Need Some Advice

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• 1 Like

  Did I Stutter Member

  June 2019 384 karma

  I totally understand how test day nerves can hinder performance. I honestly wonder tho...if you were performing better at home without the nerves then what could a tutor do?
  Perhaps try working on ways to control your nerves as best as possible or learn to work through them....
  Make your best effort to take the test under real testing conditions as often as possible.
  Take a deep breath, relax. Meditate.
  Not sure if these suggestions will help but I hope the best for you!
• 3 Likes

  MIT_2017 Alum Member

  June 2019 470 karma

  I took the July 2018 LSAT. I had been averaging around 174/175 on my PTs leading up to that, with my lowest score in the 10 PTs leading up to the exam being a 170. Nerves got the best of me on test day, and I bombed it (according to my PT scores): 167. It had been over 2 months since I had gotten a PT score around there, and I didn't take it that well. I didn't want to think about the LSAT. So I didn't. For a long time.

  Somewhere in early April 2019, I decided I wanted to take the LSAT again, and would prefer to take it in the paper format, so I had to register for the June exam. I didn't do that much differently leading up to this exam except for 2 changes:

  1- focusing less on "getting more PTs under my belt" and focused more on thoroughly reviewing them. In other words, when it comes to PT practice, quality > quantity. Don't dismiss any mistakes as "silly mistakes," or you will end up making silly mistakes on test day. Each time you go to do a section, identify ONE technique or skill you want to improve on. When you're scoring -6+ on a section, you likely have multiple areas to focus on, but take one weakness at a time, and make sure to crush it on that section. This made improving seem much more manageable than "ahhh I need to improve on X and Y and Z on this take!"

  2- I began meditating daily. Personally I use Sam Harris' Waking Up App which is phenomenal, but there are some other free apps out there. One thing I did poorly on my first take (July 2018) was maintaining composure: I didn't finish a section (which was very rare for me), and couldn't put that out of my mind when I went to the next section. Which in turn made me feel less positive about that section, too, and it snowballed. On this most recent take, there was one section that rattled me. I almost always go -0 on LG, but I actually had to somewhat guess on THREE questions. This freaked me out. But when they called time and moved on to the next section, I took 20-30 seconds to step back, take a deep breath, drive the panic out of my mind and realize all I can do right now is focus on the question at hand, and I did exactly that. I truly think having slightly better control over my mind and emotions allowed me to handle this very similar situation in a much better way this past June take than I did last July. And I ultimately went -0 on both of those sections and ended up with a 176 overall.

  I was so bummed and down on myself after my first LSAT resulted in a score much lower than I was anticipating. But that happens to the best of us. Nerves can totally derail you. So as you move forward, don't simply focus on improving your skills such that you won't find yourself in an uncomfortable position on test day -- also focus on how to best react when those uncomfortable moments inevitably come.