What to do if I've already taken the most recent practices tests

bsulli12

I took the LSAT in June, and got a 166, which was at the lower end of my average and (I think) worse than I was capable of because I got thrown off (I had to pee like a racehorse through the first part of the test before the break). I'm taking it again Saturday, but my biggest issue is, because I took most of the most recent practice tests in June, the only recent practice test I have that I haven't done is PT 71. So lately I've been working on some older ones, which I know are easier (as evidenced by my score going way up),and I still have practice tests 54-61, and practice test 71 (which I'm saving for the last one I do before the real thing.) I know I can just go over the newer ones I've already done, or even erase all my pencil marks thoroughly and retake them, but I was really hoping to take some live, timed PTs for the first time that resemble what I likely face Saturday. Does anybody know if any of PTs 54-61 are especially worth trying, in terms of how they resemble recent trends?

joegotbored-1

Hey Bsulli, having recently taken most of the most recent tests (including 72 which you rocked a 166 on... way to go man!), I don't think there is much difference except for comparative reading, unusual games in the 2 most recent tests, and a few stiffer LR q's in the 1-10 area that is usually the easy area.

If you were good at comparative reading before, that won't change if you practice older tests that don't have them. The weird games can be simulated by pulling from the earliest games available (many games from tests 1-12 are weird as hell) and substituting for the game sections in 54-61. LR isn't changed much, I'd say probably not at all, but I noticed a few really odd questions recently. If you were in the 170s before June, you won't notice any change at all.

I'd say the most important thing is getting your brain endurance back up if you've let it drop at all. Practice early game sets and definitely take those older un-touched LSATs you've got. If you have time when you're done with them, then ya, go back over some of the more recent ones.

Good luck Saturday... kudos for wanting more after a 166!

bsulli12

Thanks JoeGotBored! Haha yeah, honestly if I don't do better than a 166 it would be a disappointment for me. I'm really hoping to get into a school at the lower end of the T-14 (Georgetown and Northwestern are two I'm hoping to have a shot at), and from what I've gathered, I don't have too much of a chance without at least a 170 (my undergrad GPA was only 3.47, which is okay for a Notre Dame grad, but I figure I'll be going up against Ivy League-ers with 3.8+ GPAs if I apply to Top 14 Schools). Honestly, what throws me off the most on the new tests are the convoluted answer choices and stimuli, as well as the seemingly bigger leaps in logic some of the correct answer choices take, especially on the RC. See, try as I might, I can't seem to get better at the games (I get how to do it but I'm just too slow at them, I've never managed to even attempt more than 3 on a timed section). -7, -8 are honestly solid scores for me on it, and barring a really lucky choice for the letter I choose to bubble for all the answers on the 4th game I don't get to attempt, I pretty much never do better than that. On the older tests, I would make up for it by managing to only get 3-5 questions wrong combined on the other 3 sections, which still allowed me to break 170 regularly, but the newer PTs seemed to slow me down more which meant I had to rush through a few more questions than I'd like at the end, which is usually when I make mistakes.