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Comments

• 3 Likes

  kelsey.r Alum Member

  October 2014 62 karma

  Yes, this has happened to me too talk about a confidence killer. For me I realized it was my brains way of physically telling me it needs a break. I put the test away, ordered my favorite take out and watched some Netflix for about 2 hours and just hung around I Went back to take the test again the next day with no problems and scored in my high range. Don't beat yourself up!!! This process we are going through is stressful with a lot of new concepts our brains are having to take in and manage.... Knowing when to take mental breaks and having a positive, encouraging mentality is very important
• madeleine Alum Member

  October 2014 259 karma

  This happened to me on the day of the test, after the 3rd section. After I had scored in the 170's on my last PT. I'm retaking and trying to resolve what caused it.
  
  If I could give you any advice, I would suggest what I've done so far, which is spend some time meditating, exercising (I personally like yoga/running), breaks like Kelsey said, but also thinking about why you decided to take this test and go to law school. Try to summon that determination that got you started on the LSAT in the first place.
• 4 Likes

  K-Magnet Alum Member

  October 2014 283 karma

  There is heightened emotion, heightened stress, & heightened pressure. Yet we are still expected to perform our best.
  
  First off, I don't know what works best for you -- but you can try relaxing or doing something that normally cheers you up or talking to someone you care about. I'd personally suggest listening to this whenever in a frown-y mood: (Bobby McFerrin - Don't worry be happy)
  
  Second off, how do we prevent times like this from happening again? Control. We are working through the curriculum & practicing & practicing so that we build up confidence in our abilities. The more routine our approach becomes, the more we build up positive habits toward the test, and ultimately, these positive habits give us control over how we approach the test.
  
  We recognize what is beyond our control -- the sections we receive -- and what is within our control: how we approach every section.
  
  On our road to control, we note times when we feel its presence and absence. When you feel a loss of control, you need to step back and reassess the situation: do you suddenly feel this test is absurdly hard? have you done too much work in too short of a timespan? have you eaten properly today? do you feel fatigued from other stresses in your life?
  
  There are numerous reasons why we might lose concentration or control, and we need to carefully take note of them. But it is *WE* that are different, NOT the test. The LSAT prides itself on replicability, one test is not the 'be all, end all'; all tests reflect the same level of difficulty (corrected for with different curves). I think recognizing this can be helpful on the journey toward greater control.
  
  Hope you feel better!
  
  
  
• 1 Like

  iiiSpoon Alum Inactive ⭐

  October 2014 277 karma

  Well, I'm about to write the PT39 so I'll let you know if I breakdown in a couple of hours.
• 3 Likes

  LSATisland Free Trial Inactive Sage

  October 2014 1878 karma

  I'll mention what I've said previously on this forum.
  
  A lot of times when something engages a person fully, the person loses a wider perspective. While the LSAT is very important, its important to retain a wider perspective to reduce stress and anxiety.
  
  This is especially true regarding Prep. Prep exists to practice and learn. You want to avoid mistakes on the actual LSAT. You do this by making mistakes in Prep. By finding the mistakes in your thought process/diagrams, you can correct them. Do not stress over your Prep scores. As long as you are progressing, your scores will increase, and the one score that counts will be good.
  
  So be happy to make mistakes in Prep. Relax and enjoy the process.
  
  I hope this is helpful. Feel free to PM me if you need more encouragement
• 1 Like

  harrismegan Member

  October 2014 2074 karma

  Thanks guys I think I'll feel like I lost a lot of time if I take the whole day off, so I'm going to just go through some old Logic Reasoning questions and reason through them. Maybe work through some old Logic Games.
  I thought about taking some time for myself and then trying to re-write, but I don't want to *waste* a practice test if I'm not doing it in the right mind frame.
  Thanks for the support I hope I get out of this rut!
• 1 Like

  ENTJ Alum Inactive ⭐

  October 2014 3658 karma

  Splendidly said Island!
• 1 Like

  Drackedary Member

  October 2014 239 karma

  @harrismegan
  
  The fact you're working on the PT and the fact you're here on the forums sharing experiences shows you care and have the will to get out of this rut!
  
  Take a break to unwind your mind now, and keep at it once you've freshened up.
• blah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐

  October 2014 3545 karma

  Omg this happened to me with PT39 too! I know everybody says it, but this felt like the test where I truly understood how much of a mental game this test is. I realized that by section 2, I was mentally checked out, which caused me to blow through the last two sections.
  
  I think @LSATisland is exactly right -- think about what on this test made you feel so awful. In section 1, I realized I misread a rule because I was going too fast, which caused me to spend 12 minutes on a game. In section 2, the perceived amount of science passages in logical reasoning really through me for a loop. I realized that this test taught me 1) I'm going too fast and 2) I still could use room for improvement. Particularly, certain things that seemed intuitive clearly weren't intuitive enough or else I would have been able to conquer a lot of the questions I missed.
  
  Hang in there! It will get better And be SO proud of yourself -- you're powering through!
• turnercm Alum Member ⏰ 🍌

  October 2014 edited October 2014 770 karma

  yes! i mean i haven't cried over it [yet]. but sometimes it feels like my brain is fried. one time i did so much work in one day that i didn't even think about the lsat the next day, or the next morning. i didn't pick up until that night.
  
  please take a break! it sounds like burnout/stress. give yourself the rest of the day off. try again tomorrow. or even the next day. you can do this, you've got plenty of time before the next exam to take PTs. (what you're doing by dealing with the smaller sections for the day is good, too.) make sure to take care of yourself and your brain!
• iiiSpoon Alum Inactive ⭐

  October 2014 277 karma

  I see why you had a mental breakdown for the first section; I nearly had one myself. That second game was weird.
• Snowball Member

  October 2014 111 karma

  I love this thread so much! It happened to me. I cried over a test, stopped timing, and more embarrassingly, I was in the library though in a cubicle... Mental control is the key. When you feel burned out, take a break! You won't lose anything if you stop studying for a day or two but you will get your mood right.