Drop in score - Is it just too much?

Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
edited November 2014 in General 140 karma
Hey,

I was happy earlier this week. I scored my highest scores of 165, a 165 again, and then a 168. My Blind review was also great, somewhere in the 170's. I only missed questions that JY was claiming were curve breaker on the LR. I just don't perform well on Reading Comprehension in general, but I did do slightly better on these tests. Basically, I was happy with my score and feeling confident for the Dec. 6th test.

Now I've taken two tests the past 2 days and scored a 159 and 160. I didn't get perfect logic game on either and my I am just missing more LR than I have been. My RC doesn't do me any favors either, but it never does. I'm glad that I still have time to make corrections, but still my confidence is slightly shaken after 2 disappointing tests. I really want to score that 167+ on test day.

Am I just taking too many tests close together? That wasn't a problem with those 165/168 tests... but did it just catch up to me finally? The thing I fear is that the later tests are harder. I feel like the LG section in particular is harder starting with #53.

My game plan now is to review today and tomorrow any patterns of the last two tests and go for another simulated test Saturday.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Comments

  • ddakjikingddakjiking Inactive ⭐
    2116 karma
    Were your previous high scores on older PT's? I noticed for me that I do much worse on the recent RC's. But I wouldn't worry too much. I feel another side to the LSAT is simply your mental confidence. On your next PT, just remind yourself that you are ready to own it and clear your mind of your last two PT scores.
  • c.avetisyanc.avetisyan Free Trial Member
    24 karma
    ^ I'm actually having a problem with my mental confidence. I put so much pressure on myself that I set my self up for failure, and I just can't stay positive. It's really demoralizing. Any other suggestions?
  • blah170blahblah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐
    3545 karma
    On what tests were you doing above 165-168 on, and what 2 tests did you just take? I noticed that LR is more difficult in the 50s and experienced a similar drop.
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    50, 51, 52 = 165+
    53 = 159, 54 = 160

    Could be mental or physical fatigue, could be mental confidence. I did do a super hard workout yesterday now that I think about it. I thought it would help.

    I did once ( maybe 3 weeks ago) take 2 tests on the same day as mental endurance training and scored a 163 and then a 157... so clearly i'm not immune to mental fatigue.

    Who knows. Anyone else experiencing a drop in the 50's?

    I'm gonna try relaxing a bit and watching some of these
    http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/1763/if-you-need-some-motivation-
    :P
  • synergy_101synergy_101 Alum Member
    edited November 2014 180 karma
    I would strongly recommend you do a couple preptests from the 70's before you attempt to write the dec lsat. The 50's are not representative of what you'll see on test day.
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    ^ in what ways?
  • blah170blahblah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐
    3545 karma
    Correct me if I'm wrong @synergy_101 but I thought the major difference between the 50s/60s and the 70s was logic games. There's a pretty pronounced shift in LG where, in the 50s & 60s, games were around the same level of difficulty (medium to medium-hard), whereas now there always seem to be one ball-busting game that are interspersed with easier games earlier on.

    The biggest shift I've noticed in LR that has been sustained from the 50s to the 70s is the difficulty of the answer choices. Namely, I've noticed that the stimuli and arguments aren't harder but the answer choices have gotten more convincing. Once I realized that, my score went back up to high 160s.
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    @synergy_101 Yup, I am jumping up to them soon. I was just trying to work through as many lower tests as possible.
    @blah170blah Not looking forward to the ball busting games... I'm pretty good at making inferences but I struggle on unfamiliar setups. Ideally I can speed through easy ones and brute force tricky ones if I can't setup properly.
  • adrian.mikoadrian.miko Alum Member
    191 karma
    I definitely found the RC sections harder in the newer exams, specifically 52+.
    As mentioned above, the LG sections in the 70s+ seem to have 2 easy games, one medium and then a game from hell.... Which has lowered my score on the recent PTs.
  • iryankees13iryankees13 Free Trial Member
    edited November 2014 36 karma
    Dillon, really don't sweat it too much. Don't psych yourself out either worry that the more recent tests are more difficult. They really aren't. And in fact to refute the ball busting theory that was posed, if you take a look at PT 73 there were 4 medium level games with no real killer. Things cycle in and out with games so you never really know what you're going to get. Sometimes it'll be 2 easy 1 tough and 1 killer and other times it'll be more balanced. But don't worry if you've taken many PTs you'll be prepared and at least have a grasp of what's thrown at you on test day.

    As for RC I too struggle the most with it. And I must say that sadly it has become more difficult, from the high 50s on up. But again, it's not always the case that you'll have brutal passages. It just depends on the day sometimes. Sometimes you really get a good grasp on the passages and things fall into place, so just drill RC as much as you can and you'll be ready. I can again turn to PT 73 which provided a very easy science passage, which many struggle with, and this seemed easier to get through.

    Relax, stay focused, and know your preparation will guide you through test day.

  • synergy_101synergy_101 Alum Member
    180 karma
    How do you quote people? :S haha.

    But this is what I noticed from the 50's and 70's, there are more curve breaker questions dispersed throughout the test in the later tests.

    LG.
    - There is the introduction to the substitution/ rule equivalence question appearing from pt 57 and onwards. Usually, there are only 1 or 2 questions, but they're designed to suck up so much time
    - There was the emergence of the pattern and circular games on the feb/june test, but the sept lsat was nothing out of the ordinary.
    - Other than that, the games are only slightly more difficult than the previous 50's.

    RC.
    - I personally found the later 60's passages to be a bit more difficult than the early ones, but it could just be me lol.

    LR.
    - I've noticed more curve breaker questions in the later LSAT's, and more trap answer choices with the newer lsat's

    Hmm maybe I exaggerated a tad bit w/ the overall difficulty... hahaha, oppps
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    I took test 70 today. I found the logic games much harder so I will be dedicating some time to reviewing newer harder logic games. I'm not getting perfect LG sections anymore like I was in the 40s and early 50s. The RC seemed fine.

    My score went back up slightly to 164. I think I needed some mental rest. I was able to attack the questions more aggressively than the last two.

    i'll carefully look at my mistakes this time and hopefully I can go into test day with more confidence of scoring a highter 160. (Maybe a high of 169)

    Thank you for everyone's opinions and advice. The discussion forum here is filled with good people. :)
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    Sorry! Not trying to bother anyone but i just want to share some exciting news!

    I scored a 172 on a PT today :o I'm so happy. I never thought I'd score that high on a PT!

    If you are like what I was and struggling on a few tests in a row maybe just take a day to relax and another day to tune up some small stuff. Review a few past tests here and there. And then hammer and focus on a pt when you can. I'm now positive I was overdoing it at the time of my rut of 159/160. I think some tests are in fact harder than others but they do seem to reward you with easier sections to counterbalance the hard ones. 50s, 60s, and 70s feel roughly the same.

    Dec 6 is right around the corner! Anything within 3 points plus or minus of that 172 would make my Christmas. Back to it!
  • ddakjikingddakjiking Inactive ⭐
    2116 karma
    @Dillon PG How long did it take for your "A HA!" moment and jump from the low 160's to 165+ on PT's?
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    Good for you Dillon :):)
  • pjanderson5pjanderson5 Free Trial Member
    238 karma
    Damn that's awesome man. I have the same question as @licknee10. I'm just about to BR PT 68, wish me luck!
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    @licknee10 @pjanderson5 it took a while. 20+ PTs in or so. The truth is one test I just realized i was making obvious mistakes again and again and what helped was doing things JY says to do. I wrote down on the back of the answer sheet a bunch of stuff for myself to do next PT.

    LR: Always identify Premise and conclusion. Read all the answer choices. Question stem first. Know the question types. I just wasn't doing this stuff properly before even though i thought I was.

    RC: SERIOUSLY give the passage as much time as you need. Understand it. It's so common sense but i suspect a lot of people are doing what I was doing and tricking themselves into thinking they know where everything is and what it means by skimming. It takes time but this was the real thing holding me back. Went from - 8 to - 6 to - 3/4.

    LG: they repeat themselves so just do them all and fool proof them. Inferences just come up all the time that I've seen before or if they are new I just spend a little more time flushing them out.

    And weird bit of advice but really force yourself to focus in on the test. I found myself kinda going through the motions a few times and not really paying close attention to the test. We have to be focused in on what we are doing or we won't do our best. I personally need to stop thinking about what I will be doing with my life after the test.

    I'm gonna really try to make sure I can carry this success over to test day. Good luck to us all!
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