Self-study
I just took PT 152 and scored 159 - significantly lower than PT 157 which I took a few days ago and scored 170 on. Been scoring mid to high 160s in general. Feeling really discouraged as I'm taking the LSAT in 10 days.
I feel like the concepts blurred together on this most recent test. Granted, I didn't do a ton of review on the previous PT, but I'm trying to do more full PTs because I haven't done a whole lot of them. It feels like it's so easy for me to forget how to apply concepts and make mistakes if I'm not constantly reviewing and studying the concepts, but I'm not sure how to balance my study time. I know I probably should have taken more rest days between the last test and this one.
Anyone experience something like this and have any suggestions? Do I just need to rest more? Review concepts and explanation videos? Is PT 152 unusually hard? Reading comp used to be a strength, this time I had so much trouble summarizing every paragraph and brain was a blur. Feeling so frustrated at having worked so hard to get to my goal score (been studying for about 1.5 years starting at low 140s) and things feel all over the place so soon before the test. Any advice on mental perspective?
Thank you in advance for any insights. Good luck to everyone out there taking the January test.
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10 comments
try monitoring your sleep levels, you'd be surprised how much an hour extra of sleep can improve your cognitive abilities.
Have you taken PTs previously that were in that "era" of the LSAT? You can google and see that starting around PT 151 the LSAT started having more nuanced language and things were a little harder to see off first read. I found, for instance, that the flaw questions used more convoluted answer choices as well as seeming to pick a flaw that wasn't the obvious one in the stimulus. This may be why you saw a difference in your scoring. Mine was actually opposite. I saw a good score jump when I hit 151/152... then took 155... and that was a humbling experience. You got this... just make sure you are reading very very carefully and apply those skills to a T.
Same thing is happening to me! I think I'm just burnt out tbh
Hey this has been happening to me too. I took a PT a few days ago, way lower than my highest score, and I completely freaked out.
Im thinking:
We're burnt out; we haven't been controlling our anxiety levels or we've been overthinking things. Sometimes it's better to walk away and come back when you're of a rested mind.
Being worried about time. I tend to do questions REALLY quickly because I get worried about time. Frankly, it's better that we're slow but correct. At least we'll get a majority of the questions done right, rather than answering all of the questions within the time frame but they're wrong.
Not learning from mistakes. Easier said than done, but sometimes I find going through my wrong answer journal and really taking in what my biggest issues are (for me, not reading the question 100% and misunderstanding what it wants from me) helps me avoid making the same issues on PTs.
I wish you the best of luck!! I hope you get a 181 come test day, just try to relax in between studying :)
I had a similar thing happen to me where I was scoring high 160s, and -2 and -3 on LR sections, then suddenly one day, not long ago, I cratered with a couple of low sections all in one day. I corrected it, though, because I noticed on those bad sections that I stopped predicting answers without realizing it. I was going into the answer bank to pick the best one instead of already having a strong answer choice in my head. As soon as I went back to predicting, my scores rebounded to the typical level. So, I guess things like this happen and I wouldn't get discouraged.
Confidence for me seems to be a huge indicator of how well I do on a given section or test. If I go into a section unsure of myself, no matter how well I know the fundamentals and concepts, I'll end up second-guessing, falling into bad habits, and inevitably getting a poor score.
When I go in with high confidence, reminding myself of the scores I typically get and am capable of, I will normally score very well.
I think it's best not to get too worked up by this one result because it happens. When it does happen, instead of internally spiralling (like I did), it's probably best to just walk away from studying for the day and reset for the next time you study. Pay it no mind, and try to diagnose what went wrong.