How many days between PTs? Which PTs? Sep. Test

ccarleton

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting to the discussion board, but I have been following the CC and everyone's comments closely for a few months now. I really love this community! Thought I would reach out for some advice- I really need it.

I just took PT 36 last Saturday and scored a 168. My diagnostic before I went through the CC was a 157. Given that we have 6ish weeks left until the September test, how many PTs do you all recommend I take a week?

Also, I am retaking the exam (158 December 2016 score), so I have taken some PTs in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Specifically, I know I have taken PT 72-78 already. I estimated I can do around 13-14 PTs in the coming weeks, and I am thinking maybe I should do 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, and 79. What do you all think? I can also redo sections in 72-78, but I don't know how much I will remember, so I am wary of taking them under testing conditions again.

Finally, I read that the later exams can be more difficult than the earlier ones. I think I remember noticing that last year to some extent. So, I do realize that this 168 score should be taken with a grain of salt, right? I am nervous to take 60 (for example), and not get the results I want (September is right around the corner!). But I guess I'm rambling at this point- nothing to do but find out!

Just need to get a grip on what PTs/how many would be best for maximum results! Also, how many days do you all take to practice concepts/shore up your weaknesses? Need to get into the PT/BR/Practice swing of things as efficiently as possible.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you everyone!

Alex

@SeeYouThere2018 said:
Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting to the discussion board, but I have been following the CC and everyone's comments closely for a few months now. I really love this community! Thought I would reach out for some advice- I really need it.

I just took PT 36 last Saturday and scored a 168. My diagnostic before I went through the CC was a 157. Given that we have 6ish weeks left until the September test, how many PTs do you all recommend I take a week?

Also, I am retaking the exam (158 December 2016 score), so I have taken some PTs in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Specifically, I know I have taken PT 72-78 already. I estimated I can do around 13-14 PTs in the coming weeks, and I am thinking maybe I should do 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, and 79. What do you all think? I can also redo sections in 72-78, but I don't know how much I will remember, so I am wary of taking them under testing conditions again.

Finally, I read that the later exams can be more difficult than the earlier ones. I think I remember noticing that last year to some extent. So, I do realize that this 168 score should be taken with a grain of salt, right? I am nervous to take 60 (for example), and not get the results I want (September is right around the corner!). But I guess I'm rambling at this point- nothing to do but find out!

Just need to get a grip on what PTs/how many would be best for maximum results! Also, how many days do you all take to practice concepts/shore up your weaknesses? Need to get into the PT/BR/Practice swing of things as efficiently as possible.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you everyone!

Hey! Welcome to the forums @SeeYouThere2018

Congrats on doing so well on PT 36! I don't think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt at all. the newer tests have a different feel on them, but even still, you should be proud and know that you have great potential!

There's really no set amount of PTs you should take before the test. I would, however, make sure I exposed myself to as much of the newer tests from 60-80 before sitting for the test. So the tests you've listed above seem like a good idea to take. Don't feel like you have to fit in a certain number of PTs before the test, I find that that's a prescription for burnout and disappointment.

I take generally as long as I need after a PT to shore up my weaknesses. On average, though, probably a week.

It really is contingent on what weaknesses were revealed after a PT. For instance, when I took my last PT it became clear that I needed to work on RC, so I took almost 2 weeks just to focus on cementing my RC strategies and drilling passages. I figure there's really little point in taking and burning another fresh PT when I already know where I'm going to miss the points before I even take it. PTs are just diagnostic tools for revealing weaknesses. We don't make the bulk of our improvements from taking tons of PTs, but rather analyzing our weaknesses and correcting them in the days/weeks that follow.

What is your target score for September?

tylerdschreur10

@SeeYouThere2018
I would agree that the more recent tests are generally more representative of what you can expect to encounter in September, so probably best to take those as you said. However, there seems to be a recent trend toward unique logic games, some of which are more similar to games from earlier PTs, so perhaps drilling LG sections from the earlier PTs
Would be beneficial.
As for timing of PTs, I suggest you keep your schedule flexible. What I do is test on day 1, then blind review on days 2 and 3, then i take 1 to 5 more days to review, analyse, and drill the questions types, game types, or passages I struggled on.
Obviously if you score a 164 you have more to review than on a 172, but the process is the same.

Maddie D.

Hey there. First and foremost, I'd say plan your practice tests around your reviewing rather than planning your reviewing around practice tests. I was recently hell bent on doing two PTs a week at all costs, and the cost ended up being pretty steep in that I found myself trying to fly through drilling to get to the next PT. (Typing that out really makes me see the insanity in it haha) But I totally get that it's hard to step away from a set number of PTs with all the suggestions you can find about how many you "should" have under your belt by test day. And like @"Alex Divine" said, overloading on PTs can lead to burnout and burnout isn't productive.

For the past week, I've been drilling my last remaining LR weaknesses and cranking through timed RC sections with blind review. Next week, I'm going through just about every clean copy of games I have sitting in my binder (which is a lot) and foolproofing again where need be. Just be flexible and patient with yourself to figure out what you need. Use the analytics on here to create a game plan that has wiggle room, and if you have to spend a few more days than you thought drilling a weak point, don't feel guilty about it. In my case, I'm spending some quality (miserable) time with parallel flaw questions until my chest stops hurting when I see them Hope that helps!

TheMikey

I would say 2 PTs a week, 3 max. Def take at the very least a day between each though.. I've done back to back days of PTs and it wasn't my brightest idea, but that is just me.