Trying to decide whether it is worth it to go to a T-8 in US or stay in Canada to go to UBC; sitting on a good offer from T-8, admission but no $ from UBC. Am a dual citizen, and want to practice in public interest or move into legal academia; no biglaw aspirations.
Here is what worked for me on my successful February re-take, after a less-than-stellar first take in December 2016: to trust my training, and in the lead-up to the test, to eliminate as many distractions as possible---I went "under-ground," no phone calls or contact with distracting family members or other possible detractors, no social media browsing, and I took really good care of myself in the month before the test: good food, enough sleep, fresh air, exercise, disciplining myself to not engage with negativity (my own or others')---and not to get so obsessed with the test that I stopped having at least a little fun (good for the brain). I did all this with a flexible mind-set, not rigidly protecting myself as if I were fragile, but owning my right to deliver on my hard work by taking good care of myself. On the day of the test, I went in relaxed but focused, and kept to myself so as not to "absorb" the nervous energy of those around me. Also, made sure to eat some protein and fat and carbs before hand for lasting energy (avocado and a banana and some meat). And key was this: to trust myself, and trust my training, and keep on moving through the test if I encountered a problem. I expected to feel nervous, and did not fight against this; I expected to have to pee but not be able to; I expected the odd occurrence in the testing room; but knew from experience that I could deliver regardless of passing physical or emotional states or distractions from others in the room. I ended up testing up to the potential of my PTs, and getting into 3 T-14 schools with excellent scholarship offers. I wish you all the best---trust yourself, trust your training, and know it is possible to have an (almost) enjoyable time writing the test.
Hi imharris,
I tracked my emotional state quite carefully throughout the LSAT process, and noticed that there was not necessarily a correlation between PT performance and emotional state in the early stages of training, but that as I got more comfortable, I could test in a state of focused but relaxed alertness that definitely correlated with a decent score. Too much cockiness would lead to lower scores, as would too little confidence/second guessing. I at last found the sweet spot and tested to the potential of my PTs on the Feb. 2017 LSAT, after testing below potential on the Dec. 2016 test. The Feb. score was good enough to get me into all my choice schools, with very decent scholarship offers at two T-10 schools. (turned these down to go to school in Canada, with a great scholarship).
(Note that the "sweet spot" could kind of exist independently of passing emotional states---e.g. frustration or fatigue, but was an underlying state of trust, and a gentle but persistent commitment to return to focus each time I would fall out of it.) I did not do as many PTs as many people suggest, because I found the process inherently draining and difficult---once I knew I could get through the full 5 sections, and knew where I was likely to have trouble, and was comfortable with seeing the different test-section types in a variety of orders, I focused on doing 2 or 3 sections in a row to stay sharp. Excess PTs were causing me to burn out. No matter how well they go, they are inherently exhausting, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Everyone has their own approach here, and I am sure that for some people doing lots of full tests under game-day conditions is great. I probably did 10 full PTs in total, but I was on a full time study schedule in a condensed time period---not ideal but it was what I had to work with and it worked for me. If you have longer to study, you can and should do more PTs, but spread them out (At first I tried to do 3 PTs in a week and it was WAY TOO MUCH). (Side-note: Everyone in the test center looked like beaten men after the LSAT, both times I tested...it is not designed to leave you feeling fabulous afterwards...so don't cancel the score on the basis of feeling like crap afterwards!!!)