am i the only one whose score is going lower the last week before the december LSAT??? HELP

7sage lsat forum

I have been getting the same consistent scores for over a month now and have been happy with my score, but I took a PT two days ago (two days in a row) and went down 4 points on both of these days..not sure why? i know for a fact im drained but im not too convinced that this is the reason why my score went down two days in a row exactly -4. what do i do up until the test day? I plan on taking two more practice tests (tomorrow and wednesday) but also nervous to see the same low score I got two days ago? i saw on a few forums that its normal to randomly go lower the last week before the lsat but i also saw on other forums that the last 3 PTs is a good representation of what I would be getting on test day

ivy.yang78

Same! not sure if it's just the nerves...maybe the pretests you're practicing with are getting harder? Its so frustrating!

Alex

@"7sage lsat forum" said:
but I took a PT two days ago (two days in a row)

I know it is frustrating and nerve-racking, but slow your roll on PTs and allocate more time to figuring out why your score went down. Could very well be burn out/nerves....

Taking PTs 2 days in a row isn't going to help you much. At this point, you should focus in on drilling weaknesses and thoroughly blind reviewing the 2 tests you've taken recently. Taking more PTs isn't going to help you.

Taking practice tests in this fashion is akin to compulsive gambling at a poker table. You have to get up from the table sometimes and learn, master, and practice specific poker strategies. (BR, return to CC, drilling weaknesses) If you stay at the table and keep playing hands (taking PTs), you're just going to waste money (tests) and not improve in any meaningful way. Luck is what you'll have to rely on.

marcosmcqueen

"The hay is in the barn," my cross country coach used to tell me.
In cross country we used to "taper" before big races. That meant that our training would increase in intensity until that last week before the race. That last week of intense training (two weeks before the race), was just brutal. We'd hurt, and I was so sore I could feel it walking between classes. Then, on that last week, coach would give us easy practices. We'd run shorter distances. We'd only hit our top speeds for a few strides. We'd focus on things like our breathing, our positioning and our strategy. Our bodies would recover and, it seemed, bloom with new energy and sharpness. We'd go into race day feeling like race horses.
By that last week, the hay was in the barn. We had put in the work to build strength. The last week was a time to let that strength emerge to it's fullest, not to build new strength.
I, too have had some rocky performances on practice tests over the last couple of weeks. I decided that the test I took yesterday would be my last. I'm doing a leisurely review this morning. The rest of the week I'll be lightly drilling LG sections that I've already done, as that's my weak spot.
My feeling is that I'm not going to be able to gain any substantive skills or "new knowledge" this week. Or rather, that I will gain more by refining the skills I've already developed.
Test day is all about efficiency. It's about using what you've built to get as many correct answers as you can. Which am I more likely to do efficiently- 1) work through some new concept with which I'm vaguely familiar or 2) use a skill which I've been using on-and-off for months and which I've been lightly polishing over the last few days?
You've spent months building your strength. Relax, review, meditate. Clear your mind and allow your skills to emerge. The hay is in the barn.