Studying for a retake

msct2239

I just received my June score and while respectable, it isn't high enough for HYS so I'll be retaking in September. My biggest issue with getting back to studying is that I feel I've fully understood the core curriculum and I've now also used up the later PTs. I also worked through the LG Bible and LSAT Trainer. Drilling and BRing was my preferred strategy the first time, but I'm a little lost on how I should go forward from here. Is re-doing PTs even helpful? Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Cant Get Right

Well, what exactly happened on test day? Did you hit your average PT score and that just wasn't quite where you needed to be? Or did you fall short of your average which would have been what you needed?

And unless you're scoring 180 on every PT, then you have not achieved full understanding. Focus on what you miss and why. And "careless error" is an excuse, not an explanation. To score in the mid 170s you've got to be hard on yourself. If you score a 179, don't be happy with an amazing score. Be pissed off about the 3 you missed. Determine why you missed them and how you could have done better.

blah170blah

^^ nailed it.

BruiserWoods

Get you a study buddy or join the BR groups. Defend your answers. Explain why they're right. Out loud. In words.

If you can't do those things, writing them out is good too, but not quite as effective in my experience

Ron Swanson

Seconding what @BruiserWoods is telling you. Can't beat BR with actually talking out/deep diving your answers.

Sorry to hear your June take didn't work out exactly as planned..I'm also in that boat. I'd definitely recommend the BR calls if you don't have someone to study with in your area

msct2239

@"Cant Get Right" I scored 3 points less than my PT average, and I think it was a combination of nerves and poor timing.

With regards to continuing with BR, can I trust scores on PTs that I've already taken before? I'm concerned that I'll remember the questions, rendering the tests less of an accurate reflection.

Cant Get Right

Going about -3 from your PT average is typical. I saw in another post you scored 171? So you're definitely capable of scoring what you want. You just have zero margin for error. You've really got to aim for a 180 on every PT, and don't even think about a -180 BR.

Retakes do return inflated scores, but the scores don't really matter. You can still keep learning from them. If you remember a question, pause on it. Force yourself to go back through the steps and remember your process. If anything tripped you up the first time you saw it, identify it and think about why you struggled with it and what your process was when you BR'd it that allowed you to overcome the issue. Then determine how you may could have gotten there on the first look. This will slow you down, but if you still feel like you're moving at too good a pace you can always take a little time off the clock so you can keep the pressure on.

msct2239

@"Cant Get Right" Thanks so much for your solid advice.

stepharizona

Hey @mscy2293 JY gave me some solid advice for retakes by saying to limit the amount of time given per section, ideally completing the section, starting with 30 and moving down with a goal of 25 to help compensate for the score inflation from a retake.Its really helped me deal with inflation as well as processing questions faster and force me to embrace a skip/return strategy.

allison.gill.sanford

Seconding @"Cant Get Right" here, your score was entirely typical if you're within +/-3 of your recent average. I wouldn't blame that on nerves, or rather, those are typical nerves during an administration. Most folks bend toward the lower deviation from their average because most of us don't get superhuman when the adrenaline hits, we slightly underperform.
So get yourself to a consistent range where you'll be happy if you hit -3 of your recent average on test day.
You're now progressing into the stage of prep where way better than average isn't enough. You're shooting for perfect, and you have to be brutally honest yourself about why you are falling short.
Can you discern any patterns in your problems?
Lastly, if you're never done tutoring, I always recommend it. You might have some significant insights within a couple sessions that would be hard to come by on your own. Lots of fantastic 7Sagers offer tutoring.
And, of course, your BRs need to be excellent - perfect or near perfect every time.. Don't give up on the BR process prematurely just because the dividends you get out of it are now coming more slowly. You're trying to close that last gap, so progress looks and feels different.

runiggyrun

@stepharizona said:
JY gave me some solid advice for retakes by saying to limit the amount of time given per section, ideally completing the section, starting with 30 and moving down with a goal of 25 to help compensate for the score inflation from a retake.Its really helped me deal with inflation as well as processing questions faster and force me to embrace a skip/return strategy.

I really like this strategy. I also got a 171 in June so I'll be retaking in September. The 171 was lower than any of my 72 PT's and well below my average for them, so I feel it was more of a failure to execute under pressure than a lack of understanding. It's hard to replicate the actual feeling of the test during PT's, and probably even harder when all you have left is retakes.
I've tried to re-do a PT I did a few months ago with only 30 minutes/section and for the first time in all of the PT's I felt about as nervous and rushed as I remember feeling during the real test, so I think it would be an excellent strategy to train the mental aspect of the test - something that's probably doubly important for getting a mid-170 score where the room for error is extremely small.

stepharizona

A 171 awesome @runiggyrun you should be a Sage now! @"Dillon A. Wright" woo hoo! Yeah glad its working for you too I am struggling with timing still a bit, but I feel it getting better!

inactive

@stepharizona said:
A 171 awesome @runiggyrun you should be a Sage now! @"Dillon A. Wright" woo hoo!

Hell yeah! Send me a screenshot of your score, @runiggyrun, and I'll hook you up with Sage status.