PT score drop when timed

mysojuli

Hello,

When I take a PT timed I score around 154-156. I have time at the end of each section, so I am not guessing, but When I BR that same test I score 166-168. What should I do to get my PT timed to be in the 160s. I plan on taking the Dec LSAT. My ideal score is 163-165..Please help!

allergic

Have you finished working through the curriculum? How many are you getting wrong per section on average?

diana1493

If you have time at the end of each section, meaning timing is not a problem, and you are still missing a lot, I would think that you still need to work more on your fundamentals. I personally feel accuracy comes before timing, so maybe you need to slow yourself down and hone in your understanding. This may mean that you will run out of time on sections, but if you are accuracy is high then timing comes with practice.

Like allergic mentioned, it would be helpful to know what you typically score for each section to give more specific help.

mysojuli

@allergic
I have not finished the curriculum. I only have about 45ish days left till test date, so I have been just trying to get PT’s done, and hoping that through BR I can learn a lot of information. I do 2PT’s a week and BR for one day after each PT. I spend 2x a week working on the curriculum in weak problem spots. I also take 1 rest day

@allergic @diana1493

My average for each section

LR: -9
LR: -9
RC: -8
LG: -4

Thanks soo much super nervous about December....

GSU Hopeful

Just as a blanket statement, with a mastery of the fundamentals comes a decrease in time required. To exhibit a mastery of those fundamentals you need, that BR needs to be 170+ if not 175+. I think your problem will boil down to your grasp of the important concepts.

c.janson35

Finishing sections early doesn't necessarily mean that you know your stuff, so just honestly evaluate where you are in your prep. Maybe you're finishing early because you're rushing through the stimuli without giving them a proper analysis? Maybe you're finishing early because you're not effectively using POE to eliminate wrong answer choices? Maybe you're finishing early because you're consistently falling into trap answer choices?

Evaluate your misses. Note your thought processes that led you to select an incorrect answer. Learn! Don't rush through PTs hoping that you'll learn what you need to by just taking them and reviewing your incorrect answers. You have to know exactly what it was that caused you to misfire so that it doesn't happen again.

Keep practicing! You got this.

allergic

My best advice would be to postpone your test until February, stop PTing, finish the curriculum and then return to PTing.

Faaabs93

Slow down a bit. I used to get so focused on running out of time, however when I would do sections without looking at my watch, I noticed I always still made time.

Constantly analyzing your watch leads to nothing but anxiety, which can hinder your full thought process. I know this is easier said than done, on test day I had a bad case of constantly looking at my watch during RC, which made me panic, and low and behold the last RC section just pooped on me.

Maybe not postpone until February yet. Wait until the week before the LSAT, and if you haven't hit your goal score at least 5 times, don't take it. However if you do hit your goal score, don't get over confident. I did, and it bit me in the ass hard. 30+ PTs hitting my goal score, missed it on test day.

Focus hard on your mistakes, and keep calm, and you got this

mysojuli

Thank you everyone for the advice.

I decided to go through PTs 45-60 and turn them into problem sets for the problem types that I have problem with. I am saving PTS 61-75 for timed practice. That's 14 PTs enough for 2 PTs a week if needed. It's not an option to postpone the test, but I am going to focus on the fundamentals and work through some of the course. I decided to turn 45-60 into problem sets because many people talk about the shift in difficulty in the 50s of the LR. Plus, I don't think I need more then 14 PTs for timed practice.

If anyone is interested in figuring out how to take screenshots of images and put multiple screenshots into a one page doccument. I highly reccomend using clarify. With that application I am able to make problem sets and it allows me to have 4 LR problems per one piece of paper.