How do you "know" you're ready for test day?

Kateelaine

Really - how do you "know"? I feel as though I will never be ready.

If anyone else has experienced anything even remotely similar to me, some advice would be very welcome. For context, here's my test-postponement/study history: (Also, if you just want to skim to the main questions, go down to the last paragraph and ignore most of this.)

I started studying for the December LSAT last October. I was teaching Comp 1 at a local university, taking a full load of graduate level courses, and studying for the LSAT roughly 30 hours a week. I figured out pretty quickly given my chaotic/busy schedule I would need a LOT longer than just Oct-Dec to take the LSAT. So I postponed until February. I quit my job at the university, took a leave of absence from the grad school, and began working part time at a library. I promised myself if by 4 weeks before the February LSAT I wasn't scoring a 155+, I would postpone until June. The one month mark came along and I scored a 154. So guess what? I postponed.

Now as June approaches, I am just not sure if I am "ready." I know I have a month to pull up my scores, but my diagnostics are not consistently in a place I'm willing to accept. About five weeks ago I climbed up to a 163 (my goal being a 167), but then my scores consistently fell. First the score went down to a 162 (no big deal, right?), but then over the course of 5 weeks my scores fell until I was barely above my diagnostic score from last fall. After that lowest diagnostic two weeks ago, I was so discouraged and disheartened I couldn't even look at my desk strewn with LSAT prep materials; it was too depressing. I took off an entire week, binged on Netflix, at ice cream, cried as much as I needed to, and otherwise avoided the LSAT. After my week off, I studied and drilled, and then finally took at practice test yesterday (Sunday). I scored a 156 on that exam, (raw score 72, missing 28 wrong), and a 158 on the Blind Review.

Maybe I should be happy with the score going up (even if it's not as high as it once was), but here's the thing: the logic games skewed my score. In the June 2007 exam, I have previously drilled on all the logic games in all the prep material I've covered over the past months. I did really well on it, but I don't think it's an accurate indicator of how I would actually do on exam day. On the LR section, I only did better than the previous test by 2 questions. That's TWO questions more I got right than the score that sent me into a week of LSAT induced depression. Even though my score rose, I don't think it's a "real" indicator, and that freaks me out a little. I know I can postpone until September, but the idea of putting off the LSAT yet again (and missing the noon test time) fills me with dread.

I'm trying to relax, stay healthy, exercise, stay positive, etc., but I also know I shouldn't take the LSAT unless I'm ready. But, will I ever FEEL ready? How many practice tests should be in/above my ideal LSAT score range before I decide to bite the bullet and take the real thing? I've read I should wait until 10 practice tests are at/above my score range, but I know that won't happen between now and June 12th. But I've also read that lots of people pull up their scores a lot in the last month (by 10 points, even) so not to give up hope until like a week out from test day.

Someone please give me some sagely advice. I need it, dangit.

nessa.k13.0

Hi @Katherine ! Great question.
The advice I've received about this and what I have observed for myself is mainly about your PT performance. There is no one magic number of PTs you should take, but the more deliberative practice and exposure you have the better. Conventional sage advice I've received is that you should be consistently scoring an average of 3 to 5 points above your target range, a month out from the test. The 3 to 5 points is to account for test day nerves and conditions. The idea is that while you are likely to be nervous about the exam, you should be somewhat confident about your skills and performance (as evidenced by your accuracy on PTs as you simulate test conditions). If you are scoring within the range that you want to be at and you are having successful blind reviews where you can identify your weaknesses and see improvement, then take the test. If you are noting that you have not addressed your weaknesses and see big gaps in your understanding of the fundamentals, then I would postpone taking the exam in June.

What PTs did you take? I think it would not be a great idea into June not having taken more recent tests, as the area of difficulty on the recent tests have shifted in terms of language, RC, and LG (it's trending more unpredictably with an unusual game).

Kateelaine

@"nessa.k13.0" said:
What PTs did you take? I think it would not be a great idea into June not having taken more recent tests, as the area of difficulty on the recent tests have shifted in terms of language, RC, and LG (it's trending more unpredictably with an unusual game).

For my test-day simulated practice tests, I've taken June 2007 (most recently), 52, 53, 54, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, and 73. I drill on the older exams in the 20s through 40s. I've been able to identify my weaknesses for the most part. (Flaws and assumptions, primarily). But it also seems like the moment I get one question type down, another one pops up. Grrrr

nessa.k13.0

Drilling by question type is helpful in the beginning or to address a specific lack of understanding. When preparing to take a test soon, we should be at the point where we practice by section (with all question types mixed in) because that's what/how the lsat ultimately tests us on. Drilling by type is something we should do while learning the fundamentals on how to approach question types, but when we are aiming to take the LSAT soon we should move away from drilling by type. When we drill by type our accuracy is likely to be much higher and less reflective of test performance.

You said one of your more recent scores was below what you are willing to accept. If you think you can PT more and improve your understanding of flaws then don't take the June lsat. If you can live with performing in the range that you currently are at then take it. It seems like you acknowledge that you can improve on your weaknesses though

Kateelaine

@nessa.k13.0
Thank you for the advice (and reading my incredibly long messages)! I know I have some decisions to make about which test to take (and I'll have to make those decisions soon).

tanes256

@Katherine @"nessa.k13.0" gave some excellent advice. I think your BR scores should also be an indicator whether you should postpone or not. If your BR scores haven't been at your target score I would postpone because your BR score is really telling you what you know. Have you been hitting your target score during BR? If not, I would postpone and really focus on 180 (ha ha! Yeah right, but at least your target score of 167-170.) for each BR before taking another PT. Your BR scores are telling you your potential score.

Kateelaine

@tanes256 , I never did a BR prior to my 163 score. I actually didn't even start checking out he 7Sage curriculum until after my score had fallen substantially from that 163. All the month leading up to my 163 my score steadily rose without BR. After each practice test or drill, I would review everything I got right or wrong, just not using a BR method. But then my scores suddenly dropped until I was back to nearly square one. I've been having to review and reteach myself basic concepts I had down in my sleep two months ago. I've only done a BR on one practice test, actually, and it was the one from this past Sunday (which was a 158 BR). I'm going to hold off any decisions about postponing for another two weeks or so, see what my BRs look like and how my practice tests go, and make a decision. As much as I dread putting off the exam until September, I also know it's just not worth it to take it in June if I'm not 100% ready.

Alex

I agree with all the great advice above. It also seems like you have a really good attitude about waiting until you are 100% ready. Honestly, at least to me, this means something different for everyone. However, I think you, like most of the other sagers, believe in yourself and know what you are capable of. And so I think it makes sense to define your "readiness" by test scores (ideally reaching your goal on several) and confidence. Hopefully when your scores have increased and remain consistently at or above your goal, you will have the confidence to go into test day ready.

FWIW, I know the feeling of never feeling ready for this thing. When you see your scores increase and you start scoring consistently in the 160s, you will start to feel more ready. Having large score fluctuations can definitely hold us back from feeling ready.