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PT scores getting significantly worse each time

cfuller42cfuller42 Core Member
in General 7 karma

I had a diagnostic score of 159, and after finishing the syllabus did two PTs with scores of 167 for both. However, the following PTs I did after that were 164, 163, and 163. I took a few days to drill and review lessons for questions I was struggling with, came back and tried another PT that I felt fairly confident in after finishing. I ended up scoring a 158, which is worse than my diagnostic. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or how to proceed since I am getting progressively worse each time I take a PT despite studying and drilling continuously. Has anyone dealt with this before? Feeling really defeated and worried for the upcoming Jan test.

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Comments

  • markscotturbanmarkscotturban Core Member
    2 karma

    Jeez you're not alone. I'm in the same exact bucket. Taking January LSAT and just PT'd the worst I ever have after months of quality study. Defeated sums up the feeling perfectly. I'm going to revert to fun reading off to the side, while PT'ing the next two weekends before our exam. I notice I sometimes begin to overthink simple questions and get them wrong. That's when I know it's time to let the dust settle in my brain and come back refreshed. You got this.

  • gianna.barile1127gianna.barile1127 Core Member
    24 karma

    I'm in the same position. Not sure how to go about it because I want to get a good score on the actual test. Maybe we are just overthinking our answers?

  • MCHOWDHURY-1MCHOWDHURY-1 Core Member
    edited January 3 13 karma

    I am in the exact situation. I am not able point to any patterns in question types where I am messing up consistently. It seems to be all over the place. Sometimes I feel that I am just not able to understand the stimulus well enough under timed conditions.

  • trxcyramirez72trxcyramirez72 Live Member
    10 karma

    I have similar feelings too, I am retaking in the next few weeks and the score I want is a 154 (median score of the school I want to go to). Testing is not my strong suit, but I try to make up in other areas, regardless I do believe overthinking plays a part in it. Making myself think nonchalantly about the first 10 questions I do feel helps because as soon as I start to question my answers things start to go downhill. I wish everyone luck on their exam.

  • sleepyeebsleepyeeb Core Member
    2 karma

    i am the exact same way!!! it's like im putting in the effort and the minute i think i have a concept, i get it wrong and my pt score drops. I'm genuinely so worried about the exam, i'm going to get gray hairs lol.

  • matthewahuppertmatthewahuppert Core Member
    5 karma

    I feel this. My diagnostic was 158, and over the last few months I've had scores up to 170 only to be followed by another 158-160. I beat myself up over it a few times, but have now come to the conclusion that LSAT scores can be volatile by nature and it does not mean that I am not improving at the material. My thought is that my score trends will not be linear and will consist of many ups and downs, but with an overall upward trend. I'm going to double down on practice for the next couple weeks before my exam and hopefully that will improve my chances!

  • willpjenwillpjen Core Member
    7 karma

    About 7 months ago I started studying for the LSAT. I had a diagnostic of 164. After two months of studying, I scored 169, 168, 168, and 169 in a row. I thought I was knocking on the door of a 170. My next three practice tests? 164, 166, 166.

    This was so discouraging that I stopped studying for 5 months. I was really bothered.

    Then I took another PT and scored a 170.

    There are probably several lessons to take from this. The biggest one, I think, is that burnout is very real. This test is hard, and studying for it can be tiring. I understand your exam is soon. But I'd strongly recommend laying off the prep as it approaches. I'm convinced that the LSAT's various rules, tricks, and tendencies get ingrained in your mind after enough study/repetition. It's precisely at this point that having enough gas in the tank for test day outweighs whatever marginal benefit that may come from doing another drill or PT.

    Just my two cents, but if I were you I would grind out studying until about a week out and then significantly cut back.

    Good luck on the exam. You got this!

  • natemanwell1natemanwell1 Core Member
    58 karma

    tests tends to cluster together in terms of slight differences in question types for about every 5 tests so sometimes practice tests get worse because of that. but it's not any specific type of prep that is going to raise those practice test scores, its whether or not you have the technique memorized.

  • allisonsaghir525allisonsaghir525 Member
    5 karma

    Definitely burn out. This happened to me and I just needed to take a couple of weeks off and push my exam back a bit.

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