So this happened

zanqvi861

2 weeks back I was ecstatic cuz PT's were actually being sane.

PT 70 - 172 (I was like wut O.O)
PT 71 - 168
PT 72 - 171
Then
PT 73 - 166
PT 74 - 167
PT 76 - 167
PT 77 - 165
*(skipped PT 75 for December prep if needed)

and latest PT 78 got a 164. Now either I had a split personality take over one week/ the earlier 70's were not representative, OR .. hmm I actually have no clue.

I need some thoughts from the wonderful people out there, and if similar things have happened to you guys and how to deal with life (lol)
Also! It's my LR that has suffered. It was averaging -3 to -4 now its gone back to -4 - -7 which is rather frightening. PT 78 I actually managed a -8 in one of the LR sections...

ppcoelho1

hi, I think if you have done this many PTs in 2 weeks maybe you are burning out a bit! sometimes it's more helpful to let your brain rest! I had that problem once i broke into the high 160s i consistently scored at 161 for a while, then took a break and was back onto my higher scores!!

danielznelson

If you took all of those in two weeks, that was waaaay too much. Take a week or two off, unless you're taking in September, in which case is still take off three days or so

zanqvi861

I'm taking it in September. Kinda love the diagnosis to take a break

zanqvi861

Do you guys have any tips on how to prep more for LR?

CalPoliSci

This doesn't seem unusual at all. It looks like your average is 168 with a +\- 3 points. No one can score the same score every test unless you are a 180'er.

Toxoplasmosis

@zanqvi861 said:
Do you guys have any tips on how to prep more for LR?

I have been having big problems with new LR as well. It's much more subtle, less mechanical and just generally alot wordier. What I have been doing to address my issues is deep BR and lots and lots of retakes. I have also found that for whatever reason it is helpful to be much more aggressive with eliminating wrong ACs. I know in the earlier PTs when I had a strong prephrased answer in mind I could kind of just hunt for that or generally rely on a correct answer choice to pop out at me. New LR has forced me to be much more diligent with eliminating answer choices and much less reliant on instincts because the attractive answer choices seem to be the correct answer choice much less frequently.

desire2learn

Identify what types of questions you tend to get wrong and just get more familiar with the flavor of those for the 70s PTs. That helped me a lot because I started missing some specific types in LR and once I honed in on it I am doing better. Also, I agree with the taking a break part. Most of my best scores have come after small breaks (usually because I am rested mentally, rested physically, and just in a better place overall).

zanqvi861

Thank you all for the amazing advice!

@Toxoplasmosis I completely agree with you, earlier PT's it was easier to go with your gut and have the right AC pop out at you. I shall definitely try this week to go in deep and figure out what was behind the questions I got wrong! Literally it's about getting stuck between two really attractive AC's and choosing the wrong one...

@desire2learn This is really great advice, the flavor of the later 70's is weirdly different, I always tend to get the Evaluate and Disagree types wrong, I guess because of lack of familiarity! I shall go diving into that 70's morass

@CalPoliSci you have given me hope to hit a 168. Fingers crossed!!

Best of luck to all you wonderful people giving it September. May the curve be ever in our favor.