Congrats to everyone who took it regardless your score.
Did you find it more difficult than PT? did you underperform or overperform?
What tips/advice do you have for Nov test-takers?
Good luck everybody
14
Congrats to everyone who took it regardless your score.
Did you find it more difficult than PT? did you underperform or overperform?
What tips/advice do you have for Nov test-takers?
Good luck everybody
8 comments
Imo it is just another practice test, you just have the anxiety of not knowing what you got afterwards. I think if you are confident in your PT range and yourself, you can get the range you have tested in, but might still feel weird abt it afterwards. I honestly had no general idea of how I did this time post test, I do not want to say I over or under performed, but I am more than happy with my score, but knew it was possible. My biggest advice is to not worry after any section, I ran out of time on my 1st section which was RC. I would say I had to guess on 3-5 questions on the last passage. I told myself I could still see another RC on the test, but if I didnt, I had grinded LR to where I could account for that mistake. Do not let one aspect of the test take away from the rest, and I really do encourage you when it is over to just shut your brain off if you can. Work on any question types that are marked as weakness, especially the types that are more frequent on the test. I also let myself enjoy the day before the test, spent time with friends, no LSAT thoughts at all. The week leading into the test just make sure you are preparing your mindset, and test day you'll be focused and do great! Best of Luck!!
Test day tax is real. I generally test well and don’t feel too much pressure when taking exams, but the mounting uncertainty of performance with so much at stake tends to spike the ol’ cortisol levels.
I think brain maintenance plays a big role in mitigating that hurdle. Exercise, sleep, attention, and nutrition were the variables I found most helpful in getting “game day ready.” I made some bad decisions the day before (drinking too much caffeine and delaying sleep prep) that resulted in very poor sleep, and, consequently frazzled, I scored five points lower than my average PT.
The questions certainly “felt” more difficult than those on the tests I have taken thus far, but they would have been much more approachable had I taken better control of the controllables. Essentially, low sleep created low processing power. My timing strategy consists of very efficiently answering the easiest ~3/4ths of a section to create serious breathing room on the questions most demanding of my working memory and critical thinking. By the time I got to the last quarter of each section, my surplus time bank was about half of what it normally is, which created a level of time pressure I’m unaccustomed to. Less time, less juice, more stress.
My plan to avoid a similar outcome in November is twofold. First, adjust to test-day sleep schedule ASAP and don’t be an idiot the day before, exercise vigorously and early, do some light prep, reading, and writing but generally chill, and hit the sack early. Second, better prepare for similar conditions if sleep trouble recurs: practice Level 5 questions at strict half time to build compressed reasoning praxis.
@DocRieux I am not sure your testing conditions , but what helped me is using one of the breaks I had to literally stare at the wall and clear my mind. I honestly felt that might have been such a huge help, I was able to push through and even fix the pace I was at. Best of luck for November!!
I felt like I did worse than usual and than my previous LSAT but I actually improved and ended up around where I typically score. I think work on your weaknesses until Nov and make sure to take deep breaths in between sections and just take it question by question
@squirrellover I agree with you. When I took in Aug, I raced through sections without slowing down to beat the clock, Ended up scoring 7 points less. This time I will try to slow down and cross-check the answers before picking.
@TeklaCo yes, definitely just take it question by question while also knowing that if you are spending 3 mins on a question just move on. I also think it's great that you already have a test under your belt. I feel like Aug and Oct both helped open my eyes to things I needed to work on
It felt just like another PT! As long as you’re doing them timed, you’ll be okay.
I've found that I typically do worse on the real test as compared to my PTs, but everyone is different... My main piece of advice is to focus on a goal interval rather than score. It's unrealistic to go into test day thinking that your PTs or drills guarantee/indicate a certain score. There's a level of variance you just can't control. Instead, prepare until you feel like you can have an off day and still score above your target.