Self-study
I just took the June LSAT and this was my first time taking the LSAT for real. On all of my practice tests and sections, I have never ran out of time and have always had sufficient time to check over flagged answers. On the real LSAT I absolutely ran out of time and ended up having to do some LR questions really quickly without feeling confident, nor was I able to look over any of my flagged answer choices. I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience where they were fine on time in practice but bad during the exam itself.
I'm kind of freaking out about it and right now I'm convinced I just failed the LSAT. I did not originally purchase the score preview, but now I am seriously considering getting it, does anyone have experience using the preview?
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2 comments
I feel you. On my RC section, I did one of my absolute no-no's: getting bogged down in a single paragraph and then spending too much time on the 2nd passage, taking time away from the other passages and sending me into like a mild-panic moment. I didn't really finish the RC section, lots of flags and I don't think I got the last passage at all (-7/-8). The domino effect threw me off horribly.
But, I am taking this as a learning experience. Like you, this was my first time taking the real LSAT. It was also my first time taking a digital exam (I've only taken pen and paper ones). So, this entirely new. My takeaways from this mess-up (if you can call it that) is that now I know what to focus more on. I know that something like this can happen, and going into my studying phase again, I should work on trying to mitigate that situation.
For yourself, I hope you can reflect and say a similar thing. Now you know where you're weak points are on the real exam, where there is a different level of anxiety and external factors part of the test-taking experience. My point is this: take this June LSAT as a learning experience. PTs and sections can't replicate what it's truly like to be in the testing centre. But, now you know how it's like to sit in the desk pods, to take the test on a desktop, to be taking it while people walk past you, and etc.
So, as you start your next phase of studying, take what you did in this learning experience and apply it to your study plan. Keep your head up high. Not everything goes well on the first try, and take this as a valuable learning experience. Try taking a PT in a public place where there are plenty of distractions, work on trying to do the first 10 Qs in 10 mins, or jus try to work on Speed Training Drills to really get yourself to speed.
Although I had this mess up, I don't plan on cancelling my score and I don't think you should either. I'm not a professional (I'm just like you so take my advice with a grain of salt). As @haena said, I'm in complete agreement. There's no negative impact on your whole LSAT journey and Law School Admissions process with this.
Take some time to reflect on your test day experience. Maybe write it down? Tell a friend / study buddy / tutor. Ask yourself how was I feeling when I was going through that tough time? What did I do? What could I have done instead? Did I panic? etc. There's no need to freak out about it. I think there's a lot of people (like myself) who feel similarly. But, again, we can take our upsetting moments and turn it into a learning experience. If you want to just vent about it, feel free to message me.
Apologies for how long this comment is, but keep your head up! Don't give up! We're all in this together :)
I think it's normal, considering that everyone will have off-days and anxiety/other factors can contribute to scores fluctuating. FYI, if you purchase score preview, you will get your score at the same time as everyone else; and if you chose to cancel it, schools will see that you cancelled your attempt. It will also be counted towards your lifetime number of attempts. The only advantage that score preview can give you is either giving you peace of mind (according to some testimonies) or allowing you to cancel without having to blind-guess your score. Some people have also warned that a canceled score gives admissions reason to think that the attempt was much worse than it was, but I am not sure if this was ever confirmed... for the most part, they will look at your highest score.
Don't preclude the possibility that you scored well, especially if you have confidence in your PTs! You never know what happens. But I would also mentally prepare yourself to take it again in the future, which if you do, is not a sign of your incompetence. Having post-test anxiety is very normal, but try to take it easy today and celebrate your accomplishments :-)