Self-study
A bit of a vulnerable discussion post. I was wondering if there's anyone else that on multiple real LSATs has scored lower than their PT average by a significant amount, and how they were able to overcome this? I consistently score 17mid-high, and cannot break out of the 160s on the real tests. What might the issues be? I'm always struggling to finish but only on the real test. SOS :(
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9 comments
Troubles like yours are very, very common among students. So much so that plenty of psychologists focus solely on test anxiety.
It's a nuanced subject -- really what you want is a lot of conscious, iterative mindset work guided by someone who knows what they're doing. BUT here are a few general guidelines off the top of the dome:
Make your practice as realistic as possible, including the elements that make testing stressful. Your practice tests should happen at the same time of day, in the same room, and (sometimes) with an artificially inflated sense of high stakes.
Stay carefully attuned to the things you're experiencing during officials and during your practice, and find specific interventions to address those factors. For anxiety, for example, you can do a 5-minute progressive muscle relaxation exercise before each section, and you can even do 30sec resets if you notice adrenaline spikes during a section.
Separate content/theory practice from performance practice. If you want to get better managing time across a section under stressful conditions, do some timed sections where your success is solely measured by how well you manage your time and your level of activation (instead of caring how many Qs you miss along the way).
Those principles are just the tip of the iceberg, tbh. Really what's important is that you take these mental / execution factors just as seriously as you take the content, and address them directly with the same targeted attention you'd give if you realized you were missing a ton of Flaw questions and needed focused drilling there.
@MichaelWright Thank you so much.
That's why I'm afraid to check my fourth lsat attempt today
Can you describe how you feel / what's going through your mind on test day as specifically as possible? You mention having timing issues during the real test...but what exactly does that look like? Spending too long on the first two passages? Going back to the passage much more frequently to look up answers/support?
Does this happen with LR?
Can you identify anything about your process that is different on test day compared to PTs?
@Kevin_Lin Hi, and thank you for your comment. I definitely think I spend more time on all questions across the board on the real tests. There have been LG-style questions I spend too much time on and consequently for other LR q's I have to choose one and move on, finding I never get to sit with the questions in a focused manner the way I do on PTs. My first below avg attempt I was too neurotic about time, trying to move quick, and spiraled, barely having time for the last hard science passage. My second below avg attempt, I focused on being calm and maintaining composure, but consequently still found myself not having as much time as I needed for the last few LR questions in those sections, regardless of feeling really solid about the first 18ish. In RC, my second time I went in order of # of questions in the passage, hit the science one with two extra paragraphs and unique q-types, and spent an excessive amount of time there to have to quickly guess on two in order to do the first passage, which I saved for last. I thought nerves were my issue, but even when trying to not be nervous, I still was frantic near the end for each section.
The first thought that came to mind is that maybe you have more test anxiety when it is the "real thing." If you plan on taking it again, try not to put too much pressure on yourself and just treat it as if its routine. Just another PT like any of the others you have taken. It's possible that once you relieve yourself of the pressure, your mind will be free to just focus on the questions in front of you. If you are consistently scoreing in the 170s then it seems clear its not a matter of comprehension/abilty!
I had this same issue. When you take PTs, do you simulate testing conditions? If not, that could be the issue.
@TabithaTomlinson Hi! Yes, I do, and don't have the timing problem on my PTs. I've attributed it to the RC being harder on these newer, real tests, but I know that's just cope. How did you resolve this problem?
@businessgoose I also have had the same issue, and I have also thought the RC is harder on the real test than the PTSs, they seem longer and more abstract - harder to identify structure.
I wasn''t sure if this is cope either but truthfully I dont think so. Largely I think its anxiety spiking when the real test pressure is on. It also doesn't help we have to wait three weeks to get the scores.