Self-study
Hey guys,
I’ve been studying for a month, looking to test in September. My cold diagnostic was 164, and my last PT two weeks ago (PT157) was 165, so after a week of drilling and seeing -2 and -3 on sections, I was bothered to just finish PT151 with a 159. Whereas on my diagnostic I got -4 on RC and -6 on LR, I saw -7, -8, and -3 on all three LR sections. How do I deal with this variance? Should I drill more intensely? Thanks for any help.
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3 comments
Congrats on those scores. Sounds like you’re doing really well fast. I went from 156 diagnostic, to 163, to 165, to 161 to 166. I think variance is normal, but I didn’t like feeling like I was going backwards either. I want to break 170 so I have been looking for ways to improve. I’ve gone back and reviewed basics (indicator words, mapping logic, question strategies, common flaws, etc.) 7sage has cheat cheats on most of those, and also started playing their games sections. I looked at my analytics and focused on areas that needed improvement. I searched videos to watch like “Breaking 170” and “Curve Breaker.” I need to watch some videos on reading comprehension as that is my toughest area. I haven’t taken another test section since, so we’ll see how it goes. Anyone else have any ideas?
M answer is that you do not have to deal with that at all. Instead, take a look at the questions you are missing. I am pretty sure that there is gonna be some specific type of questions you are perform poorly, and its just that PT 151 had more types of that. I think it is important that once you know the type of questions you miss, you will have a better understanding on HOW to improve it.
Here, i wrote a post about that. Hope this convinces you
Hey! This is really normal. First of all, there's a lot of variance within PTs, especially within that score range. Different tests have different distributions of questions; some tests may play to your strengths or exploit areas of improvements more than others. One score doesn't make a pattern!
In addition, it's very common to see a drop-off after a couple weeks (or a month!) of studying when you're earlier on in your journey, even if you've already taken a couple PTs. On your diagnostic, you're just going off of intuition and vibes, and your diagnostic score suggests you have very good logical intuition! As you study, you start to "know what you don't know." As you try to answer questions more methodically, because you're still developing those methods, you're getting things wrong that maybe you wouldn't if you were just vibing. There's also timing at play; if you're really reasoning through rather than just going off intuition, stuff takes you longer, and you're more prone to second-guessing. It's a two steps forward, one step back kind of thing. In the long run, it'll pay off in dividends. I know that right now, it's just disheartening and frustrating, but it will ultimately be worth it.
TL;DR the variance is fine! It doesn't mean anything. You're totally good.