Self-study
My diagnostic about a month ago was 148, and since then I've been learning, doing drills (untimed) and really trying to understand all the questions and question structures. I did my first PT a month later and got a 146, which was worse than my diagnostic. I am honestly feeling very discouraged and I don't know whether the issue is the time pressure, disassociation, or my abilities. I felt like I guessed a lot because I was running out of time, but I also did not really try as much as I should have. I'm registered for the September LSAT but now i don't know if I'll be able to improve significantly by then.
Is this normal for your first practice test after learning? Should I be doing practice tests or timed sections more often?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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2 comments
Completely agree with @SerinJeon! I'd also add that this early on, there's tons of volatility. You don't have the full understanding yet, you haven't gotten your timing down, and you have numerous other things you're working on. So, your PT isn't irrelevant, but it's very early for it to be meaningful. Consequently, I wouldn't be discouraged by it. It would be more productive to focus on your average PT score going up over time, instead of focusing on one score early on while you're balancing many new lessons. You now have a bunch of new lessons that you can take from this PT and bring into the next one. It won't ever be a linear journey to higher scores, especially not at the beginning.
Hello!
First of all, what you are experiencing is completely normal, and a lot of LSAT students go through this score drop as well.
Here is why it happens: when you took your diagnostic, you didn't know any tactics, so you just relied purely on your natural intuition and moved quickly. But now that you know the question stems, what to look for, and what methods to apply, there are suddenly a lot of parts to consider for every single question. Even when you intuitively like an answer, you are now slowing down to doubt it and confirm it using your newly earned knowledge.
Because there are more things going on within the same time limit, you run out of time. It is definitely normal to see your score drop a bit right after learning all the theoretical parts. But as you continue practicing, you will internalize these theoretical strategies until they become yours, and your speed will naturally increase.
There are a few different ways to go from here. For instead, instead of jumping into strict 35-minute timed sections, you may try giving yourself a bit more time at first (maybe 4~45 minutes per section) so you can practice applying the strategies without panicking. Afterward, always do a Blind Review on the questions untimed so you can solidify your understanding.
I hope this helps, and good luck!