Thanks!
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21 Jan 2004, 01:12
Thanks for your encouraging words. Unfortunately, I have an awful GPA. But I worked really hard on my app. Being Asian doesn't help, but being a woman might. If anyone needs help with your essays, please feel free to contact me. I worked with a counselor and his advice was really insightful. I approached my essays much differently than my friends did. For example, for my leadership essay I didn't focus on project work (I'm a project manager), I focused on my personal achievements, which sets my essays apart from the million career-focused essays that he read when he worked for adcomm. Unless your background is perfect, take the time to see if there is a more creative way to apporach the essays.
Now, that I have had a few minutes to calm down.. here are my thoughts on my test.
The only thing that I worked on was timing. For the first test, I was really stressed and I completed the Verbal section with 10 minutes left. In the days before my practice test, I forced myself to use the entire 75 minutes. It's hard to have a set schedule (timing targets), because timing really depends on where you get the RC passages. Try to get a flow and you will be set. PR is too easy compared to the actual test, specially for Verbal. (I score 680-700) If you are planning to score above a 600, I recommend using Kaplan. It's tough, the passages are long, and it will force you decide when a question is too hard and to move on. LSAT helped me significantly in CR and RC. Remember, I only had four days to prepare so I strongly believe that a focused run through of LSAT will improve your score if you were in the low range like me. If you use the PR, try to use the online tests not the CD. I believe the online tests are a bit more challenging than the CD.
Quant-In the actual test, you will be dedicating some time to checking your answers. Remember to do the same when you are taking the practice test. I had to rush through the last few questions. The questions try to mess with your head. I scored a 46, but at question #20, I got basically what's 2+2 question type. Don't freak out. I believe that the questions in the middle are much easier than the beginning. Know how to calculate the standard deviation, know your geometry triangle angles, and know how to calculate standard probability and combinations.
Test Day: If you bring a sweater make sure that it is a zip up jacket. If it's a sweatshirt, you won't be able to take it off during the test until the break. The breaks are flexible, I took over 10 minute breaks after the test. Yes, you do have time to do a braindump and prepare your scratch paper. The second time I took at night 4:45, and the center was much more quiet than an afternoon time. Bring some earplugs. Even though they provide you headphones, it gets uncomfortable after an hour. Before you take the test, get situated. I placed my keyboard on top of my monitor, and that gave me space to work on my scratch paper for math.
Good luck... if you have any questions for the test, please let me know. I'll be online for a few more days before going to my next app!