(Vent Thread) Took a PT and...

blah170blah

I just took a PT today. I debated not taking it because I was super tired and I've just been not channeling positive LSAT energy these past few days. Still, I told myself I could do it and took it.

I was pretty happy because I thought I had been doing well, applying my processes and whatnot. Then I graded it and was floored: -6 in RC, -6 in LR1, and -4 in LG. I haven't seen such consistent bombing in a long time -- usually it just requires warm up and MAYBE I'll just rank one section, but rarely 3 in a row. What kills me is that I did much worse on this PT than I did 2/3 months ago, meaning somehow my score indicates my reasoning ability is getting worse which I know logically doesn't make sense but still feels that way.

Just needed to vent because I'm trying not to feel so distraught. I've been doing a good job of maintaining a positive mindset but my positivity is wearing out and now I'm feeling incredibly anxious.

TheLSAT

Same happened to me today. I took PT 76 and I scored close to my initial diagnostic. It was so devastating and it still feels that way. I am convincing myself it is an outlier. Keep your spirit up.

cacrv567

This has happened to me in cycles through out my studying. I've been studying for over 2 years now. I'd be scoring very high for about 7 tests in a row, and then my scores would start to dip 6/7 points, and then I would have spotty test scores with a score range of about 10 points (wtf), and then the scores would level out back to my high range for a while, and then dip and etc. Needless to say, it's been a shitty emotional rollercoaster.

It's my last take and for both takes, I've scored well out of my PTing range, and for both takes, I thought I walked out thinking I had done fine. Given my terrible, terrible track record, I'm focusing on just settling my nerves, clearing out brain for all the knowledge to meld and leaving room for my neurons to fire correctly (or whatever else they do up there) and focusing on the individual starred questions from past PT/BRs.

Idk what to tell you. Brains are a mystery but just ignore this PT. It's just a number and it doesn't prove anything about what you've learned so far. You know what you've learned and you know you're capable of hitting those scores bc you've done it before. When you see your fresh test, it'll be easier in fact, because your brain won't have to parse through all the different times you've seen the test and it won't harp on wrong answers because you won't have any memory of the fresh question! The brain gears will just kick into place, just like you've been training them to do.

That, above, is at least what I tell myself everyday (insert sad smile here). Hang in there!!

Cant Get Right

It's always harder to deal with when it happens to you, lol, but you probably already know:

You took it while your head wasn't in it. That never goes well. I've been dealing with this too. I actually feel ready which is a very new feeling for me. In a year and a half of studying for this thing, it's something very unfamiliar. Before I felt ready, the stakes felt really high on every PT. That feeling heightened my senses and really made me razor sharp. Now that I sincerely feel ready, I've kind of lost that on my PTs, which was very unexpected. I quit in the middle of one recently because I just couldn't get myself into it. I think maybe we're experiencing the same thing. That's all that happened. Skills don't deteriorate like that, which I know you know. I wouldn't think twice about it. It sucks, but it doesn't represent anything that's going to be a problem. On test day, you'll be there.

BinghamtonDave

I think we can reasonably say that you had an off day my friend. Your reasoning ability probably didn't get worse, you just had an off day/weren't at your best.

An analogy that I tell myself in these situations might useful. Do you by any chance follow boxing? Well if you don't there is a magnificent boxer named Manny Pacquiao,who for my money is probably the greatest left handed boxer in history. He had an incredible trilogy with another fighter named Marquez-who in his own right is a fantastic, brilliant boxer and a worthy foe. Throughout their meetings, Pacquiao just seemed to be a step quicker, a step trickier and a step stronger, kind of how I feel when the LSAT tricks me again and again. Figuring out Pacquiao in the ring would be like getting a180 on test day. For Marquez, he had to pick himself off the canvas three times in the first round of their first meeting just to score a draw! This is the equivalent of bombing the first section and being nearly perfect on the remaining sections just to earn a 167. The video is below. A truly incredible show of heart.



Well in their fourth and final meeting Marquez studied harder than he ever did before. And he beat Pacquiao in devastating fashion. Marquez's relationship with Pacquiao is like many of our relationship with the LSAT. It will catch me on a bad day and knock me down, but one day, when the moment is right, I'll sit and get the score I have earned.

zanqvi861

You know it's rather surprising how much being in a crappy place tends to affect your PT score. My personal experience is days you don't really want to do the test, the score kinda suffers cuz the concentration isn't there.

The best part is this Won't happen on test day. The reason being we'll all be hopped up on adrenaline and concentration will be amazing. So! I think you'll actually do as well as you were doing before. Maybe even better.

Chin up soldier XD

westcoastbestcoast

Dam. The same thing happened to me on PT 76 like one of other commenters. I was feeling good about how I was answering the first 3 passages of that RC section and I realized only had 6 minutes for the last comparative passage. Not finishing that section threw off my game for the rest of the PT

J. Tharp

I gave up during the last section (LG, my worst section STILL) during a PT today. I was pretty bummed because I didn't feel good about the rest of the test and then I just freaked when I saw something I hadn't seen before. Anyway, kind of just jumping on to your vent-thread because I thought about starting one myself earlier. Turns out, though, I shouldn't have given up because I still made a 161 even with -11 in LG. All of that to say, I get really down on myself when I don't feel great about a test. I think the only thing to do is take a break, do something fun to take your mind off of it, and try again in a few days

DallasOnFire

I've noticed the recent uptick in posts about disastrous PTs as we get closer to the September date. For my part, I scored a 164 on PT 75 a few days ago, when my average is a 171. I haven't dipped below 167 since 2015, so I was probably as depressed as you are feeling now.

Worst part is, like you, I didn't feel particularly bad while taking the test. Sure, I didn't feel like I was Godzilla in Tokyo, but I felt astoundingly normal during the timed take. That probably is the biggest part of why it hurts so bad to see that nasty surprise after pressing submit.

The one thing about the LSAT that makes it so different as a standardized test is that it's dependent on application of a set of skills rather than a foundation of knowledge. When one is off his game because of anxiety, family concerns, or other distractions it hurts his ability to process and apply each stimulus and question stem, even when one feels he is fine. The result is often a hard blow to your confidence that sends you down a roller coaster ride of progressively worse scores as you keep taking more and more tests in hopes of redemption and self-confirmation of your previous prowess.

In the end, there is only one thing you can do - review it and understand why you made the mistakes you did. Chances are high that most of the mistakes are confidence errors/simple misreads because you are off the ball. Meditate on this for a while and understand that this score isn't a better indication of your skill level than your average is. Then move on with a stronger and more conscious understanding of yourself and your weaknesses which you can take into your next PT.

Fear is the mind killer. Don't let it overwhelm you.

desire2learn

Just get yourself right physically and mentally. You have the skills, now you need to rest, do some fun things, eat healthy, get some exercise, etc. All of this will sharpen you and you will be ready to roll! You can do this @blah170blah !