These are my scores, as follows:
First ever score (no studying done, ever:) 155
Second Score: 158
Third Score: 161
Fourth Score: 164
Fifth Score: 157
Sixth Score: 153.
The following information is vitally important.
For my first to fifth scores, I did them all timed and proctored, and only did 4 section tests. Meaning I didn't add an additional section to replicate test-day. All of these tests were taken either in the late afternoon or the evening, alone.
For my sixth test, I wanted to simulate actual test day.
However, literally all of these things I don't normally do.
*note*I know JY says to get into a 2 month pattern, but I lack the time available. I started studying only 3 weeks ago, because I found out on January 10th that I was being forced to take the February LSAT due to overwhelming circumstances.*end note*
I woke up at 7:30, Saturday morning.
Made some normal breakfast, had coffee with sugar, swallowed 25mg of Adderal (bad idea? I read a story of a 150 scorer getting a 175 and the only difference was that he took some Adderal. I bought some, just to experiment. I am not normally on Adderal, but I used to take it as a child.)
Put all of my belongings, 4 penciles, a sharpener, etc. into a ziplock bag.
Got to the official test site where the February test will be taken next week, on time.
Sat down. Started playing the 5section proctor audio file.
The sections were LG LR LR break RC LRexperimental.
During the break, I stretched out, walked around, did one or 2 slow pushups, massaged my eyeballs, looked at my phone (im sorry, 15 minutes was a long time to wait doing nothing,) and then sat down for the last 3 minutes.
I did my writing portion and then scored my test.
My first 3 sections were about average, but I did especially poor on the Logic Games: -9, -7, -7.
My 4th section, RC, I did worse than I ever could imagine was possible for me. I'm an English major, I've been reading nonsense for 4 years, how could I score a -14 (out of 27 questions) on this section?...
For the 5th section, I got -6, a little better than average for LR.
I ignored the 5th experimental section score, and my resulting LSAT was a 153.
Worse than I did even before I began studying.
What the hell happened.... I want to give up.
Comments
For RC, it's always a gamble for me... Sometimes I do as well as -0 but sometimes, like you, I get more than -10. I decided that I won't let RC become a part of my LSAT stress and "control what I can control" and go with studying hard core for LR. But make sure, after doing an RC, do the same one the next day until you get a -0. Even if it's out of you having memorized the right answer. That will give you confidence.
I think what LR comes down to is solving a lot of questions and learning what answer choices the LSAT writers believe are the "correct" ones, as opposed to the "incorrect" ones. Lots of it comes down to learning the LSAT language (especially abstract ones).
Also, considering the limited time that you had (3 weeks), you can't possibly expect to jump a huge score. How many hours a day are you studying? I find that for LR, consistency is KEY and you have to do at least a section in the morning and another at night to keep your LSAT rhythm going. This is just me though. And this should be done only after you're pretty set on how to tackle different question stems with specific mindsets.
With the restriction of time, your scores are very good. Some score higher than their average on the actual test. Hopefully, you'll be one of them.
For example: Students ABCDEFGH are assigned to groups I, J and K.
but then the second rule will say something like, if A is on team J, then team J is before team K. Introducing the fact that the order of the teams also matters, hence 3 variables (students, teams, placement.)
I missed every question in a game just like this one today...
As far as reading comprehension and LR goes, I'm just not taking the authors literally enough. I keep taking invitations to make assumptions, or even when I think I'm reading carefully I tend to miss a vital word such as "can" or "except."
This is all that I have learned about myself by taking today's PT and doing awful. Thank you for asking me that question so that I could type it all out and show myself, it helped put things into perspective.
The closer D-day comes, the less you want to do.
focus on the fact that you KNOW YOU CAN GET A 160 cuz you have done it before and you can do it again and you will do your very best!
Stay confident if you lose your confidence you will affect your score DO NOT LET ONE SCORE BRING YOU DOWN PLEASE! DO ANOTHER pt asap to feel better
Thank you for the morale booster.
I have only just started studying for this so my experience isn't there. However I know how strong the benefits of exercise(healthy body healthy mind) and confidence are.
Maybe a day or couple of hours doing something that's not LSAT related at all would be good.
Take a yoga class. Or cook a new dish. Something that will cause you to relax, have fun and feel confident again.
Then come back to your studies.
We shouldn't train for a marathon by running marathons everyday.
Here are some of my tips from what i've experienced and some suggestions to help your situation described above:
- i would suggest definitely take another LSAT in June, and October to maximize your score potential. You scored above national average in a short amount of time of studying, therefore, this proves that you do have lots of potential, you just need to put some long term effort and studying into this test. A short time span will not really make much of a difference when taking the LSAT. This is important if you want to score higher for your targeted school, and if you want a fat scholarship offer, you should get at least 5+ points above the average LSAT score your goal school has. For example, if you want to go to a school with a 165 average LSAT, then you should at least get 165 (i don't know your GPA, but if it's lower than that school's avg., then you should aim for a higher LSAT to compensate for your lower GPA, and vice versa). If you get a 165+, your chances of getting a higher scholarship will increase along with your admission chances.
- if you change your habit of test taking, it usually won't work. For example, you've taken the first 5 PT without adderal, and without the 5th section. What I'm trying to say is, you should definitely take another LSAT in June, you'll have some more time to prepare, and you should always study and take your PT the way you will during the real deal. If you always drink coffee (one cup, 1 sugar...etc...) then i would stick with that during the real deal. LSAT is a long term deal, so increasing the dosage of your caffeine and taking an adderal won't help, in my opinion, if you use that for a one time deal.
- PT score won't always depict your real score, so don't be too discouraged if that happens. My friends who have already taken their official LSATS have taken their PTs and scored above 170+ or high 170s, and they felt great, but when they got their real scores, they both scored in the 160s. You just never know what will happen during the real thing, so your real score may deviate a couple points +/- from your PT scores.
- last but not least, don't be discouraged. I wish you the best of luck, and hopefully you can study and take another one in june and not give up if you are not satisfied with your Feb score. Good luck
I'm taking a break today, this is the first LSAT thing I've looked at in the past 24 hours.
Not sure if it's a good idea, but it was one of the most common suggestions...
I'm going to take the February LSAT and apply to schools. My score, however, will determine whether or not I go to Law School right after I graduate, or if I wait a year and find something to do in the meantime...
I refuse to go to a school that isn't Tier 1, but I'm also doing late admission, so I really need a high LSAT score if I plan on getting into those schools (I'm thinking at least 160.)
So.... Yep. I have no questions or anything else to say at this point, lol.
If you're talking about taking a break the day prior to the test, I'd recommend it. I think it helped me be rested for the test. On the morning of the test, you can a do a little of each section to get into LSAT mode.
The morning of the test I did a few easy LR questions, read a little RC, and one LG. I didn't want to do anything difficult; better save my energy for the test. I just wanted to make sure I was in LSAT mode.
Please don't be scared. Use the day of rest to be a break from the LSAT, but also from LSAT stress. Some thoughts will be inevitable, but develop a reassuring response to it. Reaffirm your confidence in all the prep you've done and banish those LSAT thoughts, if only for a few hours.
I was forced to take 2 days of break because I had an abundance of normal schoolwork i've been neglecting.. I just took a practice test today, and I literally had to stop mid-test because of how many I was missing...
I didn't take section 4. And in section 1, 2 and 3 I got a -35, which is lower than any whole-test grade I've ever done.
I have no idea what's wrong with me. Everything seems so much harder to understand and comprehend now. Every question in this test (PT62) was more or less difficult. I don't know if I'm still suffering from mental fatigue, if I'm temporarily burned out, if this test caught me off guard, or what...
One thing is for certain, my faith in doing well on Saturday is nonexistent.
which is the highest I have been able to score - so please do me a favour - laugh about it make fun of it and say YA RIGHT and move on and focus on your abilities you can do this
confidence is key
even if you need to pretend to be confident DO IT and it will translate onto the LSAT ! and it is the last day we just didn't put in the same effort in general! Good luck!