Wise to take a PT before the December test?

ha.atwal

Hey all,

I've been feeling anxious (as I'm sure many December test takers are) and was wondering whether I should avoid writing a PT today. If I take the PT, I risk burn out (which I'm slightly feeling at the moment) and also lack of confidence heading into the test (if I don't hit around my target score which is a 163).

At this point I've taken around 16 PTs and this will be my second write (I wrote last in September).. so I feel like I know what I know by now and really don't want to head into the test feeling mentally exhausted and deflated. But maybe simulating one more test would provide beneficial for the test on Saturday, I'm not sure!

Any advice would be appreciate Also, good luck to everyone writing on Saturday!

BinghamtonDave

I can answer this question strictly from a personal preference. I would not take another PT. I would instead do some light drilling up till Friday and do some very brief warm ups come Saturday morning. I would keep things light. The analogy I use is that boxers don't spar 12 rounds the week of the fight.

Any areas of confidence that are not quite up to par, do a bit of focused drilling this last week.

Best of luck
David

ha.atwal

@BinghamtonDave said:
I can answer this question strictly from a personal preference. I would not take another PT. I would instead do some light drilling up till Friday and do some very brief warm ups come Saturday morning. I would keep things light. The analogy I use is that boxers don't spar 12 rounds the week of the fight.

Any areas of confidence that are not quite up to par, do a bit of focused drilling this last week.

Best of luck
David

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking along the same lines, but almost felt guilty for not writing a PT this week. It's crazy what studying for this test does to you. Hopefully my rested mind pays off on Saturday.

My LG section I'm fairly confident about, but LR seems to fluctuate still, so maybe it would be best to review the question types that have given me trouble in the recent PTs I've taken?

Thanks again!

BinghamtonDave

Yes, I would do precisely that. spend an hour or so each day on a specific type, dig deep into whatever is giving you trouble. You might find something that pays off with 2 or so points come Saturday.

ha.atwal

Great, thanks!

Pink Dust

No! do not PT if you even feel slightly burnt out! I learnt that the hard way in September when I tried to do as many PTs as I could before the exam.

ha.atwal

@"Pink Dust" said:
No! do not PT if you even feel slightly burnt out! I learnt that the hard way in September when I tried to do as many PTs as I could before the exam.

Haha okay I'm definitely just going to be doing light reviewing based on what you and David have said! Are you writing in December as well?

Pink Dust

@"ha.atwal" said:

@"Pink Dust" said:
No! do not PT if you even feel slightly burnt out! I learnt that the hard way in September when I tried to do as many PTs as I could before the exam.

Haha okay I'm definitely just going to be doing light reviewing based on what you and David have said! Are you writing in December as well?

Yes I am!! Good luck to youuuuu

ha.atwal

@"Pink Dust" said:

@"ha.atwal" said:

@"Pink Dust" said:
No! do not PT if you even feel slightly burnt out! I learnt that the hard way in September when I tried to do as many PTs as I could before the exam.

Haha okay I'm definitely just going to be doing light reviewing based on what you and David have said! Are you writing in December as well?

Yes I am!! Good luck to youuuuu

Good luck to you as well!! Let's conquer this test finally

Alex

@"ha.atwal" said:
Hey all,

I've been feeling anxious (as I'm sure many December test takers are) and was wondering whether I should avoid writing a PT today. If I take the PT, I risk burn out (which I'm slightly feeling at the moment) and also lack of confidence heading into the test (if I don't hit around my target score which is a 163).

At this point I've taken around 16 PTs and this will be my second write (I wrote last in September).. so I feel like I know what I know by now and really don't want to head into the test feeling mentally exhausted and deflated. But maybe simulating one more test would provide beneficial for the test on Saturday, I'm not sure!

Any advice would be appreciate Also, good luck to everyone writing on Saturday!

If you're feeling slightly burnt out, taking a PT will likely only serve to exacerbate your burn out. You can always take it tomorrow, Wed, or even Thursday. I know many people say avoid taking a PT the day before the test, so just avoid taking a full PT Friday.

Good advice I received from @"Accounts Playable" was to take a test like the June 2007 that we've all seen many times. Use this to get practice while increasing your confidence. At this point, you're not likely to have any major score increases so focusing on confidence is key!

Good luck!

ha.atwal

@"Alex Divine" said:

@"ha.atwal" said:
Hey all,

I've been feeling anxious (as I'm sure many December test takers are) and was wondering whether I should avoid writing a PT today. If I take the PT, I risk burn out (which I'm slightly feeling at the moment) and also lack of confidence heading into the test (if I don't hit around my target score which is a 163).

At this point I've taken around 16 PTs and this will be my second write (I wrote last in September).. so I feel like I know what I know by now and really don't want to head into the test feeling mentally exhausted and deflated. But maybe simulating one more test would provide beneficial for the test on Saturday, I'm not sure!

Any advice would be appreciate Also, good luck to everyone writing on Saturday!

If you're feeling slightly burnt out, taking a PT will likely only serve to exacerbate your burn out. You can always take it tomorrow, Wed, or even Thursday. I know many people say avoid taking a PT the day before the test, so just avoid taking a full PT Friday.

Good advice I received from @"Accounts Playable" was to take a test like the June 2007 that we've all seen many times. Use this to get practice while increasing your confidence. At this point, you're not likely to have any major score increases so focusing on confidence is key!

Good luck!

Thanks for the response Alex!

I'm thinking at this point to not even write a PT before Friday because as you said, confidence is probably the most important thing to control heading into Saturday. But I will be doing timed sections from a test I've already done to make sure I processed all of my mistakes and to brush up on strategies.

The last PT I wrote about a week ago was lower than what I wanted by a few points and I was pretty discouraged by it so I really don't want to put myself in the same position for the real thing lol.

Jeffcool20

I made the mistake of taking a PT everyday in the last week leading up to the September LSAT and I got burnt out and scored a measely 143 on test day. Do drilling and sharpen up your weak spots.

Seeking Perfection

The first time I tested I got 1 point less than my average taking two PTs a day until Friday the week before. I scored 1 point below my average. The second time I took one Saturday and one Tuesday and scored 3 above. If I had to do it again I wouldn't change what I di in the last week for either test.

The first test my only studying had been taking PTs and heavilly reviewing(but not blind reviewing) the logic games. I ended up taking more than 20 and less than 30 in 3 weeks. I felt burnout/drained taking the test, but nonetheless basically got my average. By my retake there were only two PTs I skipped taking so I didn't need the extra practice.

My point here is that anecdotes are close to useless. It doesn't matter that I practically scored my average despite being burnt out, it doesn't matter that others didn't and attribute it to being burnt out. In the absense of reliable statistics on the matter, you need to make your decision based on common sense and weighing the costs against the benefits. Here are a few of them.

Costs:
Burnout(You could be more tired for the real thing.)

Your confidence could take a hit if you do worse on an additional PT. (This one depends on a few things. How much have low PT scores impacted your confidence in the past? Was your last PT above or below average? Are you confident enough for your confidence to be lowered? Do you tend to score better when you are feeling confident?)

Benifits:
Additional practice(You've only taken 16 PTs, you may still have something to polish about your timing and or test taking strategy.)

Potential Confidence Increase(You could do well and ride the confidence through test day.)

As we get closer to the test the cost of burnout grows. This is why people hardly ever PT on Friday. If you are going to PT again, do it as soon as possible.

Either way good luck on the real thing!

westcoastbestcoast

Have you taken couple of the recent exams? If you already did and you are already accustomed to the language of those exams, I think it would be better do sections or maybe retake an older exam for a confident boost.

ha.atwal

@westcoastbestcoast said:
Have you taken couple of the recent exams? If you already did and you are already accustomed to the language of those exams, I think it would be better do sections or maybe retake an older exam for a confident boost.

Yes, the last 7ish PTs I've taken have mostly been in the 70s so I think I've adjusted to the language

@"Seeking Perfection" said:
The first time I tested I got 1 point less than my average taking two PTs a day until Friday the week before. I scored 1 point below my average. The second time I took one Saturday and one Tuesday and scored 3 above. If I had to do it again I wouldn't change what I di in the last week for either test.

The first test my only studying had been taking PTs and heavilly reviewing(but not blind reviewing) the logic games. I ended up taking more than 20 and less than 30 in 3 weeks. I felt burnout/drained taking the test, but nonetheless basically got my average. By my retake there were only two PTs I skipped taking so I didn't need the extra practice.

My point here is that anecdotes are close to useless. It doesn't matter that I practically scored my average despite being burnt out, it doesn't matter that others didn't and attribute it to being burnt out. In the absense of reliable statistics on the matter, you need to make your decision based on common sense and weighing the costs against the benefits. Here are a few of them.

Costs:
Burnout(You could be more tired for the real thing.)

Your confidence could take a hit if you do worse on an additional PT. (This one depends on a few things. How much have low PT scores impacted your confidence in the past? Was your last PT above or below average? Are you confident enough for your confidence to be lowered? Do you tend to score better when you are feeling confident?)

Benifits:
Additional practice(You've only taken 16 PTs, you may still have something to polish about your timing and or test taking strategy.)

Potential Confidence Increase(You could do well and ride the confidence through test day.)

As we get closer to the test the cost of burnout grows. This is why people hardly ever PT on Friday. If you are going to PT again, do it as soon as possible.

Either way good luck on the real thing!

Thanks for outlining those haha, it helped cement my decision further. My last PT dropped to 159 (when I was avging around 162) so I think my confidence could be hit again and the impact might be worse if I drop below 160. This was a week ago and it made me feel pretty discouraged so I'd rather not put myself in a similar position for Saturday.

I'm going to keep drilling individual sections from LG and use modern questions to hone my technique for LR/RC. At this point I can't imagine sitting through a PT will serve me well because I'm feeling a shred of dread even thinking about it haha. Maybe it's just the anxiety because the test is so close but I feel as if it would impact my test-taking abilities for the PT...