Thoughts?

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therogerdean

Gotta master it, so that you can't get it wrong.

DumbHollywoodActor

Even though you say you're not nervous, clearly there's something going on with you once it's Showtime. Give yourself something that will Get your adrenaline up and force you to keep calm. Maybe try doing 34 minute sections for PTs.

Pacifico

Don't bother with 6 section tests... Sounds like you had some adrenaline rolling that might have been blinding you to the nerves you were actually experiencing. In any event, something happened that likely led you to stray from your fundamentals and I think having gameday experience should help you with December. I would just focus on improving your timed and BR scores so you are into the 170s by the time you retake.

StopLawying

Maybe try beta blockers. My friends have used them and they said it helped

GSU Hopeful

@harleywferguson said:
I have a small nagging feeling that even if im averaging high 160s again i may take the test and bomb again

Getting rid of this would be job one. You're opening the door subconsciously to the possibility of another "bomb". Close that door and get to work. You'll be fine.

deleted account

@harleywferguson:

I think that your best bet right now is to slow down a bit. You might be approaching burnout. No one ever really loses skill in the LSAT (except in the LG section) by not studying for a while, so I think you are definitely at the borderline area. My tips:

1) Do only one or two sections a day for a week or so. Maybe even do them untimed and get the questions right. You know this stuff, especially at such a high score! You're doing better than like 95% of people out there!

2) Try meditation. Helped me a ton, especially when I had mental distractions flowing through my mind. Did I lock the door? Am I going to bomb? Mental anxiety is a terrible thing to have during the LSAT.

6 sections tests are probably not an optimal idea to improve your score at this point. Stick with 4. It's all you need. The DNA of every LSAT is contained in every LSAT.

diana1493

@josephellengar Just a side question as I lurk, great advice by the way. I know you have rocked various LSAT and done extensive PTing, are 4 section PT's not a problem? I know i should do as many as possible with 5 sections but I work full time and currently PT 3x a week so I usually do one of those at 4 sections. Your thoughts and experience?

deleted account

@diana1493:

I never did a single 5-section preptest in my entire study (except for the first two official tests, of course). I honestly think it's a waste of time. I feel like the exhaustion that people feel after a long test is indicative only of not being good enough at the test, not of mental energy depletion. Also, I mentioned this above, but if you are feeling tired during the test the SINGLE BEST THING that helped me by like 10,000% (definitely got me over the hump from 170 to 175+) is meditating. It's just great. I even do it in the test in specific situations. Clears the mind, removes exhaustion, and lets you think so much more clearly.

diana1493

@josephellengar: Thank you so much for responding, I feel a lot better about the 4 section tests I have in my schedule. I also really like the advice on meditation, look forward to implementing that.

Pacifico

@josephellengar said:
I never did a single 5-section preptest in my entire study (except for the first two official tests, of course). I honestly think it's a waste of time.

I think you're saying that it's a waste of time to do it in order to mimic test day, and in that sense I somewhat agree that it is not necessary to do so. However, I think doing 5 section PTs allows you to more efficiently use your time since you get the extra practice by having an extra section on each test. This is especially important in the short timelines like there are between the Oct and Dec tests and the Dec and Feb tests. If you cannibalize an earlier test and use each section as your fifth section then every fourth PT you finish you actually finish a fifth one as well. This keeps motivation up on the fifth section because you can then score this section. I don't really believe in a "drilling phase" so adding the fifth section is just making good use of your time in my opinion.

deleted account

@Pacifico : good point. Never considered that. I also don't believe in a drilling phase.
@diana1493: Glad to help!!

nicole.hopkins

@harleywferguson said:
Should I take some 6 section tests or something?

No -- it sounds like you need to tighten up your RC. That very well could happen to you a second time, of course. What are your scores section to section?

Jonathan Wang

I disagree A LOT with the idea that 5 section tests aren't important. I've worked with enough people whose performance takes a nose dive specifically in section 5 regardless of section type or section difficulty that I will never ever allow any student of mine to go into test day without significant 5-section experience under their belt. It's like advocating practicing for the first 80% of a marathon and assuming the last 20% will go OK. Yes, of course if you're 'good enough' at marathon running, you won't have a problem. The question is, are you actually that good? Consistently? So good that mental fatigue never causes you to make mistakes? Somehow, I doubt that.

I mean, OK. If stamina isn't an issue for you and you can prove that demonstrably, then you don't have to do it (for example, I personally did not - in fact, I only took four full-length tests total). But that doesn't make it correct to dismiss the technique entirely. And in hindsight, I think I did it wrong even if it ended up working out OK for me.

I think the burnout diagnoses have gotten a bit too widespread recently. This does not sound like a case of burnout to me - OP was entering the test on a high note and took a week after his last preptest at 167, so I'm not seeing where overstudying comes into the picture. I'm not seeing anything other than a case of test day execution problems leading to self-doubt afterward. Timeless solution - diagnose your errors, fix them, and remind yourself every so often that you've already done better, so there's no reason you can't do it again. Let's even say that you have a mysterious malady that causes you to drop 6 points on test day every single time - in that case, you just need to get that much better at the test. Odds are, you'll be fine if you stay on target.