Handling Doubt

CantStopWontStop

I am searching for some advice on handling doubt.

I am doing very well on PT's, average anywhere from 7-12 wrong per test. However, of the 100ish questions, I feel very confident about 80 of them, leaving 20% of the test I am not 100% sure of. And of those 20 questions I am unsure of, I get 50+% right.

So what I'm asking for is, is that just normal? Because most times I grade a test I am expecting the worst and mostly end up with 170+ PT's. It's just such a weird feeling to be doing well and yet not feeling as confident as I should be.

Seeking Perfection

That sounds about like how I felt most of the time.

Blind review should help some by letting you really focus in on those twenty or so questions with unlimited time before grading them. Over time with enough blind reviewing and drilling that increased confidence from the blind review makes the jump into timed sessions. Getting more comfortable with the timing of the test and having more spare time on each section to go back over your guesses during the 35 minutes helps too.

But confidence is never going to be complete. And you are always going to have a shot at the questions you are unsure of. Hopefully eventually that is 10 questions you are unsure of and you miss 5 on average instead of twenty missing ten.

When you figure one out that you could not quite get confident on at first, that is your chance at growth. You want to drill similar questions and repeat that question until you couldn't possibly fail to grasp one with the same logical structure again.

CantStopWontStop

This is very helpful. Thanks. I guess doubt in this test = uncomfort. And you study as much as possible to remove this uncomfort, but that is the nature of the beast.

studyingandrestudying

Venturing that it's normal. Also, we're here for you.

CantStopWontStop

@lsatplaylist Much appreciated!

eRetaker

To add on to what @lsatplaylist and @"Seeking Perfection" said, I almost never finish my sections on time. At the end of each section of my PTs I always have about 5 questions circled that I am unsure of... To give a recent experience, I finished at exactly 35 mins for LG and RC on the June 2018 exam. Circled 8 questions for RC that I was unclear on, had to pick the first answer that worked on the last game for LG since I was running short on time, and circled another 5 or so questions for the LR sections. Almost canceled since I thought RC destroyed me walking out the test center. Ended up with -0 LG, -1 RC, and -1/-1 LR, so don't worry about uncertainty and just trust the process.

CantStopWontStop

@eRetaker Music to my ears. Thanks for the share. And congrats on that score!

eRetaker

Thanks and good luck on July!

kwdardis

@July2018Taker I feel the exact same way that you feel. @"Seeking Perfection" that is such a lovely reply. I so appreciate your words. To add in my 2 cents, I would say that doubt is merely your perfectionism getting the upper hand. We have to let the perfectionist in us go. Control your thoughts. Feel positive! Focus on working hard. Do what you know you need to do. Seek help if you need it. Believe in yourself! Believe in yourself! Believe in yourself!

studyingandrestudying

@eRetaker, Excellent work on your exam! That is wonderful.

eRetaker

Thanks @lsatplaylist ! Definitely echo @kwdardis words that the cautiousness we feel towards these 15 or so questions is better than being overconfident on all the answer choices.

CantStopWontStop

Thanks @kwdardis Wise words!