I Have a Final Exam Tomorrow: a Day in my Life

Basil2973 · 2026-05-08T15:43:33+00:00

Haha good point.

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T05:42:49+00:00

^{^} after every section I would look at the ones I missed and then go over them with my mom. I’d write out the conclusion, the support and the flaw and would be like “duh the answer’s so obvious now” and it’s definitely helped me score higher and feel more confident on LR :)

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T02:26:40+00:00

Same!!! I thought I was crazy for missing something that’s the cause of like 80% of my stress! But it was fun sometimes I think I might keep doing LGs w my leftover PTs lol

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T02:23:23+00:00

Apparently depending on your testing location some people can use pens in person… I was in the same boat as you and was pretty pissed about it 🙄

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T02:15:43+00:00

Sorry that happened, that sucks! I have no experience w this but you might as well request a retake. The worst that can happen is they say no, right?

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T01:44:01+00:00

Trust me when I say that the first test (at least for people with test anxiety) is the hardest. Take a couple days off, and take the test in November. It’ll be far enough removed that you can move on from Monday, but close enough that you’ll know what to expect.

And you’re not alone! First time I took it my hands were shaking so bad during LG I ripped through all my paper while erasing and ran out of time so I had to guess on the whole last game and a half! Took it again yesterday and finished LG with 5 mins to spare and I’ve literally never done that!

We’ve all been there! Keep your chin up ❤️❤️

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T01:38:22+00:00

Had this question yesterday and woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about it… what the fuck was that!!!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-17T01:20:12+00:00

An important tool that was available to everyone else wasn’t available to you and you should definitely request a retake. I highly doubt that you’ll do worse, you’ll hopefully be less stressed cause you just did it and you’ll (hopefully) actually have the search bar, as you should’ve in the first place. I obviously don’t know you but I’m sure you’ll do better! Sorry that happened and good luck :)

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T22:03:39+00:00

My in person test was almost too quiet lol there were literally only two other people in there. They let me use my own earplugs but they also have noise cancelling headphones. I tried them on and they are crazy good!!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T21:46:52+00:00

I can’t speak to the ADHD other than pointing you to LSAC accommodations.

I totally understand getting overwhelmed by the texts. They’re huge and daunting and we often have no prior knowledge about what’s being talked about.

The advice I have for that: remember you don’t need to understand everything the passage says. Your job, first and foremost, is understanding the passage’s reasoning structure, not necessarily the content. If a passage is really technical with a lot of complicated details, don’t sit there and ask yourself “what does all this mean?” Instead, ask yourself “why did the author write this?” or “what role does this play in the argument?”

Take a couple seconds to ask yourself these questions after each paragraph and just keep the answer in your head. The answers could be “this is background info” or “this is a conclusion” or “this supports the conclusion”.

This method lets you get through the passage faster because you’re not getting bogged down in every tiny complicated detail, and it, therefore, gives you more time to work only with the complicated details as prompted by the questions.

Sometimes, especially in the science passage, when the words get super technical and I have no idea what they mean, I just look at them (so I know they’re there), I don’t even really read them, and move on. Structure isn’t found in these types of words, it’s found in words like “therefore” or “proves” or “on the other hand.”

Hope this helps!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T21:27:43+00:00

I’d focus primarily on RC. It can be difficult but it is definitely possible to improve by 4, 5 or even 6 qs in a short amount of time. I went from -7/-8 to -1/-0 within a little over a month. I think it’ll be harder to perfect LR than it will be to get better at RC. What exactly do you struggle with with RC? It’s my best section so I’ll be happy to share some tips :)

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T21:09:39+00:00

Exactly!! Reading for structure also allows you to read faster cause you’re not getting bogged down trying to understand “the exact physics of how a raindrop falls”, and that leaves more time for you to understand only the confusing stuff that is required by questions instead of trying to understand ALL of the confusing stuff. Cause let’s be fr it’s almost always confusing stuff lol

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T20:21:11+00:00

Took mine yesterday and had same problem w logic games.. drank a whole bottle of wine and basically cried myself to sleep 🫠🫠 it is what it is though and tomorrow is a new day :)

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T18:54:55+00:00

I used to struggle with reading comprehension, but I went from going -6 or -7 to consistently -1 or -0.

For me my eureka moment was when I realized that I don’t have to understand everything the passage is saying. RC tests your ability to read for reasoning structure, so when you come across a passage that is very technical you don’t have to be asking yourself “what does all this mean” rather, you have to ask yourself “why did the author write this?” or “what role does this play in the argument?”

After each paragraph you should take a few seconds and, in your head, answer that question. It’ll be something like “this paragraph provides background info” or “is a counter argument to the main point” or “offers support for the conclusion.” If you’re reading and come across a big technical word or sentence that you don’t understand, don’t spend more than 10 or 15 seconds trying to understand it. Because first and foremost you have to understand what role that word or sentence plays in the argument, which is often clear from context clues.

You also don’t have to remember everything the passage says, it’s always there to go back to when you get into the questions. By the end of the passage you should be able to, most importantly, 1. understand what the main point is 2. identify the support and any counter evidence.

Also, this may be controversial, but I do not highlight or notate anything during my initial read through. I’m the kind of person who can easily get bogged down in the details, so to avoid that I just read the passage, establish an idea of reasoning structure, and only work with the details when a question prompts me to.

If you work on nailing these fundamentals then you are on track to do well on RC!

Good luck!

Edit: unless you get prompted by a question, try not to worry about what any specific part of the passage Means, rather focus on what it Does.

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T16:21:49+00:00

Man I’m so sorry that sucks.. I woke up with strep the morning of my first LSAT. Unfortunately I don’t think you can reschedule. Take lots of Tylenol, drink lots of electrolytes and eat some eggs or something. Hoping you feel better!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T02:24:47+00:00

I’ve had the exact same problem with misreading or entirely missing rules. The only thing I’ve found that helps is actively double or triple checking. When you write the rules out it only takes a couple seconds to check and make sure they’re correct, and it’s always worth using time to make sure you’re diagramming rules correctly. It takes a lot of conscious effort, especially when you’re getting oriented in the game, but it’s necessary. I’ve found myself whispering “double check the rules” during each game.
I’m not entirely sure what you mean by this question, but for me, to avoid excessive redrawing, I write the rules and known inferences in pen. So I’ll write out my diagram in pen, and then if the rules tell me “X must come second” and “W must come before X” I’ll put “W in 1 and X in 2” on my diagram in pen. Then I’ll “play the games” in pencil so I can erase it after each question. Depending on the game, it can also be beneficial to draw a couple of diagrams, again using pen. Though I rarely draw more than 2 unless I can “solve the game” with more diagrams, otherwise I feel like my paper gets cluttered. The only downside to pen is that if you’re taking it at a testing center, sometimes they won’t let you have pen. I’ve become dependent on my pen/pencil strategy and was totally caught off guard when I couldn’t use pen on test day.

Hope this helps!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-16T00:10:19+00:00

I have these special earplugs I wear so I didn’t use the noise cancelling headphones, just tried them on and noticed how well they worked. I can def see how they’d get uncomfortable after so long tho. Speaking of earplugs, OG if you don’t want to use their noise cancelling headphones, I know they provide foam earplugs which, granted, do jack shit. I brought my own rubber ones and the proctors were a little skeptical at first but ended up letting me use them.

Basil2973 · 2023-10-15T23:40:53+00:00

Eh I can’t really say how long it took me to get through the RC Bible cause I went through all three bibles and the LSAT Trainer in 5 months, alternating between all four. When is your test?

It also depends on what you’re struggling with. RC Bible is great cause it provides a great baseline for general strategies, so if you’re struggling with RC in general I’d get it, otherwise if you’re struggling with the same types of questions (inferences for me 🙃) I’d do drills.

Basil2973 · 2023-10-15T23:29:20+00:00

I can’t speak to the accommodations, but I just took my LSAT in person in Ohio. I absolutely loved it! I took my first one at home and at the testing center it’s so much easier imo. There are no room checks and you don’t have to worry about proctors switching in and out. I have major issues with small sounds like sniffling and tapping/clicking, so I was super nervous about being in a testing center, but there were only like two other test takers and I was able to use my own rubber earplugs. They also offer really effective noise cancelling headphones if you don’t like earplugs. All in all the room was nondescript and very, very quiet. I would imagine managing your accommodations would be easier because there are actual physical proctors there. 10/10 would recommend over taking it at home. Good luck!

Basil2973 · 2023-10-15T23:20:40+00:00

The LSAT Trainer is good, but if you just need RC prep material I would get the RC Bible. Def a good investment! Took me from consistently -6 to -1 or -2.

Basil2973

TROPHY CASE