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One last PT?

hawaiihihawaiihi Free Trial Member
edited February 2018 in February 2018 LSAT 973 karma

Does anyone have any advice about one last PT? I'm thinking of taking one or two more before the February 10 LSAT. However, part of me is afraid that I'll score badly on my last PT---despite doing fairly well on my others---and that it'll totally demoralize or shake my up for the real thing. At the same time, I know that if I score well, it'll send me into the Feb LSAT feeling confident and in the right mindset.

Anyone else had this problem/fear before their test? Please advise!

(Also, much thanks to this community---despite my worries, I feel WAY more confident than I would be otherwise a week out because of all of you!)

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Comments

  • RGBeetobeRGBeetobe Alum Member
    142 karma

    @hawaiihi the advice that I’ve gotten is to take your last PT no later than one week before the test. While I totally get the effect that a high PT score can have on your confidence, you already know what you’re going to score on the test- the average of your last 5 or so PTs, plus or minus a couple points. Since you won’t have much time to address any weaknesses you might identify by taking a PT, I think a better use of your time would be to continue drilling and taking timed sections (those can also be confidence-boosters), and then start tapering off on prep leading into the test.

  • Rigid DesignatorRigid Designator Alum Member
    1091 karma

    So I know this is going against the grain a bit, but I sat December and I wish I'd sat a PT during the week before. Even if it was just a retake of a PT I'd already done. I think by the time I sat December I hadn't looked at the LSAT for 7+ days which I believe was a mistake on my part. I lost some of my familiarity with the test. Not in the sense that my skills disappeared, but just that I didn't feel as comfortable with it after so long, and that leads to panic, which leads to bad scores.

  • LastLSATLastLSAT Alum Member
    edited April 2018 1028 karma

    .

  • westcoastbestcoastwestcoastbestcoast Alum Member
    3788 karma

    Retake the older PT. Either give yourself less or time or force yourself to go through the process of identifying the conclusion premises and gap for each argument and go through every answer choice, eliminating thr wrong ones as you go

  • OneFortyDotSixOneFortyDotSix Alum Member
    634 karma

    I think of it as sort of like tapering for a race, you want to be rested but not soft. Some light drills on Thursday (no more than an hour), rest on Friday. Definitely no PT's after Wednesday, the fatigue will carry over.

  • pioneer321pioneer321 Free Trial Member
    328 karma

    By this point you are probably the one most familiar with how much rest you might need. I wouldn't take that PT just to boost your confidence, but there might other good reasons to do it. For me, I knew 1 full day of doing nothing would be enough rest, so I studied through mid day on Thursday (thankfully my work allowed me to take a last couple days before the lsat off). On Thursday morning I took a 4-section PT 82, just to remain in the timing rhythm on fresh material, but I never graded it for the risk of bringing my confidence down. This worked nicely for me. Imo, doing a couple of hours of study on Thursday, which is about how long it takes to do 4 sections, shouldn't really fatigue you if that's where you stop (also as long as you aren't already burnt down). But again, you have to judge for yourself based on how you are feeling throughout the week and what you know about your rest needs based on prep so far. Good luck on the upcoming test!

  • sbc.mom_3xsbc.mom_3x Alum Member
    1501 karma

    I am also taking the test this Saturday. I took a PT today and it is the last I'll take before then. I scored a couple pts higher than my average, and the highest I've scored yet on a test. I am afraid of going into the test overconfident now haha. I plan on doing some drills tomorrow and Thursday then taking Friday off. Although I plan on doing some warmup questions the morning of.

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