Anyone that scored either higher than PT average or at PT average please give tips?

Comments

• calebnaysmith97 Member

  February 2020 9 karma

  Strangely enough, I feel alot better on test day going through the test, but I have scored below my average both times, I am not sure why. Like during PT's I am half asleep and dragging through it, sometimes even just guessing but on test day I am on high alert and taking it all extremely seriously lol. Maybe its best to just be half asleep for the test lol. Ive also had consistenly underwhelming scores though. Ive taken it twice and went from 149 -> 154 -> Feb LSAT will be my last test. If I could just get up to high 150's or anything at or above 160 I'd love life loll, I have scored 160's on PT's before but its a struggle and mostly luck I believe. On my PT's I was consistenly scoring high 150's and made a 162 once, so ofcourse i went into the LSAT feeling great. Low key wanted to die after getting a 154 back.
• SharpieHighlighter Alum Member

  February 2020 132 karma

  I did 5 PTs in the month before taking the LSAT, and for better or worse, my scores were very consistent (within 1 point of each other). So I was pretty happy that my real test score was higher than all my PTs (by 1 point). I can't say there was any obvious trick to not dropping on the test day, and maybe it was a fluke, but I did have a plan to replicate test conditions while I studied, which I like to think is why I succeeded in at least in getting higher than my PT score.

  To that end, I did all my PTs at a desk with an eraser, pencil, sheet of paper, and using 7sage on a tablet (which is very close to the real thing). I skipped questions if they felt like they were going to drain time or if they made panic creep in, just as though I was in a test. They're always a bit easier on a second pass. I also kept an eye on an analog watch, which made me feel a little more grounded than using the digital timer.

  It's not possible to 'not be nervous' on the day, and I was hyperventilating while waiting outside the room. Since I had exposed myself to test conditions repeatedly, I just had to keep reminding myself that the real test was not going to be any different to what I'd done at home, to keep myself relatively in my head. Once I was in the room and they finally let us begin, I just carried on like it was another PT, forgot about my nerves, and got a score that was slightly better than what I expected.
• zgnc0616 Member

  February 2020 41 karma

  My first test, I got at my PT average (not my highest score on a PT overall but within 1 or 2 points and on par with the upward trend I had going into the test). That was in July.

  I'm taking it again this Feb and my PT scores are significantly higher now, so I'll have to let you know after I take it, but for now, my advice is this:

  Don't hate this test. This test may not be your friend 100% of the time, but it definitely is not your enemy. It's a beast to be conquered, a puzzle to be solved, but you have to look at it as something that's interesting, engaging, and challenging (in a good way). When I started my LSAT journey I would dread practicing and taking these tests. But once I realized that there's a lot to learn here and that I'm developing skills I'll be using throughout my legal career, I decided to look at it more as this elusive thing and a code I get to crack - getting faster, eliminating tricky answers more confidently, feeling great on sections - all of these felt like rewards for my hard work.

  Then, on test day, instead of feeling like I was dreading the test or just exhausted and ready to get it over with, I felt amped up. I listened to some confidence boosting jams in my car on the way over. Most importantly, I felt like I was about to show off my skills and kick the test's butt rather than running through the motions of something I had to do.

  Frame it (and every practice test) as a chance to show off and do your best and I think you'll feel a lot more confident on test day.
• EagerestBeaver Alum Member

  February 2020 703 karma

  I scored at my PT average. I called one of the wiser friends I know right before I left to go to the test site, and he told me something that I have been repeating to myself since. He said, "you have been studying for eight months. You are probably going to do exactly how you have been performing." I know that might sound super anti-climatic, but I think he was right. Obviously as said by @SharpieHighlighter not getting nervous is impossible. However, the ability to take those nerves and channel them into positive (in the move forward sense, not necessarily the happy sense) allowed me to reach the level I had been performing at. Additionally, if you have been putting in the work, you have the skills to succeed. I guess the key to meeting that level is not allowing the bullshit to get to you in the moment.