that I overlooked the amazing experience that can be gained from taking risks. Practice failure it's only a PT. What do I mean by this? I mean see which questions you should skip and develop a strategy on where the best area is to fail. By this I mean which question types are best for you to skip and around what question #. For me, I remember during a couple PT's I straight up skipped some questions and when I went back for BR I was like "damn, I wish I wouldn't have skipped that one, I could've easily gotten it". But there were some cases where I skipped and when I BR'd I was like THANK GOD I didn't waste my time on that one.
Lesson #5: Just keep moving, don't hesitate, don't contemplate. Do the questions, eliminate the wrong answers, choose the right. Be strategic and PRACTICE figuring out which questions are best to skip.
So that's it for me. The rest of my learning experience is no different from everything you've already heard. Do PT's, add a section, do a couple at the time of the test. USE THE PROCTOR app. Anyways, good luck to everyone, I hope that at least one person can take at least something away from this.
So, I decided that I would write a little (turned out to be long) guide on my LSAT experience. I am doing this for two reasons. First, I am not some genius nor do I even think I did that well, so I think the average person will be able to take at least something away from my experience. Second, 7sage and it's community has been there for me throughout my studies and I believe that giving back and never forgetting where you came from is an important rule to live by. So, that being said, here is what I learned from my LSAT and things that may help you for when you take it.
1) There were two things I certainly didn't want, RC upfront and experimental RC. That is because RC is my worst section, I hate it. Well guess what, that is EXACTLY what I got. I always added LG/LR as a section 5 part PT's and I will always do my added section first. Thus, I don't think I EVER did RC as my first section.
Lesson #1: If you are thinking that there is something you DON'T want, it's best to prepare for it.
2) My experience for LG can be found in this post:
http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/1427/i-just-had-my-worst-pt-which-is-the-actual-lsat-t_t
Lesson #2: Mastery for LG goes beyond getting a perfect score. Once you begin to improve in LG to a point where you can get perfect, it's time to move on and begin working on getting perfect WHILE moving faster. Easier games MUST be done faster in order to have adequate time for the harder/time sucking games.
3) This lesson goes mostly to LR but is applicable to RC as well. I was pretty decent at LR going in, I would average anywhere between -4/-6, with a few cases of -7/-8 on harder LR sections. I definitely wish I would have done more TIMED sections of LR. Being able to finish in 35 minutes was always a stretch for me, as well as I always had difficulty skipping questions. It wasn't until the end of studies where I started making a conscious effort to skip questions. So for LR I gained 3 lessons.
Lesson #3: If you really want to feel good about yourself and get a decent score. You need to get comfortable finishing LR in ~33 minutes (more on this later).
I found that while I was writing the test for LR, I didn't have a clue what was going on. My mind was racing so I was focusing on controlling that, I was keeping track of time, making a conscious effort not to get bogged down, focusing on just keep moving, convincing myself not to worry about that last question I just did. Point is, you have a lot on your mind. So, the lesson from this is to get to a point in LR where your like Nike and "just do it". I say this because if the process in LR is not to the point where it's automatic you are likely going to want to blow your brains out from anxiety. I am not saying this to scare you, nor am I saying this to sound like some guru. Words can't describe the feeling, I am just telling you from my takeaway I actually have NO IDEA how well it went (could've bombed it for all I know). It was a weird feeling and all I know is that if my process was similar to what it was while I was practicing then I should be okay.
Lesson #4: Get the point in LR where you "just do it", like the whole section is something your capable of doing in your sleep. You have a lot more on your mind to manage so it becomes fogged up, so you need to place yourself in autopilot.
One thing I noticed on practice test is I didn't want to take risks. I cared so much about my scores and how well I was doing, that I overlooked the amazing experience that can be gained from taking risks. Practice failure it's only a PT. What do I mean by this? I mean see which questions you should skip and develop a strategy on where the best area is to fail. By this I mean which question types are best for you to skip and around what question #. For me, I remember during a couple PT's I straight up skipped some questions and when I went back for BR I was like "damn, I wish I wouldn't have skipped that one, I could've easily gotten it". But there were some cases where I skipped and when I BR'd I was like THANK GOD I didn't waste my time on that one.
Lesson #5: Just keep moving, don't hesitate, don't contemplate. Do the questions, eliminate the wrong answers, choose the right. Be strategic and PRACTICE figuring out which questions are best to skip.
So that's it for me. The rest of my learning experience is no different from everything you've already heard. Do PT's, add a section, do a couple at the time of the test. USE THE PROCTOR app. Anyways, good luck to everyone, I hope that at least one person can take at least something away from this.
Comments
I got through RC feeling ok then hit LR, which I usually do well on, and left that section thinking WTF just happened. Only time will tell.
Great write up.
I was panicking and everything which defs didnt help me. I was so worried about this test and was kind of shocked when it was over. Like that was it? All that tripping all that stress? For that! It literally felt just like another PT with a little more pressure and a room full of people. I had done about 4-5 full PT's (with added section) with proctor simulated at 830-9am for the "real" experience, and can say that it was about as close as it gets. The only difference was psychological and even that wasn't as bad. Don't get me wrong I am not saying it was "just another PT". It was HARD and definitely a little rough on the mind, but I can't say there wasn't anything from left field or something to complain about. I just need to improve my execution if I rewrite cause the fundamentals are there.
If I rewrite I definitely know where to improve too, with that being execution as well. And most strongly supported questions, they seemed to make my head hurt yesterday haha
I totally agree. After the first LR I was like WTF. I may have just bombed that or went like -1. Lol. My stats are about the same. Really hope luck is on our side and the curve is generous!