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Related Discussions
Completely bombed October Flex
T14_Hopeful
Alum Member
Hey everyone
I just wrote the October Flex, and I completely bombed it beyond all imagination. I was PT at around 172 (using PT 70s and 80s), and then on the real thing today, I couldn't even finish any section, with about left 5 to 8 questions blank per section. I just suddenly wasn't feeling well. My brain just won't work the second I encounter any resistance/difficulty on the questions. Now about specific sections.
RC: I read the 3rd passage, and had no idea what it said. And for some questions, I had no idea what to do to eliminate ACs. LG: I saw the last game, my brain just didn't wanna do any setup, and went straight for the questions. LR: went through the first 15 questions pretty fast, but then I suddenly found myself skipping nearly every question.
Is it normal to completely bomb the LSAT this bad on the test day? Is there any resource that you guys can direct me to for test day stuff?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Comments
I don't have any advice, but just wanted to say don't give up hope for a decent score yet. I took the LSAT for the first time last July and had an experience similar to yours. I bombed the games, and ran out of time on most sections. I thought I had done terribly, but ended up with a decent 166. So you may end up doing much better than you think right now.
Hi! I am not scoring in that range, but am in the same position with you on the fact that the minute I hit some stimuli or a passage I cannot readily and easily digest, my brain freaks out and I lose point from sheer panic. I am trying to do the following:
1) Flag questions I cannot digest within 45 seconds. Come back to them after I get points from others.
2) Take a deep breath and remember that I just need to dissect the argument/stim. It will be okay.
3) I also have tried to implement meditation geared towards test anxiety.
I hope you find what helps, but I also hope that you end up doing better than you thought!
I'm in the same scenario. I also have like a 172 average on PTs and this is my second take and I felt even worse about this than my first one. I got a 167 on the first one, but for this one there's just no way that I did better than that.
Tell me about it. I went into depression for the rest of the day because that went so poorly for me. Probably scored 10 points below my PT average- that bad. I also had ~4-5 blanks per section I had to christmas tree. Like you, I had been comfortable with PTs, getting high 160s. But I completely choked on test day. For one, just the difference of font and webpage structure, compared to 7Sage, immediately put me off. That plus the constant thought of "jesus christ this one really counts" made it very hard to be composed.
Only good thing this test is for is just being able to complete apps. I'm retaking Jan 2021. I need a 170 and it'll be all or nothing for me. Good luck to you.
I'm really sorry to hear that. I bombed my first LSAT and it was because I felt very anxious and just freaked out. I've been studying to retake and I find that meditation really helps! Headspace is a really great app. I find it has helped me to incorporate a short meditation into my everyday routine. Headspace also has a meditation that is specific to exams which is very calming I find.
Another strategy I just discovered is visualization!! You basically sit down and visualize from start to finish what it would be like if you were taking the exam-- imagine everything from how you are dressed, what is around you, what you see, what you smell, everything! And visualize yourself starting sections, skipping questions, visualize the good and the bad so you're prepared for all scenarios. There's a podcast called The Happiness Lab which explains this really well and the science behind it is fascinating. It's season 1, episode 7 called "Don't Accentuate the Positive." They talk about how Michael Phelps uses this strategy (and lots of other athletes do) and it helps them with preparing to perform. I try to visualize myself taking the LSAT every single day and I find it has significantly helped me be less anxious and more focused and calm when I take PTs. I hope this helps! Best of luck! Don't give up!
This thread makes me feel so much better because I am in the exact same situation. I was scoring in then 170s on PTs and got to the October FLEX and feel like I bombed RC. I could NOT for the life of me focus on the passages. I'm hoping it was just a harder test and maybe the curve will help us out. You're not alone!
Im just beating same dead horse here... I'd felt really well-prepared going in to the October test, and completely and utterly fell apart in the LG section. If I crack into the 160's, I'll be shocked. Good luck everyone, and keep grinding. Hard work pays off, and you can always test again. Regardless of the score, you'll never take your first LSAT again, and the anxiety will hopefully never be quite as bad. Keep your head up.
Same thing happened when I simulated the Flex settings on Lawhub today. I immediately took another (back to back) because I've been scoring 168-170 and on the Flex I wound up with a 160. Second test got another 160. Very miserable feeling. Wat do...
Do you guys PT in the same conditions as you would test? Meaning you recreate the test environment as closely as possible? That's what I try to do because even small changes in testing conditions can throw you off.
For example, I had been using a tablet but then LSAT-Flex came along and tablets were no longer an option. So I switched to prepping on my desktop and it definitely took some getting used to. My mind is not conditioned to focus on my desktop as I associate it with checking email, jumping around from tab to tab, etc.
this threat is amazing. i cant tell you how much better this threat is making me feel
I was hella confident and pt-ing mid to high160s and BOOOM. shit my pants on test day during LG. got really depressed over it for a complete week and felt that life was over for me.
but be water my friend. take on whatever comes to you in life and work towards what you really want until you get it. keep that mamba (kobe bryant) mentality in you. if you dont get your desired score on score release day, just sign up for the jan lsat (which will likely be flex again), and learn from the oct experience. that is most likely what i will be doing. NEVER GIVE UP UGGGGGHHHHHHH
I think it might be normal to feel like you have no idea how you did, which is how I feel. And since I'm not certain I did well, I'm assuming I bombed. I was abnormally anxious and barely finished any section except RC which felt super easy (almost too easy where I was like I must be totally misunderstanding and thus bombing this since it feels so easy). I also felt like the questions on my test were nothing like what I had been practicing (PT 65-88) which threw me off completely, but maybe that was all in my head.
I finished every section early when I took in August which was terrible because I've never done that before. Bombed the hell out of it and cancelled. I think you're in a good spot because when you were crunched for time you didn't mindlessly rush. When I was in that same position as you I just blacked out and started clicking like a psychopath lol.
I just want to say, in addition to what everyone else is saying, DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SCORE. I was this close to canceling me score the first time i took the LSAT because I had thought i had done so absolutely terrible, but then i decided not to. Good thing i did because i had ended up scoring in the high 160. I have no idea how. I was so sure i had gotten in the low 150s. By the end of that exam, i was crying - i couldn't tell you one question or one game i had done or what the readings were about. My mind was absolutely blank.
When i was debating to cancel the score or not, i thought to myself: good of bad, i am going to use this score to motivate me. And it worked out. You might have thought you did horrible, but you can't accurately judge how you are doing in such a high pressure exam. It could be that everyone else just did way worse than you.
So, final point; DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SCORE - whatever it turns out to be, use that as a motivator to do better next time.
I'm right there with you all! LG was OK, but I knew it was below average going into RC. In the third passage, my face (as opposed to my performance) started heating up, I needed water, and I did not recall what the passage was about after 3 minutes reading it.
Was hoping for mid-160s, but I don't think I'll crack 160! Going for it again in November, and I am so happy to have one failure under my belt. In hindsight, I realize that LR went pretty well even after my breakdown on RC. Thank you all for your comments that I empathize with so much!
Let's set a plan and a strategy, then go out and GET SOME.