Advice - Scores dropping like flies... Major anxiety before Sept.

amw26amw26 Member
in General 56 karma

Hi everyone,

Goodluck to those who are taking in Sept! And to the rest of you studying!

I need some advice. This whole week I was down with the flu so I didn't get much studying done. About 1.5 weeks ago, I was averaging in the low 160s with a few outliers in the 165-166 range, felt pretty confident in my abilities but I knew I could improve more. LG was down to about -2, LR was down to -4 to -6, and RC was about -6 to -8. I revisited the CC twice already and thought I had established some fairly good understanding of the fundamentals.

Prior to this week of getting sick, I did a few preptests and they were significantly lower than usual (I'm talking like 157, 154 and 158...) I'm not sure why this is, I took them on different days - during review, the answers seemed evident... I revisited the CC again after this but of course my sickness got in the way for the week. I just did PT78 and scored a 160 so that made me feel a bit better (at least it wasn't in the 150s lol) but the questions I was getting wrong, I could get them right under review. So I thought okay maybe it's timing again (had another instance of a timing issue previously), so I just did PT60 first LR section allowing myself a bit more time (40 min) and got -10...

Help :( I thought I was making some progress in LR... With the test coming up literally in one week, I am thoroughly freaking out.

Has anyone else had wildlly fluctuating scores??? Please let me know your thought process and recommendations on how I should keep studying, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!!!!

Comments

  • catgonzalez1974catgonzalez1974 Member
    193 karma

    I am exactly the same. I was averaging like 165 timed, then last week low 150s. I was stressing out so bad that I was considering changing to December. Yesterday I scored 164, so I am hoping I just had a fluke of stress. I'm watching my nerves, and I am refreshing the most basic lessons. I am still having a lot of issues with RC, but I am right there with you. I also reviewed the areas I know I am very strong (LG). I did learn some things that helped my time there, that also helped my confidence .. Stress kills, good luck!

  • Hannah56Hannah56 Alum Member
    224 karma

    Yup. same here. I just took a PT yesterday and scored 6 points lower than my average. I think it was overconfidence + lack of focus. I'm freaking out as well. will take my final PT before the exam on Tuesday.

  • calcal101calcal101 Alum Member
    582 karma

    I'm experiencing this somewhat; my LG performance is strangely improving but RC and LR (typically my strongest; I often got -0 here) are dropping. I feel less focused and my mind drifts as I read. I'm also getting over a cold so that's contributing to it.

    I'm taking my final PT today and will BR tomorrow. I'm in school full-time, so I plan to do 1 LG section and a few LR questions (maybe 5 or 6) everyday from Monday-Thursday. On Friday, I will retake 1 section each of LG, LR, and RC + review. I plan to also do one logic game and 5 or 6 LR questions before heading into the exam on Saturday.

    I'm trying not to get too caught in up in my scores right now…I was trending low 170s and am now hitting the high 160s. It's very frustrating but the anxiety is unproductive--all we can do is study without worsening our anxiety. I'm hoping the adrenaline on test day will allow me to focus my energy more efficiently. The time for major skill improvements is over now, and you've put in the work…I think it's really a question of maintaining our techniques and staying calm.

  • amw26amw26 Member
    56 karma

    @catgonzalez1974 @Hannah56 @cal270

    Thanks for all your responses, it's a little more reassuring to know that I'm not the only one stressing out here. I know we can all get through this together!!! I think it is definitely confidence issue (either of overconfidence or underconfidence).

    I reviewed the LR question types this morning and the general approach to each of them and followed it by doing another LR section untimed today, really taking my time eliminate AC and think about why I was selecting the AC as my right one and scored -4! I just finished PT76 and scored a 167 (-4 for each LR, -4 for LG, and -5 for RC)! Highest I've ever scored. So hopefully it is just a matter of stress/anxiety that's impairing me and as well as all of you too.

    We've definitely put in the work to learn everything and done our fair share of PTs. We can rock the Sept LSAT's socks off, as cheesy as it is lol. Goodluck to all of you!!! :)

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    3521 karma

    You could be potentially burnt out. If you feel like you're having trouble even reading stimuli or your eyes feel super foggy, then you may just need time off the exam.

    Also, atleast personally I experienced massive differences in test scores at points in my prep. The LSAT can sometimes change the way it asks questions/the type of questions it asks very abruptly.

    For example, I did really well on PT's 1-10, then I jumped to PT 36-40 and did really well. But once I got to 40, I noticed much harder LR, and my score dropped from in the 170s to in the 160s. I readjusted, and got back up to the 170 mark but then I hit PT 60s, and again I noticed a big shift in the way they were asking questions (specifically Logic Games), and was smacked with some more scores in the 160s.

    I'm back in the mid-170s now, but just be aware that many times the LSAT has adjusted the questions they ask and how they ask them, oftentimes I found in increments of 10 PTs. What may seem like a terrible score may just be indicative of a change in the exam, in which you will have to readjust and move forward.

  • amw26amw26 Member
    56 karma

    @"Paul Caint" Thanks for your response!

    I think you were right in that I was feeling burnt out but it's almost more of a psychological hurdle in that I was getting stressed that I was feeling burnt out and not doing as well as I hope to. I tried to change my mindset today and view it more positively and with more confidence and it seems to have worked (knock on wood..).

    Have you noticed any particular changes as of the 80s? I know there's only PT80 and 81 for the time being but any noticeable differences in comparison with say the 70s or 60s?

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    3521 karma

    @amw26 I just took 80 and 81 in the past week. I think they were pretty standard, they were kinda like the 70s tests, but I thought (especially 81) their games were a lot more cookie cutter. PT 80 has one strange game, but it's definitely doable.

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