Thanks all for the comments! I'm definitely going to try cutting down timing for sections this week and see how it goes. I also think I'm going make a list of everything I think could go wrong on test day (get stuck on a game, test room disturbance, etc.) and how to best respond to it. I'll also be working on breathing/de-escalation techniques!

Thanks for all the comments guys, @.hopkins, I saw a drop in the games on one PT and then did well on the RC and then on the next test did better on the games and got like -8 on the RC. Before these newer PTs I was scoring in the high 160's (167 a lot) and about -3/4 per section. So it's frustrating to be having trouble all around now. But I'm doing lots of blind review and fool-proofing games!

Yeah that's why I switched because I wanted it to be as realistic as possible. Thank you for the response---it's good to hear I'm not crazy I swear I thought something in my brain broke lol. I'll definitely be focusing only on new material until the test. If anyone has any more tips they would be greatly appreciated!

http://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2050/worried-about-retake-need-advice

It's good to see your post, seglen512, because as you'll see above, I'm in a similar situation as you. I know my abilities are much higher than my first LSAT score because my PTs were very close to where my goal score was for the test day. I think for anyone who has intense test anxiety (like me), the LSAT is kind of a nightmare. Especially for retakers, my worst fear is that I'll "fail" again and disappoint myself because I'll have let my nerves get the best of me. For me, this time around studying I've really been trying to take care of my mental health. When I start to get all stressed out, I've been consciously trying to take a step back and breathe deeply, even if it's just for a few seconds. You'd be amazed at how much remembering to breathe helps lol. Also, and this is just something I've tried for me because I deal with anxiety and need a productive way to destress, but I've made a "happy list." This list includes everything that makes me feel better from drinking a warm cup of tea, to going for a run, to talking to a loved one, or playing guitar. If I'm super stressed (or not) I'll try to do at least one of these things that I know makes me feel happier, calmer, and healthier for at least 30 min to get myself back on track. And I second the meditation. It's not easy but I've just started doing it and it seems to be helping.

Thanks for the comment, I'm definitely going to start trying to test in different environments to increase my confidence. If anyone else has some advice please drop a comment!

Thank you @! @ No, I'm a Michigan resident--hoping that and my B.A. in Phl from Michigan might help me with Michigan's ED.

@ I'd say dive into the trainer to shore up your reasoning/argument structure skills

@, I obviously am not up to date on the lingo so what exactly do you mean by "the trainer?" Just want to make sure I'm using the right resources. And yes I do have major test anxiety (actually if you see my other posts they're mostly about anxiety lol) although I was much less stressed on the June test compared to my first test because I knew I was more prepared. After reading all the comments, I think I'll be even less stressed on the October knowing that at the very worst I'll apply with the 163 I already have. Thanks for all the comments everyone, and if anyone has any more tips for honing my skills to lock in those higher scores I'm all ears!

@ for reference to my numbers my last 6 PTs before the June test were PT 66: 169 (BR 178), PT 71: 165 (BR 173), PT 72: 165 (BR 173), PT 73: 168 (BR 177), PT 74: 167 (BR 173). I'd have to be reusing a lot of material although I do still have untouched recent PTs. At this point I'm just not even sure what to focus on since my RC and LR fluctuate between -2 and -7 (for LR I don't really have a question type that I'm consistently getting wrong) and my LGs fluctuate between -2 and -6. I'm also worried how it will look to school if my LSAT score shot up from a 153 to a 163 but then went back down to say a 160 or something.

Okay, this is how I had a "ding ding" in my head when understanding why (d) is right (I chose c initially). So M is saying we won't be able to do a DB study because we will be able to visually see the affects of the drug and then we'll know who is and isn't getting the drug. E is saying to M that you can't know what the "the outcome" is going to be of the study because he's assuming that M is talking about therapeutic effects of drug, which presumably they don't know much about yet. BUT, they may know known side effects, and these are the types of effects M is talking about, therefore, he doesn't need to know the outcome of the study to make his claim.

I still don't have a great explanation for why c is wrong other than that E doesn't seem to be able to comment on M's assumption of the placebo's effects because the placebo's effects are never discussed. If anyone has a clearer explanation for why c is wrong please post!

Thank you for the comments!