LSAT tests...good source of study material for GMAT tests?

[Guest]

Seeing as that it is possible that students will possibly exhaust available GMAT formatted Q's

would it be recommended to use other materials for other standardized tests such as the LSAT?

I noticed that the LSAT had CR type of Q's and Reading Comprehension passages that are at the similar difficulty level as that of the GMAT.

I tried searching to see if this question has been posed before in the forum but I didn't see anything other than Stacy when she recommended that we do not use LSAT material because the two tests, GMAT and LSAT, began to use different creators as of a few years ago...

does this mean we can use older LSAT material since they would be from the same creators of GMAT q's?

What is everyone's thoughts and opinions?

[RonPurewal]

Seeing as that it is possible that students will possibly exhaust available GMAT formatted Q's

would it be recommended to use other materials for other standardized tests such as the LSAT?

I noticed that the LSAT had CR type of Q's and Reading Comprehension passages that are at the similar difficulty level as that of the GMAT.

I tried searching to see if this question has been posed before in the forum but I didn't see anything other than Stacy when she recommended that we do not use LSAT material because the two tests, GMAT and LSAT, began to use different creators as of a few years ago...

does this mean we can use older LSAT material since they would be from the same creators of GMAT q's?

What is everyone's thoughts and opinions?

well, if you train with lsat materials, you'll probably derive some benefit - but certainly not the same benefit you'd derive from gmat-specific materials. (analogy: you can train for a cross-country ski marathon by running, but that won't help as much as actual skiing would.)

here are some pieces of advice if you want to go this route:
* make sure that you EXHAUST all the reputable gmat practice materials FIRST. this means all the o.g. problems, the 2 gmatprep tests, our cat exams, and possibly other major-brand prep materials.
* MEMORIZE THE QUESTION TYPES THAT APPEAR ON THE GMAT CR SECTION.
the big problem with using lsat cr's is that many of the problems are of types that simply don't exist on the gmat. for instance, there are problems asking you to identify the type of logical fallacy in an argument; problems asking you to find equivocal uses of terms; problems asking for the general structure of a cr argument (something the gmat does on RC, but never on CR); and all kinds of 'point, counterpoint' passages depicting debates/arguments between two individuals. NONE of these problem types show up on the gmat.
as a result, you have to develop an eagle eye for the types of problems that DO appear on the gmat, and then you should only bother to work those problems when you see them. if you work the other problems, you will at best waste time and at worst begin to develop the wrong instincts for the gmat.

in any case, that seems like a lot of effort, so here's my best response:
the time you'd spend sifting through lsat questions and eliminating non-gmat-like questions from the pile would be MUCH better spent going over gmat problems you've already done and extracting lessons from them.
most students don't review their work enough; if you're frantically searching for sources of additional questions, you are probably one of that majority. so, go back to official gmat problems you've had trouble with, and:
* make connections between those problems and other problems - notice common threads, terms, concepts, etc. that appear in several problems in the same category (you can use the lists in the back of our strategy guide to find problems that are in the same category)
* notice signals in the problems that give clues as to general strategy
* try to formulate alternative strategies to solve the same problems, even the ones you got correct
* try to write similar problems
if you do this thoroughly enough, you should have plenty to do. and the upside is that it will be 100% helpful, and 100% relevant to the gmat - something that can't be said for studying lsat problems.