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Feeling really down, registered for June and wondering if I should cancel- Please offer your wisdom.
All are welcome to attend my pity party.
Here is where I am at, I am hoping you guys can provide some insight or guidance on where to move forward from here.
I started studying in April and have been at it full time for the past 2 months. I completed the CC and have been taking 1 PT and BR virtually every day in May. My diagnostic at the beginning of this journey was 153. Most of my PT's since then have been in the 70's and my scores were steadily improving, moving up from 155 to 158/9's and I even got like 5 PT's in the low 160's! I was flying high and looking forward to writing in June and getting this all done and over with. With my GPA (3.98), a score of 159/160 should be good to get me into the school in my hometown (while I would be happy to attend other schools in my country which are less competitive, moving would be much more financially challenging for me/partner and therefore not ideal).
But I have recently been taking tests in the 80's and my scores have noticeably dropped. I am back where I started pretty much. I can tell that the newer tests are different, whereas before I had time to spare in each section, now I am struggling to finish in time and rushing through (and subsequently making more silly mistakes). The gains I have made in the LG section are fairly constant which is nice since originally they were my worst section. But in the 80s I am doing worse in both RC and LR. RC used to be my best section whereas LR has always killed me. I average about 10 wrong in LR. I have noticed that before the 80s, when I got questions wrong and I watched the video/read everyones comments, I would eventually understand why my answer was wrong and the correct one was correct. It was rare that there would be questions that I absolutely could not grasp or I could not be sold on the correct AC. But now I am finding in the 80's there are multiple questions where I just do not get or I really do not agree with the correct AC. More ambiguous I guess? To me, at least.
Anyways, a week ago when I was taking the 70s I was feeling confident to write in June. But now my confidence has tanked and I am wondering if I should defer. I have heard the 80s are more representative of what the current tests are like. If that is the case, and it follows that since I suck at the 80s I will suck at the real thing. And of course, my overdramatic brain has me thinking that maybe I should quit now since these tests have confirmed that I really do have no business trying to do this whole law school thing. Trying not to follow that train of thought but its tempting.
Has anyone else experienced struggles like this, specifically with the 80s? Is it true that they are what I can expect on the real thing? Should I indeed postpone my June LSAT? Any other thoughts or suggestions?
Comments
If I could go back and give myself one piece of advice before studying for this test, it would be the following: timelines are man-made, so don't rush to take this test until you're consistently scoring in your target range.
If you're seeing a dip in the 80s, don't be afraid to move your test. The 80s are likely representative of what you'll see for the next few LSAT administrations. Also - it usually takes people longer than 2 months to be performing at their best.
Just my thoughts after studying for...well, let's not get into it lol. I'm just one person with an opinion, but I hope this helps.
I am in the same exact boat melwoods. I wish I had advice beyond letting you know someone else is in the same sh*t situation, but I feel a bit helpless right now as I do not want this exam hanging over my head any longer, but am not feeling like I am at my potential.
I hear it takes people some time to adjust to the newer tests, but once they do they get back to where they were scoring before. If I were you I'd postpone. IMO 2 months isn't really that much time even with full time study.
P.S. I'm reading "Loophole in Logical Reasoning" by Ellen Cassidy and it's really helping me fill in the gaps in my LR knowledge. Not sure what the results will be yet but so far I think it will really help me in LR. Lots of people sing its praises. Good luck!
You kept up a 3.98 - you insane creature.
But anyway, here's some things to think about. You ready? I'm going to assume that a 160 is not enough for you. You want a 170+.
If it's been 2 months and you're still not hitting the high 160's/low 170's, you're just not one of those people who can get this done within a few months. Yeah. I said it. I'm assuming that most of your anguish roots from the implicit assumption you made about yourself that you could get this done within a few months. Your self-image is currently shattering.
Try to prove yourself wrong. Take a couple more weeks. Devote yourself 40-60 hours a week. Who knows, maybe a switch will go off in your head that'll miraculously make you perform like an LSAT demon. But right now, you have random drops in your score (to the 150's...), you fluctuate in a very "average" score range, and you still have not hit 170+ in a timed PT. Perhaps you haven't even hit 170 on a BR yet. You need to first realize that the people who do it in a few months are RARE as hell and you're just not one of them. Accept it.
Get moving, build yourself from the bottom and don't fucking rush. I wasted so much time just sulking at how pathetic I thought I was, paralyzed in my own arrogance. I rushed through the CC and burned through a ton of PT's. Don't make that mistake. Don't fucking rush. But let's end this on a positive note.
You have a 3.98. That's insane. You're statistically among the very, very few who qualify GPA-wise into the T-14, T-6, T-3, etc. Your track record of academic vigor and diligence screams your potential for obtaining an incredibly high score. And by the looks of this pity post, you also obviously have insanely high standards for yourself - it's only been two months and you're sad af. You already think you're too dumb for this shit. I wish more people thought like you honestly. It'll help me with the curve. But anyway, the point is that you have outrageous potential. I don't need to have been your friend for 10 years to infer something about you based on a 3.98. So just fucking do it. Squeeze out all you can from the CC, join study groups, hire a tutor, or figure something else out. You can do this.
Anyway, please excuse all the mess and jumbled ideas. Best of luck!!!
Perhaps postpone if it makes sense for and doesn't throw off your application timeline and you can devote the study time to hardcore blind review and re-review of some test sections. But don't let it keep you from your ultimate goal. We are going to law school. 7Sage, PowerScore bibles and private tutoring are our common rites of passage. Stay the course! (I am also registered for June and unsure of whether I will sit... and I feel like things are just opening up to me in terms of understanding. With some more time I'm sure I'd feel more confident.)
Are you still PTing and BRing a new test every single day?
You could be burning yourself out. Spreading out the PT and BR/review into two or three days could force you to slow down and really examine what you're missing, why you're missing certain questions, and allow you to look at your analytics to see if there are any patterns in the types of questions that are giving you trouble.
I originally planned to take the test last August after studying for 3 months... but now i'm finally about to take it in June--after 13 months of studying and delaying my test date 3 times. Like Burt said, we're all on our own timeline. Everyone is doing their own thing at their own pace, and it's perfectly fine to spend more time to get things right rather than hastily doing something to meet a personal deadline. If you don't feel like you'll do as good as you can in June, maybe postpone it, take a deep breath, and go at it strong for the next test.
@"Burt Reynolds" I would definitely second this advice! I rushed to take the exam in the hopes that I would score my highest on test day - that kind of pressure can be incredibly anxiety inducing for no reason at all, it actually lead me to only remember my negative experience on test day and I feel has held me back since. There is absolutely no rush and you are better off waiting until you have a consistent score.
This post already has so many excellent comments from 7Sagers. So all I wish to say to you, is that we believe in you. You can do it. These "bumps on the road" are here to challenge you. They will help you grow.
Don't quit!
I don't know how to reply to individual comments (is that even an option? I only see the quote button) but I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words, encouragement and insight. It has really helped. I have decided to post pone to August. While doing so makes me feel a little sad I do really feel like its the right call. I am so grateful to have access to such a kind community. Thank you everyone.
I would wait. I tried to study for three and a half months while working full time. Never really learned how to properly diagram logic games and ended up with a 164 in November. I was super stressed about applying last cycle and tested before I was ready. I was basically praying I would get lucky on LG and was basically shaking with anxiety during that section. I retook this spring and I was much more confident and prepared. I scored much better second go around. Don't test before you're ready. For me, I've gotten better at LR just by repeated exposure to all of the tests and the corresponding 7sage vids. The extra time really is worth it.
I studied for two months before YOLO taking the exam in April. Just like you I was PTing in mid 160s before 80s, and the 80s prep test just tanked my PT score. In fact, my last two PT score before April exam were both 155. In the actual April exam, I got 166.
Here's my take about 80s PT: In average it's a little easier, but there are couple PTs that are insanely hard. These PTs are balanced out with some easy PTs, but those few hard PTs are really really insanely hard.
I saw someone say that the 80s tests will reflect what we'll see in June...is this accurate? and if so, why?
I m feeling down too as I stopped for now
I took the April LSAT and the test was NOTHING like anything in the 80s, I would say it was much more closer to the 40's, especially in terms of MISC LG.
I think you are on the right track. Say only positive things about yourself whenever you can, and don't say anything negative about yourself or your situation. Guard your mind with your
life.
You can postpone your exam and don't be too hard on yourself.
You are doing better than you think you are.
Wait until your test scores are a few points higher than your target schools.
You will be fine.
I had a similar score trajectory as you did. On some tests, I'd get low 160s, on others, mid 150s, averaging at about 155.
Did a couple of the PTs in the 80s and my score did drop to low to mid 150s. Week before the real deal, took a break did one practice test 3 days before and scored a 157.
Was pretty nervous because I needed 160+ on the real deal to be competitive in my top choice school, which is also in my home town. But on top of that I had a kid coming in 2 months, tested in last intake for September in January, and had a girlfriend who had a full time job paying 6 figures.
With tons of pressure and probably my last chance of getting into Law School, I did the test and scored a 160. Out of the 3 schools I applied, I got two formal offers and one wait list. I accepted the offer from my top choice school. I will be attending this September.
Fortunately for you, you got some time and a goal score that can be achieved by just about anyone who is willing to put in the work.
The only thing I'd suggest is reviewing your analytics to pinpoint your top 2 or 3 weaknesses for the LR section and go back to the module/s corresponding to those LR types. For me, I started to see a pattern of mostly NA/MSS question types I had issues with. So naturally, if the test/s had alot of these question types I would do bad and if they had the question types I was good at, I would do good.
Also, I found I missed alot of critical/key stuff when reviewing the corresponding module to the question type I struggled with. I started to clearly see and understand why I got a certain question type wrong after going through J.Y's lessons and drills again. It really is only about 30 to 60 mins of going through the lesson and a couple drills, but I found it prepared me better to tackle the particular question type again on the next practice test.
I would repeat this process, I probably reviewed NA/MSS 4 or 5 times before I had a pretty good grasp of it. I also reviewed other question types like strengthen/weaken, etc, when they were in my top 3 of incorrect question types. It was kind of a punishment for getting those wrong and doing something about it.
At scores below 165, I found most people do not really have a good grasp on the best/recommended strategy on attacking specific question types.