-6 drop two weeks before test day

heatherelizabeth

Hi 7sagers,
I just wrote preptest 72, and experienced a -6 drop from my score on preptests 70 and 71. Aside from this, I have been experiencing an upward trend, with a fairly consistent score of 170. The scores that have deviated from this in the past are explainable in terms of hunger, poor sleep, etc. - conditions I am learning to eliminate and work through if necessary. That being said, there is nothing obvious that I can point to to explain the drop on this test. I was having some issues with focus, but nothing out of the ordinary. I am conscious that it could be due to an upward trend in difficulty on the newer tests, and perhaps the fact that I have only written 16 tests in total, so my reaction is to want to push myself and write as many as I can before June 6th. However, I don't want to overdo it and write too many because I have heard that it is best to take it relatively easy in the weeks prior to test day. I need to score 170+ on test day, or else I will need to rewrite. Can anyone offer any insight on how I should approach these next two weeks?
Thanks in advance.

BruiserWoods

This post could have been written by me 2 weeks ago. The same exact scenario happened to me. My previous 5-test average was 171, (170 on PT 70 and 172 on PT 71). Then 72 rolled around and I scored a shocking 166. So, naturally, I did exactly what you're asking about - which was starting cramming in drill after drill after drill when I would get off of work. When I sat down to take PT 73 last weekend I made an EVEN MORE SHOCKING 162. I am certain that what was going on was a combination of stress, pressure I was putting on myself, and burnout.

(I also was on a medication that I didn't realize was increasing my potassium levels, which is apparently a thing that causes mental and physical fatigue - but really, I think it was mostly stress and burnout).

So this past week, I stepped away from the LSAT COMPLETELY (except for office hours on wednesday, bc those are awesome and I needed moral support). I didn't do a single drill, a single BR question, a webinar, nothing for the whole week. I hung out with a friend, went on a date, took some walks, caught up on laundry - just like, acted like a normal person for a week which was weird and different hahah. So, yesterday, I took PT 74. My score came back up to 171. Before I started the test, I did a 5-minute guided meditation and reminded myself of all the 170+s that I had made. Additionally, I told myself not to even think about the score at the end, but just take each question as it came to me, one-by-one. I tried to take on that "how to eat an elephant" frame of mind, and leave it all out on the test.

Since this is something I literally JUST went through on the EXACT same test in the EXACT same order, I would REALLLYYYY recommend learning from my mistake and not cramming in any more PTs for a minimum of a few days. Clear your head. Remind yourself of all the highs of your journey. This test is a monster. It's extremely mentally (and emotionally) draining. Remind yourself that you're a human and do other human things for a few days.

Burnout is. very. real. And it will get you if you try to do too much. You're not going to learn anything else before June 6. And if you do, the chances it's going to make any substantial impact on your scores is probably very low. If you've consistently scored in the 170s, you know this test. That's not an accident. You've put in the work. You're not going to all of a sudden forget all of that in a week. I. promise. If you MUST do LSAT stuff, I would recommend absolutely no more than 1 drill every other day until you take your next PT (which I would recommend you don't do for a week).

I'm no LSAT expert, this is just what I did when I was in your situation. xoxo Good luck!

hlsat180

@heatherm93 Most folks who have taken many more PTs will tell you not to worry about a one-off. But if you're like me, best assurance is to dissect what happened and know for sure. For example, compare your PT results to your BR score. PT72 had a difficult passage (equipoise) and an unusual game (Summit Company), but maybe you were distracted by something else, or were burned out, etc. It's hard to say for sure without a more details.

cmelman95

I was you when I moved into the most modern tests (and I actually think I bombed PT 72 specifically. Pretty sure it was on that test that I got my lowest score since January.) Thoroughly review every missed or circled question until you think you understand them all, then take the test again, untimed, to dissect every question and answer choice.

All the while, realize that exceptions do not disprove rules, and this is an outlier. With that in mind, consider this a fluke and know that the data proves you're better than this.

cmelman95

Take people's advice on burnout with a pinch of salt, though. You have to know yourself. I do better when I'm working on the LSAT constantly, since I can immerse myself in the test and keep my mental muscles strong—and my score data bear that out. I think I have a relatively high threshold for burnout, but I woke up the other day with an instinctive feeling that I risked burning out if I took a PT that day. So I didn't. It messed up my schedule a little bit, but that's far better than hurting myself. You've gotta know your own mind and body.

heatherelizabeth

Thank you so much for your responses. I will definitely try a few of your suggestions.