October Flex 2020: Advice on How to Cope w/ PT Score Drop? (later PTs)

bellamax

Hey y'all,

My PT score has dropped pretty significantly these past 5 or so tests (went from 172--> 167--> 167 —> 162 --> 161) and I've been struggling to keep up morale. Any advice on how to keep motivation high going into the last 3 ish weeks before the October test? ***For reference, I just started taking the later PTs about two weeks ago, and most recently I took PT 72 and got 161. I don't know if I'm just in my head, but they definitely feel tougher, esp in LG and RC.

I plan on taking a day off tomorrow because it could just be that I'm burnt out (have been doing 3/4 tests per week and drilling in between test days). Any tips on how to get out of this funk are very appreciated! How do you all take care of your mental health during lsat studying?

WouldRatherBeEating

I'm here with you... I just had my worst PT yet (PT 86) and I take the LSAT in October. Very depressing to PT lower than when I began using 7sage, especially when I'm only a few weeks out from the exam.

rschwartz2022

Sorry guys! Good luck with everything! I don't have a test date in mind but my PT's have also been extremely variable - everywhere from a 159 to a 166 (and I've been studying for 4 or 5 months at this point) Just keep on keeping on and remember if it's your first time you can drop the score

calvinnhobbes

Dude I feel you - my scores have been having the EXACT trend - down to the exact scores honestly so I definitely have been bummed as well. However, I keep my head up because tbh this close to the test only positivity is gonna help us - sounds cheesy but true. Also, I keep in mind the fact that if I hit the 170's once I can do it again on test day under pressure when it's the real thing. And yeah if not - there's November and we can cancel our score Good luck!!

bellamax

@WouldRatherBeEating @calvinnhobbes It sucks that it's happening to the three of us but knowing that other people are having similar struggles is pretty comforting...you're right, @calvinnhobbes , positivity is probably the best bet. I was also reading online that a lot of people perform worse when they get stuck in the mindset of worrying about whether or not they're going to get the score they want on a PT. So I definitely am going to try to take that pressure off of myself—all the work we've done is more reflective of our score than these more recent PTs!!

Climb_to_170

I feel almost exactly the same way. I've started taking more recent tests and I always do worse than older tests. Thankfully, the official tests have pulled from older administrations for the Flex, so it's not guaranteed you get newly written questions. Keep grinding and it will work out!

yeahnice

oh lordy. I know exactly how you feel. I was scoring constantly 170s up till pt 69 then, at 70-74 they were in the low 160s. For me it was a combination of things: burnt out, redirecting focus on LR, small mistakes... The score came back right up at PT75 but my suggestions is take a break, and maybe change your focus on the PTs. If LR seems to the reason for the low scores, for me, I started implementing a new method where I would solve the first 10 in 10 minutes, then go straight to Q18-25 then back - and my LR score went right back up. I'm guessing it's a weird wording change in the PTs but, I guarantee you, your skillsets haven't disappeared and all it needs is a little tweaking to make up for the slight changes in the PTs. !